Hints of a Silver Lining

The digital printing revolution that has swept—and continues to sweep—the commercial print market will have profound impacts on package printing as well, greatly enhancing marketers' ability to execute short runs with geographically or demographically customized packaging.

Thanks to digital prepress and printing technologies, test and prototype packages will be printed more quickly and economically than ever before. Romano even predicts individual supermarkets and other stores will be able to develop their own personalized packaging. Digital processes, moreover, will be increasingly able to print on heavy stocks, plastic, metallic, and other substrates.