McGowans Digital Print installs first Highcon finishing system in Ireland

Packaging Solutions

McGowans Digital Print has taken the next step in its digital journey with installation of Ireland’s first Highcon Beam 2 digital cutting and creasing solution. In combination with its new Landa press, the company expects to utilise its new Highcon technology to expand into new and profitable packaging jobs, realising a 30% increase in revenue within three months.

The Beam 2 has been installed as part of an end to end digital print and packaging workflow for folding carton and micro flute corrugated packaging jobs. Implemented at McGowans’ Dublin facility, the new technology is enabling the company to meet increasingly tight deadlines for short run jobs, with less set up time and waste. The investment will also support new business from McGowans’ all new on-demand e-commerce packaging platform, BoxJob.com, which officially launches in May.

Thomas Neville with Sue Norton at McGowan’s.

‘What the Highcon brings to the table is real digital finishing. It is not only cutting, it is creasing and stripping too. It does so much more than a traditional analogue solution. The introduction of a digital finishing process here has dramatically streamlined our production workflow for increased efficiencies,’ said Mal McGowan, founder and CEO at McGowans.

‘And crucially, having the Landa S10, Nozomi and HP Indigo working together with the Highcon Beam 2 also means that we can offer customers a ‘virtual house’ for all their packaging or display needs. Literally, customers can now make changes to their packaging designs on the fly, produce a smaller batch or simply run a limited seasonal promotion – but without the expensive or waste of unwanted stock, that also has to be stored in expensive real estate. Cool floor graphics and display applications are also reaping the benefits of digital cutting and creasing including improved production times for point of sale displays.’

‘It is the speed, flexibility and on-demand capabilities of the Beam 2 that sell this machine. The amount of work you can do with the Highcon is beyond good,’ said Mal. ‘Of course, large brands can rely on us for their short run packaging requirements, but with the introduction of our new website BoxJob.com, we can now also support low volume business – perhaps a small business working online from home. We are excited to see what new doors the Beam 2 can open for us.’