PP Digital Print
A photo on the packing tape, a gradient in the logo, forty colors in the artwork – digital print PP packing tape ends the old rule of “one plate per color”. Your design is printed in CMYK straight onto the PP backing: no plate costs, no color limit, photo quality. Two tapes to choose from – PP hot melt with strong instant tack, or PP acrylic silent, quiet unwind and UV-resistant. Both 50 mm x 66 m, both from 72 rolls, both with a free data check. 🐉
Digital print on packing tape: no plate, no color limit
In classic flexo printing every color in the design needs its own printing plate – a three-color logo, three plates, three invoices. Photos, gradients and shading are off the table entirely. Digital print has no such limit: the print monsters put your artwork onto the tape in four-color process (CMYK). One shade or a hundred, vector logo or product photo – the price stays the same, and reorders or artwork changes never trigger a one-off charge.
With sandwich printing the artwork sits between the PP backing and the adhesive, so underneath the film. Scratches, rain and fingernails can’t reach it; the parcel looks the same at the recipient’s door as it did on your packing table. Full-surface backgrounds and continuous patterns run without a repeat seam and without a sleeve surcharge – what needs its own sleeve plate category in flexo is simply a file here.
And the minimum quantity? 72 rolls. Photo print on packing tape usually starts in the four-figure range elsewhere; here, one box with two layers is enough for your first run – ideal for putting a campaign visual, a seasonal theme or a product photo onto real parcels first. If all you need is a one- to three-color logo, PP packing tape with logo from 36 rolls stays the cheaper route – more on that below.
Hot melt or acrylic silent? Two adhesives, one print process.
Both tapes are PP, 50 mm x 66 m, both with CMYK photo print under the film, both from 72 rolls. The only difference is the adhesive – and it decides noise, tack, temperature behavior and price:
Digital Print PP Hot Melt
- Adhesive base: hot melt based on synthetic rubber
- Tack: high instant tack – grips rough recycled cardboard immediately
- Unwind: loud – the packing-table classic
- Temperature & UV: more sensitive than acrylic – don’t leave parcels in heat, sun or cold for long
- Storage: for parcels that are sealed and shipped promptly
- Price: the most economical digital print grade
Digital Print PP Acrylic Silent
- Adhesive base: water-based dispersion acrylic
- Tack: builds after pressing down – 4.5 N/inch on cardboard (EN 1939)
- Unwind: quiet, barely audible
- Temperature & UV: UV-resistant, ageing-stable from −10 °C to +60 °C
- Storage: for parcels that are stored longer or travel far
- Price: slightly higher – in return 52 µm total thickness, 76 mm core
Rule of thumb: if packing goes on all day, the packing table sits in the office or parcels wait in storage before shipping: acrylic silent. If you want maximum instant tack on recycled cardboard at the lowest price and parcels leave the same day: hot melt. The digital print sample set contains both for a direct comparison.
Who digital print on packing tape is for
For everyone whose brand is more than a one-color logo. Cosmetics, food and lifestyle shops print their product photo straight onto the parcel. Agencies reproduce client designs 1:1 without reducing colors or screening gradients. Brands with a gradient logo finally get their real logo instead of the flexo compromise. And anyone who switches seasonally – Christmas, sale, product launch – pays zero one-off costs for every new artwork.
Both tapes are at home on light to medium-weight parcels in e-commerce, fulfillment and small-batch shipping. For really heavy shipments we recommend PVC packing tape with logo; for packaging without a plastic backing, paper packing tape with logo.
Artwork for digital print – short & sharp
For once, pixels are welcome. What you need:
- Photos and gradients as PDF, TIF or JPG at 300 dpi minimum at final size
- Color space CMYK – RGB files are converted by the control monsters, with a preview
- Vectors (PDF, AI, EPS) for logos and type remain welcome, of course
- Print height max. 42 mm on the 50 mm tape – 4 mm safety margin per edge
- Repeat lengths 1020, 1206 or 1317 mm – your artwork is laid out to fit
- Production-related quantity tolerance max. ± 12 % (credited or invoiced)
All details are on the artwork guidelines page. Before printing, the control monsters check your file in the free data check and you receive a proof for approval. Only when you nod does the machine run.
When flexo print remains the better choice
Digital print works in the CMYK process. Spot colors are approximated – close, but not a solid ink. If your client specifies an exact Pantone shade, a one-color logo is all you need, or you want to start with 36 rolls, flexo print on PP packing tape with logo or PVC packing tape with logo is the better fit. Both are custom printed packing tape from Tapemonster – only the tool is different.
Touch first, then print – samples, data check, design
Photo quality on packing tape sounds good, but you want it in your hands? Order the digital print sample set: one roll of hot melt, one roll of acrylic silent, both digitally printed – and run them over your own boxes before the 72 rolls arrive.
No artwork yet that uses the new color freedom? The design service builds one for you, from product photo to monster motif. Open questions on print, quantities or lead time are answered in the FAQ; more background on print processes and packaging branding is in the magazine. And if you’d rather talk to a human: get in touch with us directly. 🐉
