Starpack 2009 Award for Benson Group

October 2009

Benson Group, based in Bardon, Leicestershire, the Packaging Company of the Year for 2008, has been recognised with a 2009 Starpack Award within the Technical Developments section for its work on a carton for supermarket chain Morrisons.

The winning packaging product was created for a Morrisons Berry Pannacotta from the supermarket's "The Best" range. The carton exhibits a matt and hi-gloss effect, which is produced from a single pass on the press.

The technical development incorporates a high-surfactant loaded primer which is printed onto the board, leaving out (reversing out) those areas that are to appear gloss. A special hi-gloss coater varnish is then applied all over the sheet. This reacts with the primer to give a matt effect, but stays gloss where there is no primer.

The key benefit of this technique is that the hi-gloss varnish would normally be applied via a flexo plate, limiting the detail that can be incorporated. Utilising this new technique the detail is affected via the litho plate, i.e. the reversed out areas of that plate. This means that the finest of detail can be utilised within the pack design.