Digital printing has made gains in a wide range of applications, and corrugated is turning out to be promising. HP, EFI, FUJIFILM and Canon are among the leading press and ink manufacturers supplying the market, and converters are finding opportunities for using digital printing for corrugated segments such as signs and displays and boxes.

While digital has made inroads in the market, there is plenty of potential in the overall corrugated market, which is estimated at $250 billion. Digital has a small slice of the market, but if it can overcome challenges and meet the requirements of customers, it could continue to grow rapidly.

Randy Paar, marketing manager – display graphics, large format solutions for Canon Solutions America, pointed out that corrugate is very porous, often warped and as a result very difficult to manage keeping it flat while printing.

“Realizing this challenge, Canon developed a special version of the Arizona 6100 series that implemented a highly powerful blower system that not only sucks down difficult corrugated boards but even ¾ inch warped plywood,”