Digital POD Presses Come into Their Own as Solutions For Labels, etc., in a Variety of Colors and Run Lengths

June 28, 2006 -- The recently released InfoTrends study, “The Opportunity for Print On Demand Solutions in the Label Industry,” reports that dedicated, full-color print on demand (POD) label presses generated $246 million in label sales in 2005, a total that InfoTrends forecasts to be $393 million in 2006 and over $1.7 billion in 2011. The installed base of POD presses is currently less than 2% of all label presses, but that this share will grow to 7% by 2011. Over the course of the forecast period, InfoTrends expects to see considerable growth in installed base of POD label presses, rising from 405 units in 2005 to nearly 1,900 units at the end of 2011. InfoTrends estimates that revenue to OEMs from POD label press sales will total $90 million in 2006 and $154 million in 2011. POD label presses are full-color digital print systems for printing labels, tickets, tags, and even folding cartons. They can print short and medium length runs of full-color, spot-color, and even variable-color labels. The newest models are proving to be profitable for longer runs as well, up to 30,000 or more labels.

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