The Leading Edge of Finishing

摘要

Just off Route 2 along the northern edge of Massachusetts are the past, present, and future of folding carton production. At Bourwell Owens, a folding carton printer and converter in the old New England mill town of Fitchburg, two massive Mitsubishi offset presses and some flatbed steel-rule diecutting machines of assorted vintages do much of the heavy lifting, while an HP Indigo 30000 and a new Highcon Euclid II digital cutting system take on a growing stream of short-run, fast-turn, prototyping and customized work. All three presses are kept busy with a steady flow of folding carton printing while the flatbed diecutters turn the printed sheets into stacks of cartons ready for shipping to contract packagers. Steady demand keeps the presses busy, with a full second shift about to be added for the HP and Euclid that sit 20 feet apart in a separate room.