We’re all consumers in one-way or another and tend to be creatures of habit. Most of us go into a department store, a supermarket or an electronic shop and don’t even take in half of the products on the shelf. Some of us, especially if we happen to be a male, shop when it can’t be avoided and are focussed on getting into the shop finding what we want and then leaving as quickly as possible. Even if we don’t mind shopping for essential items such as groceries, sensory overload can occur when faced with shelf after shelf of products in a supermarket, and no wonder, with some of the larger retailers stocking as many as 30,000 items there’s no way every item will make a positive impression.

So how is a brand owner going to increase the chances that his or her packaged product is going to be noticed? Colour of course is important and many companies use colour to great effect. Organisations such as Coca Cola have established clear product differentiation with their ‘Classic’ red coke can; other products easily identifiable in the retail environment through the use of distinctive colour and eye-catching logos include Kit-Kat chocolate bars and Cadbury chocolate products to name but a few.

Tom Kerchiss of sample preparation system and print/coat/laminating technology specialist RK Print Coat Instruments Ltd says that in packaging a brand’s colour must be consistent in all applications. In a global market a line of products may be packaged and printed on different materials and in different ways. Depending upon commercial factors such as print run length, products may be printed flexo or if photo realistic quality and lengthier runs are required - gravure may be the print process of choice.

Known for its wide tonal range, its ability to print on a broad range of substrates and its colour stability, gravure is also a simple process to execute. With gravure, once set up and running (theoretically), there are fewer process variables to contend with. However, and because all print processes possess both advantages and operational drawbacks, many print and converting plants possess both flexo and gravure presses or web offset machines in their plants.

“Inconsistency of colour, poor rub and chemical resistance will mar print/pack presentation and quite likely will capture consumer attention - but not for the right reasons. A poor quality of reproduction negatively impacts on the perception a consumer may have about a product. Inferior print can convey an impression that the product contained within is equally inferior, no wonder then that so much time and effort is spent on colour matching,” states RK’s Tom Kerchiss.

From a printer or converter’s perspective, an inability to maintain agreed colour standards and performance requirements, i.e., rub resistance, durability, etc, has the potential for devastating commercial consequences. Apart from excessive material waste, wasted production time and labour costs, a printer or converter’s relationship with a customer can be jeopardised.

RK Print Coat Instruments has developed a range of equipment that can be utilised by manufacturers such as ink and coating producers, as well as by printers and converters for a wide range of quality control and colour communication purposes. In addition to process specific devices for producing customer preparation samples and proofs, RK has also developed a multi-print process sample preparation system for gravure, gravure-offset and flexography.

The K Printing Proofer is a compact bench top machine (400 x 500mm), which is able to handle any flexible substrate including, films, boards, aluminium foils, PVC, etc, which may be printed or laminated. Featuring electronically engraved printing plates and offering variable printing speeds of up to 40 m/min, high quality proofs using gravure, gravure-offset or flexo inks may be obtained in an instant. Furthermore, excellent printability is ensured with fine micrometer control (0.01mm) of impression and doctoring settings.

With its flexo head fitted, ink is transferred from a printing plate to a plain or patterned stereo roller and then onto the substrate. Plain or step wedge plates can be supplied by RK that correspond to the various densities required for flexo printing.

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