How Digital Are YOU? Converters plan for greater digital adoption

By Bob Leahey

A Fragmented Market

HP Indigo and Epson are the most widely used brands, in use by 41 and 23 percent of respondents respectively (Figure 4). HP Indigo’s share is primarily attributable to its WS4000 and WS6000 Series narrow-web digital presses for labels, some of which are also used to print packaging.

Beyond these two, the overall market is fragmented across some 15 brands and equipment segments. The most important is Xeikon (11 percent), HP Indigo’s main rival in color electrophotographic presses and an established supplier to label converters. Xeikon is also driver of digital color for packaging, offering a suite of folding carton for use with its 3000 Series presses.

Other brand-name players include Xerox (15 percent), and EFI Jetrion (15 percent) which is the top supplier of inkjet label presses. Howecver, the small market shares of other remaining players understate their roles and commitment to providing digital print options to converters, such as small systems and tabletop label presses that account for thousands of presses worldwide.

Digital printing is gaining attention in the package printing world. Digital presses are running packaging applications at tradeshows and success stories are being told about converters "going digital" for label and packaging applications. So just how widespread is digital printing in our industry, and what might the future hold? To find out, packagePRINTING magazine and InfoTrends recently conducted a survey of North American label and packaging converters. Over 100 converters offered up some interesting responses. Take a look.

Digital is widespread

The overarching finding is that digital printing is widespread in our industry. Figure 1 shows how 69 percent of respondents say they use some type of digital printing for packaging or labels. While the question encompasses all possibilities ("....do you ever use digital printing of any type..."), a strong majority of the market has some experience with digital printing, whether for production or prototyping., While nearly a third of responding companies (31 percent) say they do not [presently] use digital, a third of those non-users say their companies will likely adopt digital printing within two years, highlighting a continuing shift among digital converters across North America.

Multiple machines

Package printers and converters using digital printing today tend to operate more than one type of digital device (Figure 2). Production level color digital presses such as HP Indigo, Xeikon, and EFI Jetrion are cited most often (72 percent), followed by wide format inkjet printers (35 percent), and monochrome barcode label printers (26 percent). Interestingly, the proportion of respondents owning HP Indigo, Xeikon, and other production-level digital presses is much higher than that of the broader production print market in North America.

The Wide Side

Another aspect of digital printing in packaging environments is wide format which may be used in conjunction with packaging for proofing, as well as related signage and point of purchase displays. Wide format product lines such as Epson Stylus, HP DesignJet, and Roland VersaUV, and others are common in converting, especially for proofing. Monochrome thermal barcode label printers are also common (26 percent) as are tabletop color label printers (23 percent). While such devices once were mainly used by manufacturers, retailers and smaller converters, the fastest models are now often placed with small label converters and print service providers such as commercial printers and others that engage in label printing as a side business.

Beyond Prototyping

An early promise of digital printing was the ability to produce prototypes, a costly and tedious task on a conventional press. Today though, digital printing is primarily used for production runs (Figure 3), with prototyping offering an added advantage. Many color digital presses in the U.S. and Canada are placed in close proximity to flexo, offset, or other analog systems and handle the short production runs that are not economic to print on conventional devices.

Future Focus

To get a glimpse of the future we asked: What do you think is the best long term strategy for your company to meet short run printing needs?

More than 9 in 10 (93 percent) say improvement to equipment or workflow tools is needed to and that adding to or improving existing equipment and workflows was the preferred process moving forward. And (perhaps fortunately), only 7 percent said "no change is needed".

So is digital printing required?

The quick answer is yes, digital printing has to be part of the toolset for successful converters, whether their focus is on labels, folding cartons, flexible packaging, or other packaging. The growing frequency of short runs creates challenges that digital technology—from tabletop models to full-sized presses—can help address. Nearly all converters are seeing customers order more frequently and in smaller quantities, cut wasted inventory, satisfy brand owners' needs, and keep supply chains lean. More than ever before, it is vital to listen to what customers are asking for, and ask them about their strategies for streamlining their packaging and converting requirements. Help them understand the economics that digital production offers.

Ultimately, the key percentage in response to this question (Figure 3) is 55 percent: the sum of those that would add or improve in terms of both conventional and digital and that say improving digital printing equipment is what is needed. Respondents are clearly saying that digital printing is an important tool and that it will be key to how the successful ones respond to the future needs of their customers. pP

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