DS Smith signed a partnership at the end of last year with European research firm Eyetracker, which has developed a system of eye-tracking designed to better understand viewers’ levels of cognitive engagement with the items or scene they are viewing. The pilot tests were carried out earlier this year at DS Smith Packaging’s Impact and Innovation Centre in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Test subjects wore Eyetracker’s wireless HD glasses that track eye movements and were asked to browse two “mock-up” stands displaying a series of products displayed in RRP. Data relating to how their eyes moved across the products, essentially recording what the shopper was drawn to and how easily they were able to find what they were looking for, was then relayed to a computer. The initial data showed the ‘shoppers’ found what they were looking for 10% faster if it was displayed in RRP than otherwise. According to DS Smith it is the first time such testing with eye-tracking technology has been used to identify the effectiveness of RRP. The company is now taking the full results, details of which were not divulged, to its customers with the aim of creating more targeted branded packaging that “stands out better against its competitors”. “It is still early days, but being able to look at RRP through the eyes of the shopper is giving us some surprising results,” said Alan Potts, Insight Director at DS Smith Packaging. “The early signs are encouraging; we did demonstrate that RRP can help products stand out on the shelf during the increasingly complex shopper journey.”...

DS Smith signed a partnership at the end of last year with European research firm Eyetracker, which has developed a system of eye-tracking designed to better understand viewers’ levels of cognitive engagement with the items or scene they are viewing. The pilot tests were carried out earlier this year at DS Smith Packaging’s Impact and Innovation Centre in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Test subjects wore Eyetracker’s wireless HD glasses that track eye movements and were asked to browse two “mock-up” stands displaying a series of products displayed in RRP. Data relating to how their eyes moved across the products, essentially recording what the shopper was drawn to and how easily they were able to find what they were looking for, was then relayed to a computer. The initial data showed the ‘shoppers’ found what they were looking for 10% faster if it was displayed in RRP than otherwise. According to DS Smith it is the first time such testing with eye-tracking technology has been used to identify the effectiveness of RRP. The company is now taking the full results, details of which were not divulged, to its customers with the aim of creating more targeted branded packaging that “stands out better against its competitors”. “It is still early days, but being able to look at RRP through the eyes of the shopper is giving us some surprising results,” said Alan Potts, Insight Director at DS Smith Packaging. “The early signs are encouraging; we did demonstrate that RRP can help products stand out on the shelf during the increasingly complex shopper journey.”...

The Vutek is the third investment to be made as part of this push. A period of growth over the last 24 months and in particular in the last 12, has also seen the company invest in a Kongsberg XPi 24 digital cutter, in August 2012, and a Supracoater 1600 liquid laminator, last December. The Vutek joins PressOn’s arsenal of latex printers, an HP LX850, HP LS6500 and HP L25500, and its HPZ6100 and DuPont Cromaprint 22UV UV-curable large format printers. The machine was chosen for its in-line multi-layer print capability and greyscale technology with variable droplets and for its ability to print pure white ink on coloured substrates. The Vutek will be linked to PressOn’s existing GMG colour management software. Joint founding managing director of PressOn, Andy Wilson commented: “Our customers have always insisted upon high quality print from us, but the demand for the absolute best image quality has become more and more evident. To continue to satisfy customers in this higher premium market we needed a machine that was flexible, could print on any substrate even on heavily textured materials. With the tight deadlines our customers need, high production speeds were extremely important too.” Robin East, sales and marketing director at supplier CMYUK added: “Combining true greyscale capability with a very wide colour gamut is complemented by the Vutek QS2 Pro’s versatility on rigid and flexible materials, plus its optimised ink usage for lower costs per print.” PressOn reported that further investments would be made later this month to complete this investment phase. Company turnover, which increased by 38% from 2011 to 2012, is expected to increase by 10% per annum for the next three years as a result of the investments....

The Vutek is the third investment to be made as part of this push. A period of growth over the last 24 months and in particular in the last 12, has also seen the company invest in a Kongsberg XPi 24 digital cutter, in August 2012, and a Supracoater 1600 liquid laminator, last December. The Vutek joins PressOn’s arsenal of latex printers, an HP LX850, HP LS6500 and HP L25500, and its HPZ6100 and DuPont Cromaprint 22UV UV-curable large format printers. The machine was chosen for its in-line multi-layer print capability and greyscale technology with variable droplets and for its ability to print pure white ink on coloured substrates. The Vutek will be linked to PressOn’s existing GMG colour management software. Joint founding managing director of PressOn, Andy Wilson commented: “Our customers have always insisted upon high quality print from us, but the demand for the absolute best image quality has become more and more evident. To continue to satisfy customers in this higher premium market we needed a machine that was flexible, could print on any substrate even on heavily textured materials. With the tight deadlines our customers need, high production speeds were extremely important too.” Robin East, sales and marketing director at supplier CMYUK added: “Combining true greyscale capability with a very wide colour gamut is complemented by the Vutek QS2 Pro’s versatility on rigid and flexible materials, plus its optimised ink usage for lower costs per print.” PressOn reported that further investments would be made later this month to complete this investment phase. Company turnover, which increased by 38% from 2011 to 2012, is expected to increase by 10% per annum for the next three years as a result of the investments....

The fresh five-year deal marks an extension of the group’s previous deal with Kodak, which was for three years. It covers CTP plates and ink for St Ives’ high-speed inkjet presses. Book wing Clays in East Anglia is the biggest single user of Kodak technology within the group, as it runs two digital book production lines using Kodak inkjet technology alongside its substantial conventional print production facilities. The agreement also covers retail print specialist SP’s sites in Redditch and Burnley, and the St Ives Direct operation in Bradford. St Ives group commercial director Ivor Watters said the new contract had followed a thorough review of potential alternative suppliers: “If we find a good supplier we tend to stick with them, but that’s not to say we wouldn’t move – we benchmark commercially,” he explained. “We’ve found Kodak to be very pro-active and very helpful, and we’ve been pleased with the consistency and quality of supply. “They’ve also provided value-for money by helping us to strip out unnecessary costs year-on-year,” Watters added. He said St Ives had been kept informed about Kodak’s Chapter 11 process, and was “comfortable” about the situation and the likely future shape of the supplier. The production workflow systems at Clays and SP have also been updated with bespoke configurations to marry with each site’s precise needs, using a combination of Kodak’s Prinergy workflow, Insite Prepress Portal and Prinergy Rules-Based Automation software. Kodak UK and Nordic sales director Darren Chard said he was delighted with the deal, and highlighted the value of the “tremendous synergy” gained through long-term customer partnerships. “The relationship that we have today has been built over several years to become more than just a day-to-day business relationship,” he said. ” A strong sense of purpose with a focus on attaining mutual success in a dynamic and ever-changing market environment has created tremendous synergy between our two businesses.”...