Label Production Research Set to Launch

Demand for labels is high. And while that’s good news for label printers and converters, emerging and evolving production challenges are introducing new obstacles to the production process. An increase in total jobs, decreasing run lengths, and fluctuations in output volumes are converging, requiring label printers to seek out technological solutions that can contend with these trends. Label service article revised[89] 

NAPCO Research, a division of Packaging Impressions’ parent company NAPCO Media, is launching an annual service that will quantify the variation in job quantities that label printers are contending with. This data will be supplemented with updates on average run lengths across industry and market segments and trends in overall label output. In tracking these metrics year-over-year, this service will provide an evolving snapshot of the label workflow across the industry and offer insight into how solutions providers can best serve their customers.

It's no secret that shorter run lengths have presented a significant challenge for package printers. In fact, in 2018, Packaging Impressions and NAPCO Research conducted a study of package printers and converters across all segments that confirmed just how much of a hurdle short runs are. In that report, more than half (51%) of package printers stated that keeping up with decreasing run sizes and SKU proliferation was among their top three production-based business challenges.

While shorter run lengths continue to present a challenge across label and package printing, technological solutions such as digital printing and finishing, automated workflow processes, and quick changeover conventional presses have eased the pain. But what remains an immediate concern is the increasing job quantities that printers and converters must manage amidst a pressing lack of available labor, supply chain constraints, and a materials shortage.

These fluctuations in job quantity, run length, and overall output have made agility in the label production process essential, and label printers and converters are in need of the proper mix of digital and conventional presses, finishing equipment, and software solutions to optimize their workflow. The data and forecasts that this NAPCO Research initiative will uncover will be essential for industry suppliers to position their products and services to ensure label converters have what they need to thrive in an evolving industry.

If you are interested in subscribing to this new research opportunity for the label segment, contact Nathan Safran, VP of NAPCO Research, at nsafran@napco.com.