Several market drivers are pushing digital carton and corrugated packaging to the forefront, as Sonia Sharma-Karia reports.
Although there is an appetite and demand for digital print capabilities for carton and corrugated packaging, as of yet, it remains a small market share, with the latest Smithers report, ‘The Future of Corrugated Board Packaging to 2029’, highlighting a series of challenges and shifts in market dynamics.
The report forecasts that value in the market will increase at a growth of 3.7% AGR to $277.6 billion. Progress is moving in the right direction and there has been a significant shift over the last few years, as Ben Ginesi, European sales manager, digital corrugated packaging at Domino Printing Sciences explains. ‘High inflation rates and increases in energy prices have made many businesses consider the long-term running costs of their printing equipment – leading converters to consider replacing their analogue equipment with a digital printing press, or even swapping existing digital presses for more energy efficient models.’
Digital print technologies enable opportunities for new business models and ‘offer the right tool set for packaging printers and converters to become more resilient to external factors’ comments Edoardo Cotichini, European senior manager, label and packaging, DP&S planning, marketing and innovation at Canon.
‘Brands can now consider the role of packaging at different touchpoints along the buyer’s journey, while embracing personalisation and versioning, ideal for higher value products and enhancing the consumer’s ‘unboxing experience’. This is bringing opportunities for new print volumes of digitally produced packaging as well as a transition of analogue print volumes to digital.’
In the driving seat
Unlike traditional analogue printing methods, digital printing enables brands to create high quality packs with shorter lead times and greater efficiency. This technology is especially beneficial for short production runs, personalised designs, and variable data printing, allowing businesses to cater to diverse market demands and consumer preferences.
As the carton and corrugated industries evolve, Ludovico Frati, folding carton customer development manager at Bobst, states that ‘run lengths have been decreasing, partly because of frequently changing regulations and because brand owners need to keep pace with ever-changing consumer tastes.’
In addition to this, product consumption has become difficult to predict, there is an increasing diversity of styles, sizes and embellishments and sustainability has come to the forefront. All of this requires ‘more and more agility and on demand production, which is possible only by adopting digitalised, automated and connected technology,’ Mr Frati explains.
Canon’s existing imagePRESS V1350 can be used to manufacture some
folding carton and corrugated packaging applications digitally
At drupa, Bobst unveiled the Digital Master 55 – an end-to-end digital printing and converting platform specifically tailored for the folding carton industry. ‘It opens up new possibilities for short-to-mid-size runs, and drastically increases opportunities with short lead times and high product quality’ Mr Frati opines. ‘Combining printing, embellishment, quality control, and die-cutting inline at 100m/min, the Digital Master 55 ensures the shortest time to market (even offering same-day delivery) and the best Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) among printing and converting solutions.’
Mr Ginesi of Domino explains that as far as versatility is concerned, converters are looking for presses that are suitable for fulfilling all applications. ‘Depending on the application, i.e. when it comes to primary and secondary food packaging, the ink set can also play a key role, with water-based ink essential to meet regulatory demands.’
Welch Packaging, a family-owned custom corrugated packaging manufacturer, has installed a new HP PageWide C550 – a single pass digital corrugated press. The press is based on HP Thermal Inkjet technology and runs at a speed of 295 linear feet/min with 1200 nozzles per inch resolution using true water-based inks for corrugated packaging and display applications on both coated and uncoated sheets.
Brian Fellows, HP’s US and Canada sales and account manager, comments, ‘In today’s competitive retail market, converters need to diversify their portfolio with solutions allowing them to go to market quicker with relevant messaging. The HP PageWide C550 gives Welch the advantage of digital flexibility with a cost-effective, sustainable way of printing.’
Promise on the horizon
According to the Smithers report, in 2023, the packaging and transportation of food products accounted for over 46% of the consumption of corrugated packaging material and is expected to rise slightly to 47% by 2029, driven by a surge for corrugated grades for processed foods.
‘Food packaging remains the largest product category in cartons and corrugated, accounting for roughly 70% of the corrugated and carton sector. The category has seen particular growth in the frozen food segment, as inflation has driven consumers to look for foods that last longer, with less waste,’ Mr Ginesi comments.
Corrugated materials recyclability means they are increasingly being favoured by brands and legislators, not just in transit, but consumer-facing primary packs. This is evident in the second largest category being packaging for consumer goods, from health and beauty to electronics with many products in this group using high-end packaging to protect the product and attract consumers, demanding stand-out packaging designs and high quality print.
Ecommerce packaging ‘has grown substantially over the past three or four years and continues to grow as corrugated board replaces plastic packaging – albeit at a much slower rate over the past twelve months,’ Mr Ginesi states. As e-commerce grows and packaging becomes an essential touchpoint for brands, digital print for carton and corrugated packaging is transforming how products are presented, packaged, and delivered to customers. ‘Ecommerce is a particularly good source of print jobs for converters with digital presses because of the flexibility digital offers in terms of producing design variations,’ he continues.
Looking ahead
Canon also demonstrated its commitment to expand into the corrugated printing market at drupa by introducing its concept for a sheetfed single-pass, industrial-scale digital corrugated press, targeting corrugated packaging converters and designed to combine offset-like print quality at a 1.7m print width, productivity of up to 8000 sqm/hr and new levels of cost-efficiency.
Existing systems such as the imagePRESS V1350, varioPRINT iX3200, Arizona and particularly the Colorado with the UV gel packaging factory proposition, can be used to manufacture some folding carton and corrugated packaging applications digitally, but the company is actively looking to advance its role in other packaging verticals, notably corrugated and folding carton.
Legislation such as the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) are also opening other opportunities. The PPWR has set strict targets with regards to reducing packaging waste – it will ban certain single-use plastic formats by 2030, including smaller volume produce packs, and collation films for multipack beverages and food – and is planning to boost recyclability, and circulatory of packaging. ‘The new targets are already increasing interest in the adoption of corrugated packaging as an alternative to plastic and polystyrene options,’ Mr Ginesi says. ‘Many converters see investment in digital printing technology as a key step to set themselves apart from the pack, offering good opportunities for digital press suppliers to support them in their transition in the coming years.’
DS Smith’s head of design and innovation in the UK, echoes the sentiment of adapting solutions for the future stating, ‘The UK is rapidly transforming. Our towns and cities are experiencing rapid digital growth and entire populations are transforming. The growth in digital technology is revolutionising the way we shop and live. We want more choice and convenience but with less impact on the world around us.’
In order to fulfil these demands, the entire supply chain needs to adopt new ways of thinking. As the opportunities for digital in cartons and corrugated go from strength to strength, the category is gaining major traction and these developments prove that packaging companies are striving to expand their reach and access new market segments, without compromising on sustainability and quality.
This feature article was first published in the October/November issue of Digital Labels & Packaging, which you can read online here; register here to receive future issues of the magazine
