Headlines about color digital printing for folding cartons today tend to focus on the new generation of B2 sheetfed presses for this application—models that are mostly beta units so far. Smaller format digital presses, though, are well established, with both sheetfed and webfed electrophotographic systems from HP Indigo, Xeikon, and Xerox. Although Xerox is the least publicized of these three vendors, it may have the most current installations dedicated to digital printing of folding cartons. The Xerox presses involved are the same sheet fed Xerox iGens that are widely used in commercial printing.

Beginning in 2009, Xerox also marketed iGen to packaging converters, and to some manufacturers, to print folding cartons from its 14.4"x 22.5" (366mm x 570mm) print frame. Xerox recently helped host two open houses at converter customers in Europe, where a significant number of packaging iGens operate. This was a chance to meet not only top users of Xerox iGen for packaging but also a crew of Xerox partners for media, software, and finishing.

The first event was held at Esmark Finch Limited, located in a modern industrial park just north of Dublin, Ireland. While Esmark Finch’s whole plant looks quite new, the company was actually the first to adopt Xerox iGen for folding cartons in 2009, when Xerox installed an iGen 4, Epic Coater, and Kama diecutter at Mediaware Digital Ltd. Esmark Finch Ltd purchased the Xerox equipment from Mediaware Digital Ltd in late 2012 and continued with the short run packaging initiative.