Digital Printing--Coming on Strong

A digital future

Now that digital printing for packaging has entered into the mainstream, the degree of its longer-term impact is still an open question. And those who have their hands into it already have a range of views.

Roberds sees three kinds of digital printing applications in packaging: comps for jobs being designed, small quantities of standard boxes, and custom or specialty packaging. He sees growth opportunities in custom packaging and small quantities of standard boxes. However, for the foreseeable future "digitally printed packaging will continue to be a niche business because of the cost of production and the amount of investment required to get into digitally printed packaging," he projects.