Flexographic Printers Discuss Business Outlook, Production Challenges in FLEXO Magazine Flash Poll

Top Priorities

Top Priorities

What are your top priorities?

That leads us to top priorities. Again, few to no surprises jump out from poll results here. Some 88 percent of flexographic printing and converting plants rank maximizing efficiencies as the No. 1 agenda item. Other critical moves and the percent of flash poll respondents relying on them, with multiple steps being an option, include: manpower management, 70 percent; adoption of best practices and process controls, 68 percent; and maintaining overall equipment effectiveness, 63 percent.

Holding a lesser, but still significant degree of importance: machinery upgrades at 35 percent, future-proofing production at 15 percent and reducing the plant’s carbon footprint at 12 percent. Rounding out the list of likely actions are further development of hybrid print capabilities at 11 percent and application of Industry 4.0/Packaging 4.0 at 8 percent.

Ever Efficient

Which elements factor into efficiency improvement plans?

When it comes to improving efficiency, reducing waste and enhancing productivity are the two strategies that reign supreme. Eighty-four percent of poll participants vow to trim waste; while 82 percent say enhancing productivity is definitely on the process improvement map.

They don’t stop there. Multiple moves, all of which are generally known to be subsets of the two major strategies, target efficiency, and they take place in every plant. “Trimming cost,” is a popular response, garnering 52 percent of votes. “Embracing automated intelligence,” comes in at nearly 30 percent and “digitizing workflow,” stands at 26 percent. Other targets for action include “holding color,” 21 percent and “conserving energy,” at 16 percent.

Printers explain, for the record:

  • “Flexo is great, but more digital is to come”
  • “Automation will continue at a rapid pace”
  • “Digital will be even more prevalent going forward and more competitive with flexo and offset on larger runs”
  • “We’re looking to refine where digital converting leverages improved efficiencies, add more automation to registration, tension and web controls, and schedule for ever better efficiencies”
  • “Hybrid presses will continue to gain in popularity due to reduced waste and increased productivity”
  • As a community, we’ll be watching the narrow web industry dominate package printing and converting. It comes down to profitability, smaller runs and digital technology—narrow web is where they converge”
  • “Hybrid printing is the future, but raw material shortages are killing American industry”