David Savastano, Editor05.15.17
With the major gains being made in inkjet, printing has transformed dramatically in recent years. Transactional printing, wide format and ceramic tiles are now almost completely digitally printed, and inkjet has made major gains in label and narrow web. The question is what markets come next.
The answer may have been seen at drupa 2016. There is significant movement from leading press manufacturers, including EFI and HP, toward corrugated printing. In addition, HP has been active in flexible packaging through its narrow web presses.
The advantages of digital are clear. If a company wants to do prototypes or samples, digital printing is the most cost efficient way to go. Short runs also favor digital; if a brand wants to customize or regionalize its products, or perhaps uses individual codes for anti-counterfeiting, inkjet offers a better value.
As inkjet ink industry leaders note in “The Inkjet Ink Industry Heads Toward Packaging,” they are seeing a lot of opportunities in packaging. These executives also report that low migration digital inks are an area of research.
Low migration inks are a major topic in “The Packaging Ink Market Continues to Thrive”. With packaging printing continuing to expand globally and newer technologies such as flexible and retort packaging becoming more prominent, ink companies are placing more emphasis on R&D in this area.
Low migration inks fit under the area of R&D. After a few major health concerns regarding packaging, brand owners are putting the heat on converters and their suppliers to eliminate embarrassing, costly, brand-damaging mistakes. Inks are one of the areas of emphasis, and keeping up-to-date with new regulations is essential.
Those new regulations, though, offer their own challenges, especially when there is a lack of standardization between regions. In the case of Europe, where the EU doesn’t have a unified standard, some countries are working on their own regulations, which makes matters challenging for suppliers. The good news is that the EU may come up with its own approach, as European editor Sean Milmo reports in “Europe Begins to Move Forward on Harmonized Packaging Ink Standard”.
The answer may have been seen at drupa 2016. There is significant movement from leading press manufacturers, including EFI and HP, toward corrugated printing. In addition, HP has been active in flexible packaging through its narrow web presses.
The advantages of digital are clear. If a company wants to do prototypes or samples, digital printing is the most cost efficient way to go. Short runs also favor digital; if a brand wants to customize or regionalize its products, or perhaps uses individual codes for anti-counterfeiting, inkjet offers a better value.
As inkjet ink industry leaders note in “The Inkjet Ink Industry Heads Toward Packaging,” they are seeing a lot of opportunities in packaging. These executives also report that low migration digital inks are an area of research.
Low migration inks are a major topic in “The Packaging Ink Market Continues to Thrive”. With packaging printing continuing to expand globally and newer technologies such as flexible and retort packaging becoming more prominent, ink companies are placing more emphasis on R&D in this area.
Low migration inks fit under the area of R&D. After a few major health concerns regarding packaging, brand owners are putting the heat on converters and their suppliers to eliminate embarrassing, costly, brand-damaging mistakes. Inks are one of the areas of emphasis, and keeping up-to-date with new regulations is essential.
Those new regulations, though, offer their own challenges, especially when there is a lack of standardization between regions. In the case of Europe, where the EU doesn’t have a unified standard, some countries are working on their own regulations, which makes matters challenging for suppliers. The good news is that the EU may come up with its own approach, as European editor Sean Milmo reports in “Europe Begins to Move Forward on Harmonized Packaging Ink Standard”.
