MACFARLANE Packaging has announced a £200,000 investment in new technology at its Innovation Lab to help customers see precisely how their packaging will look and perform throughout the supply chain.
The facility now includes an LED UV digital flatbed printer capable of creating fully formed printed samples, printing directly onto a range of packaging materials. There is also material testing equipment that enables design prototypes to perform a range of compression and crush tests to validate performance to industry standards.
The Innovation Lab, located in Milton Keynes, was launched in 2016. The 2,100 square foot site has been adapted to comply with social distancing restrictions. For the first time, customers can experience a virtual tour of the facility via the Macfarlane website.
Donna Lynch, sales & marketing director said, “Since we launched the Innovation Lab four years ago, we have helped many customers to fully understand the total cost of their packaging by providing one environment to interact with packaging and explore its impact on their operations using our Significant Six methodology. Technology changes rapidly and this investment in the latest equipment allows us to ensure that customers can maximise their time with us and arrive at their packaging solution even faster.”
Richard Garratt, technical design manager at the Innovation Lab added, “The Innovation Lab is a fully immersive experience and, with social distancing measures in place, gives our customers the opportunity to safely step away from their usual environment to focus on reducing operational costs and enhance their customer experience with the least environmental impact. Continual investment in the latest technology ensures we are equipped to fast-track all stages of the process from design and development to prototyping, testing and validation.”
