Double-digit growth for digital packaging print

By Wayne Robinson | 31 July 2019

The value of digital packaging is set to soar over the next five years, by 13.1 per cent CAGR, according to print research agency Smithers Pira.

Digital packaging is a hot topic in the print industry, with new technology opening up multiple opportunities as brands seek to use packaging to engage with consumers. The LIVE New Frontiers in Packaging Print event in Sydney on August 12 will show print business owners where opportunities are emerging and how to meet them. Click here for details and to register.

Soaring growth: HP among the vendors supplying digital packaging solutions

The digital print market has already more than doubled over the past five years in value and print volume, making digital packaging the most dynamic and fastest-growing part of the print market as corrugated, cartons, flexibles and rigid plastics follow the more established digital label production sector.

Printers going to drupa next year will see a host of digital packaging print solutions being launched for all types of media.

Smithers Pira says that the global value of digital packaging will rise to US$31.6bn by 2024, up from the $18.9bn it will achieve this year, and even then it will still only account for 6.4 per cent of printed packaging.

The agency says that increasingly, digital print is being used to print labels, corrugated, cartons, flexibles, rigid plastic and metal packaging. It is taking share from analogue print – litho, flexo and gravure – and is opening up totally new opportunities. Technology developments have allowed converters to install digital print equipment that delivers high-quality output, suitable for particular applications, cost-effectively and at high productivity.

Digital print gives converters greater agility to meet the ever more demanding schedules and version differentiations of brands and retailers. The capability for total variability allows brands to boost brand performance by doing new things, offering higher levels of engagement and new customer experiences.

Smithers Pira has a new full report available, The Future of Digital Print for Packaging to 2024, which provides in-depth analysis on the key trends affecting the market and is available for €5250.