Helwan University’s Printing, Publishing and Packaging Conference and Students Innovation Exhibition brought together the best of the industry and the brightest student talents.
In December, the Printing, Publishing and Packaging Department at the Faculty of Applied Arts of Helwan University in Cairo, Egypt, organised its annual technical conference, with the main theme
“Latest Trends and Innovations in the Packaging industry”.
The department is one of the 14 in the Applied Arts Faculty, which was established way back in 1839 by Sultan Mohamed Ali Basha. Until 1996, it was known as the Department of Photo-mechanics and Printing.
It now has more than 300 students learning about everything related to the printing, publishing and packaging industries, starting from graphic design and desktop publishing to pre-press and printing materials, incorporating all related technologies, their troubleshooting and quality control, and concluding with finishing, binding and converting technologies. Along the way, they will also focus on printed and electronic publishing trends, smart packaging, security printing, 3D printing, estimating, management, marketing, art history, and much more.
The Printing Publishing and Packaging Department is to introduce a new four-year BSc programme called Packaging Science (Design and Technology) in English, in which students will focus on the packaging industry and all related subjects, including interactive packaging, active packaging, green packaging, thinner packaging, digital
printing, tracking and tracing, and so on.
Graduates from this department typically find work major governmental and private sector establishments.
Every year, the department organises a technical conference, gathering staff and students together with industry experts, company representatives and customers to exchange experiences and opinions. The latest conference attracted more than 150 such attendees.
A group of industry experts delivered a series of informative and interactive presentations, in which the latest state of the art trends, technologies and machinery were discussed.
The six speakers, and their takeaways from the conference, were as follows:
Speaker 1
Vikram Fotedar, Technology Editor, Packaging MEA Magazine.
Vikram’s presented “Consumerfirst Packaging: Your Brand’s Secret Weapon”, in which he elucidated three golden rules of packaging design and consumer-first thinking, which were:
1. Does your packaging do what it needs to do?
2. Do you (brand owner) know what you want to say to your consumer?
3. Do you say it well?
He concluded with the most important takeaway, saying: “Packaging (design and format) is the single most important marketing tool. It is your brand’s secret weapon.”
Speaker 2
Ben Daniel, Chief Editor, Packaging MEA magazine Ben spoke on the current state and future of the regional packaging industry.
With more than 400 million consumers in the MENA region, Ben suggested a focus on three important sectors of the industry for primary and secondary packaging and its fulfillment, namely:
• CARTONS
• LABELS
• FLEXIBLES
Market Overview
• Global drivers steering the packaging business environment
• Growth of package print
• MEA regional scenario Ben concluded that a promising career awaits students who choose to get into the world of packaging, as there is increasing demand for design and branding, sustainability, automation and food safety within the packaging realm, coupled with a huge talent void in the MEA region. Students who graduate from such renowned universities and especially within the packaging space surely have a bright future.
Speaker 3
Mohamed Fayed, agent of Uteco and Omet, wide and narrow web flexographic press manufacturers, respectively. He spoke about the growing importance of flexible packaging print, where flexography as a process is gaining more momentum, compared to rotogravure.
Speaker 4
Ayman Rafik, agent of EngView, a fast-growing packaging software company. He demonstrated the importance of two of the company’s software programmes.
• EngView Packaging Suite: EngView Packaging Suite is a desktop and cloud solution for structural design and online ordering of boxes and POP/ POS displays. It provides a wide range of tools that speed up and automate the day-to-day jobs of structural designers, graphic designers, diemakers and salespeople involved in the creation, communication and production of packaging.
• packGATE: A cloud-based solution specialising in the development of CAD/CAM for the packaging industry. Its flagship product, EngView Package & Display Designer Suite, is 2D and 3D software for structural design of packaging and POP/POS displays.
Speaker 5
Ahmad Saber, agent of Belgian packaging software company Esko. He gave a quick update about the innovations and portfolio of products and solutions from Esko, which manages packaging and print processes for brand owners, retailers, designers, pre-media and trade shops, packaging manufacturers and converters.
He said Esko solutions are used in nine out of 10 retail packages,
whether in packaging management, asset management, artwork creation, structural design, prepress, 3D visualisation, flexo platemaking, workflow automation, quality assurance, sample-making, palletisation, supply chain collaboration and/or the production of signage and displays.
Esko solutions consist of an extensive suite of software and two hardware product lines: CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers, and Kongsberg digital cutting systems, complemented by professional services, training and consultancy.
Enfocus, with its PDF quality control tools and automation solutions; MediaBeacon, with its digital asset management (DAM) solutions; and BLUE Software, with its SaaS label and artwork management applications, are all part of the Esko family.
Speaker 6
Maged Moris, agent of Formlab 3D Printers. He explained how the company is expanding its access to digital fabrication, so anyone can make anything. Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, with offices across the globe, Formlabs is the professional 3D printer of choice for engineers, designers, manufacturers, and decision-makers worldwide, including packaging designers.
Formlabs products include the Form 3, Form 3B and Form 3L, powered by Low Force Stereolithography (LFS) 3D printing, Form 2 SLA 3D printer, Form Wash and Form Cure post-processing solutions, Fuse 1 SLS 3D printer, and Form Cell manufacturing solution. Formlabs also develops its own suite of high-performance materials that continue to push the boundaries for 3D printing, as well as best-in-class 3D printing software.
Students’ Packaging Innovation Exhibition
After the conference, attendees were invited to the department itself, where the students were exhibiting their own work, including innovative packaging, structural and visual designs, security designs and products, and printed and electronic outputs.
Most of the students’ works also took into consideration the environment, applying concepts such as reducing materials, reusing packaging and recycling.
Every term the students submit several packaging projects, incorporating their designs and an actual prototype, as a folded carton box or paper label.
This year’s submissions were examined by the lecturers, and more than 50 of the best examples were chosen to be shown at local, regional and international exhibitions, such as the Print to Pack, Pacprocess, Techno Print and Food Africa.
Some of these students won first prizes at such competitions, including at Arab Star Pack, Pack Designer 2019 and Arab Student Star Pack.
Links with governmental and private sector companies were established, as industry professionals evaluated the students’ designs, and in turn the students helped these companies by suggesting ways their brands could boost their shelf presence.
Dr. George Simonian, who is a Professor of Print Media as well as technology editor of Packaging MEA Magazine, heads the Helwan University’s Printing Publishing &
Packaging Department.
His contribution and passion to educate and bring up Arab students in the field of packaging and print is commendable.
He, along with his excellent team, have been instrumental in developing talent in Egypt for the packaging and printing industry, and Ben Daniel in conclusion said Packaging MEA is committed to supporting and helping these graduates to find appropriate positions in this fast-growing industry.