We are seeing more developments for digital printing of packaging. While long run packaging remains more cost-effective using flexo, gravure or sheetfed presses, inkjet printing has its own unique benefits. Danny Mertens, marketing manager, Flint Group Digital, points to the ability to develop on-demand production while reducing waste and inventory, creating easy versioning and personalization, producing fast changeovers, and lowering environmental impact.

Andrew Kim, senior product manager, on-demand label solutions, Epson Latin America, notes that the growth of digital printing for packaging is driven by several key advantages that align with today’s fast-paced, customer-focused market demands.

“Digital printing enables customization at scale, allowing brands to tailor packaging for specific products, promotions or audiences. It also supports on-demand production, eliminating long lead times and reducing inventory waste,” Kim says.

Kim observes that another major driver is the flexibility and independence digital printing provides to businesses.

“With no minimum order quantities, companies – especially small to mid-sized businesses – can operate on their own terms, adjusting quickly to market changes or customer needs,” Kim says. “Digital printing also delivers vibrant, high-quality color output, helping products stand out on shelves and resonate with consumers visually. These advantages allow brands to move faster, reduce reliance on third parties, and run more efficient operations.”

Simon Daplyn, product and marketing manager, Sun Chemical, observes that several benefits of digital printing are starting to shift the conversation away from comparing digital printing to traditional flexographic or gravure printing and toward embracing digital as a now often-preferred form of printing.

“Such benefits include fast, cost-effective and high-quality production, especially for short runs and customized designs; no need for printing plates, reducing setup time and costs; and on-demand printing, minimizing waste (inks, water required for cleaning or unused printed product) and excess, unused inventory,” Daplyn says. “Digital print enables users to complement analog technology with highly efficient, on-demand production of complex designs that require minimal downtime and simple job changeovers.”  

Daplyn notes that an additional growth factor for digital printing is hybrid print systems that include both analog print capability (typically flexographic) to apply a primer, white or solid ink, and a digital print engine for design and variable data with further options for analog overprint varnishes or other finishing processes.

“A number of these options now exist in label, corrugated, carton board and flexible packaging printers, which allows converters to gain the benefits of digital print in combination with the capabilities of analog print to maximize efficiency and performance,” Daplyn adds. “The development of digital primers and overprint varnishes is also helping drive growth in digital printing for packaging by improving print quality, providing a range of finishes and resistance properties.”

Haim Levit, HP’s SVP and division president of HP’s Industrial Print Organization, reports that several factors are propelling digital packaging growth, including short-run economics, speed to market, sustainability, personalization and versioning, and workflow automation.

“Digital removes the need for plates and setup, making it viable for short, frequent jobs,” Levit points out. “Brands can respond to trends and campaigns faster, particularly for seasonal or regionalized packaging. Lower waste, reduced energy use, and recyclable substrates support environmental goals. Digital printing enables highly targeted, serialized, or personalized packaging at scale.”

Christine Russell, VP commercial – USA, FUJIFILM Ink Solutions Group, notes that the desire is to move to complementary technology, including inkjet and other digital print, to address short runs economically as run lengths generally continue to reduce.

“Other benefits are versioning or imprinting of variable information such as anti-counterfeit, product data, languages or regional legislation,” adds Russell.

“Water-based ink technology is gaining traction in the latest label production systems and is the preferred choice for flexible packaging applications due to its ability to meet increasingly strict safety, compliance, and perceived sustainability requirements,” says Russell. “The newest water-based inks are IDFC (Indirect Food Contact) compliant, important for packaging.”

Paul Edwards, VP of the Digital division at INX International Ink Co., observes that the advantages can be classified into two areas: the secular trend towards reduced run lengths, and the impact of digital variable data.

“Reducing run lengths is an issue for current technology as the economics become harder,” says Edwards. “This is due to shorter run lengths leading to more downtime from job to job, and an overall increase in the cost per unit as the jobs get shorter.  

“The ROI for digital will become attractive below a given run length, which is dependent upon many factors. Inkjet technology advances the run length, at which point digital print becomes more profitable than analog,” adds Edwards. “Thus, with increasing numbers of shorter runs and the ability of digital to reduce costs at longer run lengths, the addressable market where digital makes sense economically is increasing.

Edwards noted that the second area relates specifically to the ability to add variable data as a feature to a product.

“It may be that a brand or customer wants to add to a standard image some personalized information or other features, such as QR codes, for greater interaction. This data or feature can only be added digitally in an economical manner,” says Edwards. “Although these are the main reasons for the growth in digital print for packaging, others can have an impact. For example, some new sustainable substrates are more effectively printed via a non-contact digital process than a conventional contact printing process.”