New high-speed digital print system expands Great Northern's capabilities for handling large-format displays with high quality
Great Northern Installs High-Speed Digital Print System
New flatbed digital printer expands capabilities for handling short-run large-format displays with high quality, speed and cost-effectiveness
APPLETON, Wis., August 26, 2010 — Great Northern Corporation has installed a high-speed flatbed digital printing system from HP at its Chippewa Falls, Wis., plant, introducing a new level in quality, speed and economy to the large-format printing of short- to medium-run production of in-store marketing displays.
"For the past three years, we've been studying various digital printing investments throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S.," said Mike Schliesmann, Senior Vice President & Business Unit Manager. "Our new HP Scitex FB7500 equips us with a truly market-changing technology in how we approach digital printing on corrugated."
The new digital press enables Great Northern to run small- and medium-range display quantities with reduced upfront costs and quick turnaround — a competitive advantage for consumer packaged goods marketers.
"One of the things you're going to see from a lot of retailers — and very soon — is increased demand for more regional-specific promotions," says Schliesmann. "That means not only customized product assortments but also the graphics and messaging that promote them. Our digital press capabilities are ideally suited to quickly handling the production challenges posed by account-specific customization, regional rollouts, localized promotional events, and targeted ethnic marketing campaigns."
Most digital-printing systems used by the P-O-P industry are limited by format size and production speeds (10-20 sheets per hour) to making prototypes and test-market samples. The limitations make their use prohibitively expensive on a cost-per-piece basis for small- and medium-production runs.
Great Northern's new digital press can run up to 100 sheets per hour with a print area of 60 by 120 inches.
"Imagine your office desktop printer magnified about 100 times in size," says Schliesmann. "Think about the number of signs, headers and other display parts you could get out of something like that. Depending on sizes, we can produce quantities of hundreds or even thousands of parts an hour."
Other key benefits of the new digital press include:
- offset-level print quality from the first sheet onward,
- quick turnaround for regional customizations and small runs,
- reduced costs by eliminating prep work for tooling, dies and plates, and
- speed to market, with the ability to go straight from digital file to production.
"Digital print production technology also means that any prototype it produces is a true production sample," says Schliesmann. "A prototype taken directly from the production line to chain headquarters today will perfectly represent the level of quality that will be seen out in the stores tomorrow."
The addition of the digital press reinforces the turnkey offering of Great Northern's bundled solutions with a full complement of print solutions from flexo to offset and now digital, capable of printing on corrugated, laminated paperboard and folding carton substrates.
Great Northern Corporation designs, manufactures and distributes packaging solutions and point-of-sale display programs for industrial, commercial and retail products. Its operations include Consumer Packaging & Display, temporary and permanent displays, point-of-sale packaging and fulfillment services; Commercial Packaging, corrugated and custom packaging; Laminations VBoard® edge protection; and Rollguard® protective packaging systems for rolled and cylindrical products. Headquartered in Appleton, Wis., Great Northern has more than 950 employees and operations in seven states. More information is available at www.greatnortherncorp.com.