Target marketing, lean manufacturing, and new generation of presses driving colour digital printing of labels and packaging

The color digital label and packaging (CDLP) market will grow strongly between 2011 and 2016, with a 18% compound annual growth rate in digital press revenues according to InfoTrends, a specialist consulting firm.
There are two megatrends among brand owners that support the growth of the color digital press market in label and packaging uses. One is the brand owners' focus on target marketing, and the other is their focus on lean manufacturing. Another key theme of the current forecast is that the market will soon change with the arrival of a new generation of color digital label and packaging (CDLP) presses. These new presses will be high capacity models - most with web or throat width at least 26", which is over twice the width of most current CDLP presses. That difference in width and overall productivity will drive the use of CDLP presses to new levels in folding cartons and flexible packaging, two important applications where current models have only a limited role today. Both EP and inkjet technologies will contribute to this new generation of high-end CDLP presses in a receptive, growing market (Packaging Digest, 11 December 2012).