Winpak's Zero-error Approach Reshapes Packaging
- Published: July 09, 2024
With a 47-year history of success, Winpak recognized the intricate nature of packaging printing, particularly when handling dense information for product labeling. Its expertise spans flexible and rigid packaging, and lidding and machinery, enhanced by a strategic alliance with Wipak, a top European packaging manufacturer.
This partnership enables Winpak to leverage global packaging expertise and offer a wide range of products and solutions worldwide, aiming to deliver the best packaging solutions for both people and the planet by designing sustainable packaging that reduces waste and promotes health.
A hurdle the packaging leader confronted was that traditional manual inspection processes were time-consuming, prone to errors, and increasingly untenable in a competitive market that demanded both perfection and affordability.
“We knew that we weren't just a cookie cutter operation, and we wanted to be able to have some specialty,” Jim Imburgia, Director of Innovation at Winpak Control Group, stated.
Recognizing the need for a transformative solution, Winpak invested in the Baldwin’s Guardian OLP Offline Proofing and Inspection system, along with its Guardian PQV 100% inspection system. Baldwin is one of BW Converting’s six industry-leading brands and the decision was driven by its proven track record of delivering 100% accuracy in print inspection, a benchmark Winpak was keen to achieve.
The combination of Baldwin’s Guardian OLP and PQV systems – including Winpak’s upgrade to the recently introduced PQV 4.0 -- has equipped Winpak to conduct thorough inspections, whether comparing file-to-file before press runs or analyzing press samples against approved artwork, ensuring that every product meets Winpak's stringent quality standards. In fact, the new system's flexibility and precision were particularly beneficial for Winpak, given the complexity and variety of its packaging solutions.
Guardian PQV 100% Print Inspection provides complete print quality verification from prepress through production, reporting, and archiving. With a few simple clicks, PQV 4.0 can set up a repeatable process that lowers the technical barrier of entry for newer employees. The system then automates the printing job process, taking the stress out of managing the previously complex tasks. New and improved scanning technology can detect errors and faults with micrometer precision and give you a detailed report for correcting the mistakes.
Guardian OLP verifies that the files used for production -- or the beginning-of-run press samples -- match the customer-approved master file 100%. By comparing any pre-press file or scanned press sample to the customer-approved original in a matter of seconds, advanced software automatically locates and highlights even the smallest of differences in print quality.
"What's really unique is the depth of technology that Winpak is employing in this facility,” Baldwin’s Greg Kallman said.
This has revolutionized the way Winpak operates, drastically cutting inspection times and costs, and elevating product quality to set a new industry standard for efficiency and reliability. Moreover, the system's impact extends beyond the technical, affecting Winpak's operational dynamics, customer relations and sustainability measures.
“It saved us thousands of dollars,” Imburgia said, highlighting the profound impact the upgrade had on business. “We cut our deliveries in half. It made our company much better.”
To learn more, go to bwconverting.com or watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg9p56JRSe8.
