Many second and third-tier carton factories are trapped in the same predicament: the prices of large orders have plummeted to rock bottom, and profits are meager. For hundreds or even dozens of customized small orders, if the client demands high-definition color images and urgent delivery, traditional flexographic or offset printing, after calculating the plate-making fee, either dare not take them on or end up losing money if they do. The digital printing machine for cartons is not intended to replace traditional machines, but to help factories take on high-profit orders that traditional equipment cannot handle.

In traditional carton printing, when placing a new order, one needs to first make a plate, adjust the machine and conduct a trial print. The entire process takes at least half a day. If there is a revision, a new plate needs to be made. The cost of one plate is several hundred or even several thousand yuan. The customer only needs to make 200 color boxes, and the cost of plate-making alone eats up all the profits. This is also the root cause why many factories directly set a minimum order threshold of 500/1,000.

The digital printing of cartons adopts Single Pass non-contact inkjet.No plate-making is required. Just upload the file and it can be printed. Printing starts from one sheet. Changing orders only requires changing the computer files, and it only takes a few minutes to switch to the new style. Whether it's dozens of samples, limited edition packaging for e-commerce festivals, new product sampling, or hundreds of brand-customized boxes, we can accept orders. The machine is equipped with an Epson i3200 nozzle, featuring 8-color output and a maximum resolution of 1200dpi. It can clearly reproduce gradients, human figures, and complex logos. Small text and QR codes can be formed in one go, with a stable recognition rate.

At the same time, the non-contact inkjet process ensures that the nozzle does not squeeze the corrugated cardboard, thus avoiding the collapse of the corrugations and reducing the edge compression strength of the carton. With the same base paper, the finished cartons of digital printing have higher strength. Brand customers do not need to add extra thick surface paper, which indirectly reduces the packaging costs for customers. It also natively supports variable data printing, with one code per box, batch number, and anti-counterfeiting traceability QR code. The pattern of each carton can be different, which is a capability that is difficult to achieve with traditional printing.

Nowadays, the packaging iteration speed of e-commerce, food, cultural and creative, and industrial product brands is getting faster and faster. New product testing, live-streaming limited editions, and temporary packaging for exhibitions are generally in small and medium-sized quantities with short delivery times. This type of order features high premiums and low competition, making it the main battlefield for digital printing.

Of course, we should also view it objectively: Digital printing is more suitable for short orders, multiple SKUs, and urgent orders. With tens of thousands of super-large orders, traditional flexographic printing still has a cost advantage. A reliable digital printing machine for cartons is equivalent to adding a new business line for carton factories, broadening the boundaries of order acceptance and getting rid of the low-price competition.