The show stopper was a pack which the EFTA judges called a “Marmite Masterpiece”. Standards of printing were high this year, with other comments from the judges such as “immaculate registration”, “clean and brilliant minimum dot holding” and “amongst the best flexographic printing I have had the privilege to see”. As well as winning Best in Show, the quality of print on the Marmite Love Portions pack won Gold in the Narrow Web Process, where DS Smith Sacks also took the Silver and Bronze awards.

The stunning Marmite Pack is designed and manufactured by DS Smith Speciality Packaging at Belper and printed by DS Smith Sacks. Helped by the customer’s co-operation throughout the design and artwork stages, the two DS Smith sites were able to combine their different skills to give the best possible end result.

DS Smith Sacks, which manufactures the largest portfolio of bags and sacks in the UK, completed a successful evening by being awarded Gold for a Hi Peak Horsefeed bag, which also won the Bronze ‘Best in Show’, as well as a Silver in the Narrow Web Line Screen process.

The EFTA Awards are focused on flexographic printing capabilities in which DS Smith Packaging has invested heavily. Printers across the company are pushing at the boundaries of what’s possible with the flexographic process, achieving consistent standards of register and colour quality that would have been unheard of even a few years ago.