The company packages a wide variety of dry food products, including seasonings, spices and mixes, that require flexible packages, such as foil, clear plastic film or opaque pouches. In the past, Wixon used hot stamping to put custom information, including customer logos and product names, on packaging. Hot stamping required having printing plates created by an outside vendor, and changes were both expensive and time consuming. Hot stamping was also inconvenient because the heat transfer could destroy some substrates.
The increased customer demand for customization and shorter lead times led Rob Marlette, Wixon maintenance manager, to investigate available printing solutions from Videojet. Marlette developed a list of criteria for the new printers he sought: The printers had to be capable of printing logos and be easy to set up and troubleshoot. In addition, it was critical the printers be networked for efficient message management.