One of the things that is a real benefit of working with suppliers that operate nearby, is that learning more about what you are purchasing is just a short ride away. Today we headed out to Hillsboro, Oregon to take a tour of International Paper and watch some of our beautiful full color case boxes being printed. Keeping up with the growing demand for whole grains keeps us busy around the clock. It’s great to have a few good business nearby that can keep up with our packaging needs to help us get the products you want on store shelves.
We wanted to share with you some of our photos from the tour so that you can get a feel for how our emphasis on minimal packaging really adds up. When you consider that most products on the supermarket store shelves come packaged in an individual box, it’s easy to understand that doing something as simple as putting four bags in just one case box for shipping can make a real impact over time.
Because of the scale of the printing, much attention is paid to the pre-press process to eliminate any waste.
It is difficult to capture the enormous size of the press that prints our boxes, because it larger than most houses.
Preparing the rolles for printing.
Cameras monitor for any shifting during the printing process to catch errors before they become bigger problems.
Checking for printing errors under normal light.
Checking for printing flaws under a blacklight reveals any flaws that might be invisible under normal conditions.
These labels were zooming past!
A finished roll ready to be moved into the warehouse.
Cassidy poses with a finished roll.
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I was very disappointed by the recent change from paper packaging to plastic packaging. Recyclable or biodegradable packing is very important to me. I consider this an important enough issue to change my product choice! Bob’s is a superior, regional product that I have been proud to support. I hope to see a more sustainable packaging return to your line product.
@Astoria Home Baker Thank you for your concerns. I will pass these comments along to those concerned. I am not sure that we will be going back to paper, but I know we are looking to find ways to make our packaging more sustainable.
I too am disheartened to see plastic packaging.
Please go back to paper!