Experts Assess Digital's Future in Packaging

With so much of the printing and packaging news cycle dominated by digital, it might surprise some industry outsiders that by most estimates, less than 10% of all labels and packaging are printed digitally.

Though the rise of digital printing has taken place at a more gradual rate in packaging than it has in the commercial and document printing segments, the technology has come a long way and appears poised to truly take off in the coming years.

For our June issue, we asked a few experts in digital printing for their insight and analysis into what the future landscape for digital looks like.

New Digital Label Press Sales Poised to Take Over

But that doesn’t mean conventional printing is on the decline. In fact, as digital printing continues its growth, it means that flexographic presses will have more free time to perform the work they do best.

Jennifer Dochstader, a founding partner of package printing research firm LPC, Inc., says that based on her research, by 2020, three out of four new label presses sold in the United States and Canada will be digital.

Market Expansion Requires Technological Improvements

In the packaging space, digital printing has caught on most successfully in the label market. While digital label presses are getting faster and the quality is improving, additional advancements will need to be made to the technology for it to take off to the same degree in other markets.

The EFI Nozomi C18000 at EFI's booth at drupa

For example, Kevin Karstedt, CEO of industry consulting firm Karstedt Partners, says that in order for digital printing to gain traction in the corrugated market, single-pass technology will need to become a reality. Several suppliers at drupa 2016 did show their first iterations of single-pass digital presses for corrugated, but these solutions are primarily in their infancies.

Adding Automation Improves the Digital Process

While adding digital printing to a packaging operation is all well and good, if the workflow process is not addressed, it could quickly become a sticky situation for the converter. Ron Gilboa, director at Infotrends, explains that digital printing typically means short runs — and short runs typically mean more individual jobs. Managing this newfound job quantity can be daunting, and converters will need to up their automation to work through these quick-change demands.

Get Brands on Board

Marco Boer, VP of IT Strategies, explains that brand owners are a key part of the supply chain that hasn't received enough education on the technology. If digital press suppliers ventured onto brand owner turf to market their products, Boer explains it would likely increase their excitement and demand for the technology.

“When C-level executives embrace it, that’s when things get rolling,” he says. “If you look at a major consumer goods show, somewhere where you might go to exhibit new foods, I’m willing to bet there’s no digital printing technology at that show.”

For the full article “The Digital Crystal Ball” from our June issue, please click here.