Creation Reprographics (‘Creation’), a dedicated prepress partner to packaging and label printers, has emphasised the role of reprographics in helping printers control costs and believes there is untapped potential as inflation sees material costs rising across the board.

Noting the rising pressure on packaging printers and converters to secure costs and protect margins, the business believes that reprography has a more central role to play, which may in turn help to protect the future of the print sector.

Matt Francklow, Managing Director at Creation, explains: “We associate repro houses with colour expertise, and often in terms of unlocking consistency and quality across runs of any length, but there’s a great deal more to it! With a dedicated partner handling all aspects of colour management, we tap into new cost control methods. For example, a repro partner can optimise the use of inks and coatings, which are increasing in cost. Naturally in a cost-sensitive market, many printers are reluctant to pass these increases wholesale to their brand partners, leaving them with a diminished bottom line.

“When we also take into account the rapidly surging demand for print sustainability, we get a real sense of how printers are being pressured from every side. Partnering with a business such as Creation means that printers are not purchasing more than they need and can run a tighter consumables budget as a result.

“By streamlining ink supplies, we unlock a lot of additional benefits in handling and storage, which also add up to better use of personnel and space, further contributing to cost control. Excitingly, this is just the tip of the iceberg – an effective and synergistic relationship between printer and repro house can add up to sizeable benefits!”

As a leading name in the packaging and label reprographic sectors, Creation has carved out a reputation for print excellence, matched with sustainable principles and an exemplary service level. Alongside its services in colour management, design and origination, the business supplies cutting edge flexo plates, including the high-performance water washable Fujifilm Flenex-FW, which eliminates costly and harmful solvents from prepress.

Matt adds: “A repro partner drives enormous value for printers because it’s solely focused on making best use of resources, it’s not just ensuring packaging and labels look great on the shelf. We want to see printers pushing their repro partners to deliver more and play their part in securing the bottom line, because there’s a lot of expertise to tap into.

“One way we help our own customers to gain tighter control of costs is by advocating fixed colour palette printing (FCP), also known as extended gamut. Spot colours are no longer the most cost-effective way to print, particularly when FCP can replicate around 90% of Pantone colours with a fixed CMYK/OGV palette. When we stop creating inks for one specific design and start embracing the versatility of modern-day print methods, we access huge potential for cost control!”

To learn more about Creation, its expertise and services to the print and packaging sectors, please visit www.creation-repro.com.