(Watch the third installment of our “Road to drupa” video series here.)  

Digital printing of packaging is still in its infancy, but converters are seeing core benefits delivered by digital printing, including:

  • Adding value to conventional print.
  • Increasing the usage of versioning and regional customization.
  • Using the flexibility of digital print to attract new first-time customers by offering short-runs, unique concepts.
  • Using digital print to address runs over 1,500 pieces as the digital printing is becoming more productive and economical.

While much of the success using digital packaging printing has been with smaller brands (who by definition have smaller volumes), large brands are using digital printing of packaging for new “start-up” brands within their portfolio of products, and in some case using digital printing for versioning/seasonality of large, well-established brands such as KitKat chocolate candy bars.

Despite these early successes, there remain some basic and longer-term barriers to the expansion of the use of digital printing. The basic barriers include fundamental learning curve challenges both at the converter and brand level.

The largest barrier to the growth of digital printing of packaging is not technology, however: it is overcoming brands’ resistance to change. Unlike commercial print where there are one or two key decision makers, among the established consumer brands there tend to be five or more decision makers when it comes to any change in packaging type. It only takes one stakeholder to resist a change to moving to digital printing of packaging, and expansion to digital packaging printing stops in its tracks. Core packaging stakeholder managers inside the brands include, among others:

  • Brand/Product Portfolio
  • Creative
  • Procurement
  • R&D/Package Engineering
  • Legal
  • Sustainability

The challenge in getting brand acceptance for digital printing of packaging is that the goals of each stakeholder are often different than the brand managers. This doesn’t mean that the resistance cannot be overcome, but it requires a well-thought out and executed strategy to address the potential concerns of each stakeholder before they occur.

The good news is that every stakeholder in this process wants to be seen as a hero—they all hunger for new ideas that will help their brand move forward. What this means is that the converter who wants to help a brand move into digital needs to put on a “show and tell” for each stakeholder in the brand’s decision making chain. For the creative managers, they need to show how digitally printed packaging will complement existing packaging while keeping a brand’s uniform look and feel. For the packaging engineers, they’ll have to have data prepared to show how digital printing of packaging is similar to conventional packaging and where it is different, and how that could impact a fill-line or secondary packaging line. For legal, the converter will need to be prepared to address ink/food safety, Delta-E consistency, etc. For the sustainability department, the converter will need to be able to show and address the carbon footprint/recyclability of digitally printed packaging. 

The key is education at every level of the stakeholders at a brand’s packaging decision making process, not just the brand/portfolio level manager. The opportunity is for packaging converters to proactively sell innovation, rather than securing the next high-volume packaging contract.