FLEXO: When you are launching a new product, at what point do you bring a printer into the discussions/planning?
John: As early as possible. When a new concept is coming out of our design team, I like to be involved in those discussions early and involve our print partners when I see some gray area. We need to take into consideration design intent across all print processes and substrates. Many of our printed products end up on paperboard, polypropylene and corrugate. The last thing we want is to redesign something late in the game to fit into a specific process. By going to our printers as early as possible, they are able to help articulate their abilities and we try to work with them. No surprises. I want to keep our marketing and design teams happy and one clear way to do this is to vet out any surprises early.
FLEXO: Is your prepress in-house or contracted out? Do you consider the print process during the design stages or does design dictate everything?
John: We do both. With most artwork, the prepress is managed by our printers. We do have a few outliers where we control the prepress a little tighter. When that happens, we utilize our premedia partners to manage. As for print consideration, that is a big part of the process for us as I stated earlier.
Photo courtesy of 3M
FLEXO: Online press approvals, or in-person?
John: It’s both. I think 3M does a really nice job communicating our expectations, but for brand new items and redesigned packaging, I believe it’s equally important to be present (or have a representative) on site for the initial approval. For existing items or re-runs, it is not necessary to be present. We utilize our previous runs, third-party monitoring software and sample submissions for those items.
FLEXO: How does a printer maintain its reputation? Is it enough to only meet quality expectations?
John: Maintaining a reputation should be easy if you have a good process in place and can still meet the timelines. There are instances where we push our printers and, most of the time, they come through as expected with both timing and quality. Quality is very important, but timing is equally important. I don’t believe you can sacrifice one for the other.
FLEXO: A 3M brand like Post-it has its own logo and design. How important is it to remind consumers of its connection to 3M, and how much of that responsibility falls on its packaging?
John: We are always mindful of brand identity and hierarchy. In some instances, our iconic brands like Post-it or Command take precedence to help connect the consumer at shelf, however it remains important to represent the 3M brand on package as well.
“When a new concept is coming out of our design team, I like to be involved in those discussions early and involve our print partners when I see some gray area.”
FLEXO: Where has flexography gone in your career? Was there a time you never considered using it, either for specific jobs or product lines?
John: Don’t tell anyone, but a good portion of my early career was in offset—textbooks, periodicals, store displays, etc. Later on, when I started working for a company that serviced food-based companies, I earned my chops and am glad I did.
Anyone who has been around flexo for even 10 years has had to notice the significant swing in quality and ability. Today, it seems we are always learning about some new screening technology, plate technology, adhesive, anilox pattern—the list goes on. As for the latter question, I can’t think of any instance where I specified flexo as a process for our packaging—Though that may change.
FLEXO: Where do you see flexography going in the future?
John: It’s one of those things where you say: How can it get any better? It will. Technology and process improvements will help drive flexography to perhaps be the one-stop-shop for all printing, either conventionally or digitally. I won’t live to see it, but I think it will become a reality.
FLEXO: How has the role technology plays in package printing evolved?
John: It’s pretty simple really. Just take a walk through the freezer section of your local market. It’s hard not to be amazed with some of the awesome packaging you see on shelf. Ten years ago, some of those options to be different or stand out, did not exist. It can all be attributed to the amazing folks advancing technologies throughout the process, to produce those items.
FLEXO: When you look at emerging flexographic technologies, what excites you the most?
John: There are two things. They go together, but one could not exist without the other: screening and plate technologies. Look at the linescreen and dot percentage screenings we are seeing today. It’s amazing. As each process evolves, they complement each other and move quality forward.