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Personalized Packaging Brings Sweet Success

Irongate Digital of Derby, U.K. has used its Web-to-print and digital color printing expertise to develop personalized chocolate boxes to catapult its clients’ candy sales. Irongate leveraged its existing technologies to enhance the value of print for its customers. WhatTheyThink.com caught up with them and assembled some recommendations for print service providers that are hoping to expand their Web-to-print offerings into packaging applications.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

How do you sweeten the sale of a box of chocolates and sell more? Irongate Digital (Derby, U.K.) parlayed its Web-to-print and digital color printing expertise to develop personalized chocolate boxes that catapulted its clients' candy sales. Irongate produces customized chocolate boxes for Thorntons, a luxury chocolate maker, and Interflora, a large florist and gifting firm. The product offering was the result of Irongate Digital’s quest to use its technologies to enhance the value of print for its customers.

Figure 1: Irongate Digital's Personalized Chocolate Boxes for Thorntons

Irongate Digital is the digital printing unit of the Irongate Group. Its business units span a wide range of products and services, including office stationery, computer consumables, business machines, office furniture, and business printing services. Irongate Digital generates £4 million in annual revenues and supports a digital printing staff of 25 employees. The company entered the digital printing realm 20 years ago when it purchased a Xerox DocuTech 135. Two years ago, this device was replaced with a Xerox Nuvera. Irongate added digital color capabilities with the purchase of a Xerox DocuColor 40, and then added a 2060, a Color 1000, and an iGen3.


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About Barb Pellow

A digital printing and publishing pioneer, marketing expert and Group Director at InfoTrends, Barbara Pellow helps companies develop multi-media strategies that ride the information wave. Barb brings the knowledge and skills to help companies expand and grow business opportunity.

Please offer your feedback to Barb. She can be reached at [email protected].

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