Siegwerk, a global supplier of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, is working on innovative folding box applications for interactive communication between the product and the consumer. This is part of a development partnership with Prismade Labs, a start-up and FutureLab of the edding Group that was founded in 2016 to develop innovative technologies for brand authentication and document security.

The partnership between the two companies is the result of Siegwerk’s 2017 start-up program, through which the ink manufacturer is explicitly looking for technologies and innovations that can further advance the development of groundbreaking packaging concepts.

“The possibility of communication between the product and the consumer is certain to have an impact on the future of the packaging sector due to the increasingly digital world in which we live,” states Christoph Barniske, head of Digital Business at Siegwerk. “Smart packaging or the ‘Internet of Packaging,’ which uses integrated digital tags to interact with the consumer, are just two examples of new packaging concepts of the future.”

Prismade has developed a special technology that enables smartphones to interact with printed electronic structures. After placing the packaging onto their smartphone’s screen, the user is able to enable interaction on the smartphone by swiping their finger over the packaging.

For the past few months, a joint project team consisting of technical, sales and conception experts from both partners has been working on the development of customized color solutions to establish the “Prismade process” for interactive folding box applications. In this context, Siegwerk is developing special printing inks that are compatible with standard ink systems for folding box applications and ensure that the Prismade technology works as well.

The first prototypes of the interactive folding box applications will soon be presented. For this purpose, the partners developed a demonstration model together with Hamburg packaging expert Uwe Melichar from the brand agency FACTOR, Brösske, Meyer & Ruf (an agency for packaging design) in Düsseldorf, and the Edelmann Group, a specialist for developments, folding box construction and production. This demonstration model allows interested parties to get to know the product by using a packaging example.

Prismade and Siegwerk complement each other with their respective core competences and together form a strong team for the long-term development of trend-setting packaging solutions. “Through our collaboration with Prismade, we have the opportunity to actively participate in the development of digital applications in the packaging sector. Their process consists of a successful combination of product authenticity and interactivity,” adds Barniske, as he explains the ink manufacturer’s potential.”

“With Siegwerk as a development partner at our side, we can successfully scale our technology, secure the functionality of our process with ink systems developed specifically for us and strengthen our application potential,” says Karin Weigelt, managing director of Prismade Labs.

Both companies plan to further expand their collaboration in the future and use the technology for other packaging applications.