Mondi Gronau’s state-of-the-art flexo printing line gives customers in the hygiene industry exciting new options.
Photo Mondi
Mondi, in packaging and paper, has unveiled a state-of-the-art flexo printing line at its plant in Gronau, Germany. The new machinery will service the hygiene industry’s growing demand for advanced printing options for films and laminates and deliver greater flexibility in feminine care pouch wrapping designs and film choices.
Mondi’s investment in the ten-color flexo press means the company is now able to supply flexo printing services alongside its existing rotogravure capabilities. Due to the latest sleeve technology, flexo printing produces high-quality results in brilliant color with a rapid output. In addition, Mondi’s press is able to apply effect inks and matt additives – resulting in premium looking films with the potential to influence purchasing decisions through an elevated user experience.
The new line offers the added appeal of inline siliconization, which eliminates the need for release paper, and inline embossing in answer to consumer preference for quieter, more discreet wrappers. Furthermore, the printing press gives customers the freedom to request complex designs thanks to precise registered printing for eye mark accuracy. This allows Mondi to feature different prints on the front and back of wrapping films and provides the option of partial siliconization for a more cost-effective printing run.
Jürgen Schneider, managing director, Personal Care Components at Mondi, comments, “The new flexo printing line enables us to better serve our customers in the hygiene industry through an altogether smarter printing process. Inline inspection systems for color and silicone quality guarantee product reliability, while low ink consumption, minimal waste and shorter set-up times make this type of printing efficient and therefore also highly suitable for customers with varying lot sizes. What’s more, our installation can handle different film materials, including biodegradable or recycled content stock, which supports our customers’ sustainability goals.”
In the run-up to the installation of the new flexo printing line, Mondi’s team in Gronau consulted closely with colleagues from its plant in Jackson, USA, which has offered flexographic printing services for personal care components since 2014.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
