Managing a successful digital printing operation

Over the past 10 years digital printing has made a significant impact in both the commercial sheet-fed and narrow web label markets.

Indeed, the recent Drupa Global Trends report highlighted the growing importance of digital, with figures showing an estimated 85 percent of all commercial printers worldwide now having a digital print capability. However, the report also pointed out that digital printing has yet to make any significant impact on primary packaging with the exception of label production where its use is much more widespread.

This latter finding is also born out in research carried out by Labels & Labelling Consultancy, which shows that over 20 percent of all new label presses installed worldwide in 2013 were digital presses predominately the electrophotographic technologies of HP Indigo and Xeikon. Inkjet is also now starting to find new growth opportunities in labels.

Whether electrophotographic or inkjet, digital label printing is undoubtedly creating new business opportunities, added-value solutions and increased profitability in market applications across the food, health and beauty, wines and spirits, soft drinks, pharmaceutical, and household cleaning and industrial products sectors. In particular, where personalization, limited editions, seasonal or event marketing, variable design or graphics, new promotional opportunities, test marketing, or unique or sequential coding can be offered.

These messages from the world of labels are now increasingly finding their way into the folding carton and flexible package printing markets ‒ additionally fuelled by the impact of the wider format digital sheet- and web-fed press technology innovations introduced at Drupa 2012 by the likes of Landa, HP Indigo, Xeikon and Screen Europe. As the production versions of these machines are ramped-up during 2014 and into 2015, it is anticipated that several hundred electrophotographic, inkjet or nanographic digital presses producing printed packaging will be operating worldwide as the industry approaches the end of 2015 and more rapidly thereafter.

Read this feature in Packprint World spring/summer 2014 by clicking here