The digital sector is on the rise for label converters, with European brand owners to invest in five percent more digital solutions in the coming year.
The latest report from trade association FINAT indicates solid growth in digital among printers in Europe, according to Thomas Hagmaier, president. “The tremendous leaps that have been made in the digital printing arena are, of course, bringing flexibility for high-quality short-run print to the label industry too, and brand owners indicated they expect to procure five percent more digital print solutions in the coming year. This is a reflection of the trend we are seeing to reducing the size of label print runs for just-in-time delivery, increased multi-versioning, and, of course the current fashion for personalisation," he said.
The FINAT report estimates that total demand for labels in Europe will increase by more than three percent in 2017, a slight drop from the previous year. FINAT members are expanding beyond self-adhesive labels into sleeve and in-mould labels, as well as flexible packaging, to meet customer demands.
Sustainability was a concern in the report, with more than 66 percent of converters in Europe not recycling liner waste, due primarily to logistical difficulties. Hagmaier believes there is still work to be done to engage converters with recycling procedures and other environmental concerns. "We are deeply committed to making the self-adhesive label an environmentally-friendly option. Label release liner, used to apply self-adhesive labels, constitutes a high-value waste stream that can, and should, be very successfully re-used in cradle-to-cradle recycling of papers and PET/PP film," he said.
Digital is expanding in the Australian label market as well, says Anthony Dalleore, secretariat at Flexible Packaging and Label Manufacturers Association (FPLMA), who expects a higher intake of digital presses in label printers' workflow over the next five years. "The digital share is growing in the label industry, and many printers who have existing flexo capability either invest in hybrid presses or pure digital presses. The decision on whether to invest in digital will depend on product mix including run lengths. Although digital print has so far only filled a niche market requirement, heightened awareness of this technology far beyond the label market will provide further options for investment into the future," Dalleore said.
The Australian digital label sector is dominated by HP Indigo, distributed by Currie Group, which holds about 95 percent of market share. Mark Daws, general manager for labels and packaging Australia and New Zealand at Currie Group, says this is because of Indigo's versatility and quality, and Currie's end-to-end support infrastructure. "I think Indigo is the most diverse printing platform, in the sense that it can do any application, not only pressure sensitive, such as flexible packaging, folding cartons, in-mould labels and more," Daws said.