David Savastano, Editor07.21.21
Digital printing is enjoying strong growth. Whether it is packaging, textile, wide format graphics or other segments, the use of digital printing is expanding.
According to Allied Market Research’s report, “Global Digital Ink Market by Type, Technology Type, Substrate Type, and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026,” the digital ink market accounted for revenue of $2.6 billion in 2018, and is anticipated to generate $4.3 billion by 2026.
Matthieu Carni, director Business Unit Inkjet at Siegwerk, reported that inkjet has successfully proven its capacity to adapt to many markets and cope with very diverse challenges.
“UV inkjet is already fully proven on the market, showing further growth especially for the printing of thick materials, e.g. labels, blister or direct-to-object printing of cups, tubes and caps,” Carni said.
“Water-based inkjet in turn is already successfully used in industrial scale for thin and porous materials, such as corrugated, tissue or folding carton. Water-based inkjet is now also moving into mainstream packaging printing.”
Phil Jackman, global product manager, digital, Sun Chemical, said that Sun Chemical is seeing continued growth in packaging and labels as digital press numbers and capabilities are being realized.
“Coding and marking, imprinting and personalized print applications have grown in most geographies,” Jackman noted. “However, the wide and super-wide formats in the graphics market saw their growth hampered by the pandemic, and the diminished demand for signage at large events caused many print shops to diversify their businesses. The digital business of Sun Chemical, under the SunJet brand, widened its product and technology portfolio to meet the demands of existing and emerging markets.”
Daniel Valade, Roland DGA product manager of digital print, observed that 2020 was an anomaly year with COVID-19.
“The sign and graphics business slowed for a short time but picked up as regulations started to set in,” said Valade. “We saw unexpected growth in the last half of 2020 and the first half of 2021 in the core sign market.”
Oscar Granados, director of sales at LogoJET, said that he is definitely seeing growth in inkjet. “Digital printing and specifically inkjet as a technology are replacing conventional printing processes,” Granados added.
“The inkjet ink segment is still seeing considerable growth,” said Warren Catchpole - director, digital solutions for digital inkjet inks at Wikoff Color. “Packaging, label, medical, and direct to object are seeing growth due to technology advancements.”
“This is an interesting question because sometimes inkjet technology is seen as a mature business, but, for me it is a source of continual innovation and growth opportunities,” said Enric Odena Garcia, category marketing manager, Markem-Imaje Centre of Competencies. “The reality is that inkjet is expanding, and we see examples of this every day; not least in the need to respond to evolving regulatory criteria by innovating with new pigment to meet these quality standards. Coupled with customer needs for ever faster printing outputs and more sophisticated software, we are benefiting from a flow of new opportunities.”
The Growth of Packaging
Packaging has become one the growth areas for packaging, and inkjet ink specialists see more opportunities ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to growth in ecommerce, which in turn is leading to companies adding branding to their packaging.
“The biggest transition that we’ve seen is within secondary packaging,” said Odena Garcia. “Our customers no longer view secondary packaging as simply a container but instead as another connection with their customer and an additional touchpoint for brand communication. The exponential growth of online businesses as a result of the pandemic has added to this.”
“The packaging segment is a fast-growing inkjet segment, therefore we are seeing growing interest and demand for our PageWide corrugated presses,” said Niv Ishay, marketing manager, HP PageWide Industrial Corrugated. “The corrugated packaging industry showcased not only growth but also resilience during the COVID period, in particular inkjet for corrugated.
“With the increased need for supply chain efficiency, digital presses for corrugated packaging are a growth engine for HP and converters that can use HP PageWide to produce corrugated boxes at a lower cost, faster and higher quality product,” Ishay said. “Compared to analog printing processes, HP PageWide packaging production uses less energy, reduces media waste and inventory expenses, and requires less make-ready. Digital converters can offer improved campaigns to brands with variable data printing, versioning, etc., which are only available with digital technologies. E-commerce is one driver for corrugated packaging growth, but also the search for sustainable packaging is influencing the market growth.”
“UV inkjet and the fact that we can print directly on a box or a can up to 6 inches high allows customers to take advantage of a ‘label-free’ technology,” Granados said. “We have customers doing short runs, prototyping, samples, contract proofs with our printers, and many are approaching us with interest on using UV Inkjet in their processes. Our solution is very appealing to high end packaging as well as for prototyping and low runs.”
Catchpole said that packaging is a promising growth segment for inkjet.
“Large portions of the business in the packaging space will be dominated by traditional print because of the volumes required,” Catchpole observed. “However, we have growth opportunities in the ‘difficult to print to’ objects and with smaller companies that need flexibility in terms of shorter run projects. On top of that, inkjet continues to rule the marking portion of the packaging segment.”
Jay Roberts, Roland DGA product manager – UV printers, said that Roland DGA’s original UV printers, like the VersaUV LEJ-640 hybrid and the LEC models, were designed specifically for package prototyping and short-runs.
“Being able to print to substrates such as corrugated board, styrene and metals has opened a new world of possibilities for UV printer users, allowing customization and localization for unique demographic markets,” Roberts noted. “The ability of UV printers like the IU-1000F to customize pieces with gloss and white inks, and perform other types of specialized printing, offers great advantages.
“Another extremely useful UV printer feature is variable data printing. Being able to capture local markets in national campaigns provides significant advantages over traditional printing,” Roberts said.
“We have customers using large-run, traditional printing in conjunction with UV digital printing on pre-printed pieces. Using variable data, they can customize these for specific local markets, allowing for extremely effective, targeted advertising.
“The capabilities of smaller UV inkjet printers are limited when it comes to larger jobs, but with new flatbed UV printers like the Roland IU-1000F, the demands of higher-volume packaging production can now be met easily and cost-effectively. The capabilities of these advanced devices are increasing demand for UV digital printers, and we expect to see continued growth in this market over the coming years,” Roberts noted.
Carni sees potential for flexible packaging.
“Going forward, flexible packaging can definitely become one of the largest volume applications for water-based piezo inkjet printing,” said Carni. “Market forces such as shorter job lengths, reduced working capital and shorter time to market are making companies look at new ways of production. Here, inkjet allows converters and brand owners to differentiate via individualization, serialization (e.g. for track & trace) and point of sale marketing.
“In addition, the flexible packaging industry is on the verge of the circular economy revolution, adding new requirements to the list,” added Carni. “Here, water-based inkjet can have some real advantages. Suited to print variable data without the need of repetitive elements and suited to print on demand without extensive set-up times and process waste, inkjet is the perfect tool for lean processes and short runs. Decentralized production, late-stage customization and direct-to-object printing open up new opportunities in production and design of packaging.”
Jackman reported that market opportunities continue to grow.
“We are seeing packaging customers begin to fully accept the concept of digital print technology,” said Jackman. “Virtual Drupa saw the launch of some new machine platforms intended for packaging and the development strives on. Sun Chemical’s R&D team is always working to advance its current inkjet and primer technology to higher and better levels that best meets the future needs of our customers.
“The digital value proposition continues to gain momentum as run lengths in many conventional print markets reduce,” Jackman added. “In addition to this, market trends continue to demonstrate the need to reduce lead times to eliminate the risks of obsolescence, reduce working capital, and to improve the efficiency of print processes against the backdrop of increasing numbers of SKUs and levels of complexity. As a result, markets within the packaging sector are seeing high levels of R&D investment and a large percentage growth, although the current penetration of digital is still quite small. The placement of industrial, high productivity machines in corrugated, folding carton and flexible packaging has marked the start of the digital revolution in packaging.”
Food Packaging and Digital Printing
One area of growth for digital printing is food packaging, but this requires meeting safety guidelines.
Odena Garcia said that Markem-Image has seen around a 7% growth in this segment in the last few months alone.
“This is driven by our customers’ need to innovate because of new materials, new safety conditions and the imperative to respond to regulatory changes,” Odena Garcia said. “We value partnering directly with our customers to find solutions to their needs by bringing new technologies and solutions to market. A good example of a customer collaboration is our range of MEK-free inks, which are easier to handle along with being simpler to export/import, plus they are more respectful to the environment.”
“We see a lot of growth potential for inkjet in food packaging,” Catchpole said. “As with all other print technologies, Wikoff works with customers to develop products that meet or exceed food safety guidelines dependent on the exact application.”
HP’s Ishay pointed out that food packaging is about 50% of the packaging market, therefore is a major and an important part of the packaging sector, with unique requirements to meet health and safety demands.
“The regulatory world continues to evolve and become more and more stringent in its demands as sustainability and safety take a bigger part in the consumers’ buying decisions. HP PageWide technology meets the most stringent global requirement, including Swiss Ordinance, Nestlé Guidance, FDA, EU Framework, EuPIA, ECOLOGO, extreme migration tests and others,” Ishay said.
“HP PageWide’s true water-based inks, containing no reactive UV chemistries, are in a unique position to enable packaging converters to comply with packaging safety regulations while producing corrugated print for primary and secondary corrugated packaging, which requires no additional barriers,” Ishay added. “HP PageWide was the first supplier to fulfill the Intertek Guidelines for the Safe Use of Printing Inks.
“HP PageWide with its water-based ink technology allows a sustainable life-cycle of corrugated boxes,” Ishay noted. “With its worry-free production with water-based inks, converters can promote and contribute to a circular economy and improve their sustainability offering to their customers. From the manufacturing of the corrugated material, through printing and conversion, to the consumption of the products and finally to the packaging disposal process, our digital packaging solutions are designed to make printing more sustainable.”
Roberts reported that Roland DGA has introduced two new inks that are working towards meeting food safety guidelines.
“Our new VersaUV EUV-5 inks and V-BOND Ink are the newest additions to our UV ink lineup,” said Roberts. “While neither inks meets all the FDA requirements for direct-to-food regulations, both do satisfy the requirements for external packaging. V-BOND Ink is the most progressive ink Roland DGA offers. This specially formulated UV ink provides a safer, less toxic alternative to standard UV Inks.
“V-BOND Ink has also shown increased performance in surface adhesion, scratch resistance and is certified under Proposition 65 and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA),” added Roberts. “Our new EUV-5 inks not only image beautifully, they’re also formulated without nickel or ‘heavy metals’ to provide additional peace of mind for users. Printed graphics produced with these inks and our new LEC2 series UV printer/cutters are GREENGUARD Gold certified for low chemical emissions and safe indoor operation.”
Carni said that Siegwerk is seeing a growing interest in inkjet printing for food packaging.
‘Our inkjet portfolio already includes migration optimized inkjet inks for sensitive food and pharma packaging that are individually adjusted to the final application and not only for a given printing equipment,” Carni said. “As a leader in product safety, we are well positioned to guide our customers in terms of the steadily increasing regulatory efforts. Today, we run two state-of-the-art analytic labs – one in Siegburg, Germany, and one in Annemasse, France. With a broad spectrum of analytic methods and highly qualified specialists for printing inks and material analysis, both labs support our inkjet ink development.
“We have a team exclusively dedicated to safety regarding both regulatory compliance and brand owner requirements to always ensure that all our products are safe for the end-use applications,” Carni added. “Our experts not only run diligent raw material approval processes, but also model, measure and evaluate ingredients by themselves. With our online ink safety portal, we concretely provide customers with an expert platform offering condensed knowledge on crucial product safety and regulatory topics with regard to printing ink ingredients (including inkjet), regulatory affairs, exposure assessments and safety evaluations.”
“Companies are developing direct food contact solutions that involve inkjet,” said Granados. “Our relationship with Sun Chemical is focused on food grade inks. We developed a printer that decorates edible products with their support on the ink development side.”
“Food packaging is an area where we’re constantly seeing interest,” Sun Chemical’s Jackman said. “One of the main priorities for brand owners, converters and customers is compliance and the issue of migration. Once mainly concerned with conventional printing, migration and compliance are also important factors in digital printing and if not handled correctly, could have potentially severe consequences, such as damage to a brand’s reputation and risks to consumer health.
“During the packaging design stage, particular attention is spent on ensuring the correct base materials are used to protect the various food products, namely board, film, foil or plastic substrates,” added Jackman. “The selection of inks and coatings are equally as important. To ensure Sun Chemical inks meet the necessary requirements and legislations, there are several factors that need to be considered, including an understanding of the legislation that regulates package printing, a knowledge of migration and the prescribed limits, a responsibility for ensuring that packaging is correct for its end-use and utilizing correct testing protocols through all key players in the supply chain.”
“Today, packaging must meet several requirements including providing shelf appeal, increased levels of communication on packages, be recyclable and sustainable, extend the shelf life, and be lightweight, all of this while also considering the complex regulatory landscape, as the industry strives to make food packaging safer,” Jackman noted. “Digital printing can make a positive impact on packaging and Sun Chemical is uniquely positioned to support this based on its wealth of experience with packaging inks and coatings to deliver fully compliant inkjet packaging products.”
Wide Format and Vehicle Wraps
One of the earliest successes for digital printing was wide format, whether it was for billboards, signage, wraps or other applications. This continues to be a solid market, although growth has slowed in some areas as inkjet has completely captured the segment.
“The graphics segment has leveled off on growth,” Catchpole said. “The potential in this segment has been realized. It saw incredible development through the early 2000s but this is the slowest growing segment in inkjet today.”
“From my point of view, it is stagnant,” Granados observed. “Last year’s retail shutdown has made it shrink considerably and I don’t see a lot of growth in the short term.”
Matt McCausland, senior product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, reported that COVID-19 led to an increased need for signage.
“After some initial hesitancy at the beginning of the pandemic, the demand began to skyrocket as different parts of the country opened at different times,” said McCausland. “In addition, there was a big need for signage during the pandemic. Signage and printing technology were imperative to keeping customers informed and local businesses top of mind. Signage was everywhere – branded to-go packaging items, ‘We’re Open’ banners, in-store signage and floor spacing, and yard signs for graduations, birthday celebrations and political communications.”
Roland DGA has made vehicle graphics a key part of their business.
“Vehicle graphics have been a very reliable source of business for end users,” said Valade. “With most customized applications we usually see an upward trend, plateau, and a slow decline as the ‘trend’ fades away. With the addition of new overlaminates like metallic and pearlescent, however, the vehicle graphics growth trend has not slowed. More and more wide-format shops have brought not only the wrap printing in house, but also installation. With COVID signage business having such a major impact on the market, many users purchased new equipment to keep up with demand.”
According to Allied Market Research’s report, “Global Digital Ink Market by Type, Technology Type, Substrate Type, and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026,” the digital ink market accounted for revenue of $2.6 billion in 2018, and is anticipated to generate $4.3 billion by 2026.
Matthieu Carni, director Business Unit Inkjet at Siegwerk, reported that inkjet has successfully proven its capacity to adapt to many markets and cope with very diverse challenges.
“UV inkjet is already fully proven on the market, showing further growth especially for the printing of thick materials, e.g. labels, blister or direct-to-object printing of cups, tubes and caps,” Carni said.
“Water-based inkjet in turn is already successfully used in industrial scale for thin and porous materials, such as corrugated, tissue or folding carton. Water-based inkjet is now also moving into mainstream packaging printing.”
Phil Jackman, global product manager, digital, Sun Chemical, said that Sun Chemical is seeing continued growth in packaging and labels as digital press numbers and capabilities are being realized.
“Coding and marking, imprinting and personalized print applications have grown in most geographies,” Jackman noted. “However, the wide and super-wide formats in the graphics market saw their growth hampered by the pandemic, and the diminished demand for signage at large events caused many print shops to diversify their businesses. The digital business of Sun Chemical, under the SunJet brand, widened its product and technology portfolio to meet the demands of existing and emerging markets.”
Daniel Valade, Roland DGA product manager of digital print, observed that 2020 was an anomaly year with COVID-19.
“The sign and graphics business slowed for a short time but picked up as regulations started to set in,” said Valade. “We saw unexpected growth in the last half of 2020 and the first half of 2021 in the core sign market.”
Oscar Granados, director of sales at LogoJET, said that he is definitely seeing growth in inkjet. “Digital printing and specifically inkjet as a technology are replacing conventional printing processes,” Granados added.
“The inkjet ink segment is still seeing considerable growth,” said Warren Catchpole - director, digital solutions for digital inkjet inks at Wikoff Color. “Packaging, label, medical, and direct to object are seeing growth due to technology advancements.”
“This is an interesting question because sometimes inkjet technology is seen as a mature business, but, for me it is a source of continual innovation and growth opportunities,” said Enric Odena Garcia, category marketing manager, Markem-Imaje Centre of Competencies. “The reality is that inkjet is expanding, and we see examples of this every day; not least in the need to respond to evolving regulatory criteria by innovating with new pigment to meet these quality standards. Coupled with customer needs for ever faster printing outputs and more sophisticated software, we are benefiting from a flow of new opportunities.”
The Growth of Packaging
Packaging has become one the growth areas for packaging, and inkjet ink specialists see more opportunities ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to growth in ecommerce, which in turn is leading to companies adding branding to their packaging.
“The biggest transition that we’ve seen is within secondary packaging,” said Odena Garcia. “Our customers no longer view secondary packaging as simply a container but instead as another connection with their customer and an additional touchpoint for brand communication. The exponential growth of online businesses as a result of the pandemic has added to this.”
“The packaging segment is a fast-growing inkjet segment, therefore we are seeing growing interest and demand for our PageWide corrugated presses,” said Niv Ishay, marketing manager, HP PageWide Industrial Corrugated. “The corrugated packaging industry showcased not only growth but also resilience during the COVID period, in particular inkjet for corrugated.
“With the increased need for supply chain efficiency, digital presses for corrugated packaging are a growth engine for HP and converters that can use HP PageWide to produce corrugated boxes at a lower cost, faster and higher quality product,” Ishay said. “Compared to analog printing processes, HP PageWide packaging production uses less energy, reduces media waste and inventory expenses, and requires less make-ready. Digital converters can offer improved campaigns to brands with variable data printing, versioning, etc., which are only available with digital technologies. E-commerce is one driver for corrugated packaging growth, but also the search for sustainable packaging is influencing the market growth.”
“UV inkjet and the fact that we can print directly on a box or a can up to 6 inches high allows customers to take advantage of a ‘label-free’ technology,” Granados said. “We have customers doing short runs, prototyping, samples, contract proofs with our printers, and many are approaching us with interest on using UV Inkjet in their processes. Our solution is very appealing to high end packaging as well as for prototyping and low runs.”
Catchpole said that packaging is a promising growth segment for inkjet.
“Large portions of the business in the packaging space will be dominated by traditional print because of the volumes required,” Catchpole observed. “However, we have growth opportunities in the ‘difficult to print to’ objects and with smaller companies that need flexibility in terms of shorter run projects. On top of that, inkjet continues to rule the marking portion of the packaging segment.”
Jay Roberts, Roland DGA product manager – UV printers, said that Roland DGA’s original UV printers, like the VersaUV LEJ-640 hybrid and the LEC models, were designed specifically for package prototyping and short-runs.
“Being able to print to substrates such as corrugated board, styrene and metals has opened a new world of possibilities for UV printer users, allowing customization and localization for unique demographic markets,” Roberts noted. “The ability of UV printers like the IU-1000F to customize pieces with gloss and white inks, and perform other types of specialized printing, offers great advantages.
“Another extremely useful UV printer feature is variable data printing. Being able to capture local markets in national campaigns provides significant advantages over traditional printing,” Roberts said.
“We have customers using large-run, traditional printing in conjunction with UV digital printing on pre-printed pieces. Using variable data, they can customize these for specific local markets, allowing for extremely effective, targeted advertising.
“The capabilities of smaller UV inkjet printers are limited when it comes to larger jobs, but with new flatbed UV printers like the Roland IU-1000F, the demands of higher-volume packaging production can now be met easily and cost-effectively. The capabilities of these advanced devices are increasing demand for UV digital printers, and we expect to see continued growth in this market over the coming years,” Roberts noted.
Carni sees potential for flexible packaging.
“Going forward, flexible packaging can definitely become one of the largest volume applications for water-based piezo inkjet printing,” said Carni. “Market forces such as shorter job lengths, reduced working capital and shorter time to market are making companies look at new ways of production. Here, inkjet allows converters and brand owners to differentiate via individualization, serialization (e.g. for track & trace) and point of sale marketing.
“In addition, the flexible packaging industry is on the verge of the circular economy revolution, adding new requirements to the list,” added Carni. “Here, water-based inkjet can have some real advantages. Suited to print variable data without the need of repetitive elements and suited to print on demand without extensive set-up times and process waste, inkjet is the perfect tool for lean processes and short runs. Decentralized production, late-stage customization and direct-to-object printing open up new opportunities in production and design of packaging.”
Jackman reported that market opportunities continue to grow.
“We are seeing packaging customers begin to fully accept the concept of digital print technology,” said Jackman. “Virtual Drupa saw the launch of some new machine platforms intended for packaging and the development strives on. Sun Chemical’s R&D team is always working to advance its current inkjet and primer technology to higher and better levels that best meets the future needs of our customers.
“The digital value proposition continues to gain momentum as run lengths in many conventional print markets reduce,” Jackman added. “In addition to this, market trends continue to demonstrate the need to reduce lead times to eliminate the risks of obsolescence, reduce working capital, and to improve the efficiency of print processes against the backdrop of increasing numbers of SKUs and levels of complexity. As a result, markets within the packaging sector are seeing high levels of R&D investment and a large percentage growth, although the current penetration of digital is still quite small. The placement of industrial, high productivity machines in corrugated, folding carton and flexible packaging has marked the start of the digital revolution in packaging.”
Food Packaging and Digital Printing
One area of growth for digital printing is food packaging, but this requires meeting safety guidelines.
Odena Garcia said that Markem-Image has seen around a 7% growth in this segment in the last few months alone.
“This is driven by our customers’ need to innovate because of new materials, new safety conditions and the imperative to respond to regulatory changes,” Odena Garcia said. “We value partnering directly with our customers to find solutions to their needs by bringing new technologies and solutions to market. A good example of a customer collaboration is our range of MEK-free inks, which are easier to handle along with being simpler to export/import, plus they are more respectful to the environment.”
“We see a lot of growth potential for inkjet in food packaging,” Catchpole said. “As with all other print technologies, Wikoff works with customers to develop products that meet or exceed food safety guidelines dependent on the exact application.”
HP’s Ishay pointed out that food packaging is about 50% of the packaging market, therefore is a major and an important part of the packaging sector, with unique requirements to meet health and safety demands.
“The regulatory world continues to evolve and become more and more stringent in its demands as sustainability and safety take a bigger part in the consumers’ buying decisions. HP PageWide technology meets the most stringent global requirement, including Swiss Ordinance, Nestlé Guidance, FDA, EU Framework, EuPIA, ECOLOGO, extreme migration tests and others,” Ishay said.
“HP PageWide’s true water-based inks, containing no reactive UV chemistries, are in a unique position to enable packaging converters to comply with packaging safety regulations while producing corrugated print for primary and secondary corrugated packaging, which requires no additional barriers,” Ishay added. “HP PageWide was the first supplier to fulfill the Intertek Guidelines for the Safe Use of Printing Inks.
“HP PageWide with its water-based ink technology allows a sustainable life-cycle of corrugated boxes,” Ishay noted. “With its worry-free production with water-based inks, converters can promote and contribute to a circular economy and improve their sustainability offering to their customers. From the manufacturing of the corrugated material, through printing and conversion, to the consumption of the products and finally to the packaging disposal process, our digital packaging solutions are designed to make printing more sustainable.”
Roberts reported that Roland DGA has introduced two new inks that are working towards meeting food safety guidelines.
“Our new VersaUV EUV-5 inks and V-BOND Ink are the newest additions to our UV ink lineup,” said Roberts. “While neither inks meets all the FDA requirements for direct-to-food regulations, both do satisfy the requirements for external packaging. V-BOND Ink is the most progressive ink Roland DGA offers. This specially formulated UV ink provides a safer, less toxic alternative to standard UV Inks.
“V-BOND Ink has also shown increased performance in surface adhesion, scratch resistance and is certified under Proposition 65 and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA),” added Roberts. “Our new EUV-5 inks not only image beautifully, they’re also formulated without nickel or ‘heavy metals’ to provide additional peace of mind for users. Printed graphics produced with these inks and our new LEC2 series UV printer/cutters are GREENGUARD Gold certified for low chemical emissions and safe indoor operation.”
Carni said that Siegwerk is seeing a growing interest in inkjet printing for food packaging.
‘Our inkjet portfolio already includes migration optimized inkjet inks for sensitive food and pharma packaging that are individually adjusted to the final application and not only for a given printing equipment,” Carni said. “As a leader in product safety, we are well positioned to guide our customers in terms of the steadily increasing regulatory efforts. Today, we run two state-of-the-art analytic labs – one in Siegburg, Germany, and one in Annemasse, France. With a broad spectrum of analytic methods and highly qualified specialists for printing inks and material analysis, both labs support our inkjet ink development.
“We have a team exclusively dedicated to safety regarding both regulatory compliance and brand owner requirements to always ensure that all our products are safe for the end-use applications,” Carni added. “Our experts not only run diligent raw material approval processes, but also model, measure and evaluate ingredients by themselves. With our online ink safety portal, we concretely provide customers with an expert platform offering condensed knowledge on crucial product safety and regulatory topics with regard to printing ink ingredients (including inkjet), regulatory affairs, exposure assessments and safety evaluations.”
“Companies are developing direct food contact solutions that involve inkjet,” said Granados. “Our relationship with Sun Chemical is focused on food grade inks. We developed a printer that decorates edible products with their support on the ink development side.”
“Food packaging is an area where we’re constantly seeing interest,” Sun Chemical’s Jackman said. “One of the main priorities for brand owners, converters and customers is compliance and the issue of migration. Once mainly concerned with conventional printing, migration and compliance are also important factors in digital printing and if not handled correctly, could have potentially severe consequences, such as damage to a brand’s reputation and risks to consumer health.
“During the packaging design stage, particular attention is spent on ensuring the correct base materials are used to protect the various food products, namely board, film, foil or plastic substrates,” added Jackman. “The selection of inks and coatings are equally as important. To ensure Sun Chemical inks meet the necessary requirements and legislations, there are several factors that need to be considered, including an understanding of the legislation that regulates package printing, a knowledge of migration and the prescribed limits, a responsibility for ensuring that packaging is correct for its end-use and utilizing correct testing protocols through all key players in the supply chain.”
“Today, packaging must meet several requirements including providing shelf appeal, increased levels of communication on packages, be recyclable and sustainable, extend the shelf life, and be lightweight, all of this while also considering the complex regulatory landscape, as the industry strives to make food packaging safer,” Jackman noted. “Digital printing can make a positive impact on packaging and Sun Chemical is uniquely positioned to support this based on its wealth of experience with packaging inks and coatings to deliver fully compliant inkjet packaging products.”
Wide Format and Vehicle Wraps
One of the earliest successes for digital printing was wide format, whether it was for billboards, signage, wraps or other applications. This continues to be a solid market, although growth has slowed in some areas as inkjet has completely captured the segment.
“The graphics segment has leveled off on growth,” Catchpole said. “The potential in this segment has been realized. It saw incredible development through the early 2000s but this is the slowest growing segment in inkjet today.”
“From my point of view, it is stagnant,” Granados observed. “Last year’s retail shutdown has made it shrink considerably and I don’t see a lot of growth in the short term.”
Matt McCausland, senior product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, reported that COVID-19 led to an increased need for signage.
“After some initial hesitancy at the beginning of the pandemic, the demand began to skyrocket as different parts of the country opened at different times,” said McCausland. “In addition, there was a big need for signage during the pandemic. Signage and printing technology were imperative to keeping customers informed and local businesses top of mind. Signage was everywhere – branded to-go packaging items, ‘We’re Open’ banners, in-store signage and floor spacing, and yard signs for graduations, birthday celebrations and political communications.”
Roland DGA has made vehicle graphics a key part of their business.
“Vehicle graphics have been a very reliable source of business for end users,” said Valade. “With most customized applications we usually see an upward trend, plateau, and a slow decline as the ‘trend’ fades away. With the addition of new overlaminates like metallic and pearlescent, however, the vehicle graphics growth trend has not slowed. More and more wide-format shops have brought not only the wrap printing in house, but also installation. With COVID signage business having such a major impact on the market, many users purchased new equipment to keep up with demand.”
