The Future of Digital Corrugated Technology at the SGIA Expo

Rebecca McConnell, Product Marketing Manager, FUJIFILM, noted that corrugated in general is moving more toward inkjet.

At Wednesday’s session “Inkjet and Corrugated: Innovative and Untraditional Solutions,” Rebecca McConnell, Product Marketing Manager, FUJIFILM (Booth 1529), noted that corrugated is moving more toward inkjet and that solutions have been developed to meet shifting market demands and industry trends, such as shorter runs, faster turnaround, and customization and localization.

McConnell provided a variety of solutions from FUJIFILM to meet the shifting customer demands in corrugated, including the Inca Onset series made up of the Onset X1 LT, the Onset X1, the Onset X2 and Onset X3. The series provides scalable and upgradable equipment to expand capabilities and increase production. The series boasts 90 percent uptime, and Mc- Connell stated that 75 percent of all Onset devices did not need a single printhead replacement in 2016.

“We don’t look at printheads as a consumable at FUJIFILM,” she said.

Since corrugated can warp and be difficult to work with on a press, the vacuum strength on the devices can handle materials of all different thicknesses, including plywood. “When you’re testing we encourage to bring in the most difficult materials that you can,” she said.

Before deciding to enter into the digital corrugated market, McConnell stressed the importance of including finishing in the decision-making. If a finishing system can’t keep up with the speed of the printing device, it will create a bottleneck.

“You can print all day [digitally],” she stated, “but if you can’t finish it, why print it?”

She also suggested thinking through workflow early on in the adoption process, as well as ensuring support and service are always available.