Olympia London will be welcoming the packaging industry on 12 and
13 September
As Packaging Innovations 2018 gets ready to return to Olympia in London this coming September, we look at what visitors can expect to take home from the experience.
Billed as the UK’s most exclusive packaging event, Easyfairs’ London show found its home at Olympia a few years ago and has since then continued to grow, with more features added each year. Once again the event also encompasses Luxury Packaging so visitors can be sure to see plenty of products with huge shelf appeal and sparkle.
A new partnership with the ADF and PCD event for aerosol, dispensing, perfume and cosmetics will be introduced this year. Currently running in Paris, New York and Shanghai, ADF will be represented through a dedicated zone in the exhibition as well as a series of seminars, curated along with its sister event, PCD.
After a successful launch at the 2017 show, the Pentawards returns alongside a conference programme. The Big Plastics Debate will also be featured. ‘In addition to the packed show floor, Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London 2018 will play host to an exciting array of interactive content designed to give the visitors the tools they need to achieve greater success,’ said James Drake-Brockman, divisional director of the Easyfairs packaging portfolio. ‘Our seminar programme will be delivered across three stages with dedicated forums for the food, drink, beauty and luxury markets. The show will also feature the highly anticipated Big Plastics Debate, following its successful launch at the NEC show in March.’
Seminar speakers and panellists include Santiago Navarro, chief executive and co-founder of Garcon Wines, Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, sustainability director at Carlsberg Group, Steve Honour, design leader innovation and futures at Diageo, Kevin Vyse, M&S senior packaging technologist, and Luke Grob, product and innovation director for Hello Fresh.
On the floor
Abbey Labels (B34) will be exhibiting its range of self-adhesive labels, including specialist labels such as scratch-off, five-page peel and reveal, along with its enhanced range of food and drinks labels.
The Alexir Partnership (C32) will be showcasing its food packaging solutions for a better planet. Innovations in packaging will centre on multiple nested pack formats suitable for the fresh produce and ready meal categories, manufactured using environmentally-friendly boards and films. Also on show will be the new ovenable version of the Halopack, the first fully gas-tight and high barrier cartonboard MAP packaging format to be commercially produced in the UK.
Amberley Labels (F40) is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It will be targeting the luxury cosmetics and beverages market, showing its capabilities in printing metallics using the new silver ink from HP. The company will also highlight security labels produced with laser etching and block technology, which can create complex designs. Combined with holographic foils and substrates, Amberley is delivering complex premium brand security labels. Another focus will be on how NFC or radio frequency identification can be used in the production of labels.
API Group (A34) will showcase how brands can achieve sustainable packaging solutions without the need to compromise on aesthetics, when it unveils Transmet, its latest film-free metallic laminate option for paperboard.
AstroNova (G36) is introducing the QuickLabel Kiaro! QL 120 printer, which marks the company’s expansion into product identification. Printing at a speed of up to 300mm/s, the QL 120 is the fastest desktop colour label printer in the QuickLabel series. Ideal for the food, chemical, cosmetic and E-liquid industries, it offers 1200dpi resolution using water-based ink and prints on a wide variety of materials. Its electric cutting feature and ability to print individual labels with no label loss, makes it an economical choice for high-quality labels. The automatic periodic cleaning feature requires no separation of the label web.
The Delga Group (D6) will be on stand to show its capabilities in digitally printed packaging. The company installed the UK’s first HP Indigo 12000 HD for packaging at its Rochester site in Kent earlier this year.
Denny Bros (F34) is showing samples of its ‘triple decker’ dry peel label. The innovation means that all five panels with a virtually indestructible three-ply ‘mini booklet’ can be printed in full colour throughout, ideal for the cosmetics and agrochemical industries, as well as other chemical manufacturers.
Metsä Board’s SkinCare 2.0 gift box uses all fibre-based materials
DS Smith Packaging Consumer (H46) will be unveiling its new packaging for the Glenallachie Scotch Whisky range, which recreates the natural look and feel of rocks on the packaging itself. It will also launch a new book of trends.
Eckart (G22) will demonstrate how its new metallic effects can be a viable and more sustainable alternative to hot and cold foil stamping, as well as metallised substrates. It will be presenting illoom, its product and service portfolio for designers, which offers advice and ideas on how to use these metallics for added effect.
Keskeny & Co (F14) will showcase its latest surface treatment technologies. The company has recently installed an MGI JetVarnish 3D Evo digital spot UV coater, which offers the ability to varnish embossing forms with UV varnish and apply hot foil stamping.
KTEC Group (E6) will showcase its large range of digital colour printers and equipment. This includes the new LX910e desktop colour label printer from Primera Technologies, which uses a three-colour ink cartridge and achieves 50% coverage on a 10.16 x 7.62cm label in three seconds. Other products include printers from Epson, Toshiba TEC and VIP Color as well as finishing equipment. The company has recently been named Epson ColorWorks Partner of the Year award for 2018.
Kurz UK (G24) will highlight its Digital Metal technology and its online application Foilconnect, which automatically calculates the amount of hot-stamping foil needed for a job. The company will also introduce new and unusual colours for hot stamping enhancement reflecting the results of its trend analysis. It will present the third edition of its ‘Box in Box’ packaging collection. Four boxes nested into one another represent four popular trends, and inside the last package there is a surprise involving a fifth trend. The boxes illustrate which stamping and enhancement methods can implement the individual trends.
Metsä Board UK (F26) will show its folding boxboards, white kraftliners and food service boards. Its new SkinCare 2.0 gift box design, which uses fibre-based materials to replace plastic, will also be presented. The outer rigid box is made using a new pulp moulding process, while each of the three inner cartons is made of lightweight paperboard. The box won the Luxe Pack Shanghai ‘in green’ Award earlier this year. Also on show will be the packaging for Arctic Blue Gin and the company will focus its range of packaging analysis and design services.
ORIS Packaging Innovations (B20) will show its ORIS FlexPack system for prototyping and packaging proofing, which combines colour management, 3D visualisation software, inkjet printers and pre-coated media. A Roland VersaCAMM VS-300i printer will be running on stand and there will be samples of foil blocking and spot varnish on show. Other products include Color Tuner // Web, CxF ToolBox and PressMatcher. The company will also show the iC3D 3D packaging design and digital mock-up software application.
Royston Labels (F22) will have a number of labels on show, such as the range it has produced for the Josh Wood Colour System of home hair colouring. The minimalist looking labels were designed by Pearlfisher and printed digitally in CMYK on a matt white PE substrate to provide the flexibility, durability and moisture resistance needed. Key areas of the labels have been enhanced with spot gloss and pearlescent varnish to evoke a luxury look and feel.
Workflowz (F70) will showcase software products from its portfolio, including iC3D package design software, which produces photorealistic 3D proofs from concept to shelf in real time. Also on show will be Chili Publisher online editing software for producing artwork. Its Universal Graphics Engine enforces brand guideline compliance and offers multi-user capability. This works across local area marketing, personalised packaging and even pharma products. Tilia Labs Phoenix is targeted at carton printers who use a CAD-based workflow. Phoenix is a step-and-repeat software, producing print-ready nested layouts quickly and accurately; new layouts can be generated directly from PDF, AI or CAD files.
