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Inside the Print Shop: Packaging Converters

Inside the Print Shop: Packaging Converters

Inside a Print Shop: Packaging Converter – Episode Summary

In this expansive episode of The Print University, Ryan McAbee and Pat McGrew unpack the diverse and fast-evolving world of packaging converters—facilities that turn flat materials into boxes, pouches, and labels across industries like food, retail, agriculture, and medical. Whether you’re pursuing printing industry training programs for new employees or exploring outsourced training for print production staff, this episode offers a foundational overview of the four core packaging types: corrugated, folding carton, flexible packaging, and labels.

The hosts explore the key distinctions between primary (touching the product) and secondary (used for transport) packaging, highlighting regulatory pressures for food-safe inks, substrate requirements, and global compliance standards. Today’s converters span traditional analog workflows (flexo, gravure, offset) and modern digital setups, including hybrid systems that allow for short-run customization—even printing on demand for Etsy sellers or custom box branding for co-ops.

Pat and Ryan detail use cases for each packaging type, such as shelf-ready displays for retailers like Costco and BJ’s, in-mold labels for detergent containers, and anti-counterfeit solutions for wine and olive oil. They emphasize how automation, variable box sizing, ink and substrate matching, and digital finishing are transforming production workflows.

As packaging evolves into a marketing channel and sustainability priority, converters must balance large-volume production with agile, short-run innovation. This episode delivers critical insights for understanding packaging as a print segment—and a manufacturing discipline.

You Will Learn:

  • The four primary packaging formats: folding carton, corrugated, flexible packaging, and labels

  • Regulatory, ink, and substrate considerations for primary vs. secondary packaging

  • Print technologies in packaging: analog, digital, hybrid, and on-demand solutions

  • Use cases: e-commerce, agriculture, shelf-ready retail, medical supply, consumer branding

  • Equipment trends: short-run digital presses, in-line converting, security features, tracking

Who This Course Is For:

Packaging teams, converters, equipment operators, prepress staff, and production managers evaluating lean manufacturing training printing industry or digital printing press training

Time to Watch:

Approx. 23 minutes