Flexo Print - Marketing needs, consumer wants vs. sustainability goals
The world of multi colours, additional finishes such as embossing, foiling, varnishes etc. are all slowly declining and branding is being driven by a sustainability focus.
Gone are the years where the marketing budget was almost a blank cheque!
Gone are the days where consumers are faced with glaring designs and high colour impact pouring from the shelves.
In are the days of sustainability requirements which is forcing the nature of marketing and the consumer to rethink how packaging is presented and purchased!
The challenge most marketeers face is how to reach the visual impact and enhance the brand awareness to the consumer but ensure this is all captured in the most environmental way possible.
Most retail packaging is still printed using the litho-offset printing process. This allows for a variety of colours through the process colour palette, plus the possibility to use specially coat materials to enhance the final effect. All these add up to more oils, chemicals and heavy use of pigments…….. yet we all talk about sustainability and how we can all look to improve the environment!?
There is an alternative!
However, it takes an open mindset, an alternative way of approaching the consumer shopping trend and the formulating of the branding story….. It is nothing new, in fact it has been around way before litho-offset was formulated. What is this I hear you cry????
Flexography!!! Or Flexo print to you & I.
More and more marketeers are working with sustainability in mind. Using environmentally friendly raw materials in combination with water based flexo inks. It may not seem like much but the impact on the environment by changing one part of a process actually has clear benefits on others. It pushes the boundaries of thought; it enhances a clear environment message and it starts to strengthen a brand name.
Correct you can’t get the full photography replication of an image using flexo printing but why do you need that? Surely there is a new opportunity for a creative mindset, to rethink how you and your brand want to be perceived. A chance to be one of the innovative brands that dares to hit the market and the consumer with something different. Have a look out here, how many brands do you know who have started re-inventing themselves?? It’s an old cliché but ‘who dares, win!’
I’ll be intrigued to hear your thoughts, your challenges and also learn more about your goals and successes.

Toby Hodgson has been directly involved in the packaging industry since 1996. He is fully experience in fibre based materials, extrusion blow-moulding, laminated packaging, colour management and artwork and pre-press. He joined Billerud in early 2017 and works closely with his colleagues to ensure that Global Brands understand the true value of Managed Packaging.
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