Label and corrugated are already sizable, with flexible packaging and folding cartons also seeing growth.
Digital printing of packaging has come a long way since its early days of being used primarily for printing coding and expiration dates. Today, digital printers have a significant portion of label and narrow web printing, and is gaining ground in corrugated, folding carton and even flexible packaging.
Gary Barnes, head of sales and marketing, FUJIFILM Ink Solutions Group, observed that inkjet printing in packaging is growing in several areas.
“Label printing is established and continuing to grow, corrugated is becoming well established, folding carton is gaining momentum, and flexible packaging is now viable,” said Barnes. “Within those, the key technologies are UV for label, corrugated and some folding carton, and pigment aqueous in corrugated, flexible packaging and folding carton.”
Mike Pruitt, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc., said that Epson is observing growth in the inkjet printing sector, particularly within the label industry.
“Digital printing has become mainstream, and it’s common to see analog presses integrating both analog and digital printing technologies,” Pruitt added. “This hybrid approach leverages the strengths of both methods, allowing for greater flexibility, efficiency, and customization in packaging solutions.”
Simon Daplyn, product & marketing manager, Sun Chemical, said that Sun Chemical is seeing growth across the different segments of packaging for digital print in established markets like labels and in other segments embracing digital print technology for corrugated, metal decoration, folding carton, flexible film and direct-to-shape printing.
“Inkjet is well established in the label market with a strong presence of UV LED inks and systems that deliver exceptional quality,” Daplyn noted. “Integration of UV technology and other new aqueous solutions continues to expand as innovations in aqueous ink help drive adoption.”
Melissa Bosnyak, project manager, sustainable packaging solutions, Videojet Technologies, observed that inkjet printing is growing as it caters to emerging packaging types, materials, and trends, with demand for sustainability as a key driver.
“For example, the push towards recyclability has spurred the use of mono-materials in packaging,” Bosnyak noted. “Keeping pace with this shift, Videojet recently launched a patent-pending inkjet ink specifically formulated to provide superior scratch and rub resistance, particularly on widely used mono-material packaging including HDPE, LDPE, and BOPP. We are also seeing growth in inkjet because of the increased desire for more dynamic printing on the line. Targeted marketing campaigns are a big driver of this.”
“From our vantage point as the pioneer and worldwide leader in thermal inkjet technology (TIJ), we are seeing continued market growth and increased adoption of inkjet for package coding, specifically TIJ,” said Olivier Bastien, HP’s business segment manager and future products – coding & marking, Specialty Printing Technology Solutions. “Inkjet is split into different types of printing technologies, namely continuous ink jet, piezo ink jet, laser, thermal transfer overprinting and TIJ. TIJ solutions are clean, easy to use, reliable, odor free, and more, giving the technology an advantage over industry alternatives. Much of this is in part to recent technological advancements and regulations around the world that demand cleaner inks and stricter track and trace requirements to keep packaging safety at the forefront of innovation.”
“There are some markets, such as labels, which have been in digital inkjet for some time and continue to increase digital content,” said Paul Edwards, VP of the Digital division at INX International. “Direct-to-object printing solutions and installations are growing, and the interest in corrugated packaging continues to increase. Metal decoration growth is newer but accelerating, and flexible packaging is experiencing some early growth.”
Growth Markets
On the packaging side, digital printing has done particularly well in labels, where it has somewhere around a quarter of the market.
“Currently, digital print experiences the greatest success with printed labels, mainly with UV and UV LED processes that provide outstanding print quality and performance,” Daplyn said. “Digital print can meet and often exceed the expectations of the market in terms of speed, quality, print uptime and function, benefitting from increased design capability, cost efficiency at low volume and color performance.”
“In terms of product identification and package coding, digital printing has a long-standing presence on packaging lines,” said Bosnyak. “Essential and promotional variable content, including dates, production information, prices, barcodes, and ingredients/nutritional information, can be printed with digital inkjet printers and other digital technologies at various points throughout the packaging process.”
Bastien observed that digital printing is rapidly growing across various printing applications, in particular for applications where variable data is required and customization and personalization are adopted. “Prime examples include printing variable information directly onto adhesive labels, or directly printing text, logos, and other elements onto corrugated boxes,” Bastien said. “Furthermore, digital printing is making inroads in flexible packaging and unitary boxes by allowing the direct printing of essential information like date codes, barcodes, and QR codes.”
“I believe labels will continue on the path of gradual implementation over time,” said Edwards. “Narrow web penetration will increase as technology improvements in single-pass printers and associated ink technology continue. Corrugated growth will keep increasing where the benefit for the more highly decorated products is most significant. Penetration into metal deco is relatively recent, but it has a good opportunity to make significant inroads as technology addresses the applications to a higher degree with new printer and ink choices.”
Barnes said that the biggest inroads are in label.
“The narrow-width, compact format machines offer good ROI and product robustness,” he added. “Label applications are often ideally suited to digital with low run-lengths and versioning requirements. There will be a boom in flexible packaging, where digital is highly suited to that market. Some firms will be making big investments in corrugated – it is coming, but it is a high-volume market.”
Future Growth Areas
Where is the next market for digital printing to gain a significant share? FUJIFILM’s Barnes pointed to flexible packaging, due to technology readiness in hardware and water-based ink chemistry to achieve the quality at acceptable production speeds on filmic substrates, as well as integration of inkjet imprinting into packaging and fulfilment lines, due to easy implementation and availability of ready-made print bars.
“I believe the next significant surge in digital packaging is in flexible packaging due to its rising popularity among consumers for its convenience and portability,” Pruitt said. “Flexible packaging uses less material, aligning with sustainability trends, and allows for a high-level of customization and personalization, helping brands differentiate their product.”
Bastien believes the next big surge for digital packaging printing will be driven by the GS1 global initiative.
“GS1 global initiative for complex QR codes and data matrix on all consumer package goods by 2027 presents a significant surge opportunity in digital packaging printing,” Bastien added.
“There is an increasing appetite for custom and interactive printed content,” said Bosnyak. “QR codes and personalized messages are becoming powerful ways to capture the interest of customers, foster interaction, and safeguard brands, their offerings, and the consumer base.
“As manufacturers set new sustainable packaging goals, flexible packaging has increased,” added Bosnyak. “Flexible packaging uses less plastic than rigid and offers a lighter transportation footprint than other packaging materials, helping users meet their sustainability goals without compromising on performance. Manufacturers are also taking advantage of more recycle-ready flexible films to promote packaging circularity.”
“It may be in the two-piece metal decoration market,” said Edwards. “It is growing rapidly as the benefit of digital short run is being implemented and driven by microbreweries. This is likely to be followed by implementations into the wider metal deco field.”
Daplyn pointed out that it is likely that we will see a strong adoption of digital print in each of the major segments within packaging, with the biggest potential in the corrugated and flexible packaging markets.
“There is a strong market pull for aqueous inks in these markets to better manage compliance and sustainability goals,” Daplyn said. “The success of digital print in these applications will in part depend on the collaboration between ink and hardware providers to deliver water-based technology that meets speed and drying requirements on a range of materials while maintaining compliance in key segments, such as food packaging. The potential for digital print growth in the corrugated market increases with trends such as box advertising.”
Post time: Jul-24-2024
