Packaging
Benson Group Wins Cartonboard Packaging Award
Thursday 20. November 2008 - In addition to the "Packaging Company of Year" award, Benson Group, headquartered in Bardon, Leicestershire, also carried off the "Cartonboard Packaging Award" at the recent 2008 UK Packaging Awards. The winning entry was packaging for the Sainsbury's "Taste the Difference" Fudge Range.
The Sainsbury’s website sums up the “Taste the Difference” range as follows: “Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range has always been about quality ingredients, authentic products and, most of all, fabulous taste. It’s our mission to make sure that every single product in the Taste the Difference range is as good as it gets.” Benson Group believes that the packaging supplied for the “Taste the Difference” Fudge products should also come under the heading “as good as it gets”, and the judges for the 2008 UK Packaging Awards certainly seemed to agree.
Combining a contemporary flat-matt look with a new type of aqueous coating Benson Group has achieved a soft-to-the-touch feel to the carton. The overall tactile effect comes from the unique materials in the formulation, and the unusual friction characteristics they impart.
Reviewing the award win, Mark Kerridge, Managing Director of Benson Group, said: “As is often the case, the finished product incorporates input from a number of different sources, with Benson Group managing the whole production process. This particular product incorporates the striking design work of Parker Williams Design, technical input from Sun Chemical, and our own expertise in printing, cutting, creasing and gluing. The end result delighted the customer, and, I am pleased to say, also the awards judges.
“Whilst, from a business perspective, winning the ultimate prize of “Packaging Company of the Year” was a tremendous accolade for Benson Group and its performance over recent years, to add this quality-focused award as well was a great triumph for our production team.”
Commenting on the design work for the pack, Parker Williams’ co-founder Tamara Williams, said: “We wanted to use the graphics on the carton to enhance the beautiful structural shape created by the “lid” both when it is closed, with the jewel like colours showing through, and as it opens to reveal the full intensity of colour and the treat of the fudge inside. The luxurious feel of the soft touch ink, as you pick up the pack, suggests the smoothness of the fudge itself and the graphic flourish makes it suitable for all year round treats and gifting.”
Tony Palmer, Packaging Director, Sun Chemical, added his thoughts with regard to the coating: “As the key supplier of inks and coatings we have specifically developed “soft touch” to give a tactile enhancement as well as providing a practical coating to be used on press.”
Technical Details
Graphic design: Parker Williams Design
Origination: Computer-to-plate on Fuji LH-PJE positive, non-baked plates
Screening: 175 line, 2,400 dpi
Inks: Sun Chemical Hi-speed Ultra-violet curing inks
Printing: Printed offset-litho on a ROLAND 700 6-colour press with chambered-anilox coater unit, cartons were produced with UV-based 4-colour process and two spot colours.
Coating: The Sun Chemical soft-touch coating was applied in-line via a Cyrel plate. The coating was applied using a new type of opal-pattern roller. From this Benson achieved a smooth, even coating which imparts an ultra-matt finish (2-3 gloss, read using a 60° gloss meter). The resultant feel is similar to matt laminate or “natural rubber”.
Cutting & Creasing: Bobst 104ER
Gluing: Jagenberg Diana 115-3 (Tapered crash-lock)