Digital printing further grows in packaging market

The global printed packaging market is expected to grow to $604 billion by 2029, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6% over this year, according to Smith.

The Smith report, The Future of Packaging Printing to 2029, shows that the total global packaging printing output will reach $504.9 billion in 2024. This year, the printing volume of labels, corrugated board, folding carton, flexible paper and plastic, rigid plastic and metal packaging will reach 14.31 trillion A4 print equivalents, consuming 1.54 million tons of ink.

According to Smith, flexographic printing remains the most widely used printing process, especially in high-volume corrugated board, labels and flexible packaging, accounting for 52.6% of contemporary production.

However, both digital and analog press manufacturers are developing technologies to capture opportunities across the market, while gravure and offset lithography also remain popular, accounting for 20.1% and 17.9% of packaging and label production respectively. At drupa 2024, OEMs debuted new machines for printing corrugated board, folding cartons, flexible packaging and labels.

For all analog OEMs, the further penetration of digital printing presents an immediate challenge. Smithers explains that as the quality of inkjet and toner presses improves, long runs become more cost competitive, which offers packaging buyers greater versatility.

At drupa 2024, new machines for high-speed digital printing of folding cartons were demonstrated, and the use of single-pass inkjet corrugated presses and narrow-web toner and inkjet equipment is also developing. The potential for these systems to provide added value means that although digital printing will only account for 1.1% of production in 2024, it will account for 3.9% of value. Smith predicts that digital production will further increase at a compound annual growth rate of 12.8% over the next five years.

To this end, analog OEMs are investing in increasing automation in pre-press and mid-press; combining this with workflows, online maintenance platforms and other software, and developing hybrid systems that use inkjet stations to print variable data elements on high-speed analog lines.

As technology evolves across the industry, the quest for greater sustainability is driving converters to use more paperboard and coated papers, as well as thicker mono-material polymer formats in flexographic printing.

Regulatory developments, including the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), are emphasizing recyclability. This requires packaging printers to switch to water-based inks, invest in better de-inking technologies, and use new materials that are more easily recycled at end-of-life, Smithers reports. In the narrow web sector, this is driving converters to move to thinner, more easily releasable label stock, reduce ink coverage, and minimize or replace adhesives.

Production inkjet presses gaining ground in the printing and packaging sector
The printing and packaging industry is benefiting from an influx of digital printing platforms and technologies. High-speed web-fed inkjet presses are an emerging solution that are being widely adopted in the commercial, mill and packaging sectors.

The publishing sector is particularly exciting for commercial printers, as the technology brings multiple benefits to high-end publications and books that were previously unattainable.

Direct mail benefits from the high speeds of web-fed inkjet printers. As a fast-turnaround business, direct mailers benefit from being able to quickly produce mail that can be customized, versioned, or decorated with variable data.

Transactional products, which did not have the full-color advantage of other printed products in the past, are now gaining marketing power. Commercial printers in this market can produce offset printed covers and then embellish them with full-color inkjet printing to attract recipients.

In-plant printers produce many of the same applications as commercial printers and have been at the forefront of digital applications. However, misconceptions about inkjet printing in-plants still exist, which may hinder them from improving their operations.

These misconceptions include:

1. There is not enough capacity to support inkjet. This misconception is likely a legacy of the past when printers had to produce millions of inkjet prints per month to make the technology cost-effective. In addition to technological advances that have reduced these numbers, plants that use inkjet to consolidate the print they produce on other equipment can quickly reach the cost-effectiveness threshold.

2. Inkjet printers cannot reliably replace toner printers. In the early days of inkjet printers, downtime and reliability issues were more common. But as the technology has evolved and improved, inkjet printers have fewer moving parts, resulting in increased uptime and, in many cases, outperforming traditional toner printers.

3. Offset printers don’t embrace inkjet. The fact is that many facilities that have adopted inkjet have successfully transitioned offset printers to the new technology. While change is certainly challenging, printers understand that digital printing represents the future of the industry and welcome the opportunity to learn new skills.

The label and packaging industry is also rapidly transitioning to digital. Of the four major packaging sectors – labels, folding cartons, flexible packaging and corrugated – the label sector has the most web-fed inkjet technology. In addition to the print quality and high speeds offered by inkjet technology, label and packaging printers benefit from the technology’s ability to cost-effectively produce short runs, provide brand owners with personalization and versioning capabilities, and accommodate the proliferation of SKUs throughout the CPG market.

As SKU proliferation continues to impact the industry, the advent of digital printing in the packaging sector comes at an ideal time for converters and brand owners alike. In fact, as NAPCO Research’s study Digital Packaging Printing: The Time Has Come! ”, 73% of brand owner respondents said the number of SKUs is increasing.

Although inkjet is still in its early stages in the label and packaging space, printers, converters and their customers are already seeing how the technology is transforming their operations. Benefits include: Substrate Versatility Inkjet is a non-contact printing process that can be used on a variety of papers, boards, films and foils. Innovations in aqueous inkjet are already emerging in food contact packaging, such as flexible pouches, which will allow the technology to expand into this high-growth application area.

Efficiency and Automation Speed ​​to market and fast turnaround have never been more important in label and packaging production. By eliminating the printing plate, inkjet printing can significantly reduce makeready time, which can significantly reduce waste and lead times.

Design Flexibility and Creativity In addition to reducing turnaround time, the printing process eliminates the need for printing plates, making each printed product unique. With this newfound flexibility, brands can experiment with new packaging designs, limited editions and variable content. Personalization opportunities, especially with the rise of e-commerce, are also enticing brands to establish a one-to-one connection with consumers.

Digital printing technology is advancing at a rapid pace, and for printers and converters to stay ahead in their industry sectors, evaluating and investing in the latest digital platforms is essential to remain competitive.