I wrote about the future of corrugated in January of 2020 prior to COVID-19 and the changes that it brought. Demand for corrugated is still looking bright, with a 4.1% CAGR increase in global sales during the period ending 2025, according to Smithers. However, what is even more interesting is that the growth of corrugated print produced by inkjet is projected to grow at 19.85% CAGR during that same period, with a mix of both preprint laminate and postprint. Now don’t get too excited, since that still only brings corrugated inkjet production up to approximately 3.9% of the total corrugated production volume.

However, there is no doubt that digital corrugated production is growing and will continue to gain market share from analog, primarily flexo preprint laminate. Postprint corrugated growth is increasing as well, as consumer purchasing habits continue to shift from in-store retail to online and big box stores. Both of these trends had started prior to COVID-19 and have since accelerated. Currently, there are fewer than 100 single-pass postprint production inkjet presses installed globally, and while many of them have only been in production for less than two years, they are starting to reach their capacity. To support this increasing growth, there have been quite a few corrugated production inkjet press introductions this year to add to the previously released presses discussed in the previous article. In some cases, the new introductions are enhanced versions of existing presses like the Hanway Glory re-envisioned as the Xeikon IDERA and the Sun Automation Corrstream re-envisioned as the Domino X630i. Production inkjet technologies will continue to support this growth as a key component of analog print displacement and increase of print as a part of manufacturing processes. 

Production inkjet requirements vary based on the application and can also require significant manipulation and control of the electronics that drive the printhead to accommodate different printing conditions, all challenging and time-consuming for inkjet press manufacturers, and, ultimately, end users. One of the companies at the forefront of addressing these challenges is Global Graphics. Their RIP technology dates back to 1986, and their Harlequin Host Renderer is recognized as the most powerful RIP in the marketplace today, an important factor in packaging production. Although, while having a fast RIP is important, inkjet packaging print is still not easy and corrugated postprint brings many additional challenges.