(Luton, UK) June 8, 2005 -- The $55 billion global Label Printing Industry is in the early stages of a significant transformation that will create major opportunities for technology vendors, supplies and substrate vendors, and print service providers. A combination of changing customer requirements, the desire for continued revenue growth, as well as improvements in technology are pushing print on demand (POD) label systems into a rapid growth stage. To examine these new opportunities in detail, InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, in partnership with Labels and Labeling Consultancy (U.K.), announces a new multi-client study entitled The Global Digital Label Printing Opportunity. “Our research indicates that sales of POD label systems are growing, but the market is in its infancy,” commented Amnon Shalev, Director at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. “We estimate that the worldwide installed base of POD label systems has doubled over the last two years and will experience rapid growth in the future.” Study objectives include: Segment and profile the production label printing industry by major geographic regions (North America, Europe, Rest of World (ROW)), key markets, and production technology. Assess key trends affecting the adoption of design, prepress, workflow, printing systems, supplies, and substrates for production label printing. Understand the use of production digital label printing systems and services. Assess print service providers’ opinions, purchasing intentions, and product requirements for production POD labels systems. Size and forecast the global market for key products (units, revenue) and regions (North America, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, ROW). Identify opportunities and strategies for software, printing systems, finishing equipment, substrate, and consumables vendors. A key element driving growth is changing customer requirements. Manufacturers and distributors are being faced with a variety of business and production challenges that affect how they package and label their products. These challenges are forcing printers and converters to come up with innovative solutions to meet customer demands. POD label systems offer the tools to meet these changing needs, which include shorter run lengths, the requirements for variable data, last-minute changes, new substrates, and tighter controls over the manufacturing process. The desire for continued revenue increases will also stimulate growth. Many commercial and packaging printers are seeking new, higher margin applications that will leverage their sales, prepress, printing, and logistics infrastructure. Finally, new technology advances in speed, quality, workflow, operating costs, substrates, finishing, and other aspects of the on demand production process will push POD label systems towards rapid growth. These advances will result in a wider range of jobs that can be profitably and efficiently printed. “Despite the positive signs of growth, much work still needs to be done to accelerate demand for POD into various label market segments and applications,” commented Mr. Shalev. “Our study will help production printing equipment, supplies, and software manufacturers understand the nature and extent of the opportunity that POD label printing presents, and how to address that opportunity most successfully.” InfoTrends/CAP Ventures will conduct primary market research with 600 print service providers and converters. The survey will provide critical statistics on technology adoption, usage patterns, substrate consumption, purchase plans, and sentiments on a range of business issues. The sample will be roughly distributed across three major regions – Europe, North America, and ROW. We will also conduct in-depth interviews with industry suppliers, label users, and print service providers to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges these groups face. To learn more about these studies or to sign up as a participant, contact Jason Russell at +44 1582 400120 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Early subscriber discounts are available until July 29, 2005.