If you have ever been to a Pack Expo, once the printing is done, whether it is a label, flexible package or folding carton, it needs to be integrated with some finishing and converting, then delivered to the application for which it was designed. Each of those applications requires different types of equipment. That means that the print and the converting processes need to align. 

While there aren’t a lot of all-in-one application-specific solutions that can address all of them yet, with PRINTING United Expo and drupa coming up, there is a lot of development going on with packaging press and converting machine manufacturers to address the new shifting market requirements. Ultimately, application requirements can be fairly disparate, so a modular hybrid solution will undoubtedly provide widest range of process adaptability. 

Analog press and finishing equipment provided us with the one-solution-fits-all design, where production is primarily confined to disconnected processing steps, except for some flexo applications. It continues to serve the printing industry well. However, as the market demands change, there is a need to think differently about print and packaging production.