Pennsylvania packaging business chooses market-leading single-pass inkjet digital technology to grow with more-efficient high graphics packaging and display production

FREMONT, Calif. – Carlisle Container Company, a corrugated packaging converter founded in 1965, will significantly decrease turnaround times and boost efficiency with the acquisition of an EFI™ Nozomi 14000 LED single-pass inkjet corrugated packaging press from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. The business will install the new press in a facility adjacent to its main plant scheduled to open in early 2023.

Located near Carlisle, Pennsylvania’s major trucking routes, the company serves many of the regional distribution centers and warehouses packed in the Cumberland Valley transportation corridor. Carlisle Container is bringing those businesses more innovation, and much greater efficiency, with Nozomi technology – the world’s leading digital corrugated printing solution.

A new era for Carlisle and its customers
The Nozomi 14000 LED press is an important next step toward growth for a packaging company that has long appreciated the impact digital can have. “We implemented digital printing in the early days, acquiring our first VUTEk® printer in 2004,” said Carlisle Container CEO Diane Wolf. “Back then, we could print eight to ten 4x8-foot sheets per hour, and over time we updated technology to continue increasing throughput and quality. The Nozomi was the next logical move for us, and it will be a game changer.”

Digital print today at the company currently focuses on very small orders and samples on the company’s EFI VUTEk print equipment, with the bulk of Carlisle Container’s revenues coming from converting plain brown boxes. However, executives at the certified woman-owned business are witnessing growing customer demand for high graphic shelf-ready packaging and displays. Carlisle Container has relied on litho lamination for high graphic packaging, but analog litho requires large minimum order quantities and significant lead times.

Up to 80% reduction in turnaround times
Currently, turnaround times for litho lamination jobs at the company range from four to six weeks. “With the Nozomi,” Wolf said, “we believe this will be reduced to an average of 7 to 10 days. That is a huge improvement. Last year, we purchased over 75,000 litho labels, and all of that will convert to digital very quickly.”

Many flexo packaging jobs at Carlisle Container will also be more efficient and cost-effective to print digitally as well once the Nozomi printer is installed. “Any flexo boxes that have three or four colors or are flood coated will go digital. The reduction in set-up time, the elimination of having to sometimes run two passes and the improvement in print quality are just more features that make this asset so important,” Wolf explained. “We expect our Nozomi volumes to grow quickly with the current type of work we are doing, as well as new work that we could not attract before.”

Game-changing technology for high graphics corrugated
The 55-inch (1.4-meter) wide digital press runs exceptionally fast – at speeds up to 328 linear feet (100 linear meters) per minute using new productivity modes – providing durable performance in heavy industrial operation, direct to board, on nearly all flute types. The 14000 LED model also boasts superior color registration and Nozomi presses’ award-winning imaging quality.

Sustainability is a key advantage of the Nozomi 14000 LED printer, as it gives converters and brands the ability to print high graphics packaging digitally in exact quantities needed – a sharp contrast to the significant overproduction and make-ready waste of analog litho-lamination. EFI Nozomi technology leads the corrugated market in digital print energy efficiency, based on data from print research organization Fogra, and its printed output is certified for repulpability and recyclability by the Western Michigan University Recycling, Paper and Coating Pilot Plant.

The EFI Fiery® NZ-1000 blade server digital front end (DFE) used to drive the press uses the latest Fiery FS500 platform technology, offering high-end color management, exceptional imaging accuracy, and intelligent automation features. Fiery Edge™, EFI’s advanced profiling technology on the DFE, delivers out-of-the-box color and quality enhancements. Plus, EFI Fiery JobExpert™ software featured with the DFE can save valuable job setup time by automatically choosing the right color and imaging settings to ensure correct results.

Carlisle Container will be putting its Nozomi 14000 LED press to use streamlining its current work and in creating new market opportunities. The versatile single-pass inkjet solution also gives the company a strong production option for high-volume signage, and provides important personalization and customization capabilities useful for the growing e-commerce subscription box market.

Comparing the Nozomi to the company’s present digital print operations, Wolf noted, “With subscription boxes, it’s all about the speed with which you can deliver. And when you go from 48 linear feet per minute to 328 linear feet, it’s night and day.”

With the high-capacity digital capabilities coming, Wolf also said she is having very different, promising conversations with customers and prospects. “When I go to a company and tell them I can take their lead time from six weeks to six days, and oh, by the way, you can have cost-effective runs of 1,000, customers immediately recognize how this presents them with many more options.”

“This is the first Nozomi press purchased in the Mid-Atlantic, and our team is eager to help Carlisle Container grow with our leading-edge technology and with business development services we provide to help users show the value of digital to their customers and prospects,” said Evandro Matteucci, vice president, Packaging and Building Materials, EFI. “Diane and her team will create exciting opportunities delivering everything new that becomes possible with this highly advanced, single-pass Nozomi 14000 LED solution developed specifically for converters’ mainstream packaging production needs.”

For more information about EFI Nozomi solutions for ultra-high-speed corrugated packaging production, visit nozomi.efi.com.