AGI-Shorewood, one of the largest specialty-packaging manufacturers on the globe, announced that its Toronto site is the first packaging facility worldwide to earn PANTONE Certified Printer status – a designation introduced in May 2011 to help printers meet Pantone’s stringent colour standards.
While several commercial printing companies have earned Pantone’s certification status, none have been packaging manufacturers or board converters. “We couldn’t be prouder of the fact that AGI-Shorewood is the first in the world of packaging and converting to earn PANTONE Certified Printer status,” said Greg Chup, Manager of Innovation and New Product Development at AGI-Shorewood. “We have the unique ability among our peers to directly influence the sale at the point of purchase in a retail environment.”
According to Chup, AGI-Shorewood plans to implement the program in all of its lithographic facilities worldwide. Its Mexico operations in Aguascalientes, for which AGI-Shorewood recently acquired sole interest, is on the table next, followed by its plants in Indianapolis, Ind., and Hendersonville, N.C.
AGI-Shorewood U.S. and AGI-Shorewood International collectively employ nearly 4,000 people worldwide, operating 22 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America and 10 creative services offices in the U.S., U.K., France, China and Australia.
“Major brands invest millions on consumer research to ensure their packaging design has maximum impact, and they suffer at retail when there are visual differences at the point of purchase,” said Chup. “We’ve been working closely with Pantone over the last two years to create a solution that helps ensure packaging looks identical product to product whether they’re sitting next to each other on the shelf or they’re across the globe from one another.”
Pantone LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite Inc., which has been operating in the world of colour imaging for almost 50 years. “We are really delighted to have AGI-Shorewood participate in PANTONE Certification,” said Matthew McDowell, Pantone’s National Sales Manager. “Their strong global presence, high-end customer brands and broad product portfolio make AGI-Shorewood an ideal first partner in this category.”
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