DIGITAL PRINT FOR PACKAGING TO SURGE: REPORT

Digital print for packaging is set to turbo-charge over the next five years, with analysts Smithers predicting the market will double in size based on a CAGR of 11 per cent between now and 2027.

Smithers said print service providers are poised to reap the benefits of very significant R&D investment by digital OEMs, delivering improvements in productivity, reliability, and expanding the number of print commissions where digital is price-competitive with established analogue production.

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The new Smithers dedicated study, The Future of Package Printing to 2027, charts how a global market worth in $456bn last year, willl grow at a CAGR of 3.1 per cent, to reach $551bn in 2027.

Across the same period, the study found that the volume of corrugated board, folding cartons, rigid and flexible plastics, metal, and labels stocks printed worldwide will increase from 13 trillion A4 print equivalents to 15.4 trillion .

The report stated that flexo will remain the most widely used print process – due to its popularity in long-run corrugated board, labels and flexible plastics work, represents around 36 per cent of the contemporary market, and natural expansion gives flexo a positive growth outlook of plus 2.4 per cent)through to 2027.

Other analogue processes, including offset litho, which will grow by 2.5 per cent, will see similar organic growth across the five-year Smithers study period, mainly from developing markets.

Packaging print is becoming increasingly competitive, and will be the focus for further technical innovation through the 2020s. Among the main challenges highlighted are:

• Improving the sustainability of print systems by minimising waste, optimising the energy efficiency of print equipment, and developing systems that can print on an array of new, more sustainable packaging substrates, including flexible barrier papers, moulded fibre, and mono-material polymer constructions.
• Adapt to new legislative requirements to move away from single-use plastics, and improve recyclability of all formats.
• Reacting to post-Covid print buying patterns, by reducing turnaround times, embracing print-on-demand business models, and enabling more economic short promotional and versioning commissions.
• Make print supply more resilient and agile to withstand disruption, including following the post-pandemic trend to re-shore or near-shore of production of certain essential FMCGs.
• Evolve print technologies and business models to capitalise on opportunities in the booming e-commerce segment, innovating with print designs and graphics to optimise engagement with home delivery customers.
• mplement the latest automation advances in both digital and analogue production. These Industry 4.0 technologies have the potential to simultaneously reduce the need for skilled print room labour, while increasing responsiveness and overall print quality, consistency and uptime.

These factors will contribute to further the penetration of digital printing – especially inkjet – in packaging and labels work. A trend that will also benefit from advances in workflow software making printing more streamlined and cost-effective, thereby allowing more low-run jobs to be produced.

Smithers’ analysis is quantified in a comprehensive datase, with 150 data tables and figures, segmenting the market by:

• Packaging type (labels, corrugated and solid fibre, folding cartons, flexible packaging, rigid plastics, metal)
• Print process (offset litho, gravure, flexo, screen, other analogue, digital)
• End-use segment (food, drink, healthcare, cosmetics, other consumer, other)
• Geographic region and major national market (Western Europe, France, German, Italy, Spain, UK, Other Western Europe, North America, Canada, US, Asia, China, India, Japan, Other Asia, Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, Other Latin America, Eastern Europe, Poland, Russia, Other Eastern Europe, Middle East, Turkey, Other Middle East, Africa, Australasia).