Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) offers tailored solutions for the entire value-added chain in packaging printing, including appropriate services and consulting support. These are now summarized in a White Paper. Based on facts and figures relating to the development of the packaging market, and to both current and future market trends, the paper demonstrates how Heidelberg turns the packaging market's requirements into solutions. It also provides an overview of the entire current portfolio in the packaging segment and the associated services.

Global annual packaging sales will grow from approximately EUR 517 billion in 2010 to approximately EUR 630 billion in 2016 (nominal figures, Pira 2012). On the one hand, this growth is being driven by the rising demand for packaging in developing countries and emerging markets due to increasing prosperity and growing population figures. On the other, the packaging market in western industrialized nations is benefiting from greater variety and increasing competition at the point of sale. Paper and board packaging accounts for the largest share of the packaging industry. Global folding carton production has grown by around 2.5 percent per year since 2005 and this upward trend will continue. Heidelberg is focusing precisely on this segment with its solutions for producing folding cartons. Customers in this high-quality segment and in high-volume production obtain everything from a single source. This includes prepress, press, and postpress equipment, services, consumables, and consulting. Worldwide, around 250 Peak Performance presses in the 70 x 100 cm (27.56 x 39.37 in) format are being used by packaging printing companies. Maximum production efficiency, which is high on the wants list in the packaging industry, is achieved using the end-to-end Prinect Packaging Workflow - the only solution in the industry that integrates the complete value-added chain. The focus here is firmly placed on the environment, as Heidelberg provides solutions that reduce the consumption of natural resources, cut down on paper waste, and save energy.

The trend is no longer exclusively toward shorter runs. It is vital to use the optimum run length for each job to ensure more efficient and cost-effective production that will meet the growing demand from producers of branded goods for ECR (Efficient Consumer Response) and JiT (Just-in-Time) production concepts. Even more automated quality and efficiency control processes will therefore be necessary in the near future - something that will only be possible by integrating the appropriate technology in equipment and the workflow. What's more, packaging manufacturers will need to be able to develop ECR and JiT concepts for their customers to boost efficiency through even leaner processes.