2 B or not 2 B that is the question…

This post will be short and hopefully sweet… I just got back from Drupa and was very impressed with all the digital solutions companies like Landa, HP, FujiFilm, Heidelberg, Komori, Bobst, EFI, MGI, Screen, Myakashi and many others who are showing systems for the packaging sector. Many of them are looking at the folding carton sector with new offerings. It seems that any press that is sheetfed and can handle substrates over 18 point is automatically called a Packaging Press.

Now comes the advice… if you really want to sell to folding carton manufactures…loose the B. Outside of the commercial printing market the terminology of B for press or paper sizes is not used. I cannot tell you how many times this topic comes up when speaking with a carton manufacturer following a demo. Second parts of the advice, in the States use inches as the form of measurement don’t fumble around with millimeters and having to convert. Outside of the States using millimeters or centimeters is just fine. This goes for board thickness measurement as well, use point sizes or even thousandths of an inch (0.024 inches would be 24 point) in Europe continue using microns.

Get the Point? Learn what the package printer is used to hearing, speak their language if you want them to listen to you…Oh, and one more…don’t tell them how many “pages” can be produced…they work in jobs or sheets…

Just a quick note on the topic, hope it helps. When we start talking about presses going into the Flexible Packaging sector we will have to do this all over again…They don’t care about Bs either…

Helpful links:

ISO 216 on paper sizes from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_216

Paperboard from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paperboard

 

Get the details of our analysis by ordering our ‘Trends Assessment of Folding Carton Solutions Report’ which will be available on our website shortly after our return from Drupa.

The report is a high level assessment of what we think the key developments are in digital printing and finishing for the Folding Carton Sector coming out of Drupa. If you would like more information or be notified when the report is available, send us an email at kevin [at] karstedt.com.