Sutherland Packaging has moved to ‘substantially’ expanded its digital print capabilities with the world’s second HP PageWide C550 digital press.

Sutherland Packaging specialises in corrugated point-of-purchase (POP) displays and retail packaging. It is now one of the first to begin using the new HP PageWide C550.

Introduced earlier this year, the PageWide C550 digital press is based on the existing PageWide C500 press although the updated model is claimed to offer ‘enhanced productivity and value’ to the industrial packaging industry. PageWide C550 uses HP’s thermal inkjet (TIJ) technology and ‘true water-based inks’, to deliver consistent offset print quality at fast production speeds – 90 linear m/min – while also supporting packaging converters’ circular economy goals through optimising inventories, reducing obsolescence and accelerating turnaround times.

For Sutherland Packaging, adding the PageWide C550 gives the company the ability to ‘efficiently and cost-effectively’ reach new customers and allow them to experiment with unexplored markets, coupled with increased flexibility to expand sales even in sub-optimal economic conditions. It also provides capacity to cover the need for digital throughout the company’s East Coast service base, from Canada to the Carolinas. Further, the new press expands the company’s ability to handle on-demand printing, last-minute changes and flexible print runs, expediting production time for everything from one-off prototypes to large-scale rollouts. Sutherland Packaging is able to print and ship orders in as little as 14 days.

Sutherland Packaging president Tom Sutherland said, ‘As one of the first suppliers to incorporate this sophisticated digital printing press into our day-to-day operations, Sutherland can offer our customers next-level speed, colour-matching and flexibility. The press further enhances our digital services portfolio and exemplifies our commitment to infrastructure investments offering the latest technologies – to the benefit of our diverse set of customers.’