An appetite for package printing

As previewed in L&L issue 4, 2015, package printing had an extended presence at this year’s flagship Labelexpo Global Series event. Labelexpo Europe 2015 provided an array of technologies, equipment and consumables that showcased the potential of package printing as a viable offering for label and narrow web converters.

Flexibles were clearly the dominant non-label packaging format in Brussels, but cartons had strong representation too, including presentation of the winners in the 2015 Pro Carton ECMA Award program. In his opening address in the Packprint Workshop, L&L consultant editor Nick Coombes said: ‘The latest market research indicates that the label industry accounts for, by value, approximately 15 percent of the global package print market. Of the remaining 85 percent, if we remove specialist areas like corrugated and metal decorating, we are still left with a market that is between 4-5 times the size of the label market.’ Coombes said diversification offers new business opportunities for label converters. ‘The narrow web industry is perhaps the most reactive sector of the printing industry, and in recent years has quickly come to terms with the changes in demand from brand owners, who all want higher quality, on shorter run lengths, at lower cost. This has developed a whole range of technology that is now well proven, and ideally suited to produce new and different products on a variety of substrates. And, many of these new short run products serve niche markets, where the competition is less, and the margins are better.’