Saica Pack, the corrugated packaging arm of the Saica Group, has established a flagship UK packaging site in Livingston, West Lothian in Scotland.
Saica Group is one of the largest European players in the development and production of recycled paper for corrugated board. The group is comprised of four business areas: Saica Paper, for the production of recycled paper for corrugated board; Saica Natur, offering waste management and environmental services (Saica Natur); Saica Flex, which produces flexible packaging; and Saica Pack, for the production of corrugated packaging.
The new facility includes a new customer experience room and technical office. Here customers will spend time with designers and project managers to visualise concepts in 3D. This service will enhance the company’s ability to provide complete end-to-end packaging options and enrich the customer experience. Technologies installed at the site, such as a new Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX UV flatbed printer, Kongsberg digital cutting table and CAD equipment, increase the site’s capacity and capabilities. It will also be used to introduce sustainable packaging options to Scotland in line with Saica Group’s environmental commitments.
Louise Morgan, Scotland region technical office manager at Saica Pack, said. ‘The set-up in Livingston was developed so we could create a real customer experience within the business. We’ll be able to run innovation days with the idea that the customer will spend a whole day with us, develop packaging solutions and leave with fully printed samples of the concepts we create on the same day. We also have customers that require really small runs for one-off launches that are below our minimum order requirements for production. Having the Mimaki gives us the added flexibility to provide small one-off runs for these types of requests, adding to the level of service we can provide our customers.’
The Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX is a four-colour UV LED flatbed printer with a 8 x 4ft bed. A new print mode allows printing of up to 35sqm/h. Production speeds of 3.4sqm or 18sqm are also available, depending on the quality. The maximum print width is 2500 x 1300 x 50mm. Other features include embossed printing to create raised textured surfaces due to its ability to lay down multiple layers of ink. An algorithm is used to print optimum gradation patterns on each pass, eliminating banding.
The printer at the Livingston site is the third such machine supplied to Saica Pack in the UK by CMYUK. All three are specifically used for prototyping across a diverse client including FMCG, e-commerce and large brands.
Matthew Pomorski, creative marketing manager, Saica Pack, UK and Ireland, explained, ‘We utilise the Mimaki JFX200-2513 EX primarily for product development. We use it to print directly onto corrugated board to help customers visualise packaging concepts and this can be anything from a single sample up to 100 prototypes. It’s fantastic in the sense that it allows clients to improve their speed to market.
‘The printed samples that we produce are able to feature white ink, spot varnish and embossed areas. Accurate colour reproduction, impressive speeds and ease of printing onto our corrugated substrate have added a new dimension to our digital mock-up service. We have also found the Mimaki very useful for producing bespoke marketing and display material. The range of finishes and ability to print onto a diverse range of substrates enables our teams to unleash their creativity.’
Ms Morgan went on, ‘The addition of this new technology to our business not only improves the service we can offer our customers but it has also been key in helping develop our designers. We have a lot of multi skilled talent within the team and this has allowed them all to branch into new areas of training and development that wasn’t possible before.’
