Carlisle Container Invests in EFI Nozomi 14000 LED Digital Press

Carlisle Container Company, a corrugated packaging converter founded in 1965, will significantly decrease turnaround times and boost efficiency with the acquisition of an EFI Nozomi 14000 LED single-pass inkjet corrugated packaging press from Electronics For Imaging, Inc. The business will install the new press in a facility adjacent to its main plant scheduled to open in early 2023.

Located near Carlisle, PA’s major trucking routes, the company serves many of the regional distribution centers and warehouses packed in the Cumberland Valley transportation corridor.

The Nozomi 14000 LED press is an important next step toward growth for a packaging company that has long appreciated the impact digital can have.

“We implemented digital printing in the early days, acquiring our first VUTEk printer in 2004,” said Carlisle Container CEO Diane Wolf. “Back then, we could print eight to ten 4×8-foot sheets per hour, and over time we updated technology to continue increasing throughput and quality. The Nozomi was the next logical move for us, and it will be a game changer.”

Digital print today at the company currently focuses on very small orders and samples on the company’s EFI VUTEk print equipment, with the bulk of Carlisle Container’s revenues coming from converting plain brown boxes. However, executives at the certified woman-owned business are witnessing growing customer demand for high graphic shelf-ready packaging and displays. Carlisle Container has relied on litho lamination for high graphic packaging, but analog litho requires large minimum order quantities and significant lead times.

Currently, turnaround times for litho lamination jobs at the company range from four to six weeks. “With the Nozomi,” Wolf said, “we believe this will be reduced to an average of seven to 10 days. That is a huge improvement. Last year, we purchased over 75,000 litho labels, and all of that will convert to digital very quickly.”

Many flexo packaging jobs at Carlisle Container will also be more efficient and cost-effective to print digitally as well once the Nozomi printer is installed.

“Any flexo boxes that have three or four colors or are flood coated will go digital. The reduction in set-up time, the elimination of having to sometimes run two passes and the improvement in print quality are just more features that make this asset so important,” Wolf explained. “We expect our Nozomi volumes to grow quickly with the current type of work we are doing, as well as new work that we could not attract before.”

The 55-inch (1.4-meter) wide digital press runs fast – at speeds up to 328 linear feet (100 linear meters) per minute using new productivity modes – providing durable performance in heavy industrial operation, direct to board, on nearly all flute types.

With the high-capacity digital capabilities coming, Wolf also said she is having very different, promising conversations with customers and prospects. “When I go to a company and tell them I can take their lead time from six weeks to six days, and oh, by the way, you can have cost-effective runs of 1,000, customers immediately recognize how this presents them with many more options.”