The development trend of printing and packaging factories

The development trend of printing and packaging factories

Abstract: Printing technology is one of China's the Four Great Inventions, and also one of the world's great inventions. After the continuous development and innovation of the world economy and technology, printing technology is now widely used in all walks of life, especially in the printing and packaging industry. However, with the continuous development of social economy and technology, the current printing and packaging manufacturing industry can no longer meet the needs of social development, which means that factories in the printing and packaging industry need to shift towards intelligence. Based on this issue, this article elaborates on the current situation of packaging and printing factories, as well as analyzes the development trend of intelligent factories in the printing and packaging industry.

Keywords: printing and packaging factory; Intelligent printing factory; Development direction of printing factory

Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has grown rapidly, resulting in an increasing demand for the variety and quantity of printing and packaging. However, traditional printing and packaging manufacturing factories mainly rely on manual operation for printing and packaging production. This production method is not only inefficient, but also consumes energy and consumables, increasing the company's production costs and reducing its economic benefits. So, if printing and packaging companies cannot make their printing and packaging factories intelligent in a timely manner, they will be unable to regulate the development of the social economy, which will inevitably affect the healthy development of the company and even bankruptcy. Therefore, printing and packaging companies should combine the development environment of the market economy and modern technology to timely formulate a digital based intelligent factory development model, and improve the production efficiency of printing and packaging factories; Save production costs to enhance the company's competitiveness in the market.

1、 The current characteristics of the packaging and printing industry

At present, the manufacturing characteristics of China's printing industry are discrete manufacturing methods. The characteristics of discrete manufacturing methods are: a wide variety of products, and small production batches for various varieties; The process route is not fixed; All the materials required in production have to be manually transported, making it difficult to form a standardized assembly line. In this way, production costs will increase and production efficiency will not be high. Moreover, if there is an excessive reliance on manual labor in technical production, it is easy to encounter quality problems, because people are a relatively uncontrolled management system that is greatly influenced by external factors. Sometimes, due to their own emotions, they may exhibit passive work, which will affect the production efficiency and quality of products.

2、 The development trend of intelligent printing and packaging factories

（1） Online order system

Online shopping has become a common way of shopping in today's society and is increasingly relied upon by people. Therefore, many printing and packaging companies have used this method to set up online ordering systems. The client of the online ordering system can automatically display the specifications, quantities, styles, etc. of the products that customers need. However, there are still a large number of printing and packaging companies that have not applied this online ordering method, so China's printing and packaging smart factories still need to be improved and enhanced.

（2） Building an ERP system

ERP, also known as Enterprise Resource Planning, is an enterprise resource management system that integrates management concepts, business processes, basic data, human and material resources, computer hardware, and software. It is based on information technology and utilizes advanced management concepts to comprehensively balance and fully consider all resources owned by the enterprise, such as manpower, funds, materials, equipment, etc., providing a comprehensive and systematic management platform for decision-making, planning, control, and business performance evaluation. The following are the specific functions of ERP [3]:

1. Automatic Production Planning APS Data Assurance: This means that the ERP system can automatically receive orders online, generate specific product data according to customer requirements, match these data with BOM, generate corresponding customer orders, and then proceed with production. After production, the delivery time can be automatically arranged according to customer requirements, and logistics information can be updated in a timely manner until the customer signs for the product and the order is completed.

2. The basic data system of intelligent manufacturing: ERP system can not only complete a series of intelligent production and transaction procedures, but also classify and integrate the product needs of all customers on the client side, allowing enterprises to have a more intuitive, specific and clear understanding of the needs of user groups, and then formulate corresponding production and sales plans based on this data.

3. It is a data source for intelligent manufacturing: ERP systems can also provide timely and scientific data analysis for companies to assist management personnel in providing reference basis.

（3） Building MES system

MES system is a manufacturing execution system. The MES system is connected to the ERP layer and the execution layer of the automation equipment. After using MES system, there will be several major advantages:

1. Reduce the number of manual labor: Through the MES system, production data can be directly transmitted in real-time from the equipment and sensors in the workshop to the company system, without going through layers of investigation and statistics, which will save many job positions.

2. Reduce economic costs: By using MES system, it will automatically track the number of materials and products required for production, which will reduce the occurrence of overcharging, impersonation, and arbitrary waste, thereby reducing the company's production costs and improving economic efficiency.

3. Providing big data: The data formed during the production process will be saved, and company management can organize this data to provide scientific data analysis for the company to make relevant decisions.

4. Improving production efficiency: Once intelligent production is used, it will reduce the occurrence of personnel running, passive work, and other situations, thereby greatly improving production efficiency and the utilization of production space.

（4） Hardware manufacturing equipment capable of data exchange

1. Printing press: Although China's digital printing press has basically achieved intelligent manufacturing and intelligent changeover, technologies related to the unwinding and unwinding of roll type digital printing press, and the full intelligence transformation of single sheet digital printing press have not yet achieved intelligent manufacturing and intelligent changeover.

2. Surface treatment equipment: Surface treatment equipment can be said to be a major reform in printing technology. It can achieve digital automatic interaction of UV polishing content, embossing content, and hot stamping content, thus realizing intelligent manufacturing and intelligent changeover. However, it has not yet achieved fully intelligent manufacturing and intelligent changeover in Feida and hot stamping foil, which also hopes to achieve the goal of intelligence through continuous technological innovation and optimization.

3. Die cutting and creasing machine is a digital die-cutting machine based on digital laser cutting technology. Currently, highly intelligent cutting methods have been achieved in Haike and Daguan Zuhua, but the current creasing bottom mold has not been digitized, and it has not been intelligent in the mechanical auxiliary part, which is also a direction that needs to be explored in the future [5].

4. Box gluing machine: Box gluing is the final process of packaging box processing, but currently it has not been achieved in intelligent box gluing and can only be adjusted semi automatically. That is to say, the cut semi-finished paper boxes are placed one by one in the paper feeding position of the box pasting machine, driven by the conveyor belt to the set paper feeding report and sent to the middle belt. Then, the corresponding paper boxes are glued on the inner edge by the glue gun, and finally compressed and packaged. So this will be the most difficult place to achieve high intelligence, which is a great challenge for the printing industry.

5. Intelligent quality monitoring: based on CCD linear array digital scanning/digital image (face) recognition technology and glue leakage detection technology of the gluing machine. The application of this technology can achieve real-time monitoring of product quality, which is a very important innovation

（5） Intelligent connection, transportation, and flow of processed materials or semi-finished products between processes (workstations) until the finished product automatic box

At present, printing and packaging manufacturing plants are unable to achieve intelligence in the combination and connection of production materials, and it is also difficult to achieve intelligent packaging of some products. Therefore, this is also a major difficulty in the reform of intelligent factories in the printing and packaging industry. If these technologies can be intelligent, then the development of intelligent printing and packaging factories will enter a new stage of development.

Closing remarks:

In summary, with the development of society, the demand for personalized and high-end packaging is increasing, and technology is so advanced that intelligent factories in the printing and packaging industry are an inevitable development trend. Therefore, printing and packaging enterprises must seize the opportunity of the reform of smart factories, achieve the transformation and upgrading of their packaging business, and make printing and packaging factories more intelligent and efficient. This not only allows the development of enterprises to better regulate the trend of social and economic development, but also has important significance for the reform of China's manufacturing industry, which is what our great Chinese Dream requires: to make Made in China become Made in China!