It can be a daunting task to have a product promoted at initial stages. The process of product packages on the small run may seem very easy; however, caution and more care are demanded in case of foreign market as the primary target for such product. In this case, the business needs to amalgamate both competition strategies s and the cost-effectiveness strategies for the product promotion and sell. The case presented a demand that the product is produced in some small city in China, after which they will be shipped from the town to be sold in the USA. This, therefore, is a clear indicator that the product market will be extensive and hence call for more emphasis on the product packaging.
As indicated in the case, the product will be small runs, and the packaging is all about folding three colored print cartons. This, therefore, means that caution is needed for appropriateness in the packaging. First, material which will be used for packaging should be given due consideration for it’s to befit the products. The case has not mentioned any particular genre which the product under discussion belongs; this, therefore, means that general discussion should be considered. There is a key issue to remember in this regards. First, folding cartons have different substrates which they are manufactured from, the manufacturing rule states that the thickness of the material need to be within the range of .o11 to .029, it also says that recycled materials can be used the carton with varied fiber content (McBattas Packaging and Printing: A Short-Run Packaging Specialist (2014). The weight of the product which the organization is needed to pack determines the thickness of the carton. The materials are inclusive but not limited to Kraft, chipboard, and many others. In case the evidence requested green materials, then this is the perfect arrangement, however, if the materials requirements have not mentioned any, then other materials such as solid bleached sulphates can be suited in this case.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
A Proper packaging material as mentioned must be put in place after which the printing procedure commences. In this case, it must be beauty must be considered and for the products to be lucrative and appealing in the market, only suitable and attractive printing method must be used. Printing cartons can be done using a variety of options and methods, however, in this case, only the best and the one suitable and attractive for the product under the question should be selected and used. During the printing selection process, one issue must be given much attention. “Most options are driven by the required detail in the artwork along with quantity being purchased” (“Specialty Printing FAQs”, n.d.).
Offset printing method seems to be the best in the case given since it involves printing cartons. The requirement of the packaging system provided in this instance seems obliged the company to have offset printing applied in this case for a proper and excellent result to be attained. Offset lithography process is fascinating. In this process, the three image of the object which needed to print is often contained in a printing plate made from aluminum. Only this part holds ink in the event when the plate is linked. The ink is then raftered or is offset as it is referred to the rubber blanket from the plate and then transferred to the printing surface. The process which must have a flat surface can be used to print any of the following; paper, cardboard, or plastic products. To achieve an accurate result on the products, process color needs to be involved. Three color prints need to be put in place for the best result to be achieved in this area; these can be the litho label, flexo print and direct print sheet (“Specialty Printing FAQs”, n.d.).
Printing may be considered better in this process in case the surface of the material is put under consideration. The modern trend in the packaging using folding carton demands that the digital printing need to incorporate within the process. Within this respect, two technologies can be employed. The two are the xerography and the inkjet. In an inkjet, “the image that needs to be printed is created by small droplets of ink that are propelled from the nozzles of one or more print heads. Inkjet devices can print on a broad range of substrates such as paper, plastic, canvas or even doors and floor tiles" ("Printing processes", n.d.). This, therefore, means that an inkjet can be useful in the packaging context in the case given. Because this is a small run, this method is very efficient regarding cost consumption.
Due to the demand created by the digital technology, in this case, Xerography too can be very beneficial. In this case, "the image that needs to be printed is formed by selectively applying a charge to a metal cylinder called a drum. The electrical charge is used to attract toner particles. These particles are transferred to the media that is being printed on. To make sure the toner is fixed correctly, the substrate passes through a fuser that melts the toner into the medium" ("Printing processes", n.d.). An example is the laser printer. The method is very vogue in the small run such as one given in this case.
When significant production is under question, the printing process as already discussed may not be the best. In case the production expands, this method may be appropriate only where the technology digital printing. There is some rationale for though justification of the use of the digital printing technology when the production expands. When in use, it must be remembered that though digital packaging “opens up new opportunities for service providers of all sizes with value propositions that resonate with end customers” (“McBattas Packaging and Printing: A Short-Run Packaging Specialist”, 2014). When used in large production firm, the digital packaging printing is known to reduce costs related to storage, warehousing, as well as disposal. This is possible since accordant to ("McBattas Packaging and Printing: A Short-Run Packaging Specialist", 2014), digital printing packaging in a large organization allows the brand owner “to apply their marketing dollars to more valuable activities”. Another reason why digital printing packages are efficient to enlarge production is the fact that they give the producer a chance “to produce an entire print campaign for applications like point-of-sale signage, from creating the package to producing marketing collateral” (“McBattas Packaging and Printing: A Short-Run Packaging Specialist”, 2014).
Time wasting during peak season with high demand should be out of the question in the business. This, therefore, means that digital printing will be necessary to enhance the speed of production to a great business. Moreover, offset printing due to the issue of speed and quantity, this may not be appropriate in this case. As noted by the ("TUTORIALS", n.d.), "Digitally printed jobs can potentially be turned around the same day art is released, depending on your quantity and the printer's availability. Offset projects can take at least three weeks to turn around because of the time needed to prepare and set-up printing plates". This is a justification that I would resort to digital package printing in the case in case of large production.
References
McBattas Packaging and Printing: A Short-Run Packaging Specialist (2014). Case Study. Info Trends . Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://www.xerox.com/digital-printing/latest/IG4CS-27U.PDF
Printing processes (n.d.). PRESSURE.com . Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://www.prepressure.com/printing/processes
Specialty Printing FAQs (n.d.). Cooley . Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://www.cooleybrand.com/faqs/specialty-printing-faqs/
TUTORIALS (n.d.). Mohawk . Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://www.mohawkconnects.com/design-library/tutorial/choosing-right-printing-method
