At WhatTheyThink.com and on this blog, we focus mostly on the commercial printing and digital publishing markets. In May, I attended two events that focused exclusively on the packaging market. Esko held their users conference in Orlando and Heidelberg entertained customers and prospects at their North American headquarters.

Packaging is a very interesting segment of the communications industry. Companies in this segment have been shielded from much of the sluggishness, pessimism and slow growth of the traditional print market. PDFs and email will not replace packaging - in fact digital trends have made packaging even more important.

Customers at both events explained how packaging has become the most effective way to reach consumers. As opposed to media outlets like billboards, TV, direct mail, magazines, the internet and radio - it is hard to ignore the power of package design and placement when shopping at retail outlets.

Heidelberg executives presented trends from PIRA (a research firm based in the UK) that detailed nice gains in many segments of the packaging market. Jim Dunn, President of Heidelberg North America, offered an example in the area of printed tags on clothing. Clothing manufacturers used to view the price tag or label on clothing as an expense. Today, Jim explained, more companies are using tags as a way to sell more. Tags have evolved into multipage sales brochures to point buyers to related products. The specific example Jim discussed - a golf rain outfit for his wife at a retailer had a tag (a multipage brochure) that referenced related products. Jim stated that he spent more as a result of the slick tag. Since my visit to Heidelberg, I have noticed numerous products with extravagant tags.

At a dinner at the Marriott Resort, Heidelberg invited John Bernardo of Sustainable Innovations to speak. I was skeptical as he started his speech - expecting a – save the environment or die – speech which I have heard at other events. I have witnessed speeches to conservative business audiences that are almost counterproductive. But Bernardo was very impressive. He did not take a position on timeframes or whether certain environmental theories were true or false. His point was that it makes good business sense for printers to be smart and pursue sustainability initiatives. His point was that whether you believe in all the hype or not, it is good for the balance sheet to become more environmentally conscious.

Esko is a major player in packaging prepress solutions. Most of their executive staff gave presentations about their financial performance and new products. The discussion about the recent acquisition of Stonecube was very interesting. The first product from this deal is Esko Visualizer which executives say will be ready for shipping this summer.

Stonecube makes 3D software applications for realistic visualization of special inks and finishes in print applications. It can illustrate effects from paper substrates, ink and finishes. The sample we saw was amazing - Designers were able to view how foil looked in 3D on a package from different angles.

Esko, now owned by Axcel, generated $127 million Euro in sales in 2006 - up 9%. EBITDA for the full year ended at 13.6 million euro, a 74% improvement over 2005.

While there is some uncertainty and scaling back at Artwork Systems (which competes with Esko) Esko has extended their design and preproduction products and their geographical presence. Optimism was genuine as Esko's senior executives discussed packaging opportunities - it was very refreshing.