FDBusiness.com

One of Europe’s leading providers of premium quality flexible packaging solutions for food, the Wipak Group, is celebrating a trio of award wins, thanks to its revolutionary wide web digital printing technology. Launched in May 2017, ‘ProDirect’ combines extremely high-quality digital printing with wide web, high performance paper laminate structures. Since it was launched, it has earnt the Company recognition in the ‘Machines’ and ‘Sustainability’ categories at the 2017 German Packaging Awards, and a 2018 WorldStar Award for the role it played in producing a climate-neutral stand-up pouch.

“Created for small and medium-sized print runs, ProDirect is as flexible as our customers’ markets, providing high-quality, customisable and digitally-printed wide web packaging solutions, in an efficient and sustainable manner,” explains Patrick Verhelst, Sales & Marketing Director at the Wipak Group. “It is the first, and currently the only, digital printing press in the world capable of printing on paper laminates at an industrial scale. Thanks to ProDirect’s fully-automated pre-press system, customers can quickly and easily approve designs and order the quantities they really need, with short delivery times and low minimum order quantities, which reduces inventory, waste and write-off costs.”

ProDirect print images can also be individually personalised, which is of particular benefit to manufacturers offering a large range of products and regional brands in different markets. Using ProDirect technology, it is possible to quickly respond to trends, customer requirements and competitors by efficiently and sustainably producing smaller batch sizes, such as those required for seasonal or promotional items.

Patrick continues: “Over the past number of years, Wipak has developed constantly, with fresh and sustainable packaging concepts and new technologies which have truly changed the sector – such as ProDirect. We are delighted that our efforts have been recognised at both the German Packaging Awards and the WorldStar Awards, and we look forward to further enhancing our reputation as an innovator in our field in the months and years ahead.”