The Forces Defining the Future of Packaging and Labels

The 11th annual Digital Packaging Summit, hosted Nov. 10-12, 2025, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, highlighted key drivers of the packaging and label industry.

Marco Boer, conference co-chair and vice president at I.T. Strategies, noted that 2025 was challenging, between the domino effect of tariffs, geopolitical uncertainties, and an “inflationary spiral that [he believes] is probably larger than what the official numbers say.”

Within the industry, a major concern is the aging workforce. But Boer said job growth may be geographically dependent. He also pointed out that in the packaging realm specifically, there are more young workers than there are in the commercial world. Because of this, he sees labor as a lower-level concern in the packaging and label segment.

Driven By Transformative Technologies

Boer then passed the mic to Andy Paparozzi, chief economist at PRINTING United Alliance, who dove into his positive outlook for the year to come.

First and foremost, Paparozzi sees artificial intelligence (AI) being a big driver of innovation and growth for the packaging and label industry.

“AI can enhance every mission-critical function, from prospecting to cybersecurity,” Paparozzi said.

In 2026, Paparozzi says package and label providers will be tempted to sit and wait for clarity on these new technologies, but the “haves” will move ahead with business plans and investments that support productivity and automation.

“The question everyone in the package and label printing industry space — without exception — should be asking is, what are we doing to make these transformative technologies an opportunity, rather than a threat?” he said.

Paparozzi emphasized that it’s not just about investing in AI and smart robotics, but about defining objectives for them at your company, staying on top of the latest developments, and assigning responsibility for your company’s tech adoption.

A Look Into the Brand’s Mind

During a later session, Paola Appendini, global packaging innovation principal at Mars, indicated print quality — such as being able to hit spot colors — and speed to market are paramount for brands. Speed is especially important when brands want to test new products.

“And that’s where I think digital printing can come in, because we need to move things quickly, change quickly, and so forth, and the orders we have are very small,” Appendini said.

Stories From the Trenches

On day two, Boer picked the brains of several packaging providers who have worked with digital equipment.

The main challenge for DuraMark stems from its 2024 acquisition of a company using traditional print processes. Bill Bussick, president of the Westfield, Indiana, producer of safety decals and instructional labels, said deciding which jobs should be done on which presses requires thought.

“Looking at the acquisition that we made … , what jobs are running on their presses that could run on our presses more efficiently?” he said. For instance, some of the acquired company’s jobs worked better on DuraMark’s roll-to-roll inkjets, while some of DuraMark’s outsourced work could go on the newly acquired conventional presses.

Shane Lauterbach, president of Lauterbach Group in Sussex, Wisconsin, said a lot of emphasis is put on gross margin or efficiency or throughput — which are important. However, Lauterbach says utilization of time is what packaging and label providers should focus on as technology continues to evolve. In sales, for example, this could mean expanding who you talk to; in operations, this would translate as running multiple machines to take advantage of different technologies.

Panelists also emphasized the importance of workforce development as technology complexity increases.

“The philosophy I have is, if you grow your people, your business is going to get better, right?” Joseph Lippe, operations manager at Lewisburg Patterson’s Dallas facility, said.

Retail Trends to Watch

Joe Keenan, editor-in-chief of Total Retail, shared that one of the biggest consumer shopping trends with direct implications for the packaging and label industry is brands creating a consumer experience through incorporating radio frequency identification (RFID) in their packaging.

Though e-commerce has grown substantially in recent years, Keenan says nearly 85% of retail sales are still happening in brick-and-mortar shops. So, retailers are looking for ways to bring people into the store, sometimes through in-store experiences for consumers. Because of this, packaging and label providers have a huge role to play in helping brands stand out in these experiential retail settings.

Sustainability Legislation

On day three, Sara Osorio, environmental, health and safety affairs coordinator at PRINTING United Alliance, dug into sustainability.

One thing on the minds of printers and converters is the regulatory environment. For instance, extended producer responsibility (EPR) varies by state, and some states may treat B2B converters as the “producer.”

“That’s kind of part of the problem with this whole EPR situation in the U.S.,” Osorio said. “Every state is handling it completely different. There’s really very little overlapping.”

Osorio also notes the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which intends to stop deforestation by requiring strict due diligence for any products entering or leaving the EU. The European Commission has been working to provide guidance and simplify aspects of the EUDR.

Addressing Forever Chemicals

Another topic of concern is highly toxic PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). In the packaging and label industry, they can be found in slip agents, inks, and scratch-resistant coatings.

To address PFAS, Osorio said ink manufacturers need to rethink their formulations. While this may be a challenge, it’s also an innovation opportunity.

“Sustainability is all about innovation,” she said. “And the innovators and the ones that are able to solve these problems and find these new technologies that remove these harmful chemicals are going to be the shakers and the movers that are going to take this to the next level.”

Recyclability

Osorio expects growth in fiber-based packaging, bioplastics, and bio-based pigments. One promising innovation she’s seen that may address recyclability issues is magnetic ink.

“There are magnets that pull out metal, obviously, when the plastic is going through the conveyor belt to make sure that no [metal] gets into the machine,” Osorio said. “So the ink actually has microscopic metal particles that then get pulled off — the shredded ink and label get pulled off by the magnet during the recycling process.”

Opportunities in Sustainability

Osorio framed sustainability around three pillars: planet, people, and profit.

“If you’re looking at it from the people perspective, that means that you have a strong safety culture, your employees are safe,” Osorio said. “That leads to better production, that leads to keeping people happy and retaining them, which is another big issue in the industry.”

On the profit side, converters can reap cost savings when pursuing sustainability — for example, by investing in energy efficiency or low-flow toilets.

While some converters and printers might be hesitant to spend on sustainability measures, Osorio sees it as just another way to lift your business up.

Cybersecurity and AI

During a later session on day three, Amy Servi-Bonner, vice president of consulting, applied AI and printing technology, at PRINTING United Alliance, outlined how packaging firms can prepare for ransomware attacks.

“See, hackers, they’ve kind of figured out that packaging companies and converters who work with brands — those brands rely on you,” she said. “They trust you. You’re part of their supply chain, yet you might be the weakest link that an attacker can exploit to reach someone else.”

She noted that 55% of ransomware attacks hit companies with fewer than 100 employees, and 68% begin with AI-written phishing emails. Plus, she said downtime costs small businesses an average of $8,000 per hour.

Servi-Bonner outlined a solid action plan for the first 24 hours after an attack.

• Hour 1: Isolate the network immediately and activate your incident response plan.
• Hour 6: Notify leadership, insurer, and legal, and log every action.
• Hour 12: Verify your backups are not infected. AI tools will check data integrity.
• Hour 24: Don’t let anyone touch anything. Let forensics investigate first, and use your AI models to identify the root cause.

“Your instincts are emotional; the right moves are practical,” she emphasized.

Before an attack happens, Servi-Bonner said it’s critical to make sure that every piece of your business is prepared. To do this, she recommends running quarterly AI-driven tabletop drills to simulate how your company would respond during a ransomware attack attempt, as well as preparing segmented and isolated data backups.

During an attack, she reiterated that AI tools should be used to identify the root cause of the breach, and to figure out how it spread to the rest of your system. She also says precise communication with your internal team is critical, and that you should decide early if you want to pay the ransom, negotiate, or rebuild.

Once the attack has been addressed, put AI to work reconstructing the timeline of the cyberattack for legal and insurance purposes, and use that data to strengthen your models.

When all is said and done, make sure to review the scenario and retrain your team — and stay up to date by repeating the process.

Servi-Bonner left listeners with this thought: “If AI doesn’t hit your P&L, it’s just entertainment. But if cyber hits your art files, it’s catastrophe.”

The Digital Packaging Summit is an exclusive, invite-only event. Apply to attend here.