Founded in 1911, Diamond Packaging is a WBENC-certified company, specialising in developing innovative and sustainable packaging solutions for leading consumer packaged goods companies. Utilising state of-the-art technologies, Diamond designs and manufactures folding cartons, counter-top displays, and blister cards. Diamond differentiates itself through award-winning creative designs, packaging innovation/technical expertise, and its greenbox sustainability initiative.
The company recently installed a new Speedmaster XL 106 from Heidelberg. Equipped with UV, Prinect Inpress Control 3, and FoilStar, the press is specially designed to meet the demands of today’s consumer packaged goods companies: high-end decorative effects produced more quickly, economically, and sustainably. Diamond’s newest XL 106-10-LYYL includes the 20,000th XL 105/106 printing unit to be installed since the press model was introduced – a testament to the quality and success of XL line.
Recently awarded a Platinum rating for the second year in a row by EcoVadis, Diamond Packaging, based in Rochester, NY, is committed to integrating these two core principles into its daily business. Seeking business partners with similar values, the company installed a ten-colour Speedmaster XL 106 – replacing two aging Heidelberg 40-inch presses. Diamond’s newest XL press, its fourth, is equipped with advanced technologies and will help the company “capture the essence of luxury and premium brands with the most advanced printing and decorative capabilities in the industry while minimising environmental impact throughout the supply chain,” said Dave Rydell, President & COO, Diamond Packaging.
Left to right: Gary Cuozzo (Printing Manager) and Dave Rydell (President and COO).
The press includes innovative features like autonomous Push-to-Stop technology, AutoPlate Pro, and a completely new operating philosophy, the Heidelberg User Experience, which together with Intellistart 3 and other assistance systems, ensure short makeready times and the best possible support for press operators. The new technology will not only add substantial capacity and continue to drive growth for Diamond’s thriving business; Rydell adds, “The efficiency of this press versus our older presses will significantly lower set-up costs and material usage. Additionally, the enhanced automation will be helpful to our operators while driving productivity gains.”
Diamond expects to see further efficiency gains via the built-in colour management of Prinect Inpress Control 3. Impressed with the colour management technology, Diamond was one of the early adopters of Prinect Image Control closed-loop spectrophotometry to automatically measure and control colour. The new XL 106, however, is its first press to feature Prinect Inpress Control – the inline spectrophotometer that measures and controls colour and registers on press at any speed, delivering the first measurable result in less than 60 sheets. The company, who is committed to minimising waste, sees Inpress Control as a tool to both advance its colour monitoring technologies while supporting a sustainable use of resources. Rydell says, “Moving to Inpress Control is a natural evolution of our spectral management system that should deliver consistent, stable colour results more efficiently and with a higher level of automation.”
Cost Effective and Sustainable
Seeking additional measures to reduce its material and energy expenditures, Diamond chose to install its newest press with FoilStar inline cold transfer application. FoilStar helps the company meet its customers’ desires for high-end effects to reinforce the premium positioning of their brands while eliminating some of its offline foiling processes.
Thanks to its indexing function, the new FoilStar unit optimally applies metallic decoration regardless of coverage, which helps to provide savings for printed sheets with minimal foiling. Diamond’s FoilStar unit has the additional capability of applying Cast and Cure holographic effects inline and is the first FoilStar installed in the world with this combined functionality. It is also Diamond’s first press to feature Heidelberg’s inline cold transfer unit, but it will begin retrofitting an existing 2016 XL 106 with FoilStar later this month.
Today, Diamond’s packaging is designed utilising recyclable or recycled paperboards (many FSC-certified), and manufactured using 100% clean, renewable wind energy, in a Zero Waste to Landfill and Carbon Neutral facility. Equipped with three other XL 105/106 presses, Heidelberg technology plays an essential role in what Diamond calls its ‘greenbox sustainability’ initiative – a comprehensive approach to packaging that minimises environmental impact throughout the supply chain. Through creative design, careful material selection, and best practices at the plant level, Diamond is able to reduce waste and shipping costs and increase efficiencies.
“Sustainability is no longer a trend in packaging, it’s an expectation,” concludes Rydell. “The efficiencies we gain and the materials we save by using Heidelberg technology helps us lessen our environmental impact while continuing to cultivate a positive emotional connection to the customer’s brand.”
