Digital’s Bite
Digital printing has sunk its teeth into package printing and the bite marks will be more common and larger as time goes on.
March 2008 by Tom Polischuk
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Ones and zeroes seem to rule the roost—digital is everywhere. In the printing world, digital has a firm grip in the commercial arena where variable-data printing is the “killer app.”
According to Jeff Wettersten, director, Digital Print Solutions for Sun Chemical, “Digital printing has gained a strong position in commercial printing due to its variable-data capability. The ability to personalize messages in printed media where they are reaching an audience of one has transformed the use of the product.”
In package printing, it’s not so simple; variable-data printing doesn’t have the same play as it does in the commercial sector. “Variable data belongs in the direct mail and transaction printing industry, where the demand really exists,” says Soren Ringbo, manager, digital products for Nilpeter. “We do not see a huge demand for variable-data printing [in packaging], but versioning in combination with value-added processes is clearly the tendency.”
Product versioning is one of the prime factors driving the trend toward shorter production runs, which plays into digital printing’s strength. “We see a huge potential in digital printed labels, driven by trends in the consumer market, such as small production series and more versioning,” says Ringbo.
Versioning is one of the factors that is posing a challenge to all printing technologies used in packaging. “All packaging segments are faced with the need to do it better, faster, and for less,” says Wettersten. “In many instances, conventional technologies and processes struggle with the new requirements placed on them. They simply have not been designed to effectively perform the tasks digital technologies have been. Like any new technology, the market will define the share. Based on the reception from converters, product manufacturers, and designers, digital printing will certainly carve out a prominent position in packaging.”
For marketing programs, the value created by versioning may be a function of how small a company can define its target market (approaching the “market-of-one” ideal state). “The use of variable data to support marketing initiatives will depend on how companies elect to define their markets in the future,” says Wettersten.
According to Donald Allred, director, business development, inkjet printing solutions for Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, how small these markets can be defined is limited by current distribution methods. “The effectiveness of variable-data package printing being able to drive increased revenues for packaged-goods companies is somewhat hindered today because of the existing product distribution methods,” he says. “Packaged-goods companies typically do not designate specific batches or products to a narrow delivery zone.”
According to Jeff Wettersten, director, Digital Print Solutions for Sun Chemical, “Digital printing has gained a strong position in commercial printing due to its variable-data capability. The ability to personalize messages in printed media where they are reaching an audience of one has transformed the use of the product.”
In package printing, it’s not so simple; variable-data printing doesn’t have the same play as it does in the commercial sector. “Variable data belongs in the direct mail and transaction printing industry, where the demand really exists,” says Soren Ringbo, manager, digital products for Nilpeter. “We do not see a huge demand for variable-data printing [in packaging], but versioning in combination with value-added processes is clearly the tendency.”
Product versioning is one of the prime factors driving the trend toward shorter production runs, which plays into digital printing’s strength. “We see a huge potential in digital printed labels, driven by trends in the consumer market, such as small production series and more versioning,” says Ringbo.
Versioning is one of the factors that is posing a challenge to all printing technologies used in packaging. “All packaging segments are faced with the need to do it better, faster, and for less,” says Wettersten. “In many instances, conventional technologies and processes struggle with the new requirements placed on them. They simply have not been designed to effectively perform the tasks digital technologies have been. Like any new technology, the market will define the share. Based on the reception from converters, product manufacturers, and designers, digital printing will certainly carve out a prominent position in packaging.”
For marketing programs, the value created by versioning may be a function of how small a company can define its target market (approaching the “market-of-one” ideal state). “The use of variable data to support marketing initiatives will depend on how companies elect to define their markets in the future,” says Wettersten.
According to Donald Allred, director, business development, inkjet printing solutions for Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, how small these markets can be defined is limited by current distribution methods. “The effectiveness of variable-data package printing being able to drive increased revenues for packaged-goods companies is somewhat hindered today because of the existing product distribution methods,” he says. “Packaged-goods companies typically do not designate specific batches or products to a narrow delivery zone.”
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