Don’t just look at the glitz! Digital printing is advancing rapidly in the packaging industry, but how many “hard bones” are hidden behind it?
author: Annie
2025-07-18
Paul Edwards, vice president of digital at INX International Ink, pointed out that in addition to applications such as corrugated board and labels, digital printing in the packaging field still faces many challenges, but these challenges are gradually being addressed. He particularly emphasized the regulatory challenges that food-related product packaging brings to inks.
He said that regulations vary by region and packaging material, for example, some containers have migration barriers and some do not. Therefore, ink and coating technologies must fully consider and meet these regulatory requirements to meet indirect food contact standards while addressing issues such as odor and migration. This is particularly critical in the flexible packaging field because of its wide variety of substrates and application types.
Edwards observed that traditional flexible packaging printing mainly uses solvent-based inks, which is different from digital printing. Although alternatives such as water-based inks and low-migration UV/EB technology are also in use, they are less popular. In the field of digital printing, water-based inks are generally considered to be the future of flexible packaging. However, even water-based inks must ensure that their ingredients meet indirect food contact standards. In addition, technical challenges include ensuring that the ink has good adhesion to the packaging material, while ensuring its reliability, not clogging the nozzle, and drying as quickly as possible, even though the amount of ink used in digital printing processes is usually much greater than that of traditional processes.
Edwards also points to digital printing on two-piece cans as another area of growing interest, even though aluminum cans are considered a barrier material in the U.S. He stresses, however, that there is still a need to consider the potential for ink contact with the consumer’s lips or mouth, as well as situations where the can contents may cover the image before consumption. He believes UV inks are ideal for such applications, but they must be formulated to comply with regional regulatory restrictions (e.g. Nestle/Swiss standards) and associated migration testing, which is extremely challenging in such applications.
Edwards concluded that overall, there are many other challenges to consider in the design of printing systems, inks and coatings. Companies such as INX are actively addressing these challenges and providing customers with technical solutions to promote the popularity of digital printing in these applications.
Formulating water-based inks for film substrates is a challenge due to the hydrophobic nature of plastics, noted Kristen Russell, vice president of U.S. business for Fujifilm’s Ink Solutions Group. She explained that achieving good adhesion requires a good chemical interaction between the ink and the primer or substrate.
In addition, as printing speeds increase, inks need to dry faster, which poses a challenge to formulators: how to develop an ink that dries quickly on the substrate but does not dry in the printhead, where it can affect performance or even cause failure. Fujifilm provides formulators with the flexibility to use a variety of additives, surfactants and co-solvents to achieve these properties through its highly stable pigment dispersions.
Russell added that when printers want to develop digital printing from a supplementary process to a complete replacement for analog printing, they also face challenges. Wide-format high-speed digital printing systems are huge investments, and it is difficult to achieve the same return on investment as mature high-volume systems because the robustness of inkjet technology has not been proven in printing at such a scale.
She said Fujifilm is working hard to promote progress in all areas of inkjet technology. In addition, digital transformation usually requires changes in workflows, not just hardware investment, and companies must make conscious decisions about digital transformation.
Danny Mertens, marketing manager for digital printing at Flint Group, cited issues such as ink performance (such as adhesion or migration), equipment costs, and regulatory hurdles, adding that some market segments are still highly optimized for the economics of analog printing.
Haim Levitt, senior vice president and president of HP Industrial Printing, said digital printing still faces many challenges, including adoption barriers, substrate compatibility and durability, workflow integration, total cost of ownership and education and ecosystem maturity.
Simon Daplin, product and marketing manager at Sun Chemical, noted that a major challenge facing digital printing applications is the ever-changing regulation, compliance and government initiatives that drive changes in the standards for how substrates, inks and final packaging fit.
Daplin said the food printing market presents special challenges as there is a strong need to use water-based inks to meet food contact requirements. These water-based inks are often printed on non-porous materials, which poses challenges for drying, adhesion, and chemical compliance. In many cases, these challenges can be addressed by combining pre-coating, coating, or overprint varnishing, which are processes designed to work with water-based digital inks to achieve optimal application performance. Because the ink is part of the final packaging, it must meet the brand's various regulatory, design, and performance requirements.
Daplin also highlights that another challenge is the impact of sustainability regulations on many base substrates. Substrates have shifted towards more environmentally friendly materials, such as mono-material films in flexible packaging, the increased use of fiber-based packaging, and emerging materials such as bioplastics and biodegradable or compostable solutions. As these changes adapt to market demands, digital inks must adapt to ensure continued high-quality performance.
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