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Finding the Right Carton Supplier . . . . . . . . . by Dan Malenke You’ve got a wonderful product that sells itself, but wait . . . the primary package is as important as the product. It must provide protection, security, filling line efficiency, and good cube utilization. It must communicate features and benefits and resonate with the consumer. As a product manufacturer, you’ve got 100,000 widgets to sell but how do you find the right packaging supplier with the best solution to meet your need at a reasonable cost? Begin by identifying the carton style, choice of substrate, printing process, and narrowing the field between integrated and independent convertors. Identifying the Style

Folding cartons come in a variety of styles including tube style, trays, multipacks, and specialties. It’s quite probable that one of these can be dimensioned to suit the product but there are many adaptations and combinations of material that can be used together, depending on the need. The Paperboard Packaging Council’s “Ideas and Innovation” text describes 700 carton designs alone!1

Tube style cartons are the most common of all, and they alternate depending on the opening closures, features, and whether the product will be top-load, end-load, bottom load or hand packed. Tubes can be open-ended, seal end, lockable, and resealable. They may be erected by automated equipment or by hand. Products may be solid, granular, gels or liquids in a bag or tube. Food products may sometimes be in direct contact with the carton or otherwise protected through barrier coatings or inner liners. Tray style cartons are popular for bakery, poultry, seafood, and confectionary items. They may be single or double side-walled, one-piece with a hinged cover, or separate top and bottom with glued or mechanically locked corners. Some designs provide distinct advantages in stacking strength and/or appearance. Multipacks are typically wrap-style or basket-type carriers for bottles, cans, or cups. They offer the benefit of billboard graphics to convey product information plus have a marketing benefit of promoting brand loyalty while increasing total product sales. 2 Specialty cartons include such items as folders, clamshells, envelopes and sleeves. The trend in retail-ready packaging (RRP) provides opportunities for specially designed cartons to serve the combined function of transport packaging and point of purchase display that’s ready for instant setup at the store shelf. With a carton style in mind, it’s time to consider the quantity, quality, time demand, frequency of supply, and logistics. A single order of 5,000 cartons or less might be considered a small run. Repeat orders of 100,000 or more might trigger a contractual relationship with additional services and benefits. Selecting the Substrate

Folding carton substrates vary from the coated virgin grades (SBS and CUK) to recycled paperboard (CRB) and even uncoated versions of these products. The choice of substrate

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is influenced by key parameters including the requirements of print performance, product protection, design features and requirements, sustainability and overall value.3 The high hardwood content of SBS provides a premium print surface and a pristine white back side that is often preferred for personal care, pharmaceutical, medical, media and tobacco packaging. Unbleached Kraft provides high tear strength for durable packaging such as carriers for soft drinks and brewery products, frozen entrées, club store products, and multi-packs. Recycled paperboard is useful for general purpose folding cartons that don’t require high-end graphics or durability. All of these are bio-based materials originating from renewable resources and all are inherently recyclable. Types of Carton Suppliers

Carton suppliers are either vertically integrated or non-integrated (independent). With a vertically integrated supplier, all contributors to the supply chain are united through a common owner.4 All stages of production from paperboard manufacturing, design, testing, printing, and carton assembly are provided by one enterprise. Integrated suppliers are the “one-stop shop”. They provide access to a sophisticated corporation with abundant resources including a labyrinth of manufacturing sites. Most have product development organizations and extensive test facilities for incoming materials and outgoing products. Long term contracts and large volume runs tend to favor this approach. The cost per carton can be reduced as cumulative savings are passed down the line. Unfortunately, with huge investments in “tried and true” technologies, making changes is sometimes like steering the Titanic. Integrated convertors might be unable to turn on a dime. Raw material choices can be limited and carton buyers might be locked into highly productive yet somewhat outdated manufacturing systems. Carton supplies might also be tied to long term leases of specialized filling line equipment. Nonetheless, given their many locations, integrated converters can often provide more than one type of printing and converting option across their impressive network of highly productive plants. Independent carton suppliers don’t own a paperboard mill, but rather, have access to numerous substrates on the open market individually, through brokers, or group contracts. They range from the small entrepreneurial shops to large, multi-location companies. While independent convertors can’t buy from their own board mills, they may benefit by joining consortiums such as the Independent Carton Group.5 The ICG provides its member-companies with leveraged buying power through collective volume contracts with board mills, shared knowledge, and technical resources. Some independent convertors have in-house design, platemaking, and die making capabilities; others purchase these services through specialized trade shops. Bigger is not always better. Independent convertors sometimes have an advantage of being more flexible and responsive to customer needs providing quick turnarounds on short to medium run length jobs. Independent suppliers might not have a full range of capabilities, but often provide a can-do spirit, bartering skills, and a nimble approach to solving problems.

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Trade unions are common with integrated converters. Most, but not all, independent converters are non-union shops. Selecting the Process

Folding cartons are most commonly printed by offset lithography, flexography or rotogravure. That said, a growing number of cartons are impacted by additional processes such as digital printing, ink jet, laser imaging and rotary screen. A number of parameters influence the choice of printing including product application, design features and end use requirements, print performance, color and copy, run length, sustainability, and overall value.6 Short to medium run lengths tend to favor sheetfed offset lithography, longer runs may be more cost effective with flexo, and the longest print runs justify the high tooling costs for rotogravure. Cost Implications

Every choice has cost implications. Precision cartons with added features on high-end substrates ultimately carry a higher price tag. Special features such as two sided printing, tamper evidence, authentication features, textured overprints, and holographic imaging are all possible, but bling adds pizzazz for a price. Structural design, prepress, production planning, plates, converting productivity, and finishing operations also have varied cost implications. The accuracy of structural carton design and prepress can translate into success or disaster. Software packages such as Artios CAD7 include a powerful set of tools for designing resizable packaging and bench testing what-if scenarios. Color management software accommodates the marriage of carton structures with line art, tonal copy and color separations for 5, 6, 7 or more colors using conventional or extended gamut algorithms.8 Digital proofing and rapid prototyping allows for mock-ups to be generated quickly and seamlessly. Talented specialists accomplish this work, whether in-house or through outside trade agencies. Production planning optimizes the carton for printing and post-press operations. Common press sizes include 29, 40, 56, 63 and 70 inch formats for offset lithography. Narrow web flexography is around 24 inches and can widen out to as much as 60 inches. Rotogravure carton presses are commonly from 44 to 55 inches wide. Cartons should be “nested” with a minimal amount of scrap between the carton blanks and sheet edges. In some situations, great savings can result by ganging more than one design on a single press sheet. Most printing plates are single-use, but in some cases, plates, cylinders and sleeves can be stored for future runs. Flexo plates are more expensive than offset plates, but not as costly as gravure cylinders. Makeready times vary considerably by process and manufacturing system. Some sheetfed presses with automatic plate mounting, online densitometry and inspection may come up to color in just a matter of minutes. Others take longer as press crews work to

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achieve a fully registered color match. Press advancements include servo-controlled printing units with sleeve technology allowing for variable print lengths, rapid makereadies, and consistently accurate unit-to-unit registration. Some 10-color presses allow certain units to print while others are being readied for a subsequent job. Impressive savings and enhanced graphics can result through the use of extended gamut printing where the same inks stay in each press unit regardless of the job, greatly reducing the need for wash-ups between runs. 9 Web-fed presses almost always outperform sheet-fed operations when considering the fact that sheeting and die cutting are performed inline. Rotary die cutting adds significant cost to a job, but results in high productivity when combined with dedicated presses. Finishing operations may include embossing, foil stamping, windows and other special effects, gluing, and carton assembly. These add cost but can be critical components to the finished package. Specifications

In addition to structural specifications, the RFP (Request for Proposal/Quotation) often includes filling line and end-use requirements such as:

• Print tolerances for color variation, registration, and gloss • Colorfastness and resistance to bleach, alcohol and other substances • Taste and odor • Carton slip (coefficient of friction) for acceptable conveyance and feeding • Machinability including scoring, perfing, and knock-outs • Carton fluff as indicated by score bend ratios • Gluability for cold-set and hot melt glues • Packout instructions including the number of cartons per case, pallet

specifications, palletization diagrams, and load planning Narrowing the Field

Carton buyers should tour the prospective converting facility while determining answers to the following questions:

• Is the plant clean? • Do employees have the right technology, skills, and training to do the job? • Are there any employee satisfaction issues? Union contract issues? • Are there worker benefits? Profit sharing? • Are employees recognized for outstanding performance? • Is the company involved in the community? • Are there safety programs in place? Ergonomic studies? • Are there cross-functional work teams in place? • Do they embrace programs such as Six Sigma or Lean Manufacturing? • Are they AIB10 (American Industry of Baking) or CGMP11 (Current Good

Manufacturing Practice) certified as needed? • Is the company affiliated with other professional trade organizations?

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• Are they minority or women-owned? • Are they ISO compliant and/or certified? • Do they use customer audit programs to ensure satisfaction? • Do they use process control tools such as fingerprinting, G7, SWOP, etc.? • Do they have in-house ink manufacturing, proofing, and color matching? • Are there any serious productivity bottlenecks? • Do they use “first in – first out” inventory practices? • Is there preventive maintenance? Obsolescence planning? Do they invest in new

technology? • Are they currently working at full capacity? • What are typical lead times? • Are there guarantees and incentives for on-time performance? • Can they speak intelligently on the subject of packaging sustainability and do they

practice what they preach? • Are incoming materials certified (e.x., SFI or FSC certified fiber)? • Are raw material suppliers held in compliance as evidenced by current Material

Safety Data Sheets for all chemicals, inks, and adhesives? • Are waste and manufacturing byproducts handled properly? • Are recycling programs in place? • Is this type of carton a good fit for them? Are they experienced with this work or

are they stretching outside their comfort zone to do it? • What is the history and financial stability of this company? • Are there any pending lawsuits or liens against them?

An ideal supplier provides more than just cartons. A Certificate of Analysis (COA) may accompany each order. This Quality Assurance document confirms that the finished cartons meet the product specifications. It often contains the actual test results from individual batches of product. Converters might also contribute additional services such as fulfillment programs (warehousing cartons for “just in time” replenishment), equipment such as filling line modifications to accommodate specialized needs, and creative financing to sweeten the deal. Finalization

Decisions, decisions, decisions! You’ve arrived at the right carton, substrate, type of supplier, and manufacturing process. The bids are competitive. So, which converter really wants my business? Who sees this as more than just an order, but rather, a commitment to mutual success? The agreement implies more than cartons. Carton buyers need to be comfortable with the entire deal - transactional terms, supply chain implications, discounts and incentives, testing, service, support and oh yes, a steady supply of quality cartons that sing on their filling lines with products that pop off the store shelves. In the end, it’s this level of customer delight that sets the stage for a successful conclusion and many happy returns.

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1 Paperboard Packaging Council, “Ideas and Innovation, Second Edition”, 2004, http://www.ppcnet.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=jNfICC9rSZM%3d&tabid=125 2 “Multi benefits with Multi-pack”, Indian Retailer, Aug. 2011, http://retail.franchiseindia.com/magazine/2011/august/Multi-benefits-with-Multi-pack_49-2-2/ 3 Malenke, Daniel G., “A Comparison of Folding Carton Substrates and Appropriate Applications”, Brand Packaging, April, 2010, http://www.brandpackaging.com/Articles/Case_Studies/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000805552 4 Wikipedia definition, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_integration 5 Independent Carton Group, http://www.independentcartongroup.com/ 6 Malenke, Daniel G., “A Comparison of Folding Carton Printing Processes”, Zumbiel Packaging, Oct. 2010, http://www.zumbielcpd.com/pdf/printing_process_whitepaper.pdf 7 Artios CAD - Esko Artwork, http://www.esko.com/en/products/overview/artioscad/overview 8 Hershey, Jean-Marie, “Expanding the Possibilities of Color”, Package Printing, Oct. 2005, http://www.packageprinting.com/article/expanding-possibilities-color-15463/2 9 Hershey, Jean Marie, “Can I Have Your Recipe?”, Packaging Printing, Feb. 2007, http://www.packageprinting.com/article/extended-six-seven-color-packaging-ink-systems-47772/2 10 American Institute of Baking, https://www.aibonline.org/ 11 Current Good Manufacturing Practice, www.cfpie.com/