Gent (Belgium) - EskoArtwork, a global supplier and integrator of innovative solutions for packaging, commercial printing and professional publishing, has contributed its expertise to a completely revised edition of the European Carton Makers Association (ECMA) Code of Folding Carton Styles.  

With ECMA in the driving seat of this project, EskoArtwork made available its expertise and resources to the ECMA Code project team, managed by Ludwig Anckaert of LA Consulting. Intense teamwork over the past months has resulted in the first digital edition of the ECMA Code, including many new digital capabilities supporting the folding carton design and manufacturing process.

"We are pleased to have the support of EskoArtwork in this important initiative," said Ludwig Anckaert of LA Consulting, project manager on behalf of ECMA. "This is not a trivial effort by any means. It was a truly collaborative effort. Under the supervision of LA Consulting, the EskoArtwork Packaging Standards team based in Bangalore India, has been working hard over the past several months to construct 2D and 3D drawings as well as animated folding sequences for over 244 of the most popular folding carton standards selected by the ECMA project team and endorsed by experts of leading European member converters. The result is a truly exceptional tool for both promotional and educational purposes."

The ECMA Code provides for a new logical coding system of cartonboard packaging, aimed at simplifying communication between the folding carton industry stakeholders, packaging buyers as well as converters and designers, including educational institutions. The updated coding offers the ability to register all known and current styles of folding cartons with an application-oriented logic suitable for use with CAD/CAM applications like EskoArtwork ArtiosCAD. Animated folding sequences help designers and manufacturers better understand how a carton will be used throughout various stages of the design process. In addition, viewing the animated process and 3D views also helps brand owners and designers determine how best to place printed copy and graphics on cartons so that the final folded piece is accurate and attractive.

"We are delighted to make this important contribution to the industry," said Kiran Mehendale, Team Leader - Packaging Standards EskoArtwork. "In addition to making it possible for ECMA to bring to market a state-of-the-art digital folding carton industry reference, it also enables us to more easily offer the latest updates in folding carton styles to our customers by making the parametrical ArtiosCAD designs available to our customers."

The new ECMA Code of Folding Carton Styles was recently unveiled at the ECMA Annual Congress which took place on 16-19 September in Istanbul, Turkey. The Congress included a Business Information Market on the first day where delegates had the opportunity to obtain a management summary of technological and materials trends presented by EskoArtwork and other suppliers to the industry. "During our session, we discussed the fact that structural design files for folding cartons are data-rich assets that enable supply chain integration," added Mehendale. "The CAD file is the input source for a wide range of value-added services for transport logistics optimization and lifecycle analysis. The rich and intelligent CAD data is the basis upon which an efficient and environmentally friendly packaging supply chain is built. The revision of the ECMA Code goes a long way toward enabling this type of industry standardization which benefits all supply chain stakeholders."