Long considered a high street retailing fact of life: stores may close, but stores are always opening. Such statements of fact seem decidedly shaky now as the realities of an interconnected world encourage consumers to look beyond the high street or out-of-town shopping mall for shopping for those essential and for those aspirational and other items.
Mailers and other protective formats for e-commerce are big business both for flexible packaging and for paperboard/corrugated. Flexible wraps, mailers, bags and pouches are lightweight, conformable and are the go-to solution for fashion wear, etc. Corrugated/ paperboard still holds pole position as a versatile, sturdy material with low environmental impact and strong recyclable credentials. Brand owners and marketers must still give some thought to content presentation, what’s in the box and what’s on the box.
The age of social media
In an age of social media influencers, consumers have high expectations. The anticipation, the excitement of unboxing to reveal a gift or a treat contributes to an enjoyable experience. More so perhaps given the vogue for sharing the unboxing or reveal with others via a smartphone, YouTube or across social media platforms.
Compared with goods sold in a department store or in a hypermarket, there are no touch points and few product cues when purchasing online. Shopping online may not provide a sense of occasion when clicking on a virtual basket. The consumer cannot handle the packaged item until it arrives; or decide with a friend over coffee whether the item being considered is worthwhile. But of course there are many who would rather forgo going out to the shops and all that entails.
For Generation Z and for Alpha and others, that sense of anticipation when an order is confirmed and when products are shipped and unboxed and uploaded can’t be beaten.
Everyone looks to brand presentation; poor printability and colour that don’t quite sit right harm the brand. For unboxing e-commerce products and for sharing online, it’s essential if the brand owner wants the consumer to be a brand ambassador that design and print are of the highest quality. Brand owners must never forget that the image that their brand ambassador uploads may be viewed by hundreds or may be thousands of potential consumers.
Ensuring consistency throughout the run
More demanding commercial considerations has meant that greater emphasis is placed on controlling process variables so as to ensure consistency throughout the run. Where photo-realistic print quality is a requirement, gravure is often the print process of choice. Gravure is known for its wide tonal range and ability to print on a broad range of substrates. RK Print Coat Instruments GP100 has been designed to generate high-quality proofs on any flexible substrate. Doctor blade and roller adjustments are made pneumatically and repeatable settings can be made for future tests. Variable printing speeds from 1 metre per minute upwards to 100 metres per minute ensure optimum printability and controllability for those involved with the manufacture or use of gravure ink. The GP100 can be used for a variety of purposes, including computer colour matching and data comparison as well as for research and development and the production of customer presentation samples.
Colour communication, proofing and sample preparation devices such as the FlexiProof are also available for flexographic applications. The K Printing Proofer is perhaps ideal for the multi-print process house. It produces high-quality proofs using flexo, gravure and offset-gravure inks.
Written by Tom Kerchiss, Chairman of RK Print Coat Instruments Ltd.