Branston worked with Shere Print to take advantage of digital printing for Tesco’s Parmentier Potatoes packaging
Leading potato producer Branston recently launched its new nationwide ‘Pic on a Pack’ initiative, an opportunity for consumers of prepared potatoes to have their photos printed on to packs of Parmentier Potatoes in Tesco’s fresh&easy range of ready meals.
This first of a kind competition has been made possible due to the introduction of cutting edge, digital print technology used by Shere Print to produce flexible packaging. The complete digital workflow used by the company offers a fast turnaround design to print process. The advantages of digital printing have made the personalisation of flexible packaging possible as various designs can be printed consecutively without any need for changeovers or plates.
Mark Wilcox, Branston technical manager, said,’The ‘Pic on a Pack’ initiative is a way of getting people talking about our great products in a category that is hard to generate any noise. Tesco was very keen to embrace the project and saw the benefits in linking directly with its customers. We have worked closely with the Shere Print team at Ultimate Packaging to deliver the first digitally printed, personalised lidding film in produce. Using digital print has made the project possible as each impression can be different, there are no plates involved at all! Digitally printed personalised labels have been around for some time but personalised flexible packaging is a new and exciting opportunity.’
Part of Ultimate Packaging, Shere Print has recently been accredited with ISO9001, ISO14001 and BRC Safety Standard, which means the company can now digitally print food packaging for all food brands and retailers; a major accolade for the company and a first for the UK marketplace.
Chris Tonge, Shere Print sales and marketing director, said, ‘The past year has seen the business commit a great deal of skill, hard work and investment to develop digital print technology to produce flexible packaging for the food sector. I am proud and excited to say that following detailed audits and independent testing, we now have the capability to produce digitally printed food contact packaging for brands and retailers, which confirms our status as a market leader. The use of our Smart Digital Workflow ensures we can deliver files to the digital press quickly and accurately, streamlining the process from design to finished pack. The ‘Pic on a Pack’ project is a key example of what can be achieved when using digital print to produce flexible packaging.’
The Smart Digital Workflow used by Shere Print and its sister company Sharp Iris, a design, photography and 3D visualisation company, has been enhanced with the installation of the HP Indigo WS6600 press and the use of Esko software packages. The Shere Print and Sharp Iris teams will support HP and Esko with 3D visuals and digitally printed samples at Labelexpo Europe this month. The companies agreed that the show provides the perfect platform to demonstrate how the Grimsby-based group has used skill, experience and smart investment to lead the industry utilising 3D visualisation and digitally printed, flexible food packaging.
