The online shop offers boxes with print runs starting from as few as 25 items with more than 300 different combinations of format, size and finishing options. The service went live last month.
Headquartered in Italy, Pixartprinting is owned by global web-to-print giant Cimpress.
Pixartprinting managing director Paolo Roatta said the company had researched the market and identified on-demand and bespoke packaging as a significant opportunity as it was a largely untapped market in the online space.
“Until this system went live if you wanted to put 25 items in a personalised box with fancy finishing you couldn't – you needed a minimum of 100 to 500 boxes,” he said.
“And it would also take five to seven days. Now we can do 25 boxes in 48 hours and will soon be able to do it in 24 hours with 3D varnishes. This is the only technology in the world to do this.”
The service is targeted at marketing agencies, designers and resellers in the UK, Italy, France and Spain serving the food and drink, handicrafts, medicines and healthcare sectors.
According to Roatta, in the first weeks since its launch, thousands of customers have already used the new service, with average runs of small boxes of around 100.
Pixartprinting is the first Cimpress operation to offer bespoke packaging via the Catalyst platform.
The Catalyst production system aligns six machines and involves an investment running into several million euros. Central to the line is the HP Indigo 30000 B2 cartonboard digital press with integrated priming module. It also features a Harris & Bruno ExelCoat ZR30 inline UV coating machine, while a Scodix Ultra Pro allows boxes to be produced with tactile effects and vivid graphics using embossed and selective varnish.
The line uses a Bograma BSR 550 Servo Rotary die-cutter to create the blanks, which are then formed on a Kama Flexfold 52i folder-gluer.
The key to the pilot production line at the Quarto d’Altino site was blending new technology with lean manufacturing processes, said Roatta.
As well as boxes made from creased, die-cut and glued 360gsm pure cellulose paperboard, five food-contact grade packaging substrates are available. These include trays, containers and deluxe takeaway boxes, made from Delipac paperboard and printed with food-safe inks.
