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Across the entire digital label and packaging market, the digital printing market for corrugated board is a fast-growing part of it, and it is itself one of the most active areas in the packaging printing industry. Because the corrugated carton market holds a great deal of untapped potential, this means that many packaging printing companies are considering entering this market, and many suppliers of machines and software are willing to provide them with more powerful equipment and technology.

"Digital represents an important long-term strategic direction for the corrugated carton industry, because it increasingly matches the needs of current and future customers," said Philip Easton, Director of Digital Printing Solutions at Domino. "The market share held by digital printing is growing rapidly, but how much it grows will depend on the suitability of inks for market demand. So in terms of overall market volume it may be small, while in terms of overall sales value we predict it will be significant, possibly reaching around 20%."

Sharon Chesler, Marketing Manager of HP's PageWide Industrial corrugated carton division, is also bullish on this market. "On the one hand, digital printing strongly supports production optimization; on the other hand, digital printing is also a key driver of supply chain benefits. The packaging sector is indeed a growing inkjet sector, so market interest in and demand for HP PageWide corrugated digital presses continues to grow, and this is absolutely a powerful weapon for producing corrugated cartons at lower cost."

Robert Stabler, Managing Director of Koenig & Bauer Durst, added, "Digital printing is becoming increasingly important to the corrugated packaging market, and its market share has been rising continuously. Ultimately, what drives growth is the change in consumer purchasing habits."

Maximilian Mark, Digital Printing Product Manager at BHS, is clearly more cautious, at least under current circumstances. "Today's digital printing share is almost negligible, because it accounts for a very low proportion of total print volume. However, as the availability of high-capacity presses continues to increase, and as brand owners push the possibilities of using digital printing for packaging, digital printing technology will become increasingly important."

In fact, when Mr. Mark looks to the future, he almost becomes effusive. "Compared with other traditional corrugated printing methods, digital printing of corrugated board has a compound annual growth rate of 20% from 2020 to 2025, and this figure shows that the growth rate of digital printing in corrugated packaging is far higher than in other packaging sectors. In the long run, we believe digital printing will completely replace traditional printing, especially for new carton plants."

BHS's RSR printing solution was designed specifically for its "2025 Carton Factory" vision, and this solution is "completely different" from any other digital printing solution on the market. Its RSR (real-time roll-to-sheet) system offers a 2.8 m job width and a maximum speed of 300 m/min. It was developed in cooperation with Screen GPIJC for its core inkjet technology based on Dimatix Samba printheads.

EFI is another digital printing equipment manufacturer with high hopes. Its Marketing Director, Reinhild Westmeier, explained: "Digital printing technology has already been very disruptive, but frankly it has only just begun, and it will still take several years of development in the future. Today, digital coexists with other printing technologies, but over time we expect it to become more dominant."

Advantages: fewer fixed costs and less prepress work, guaranteed print quality

Ms. Westmeier naturally attributes this potential to the advantages inherent in digital printing technology itself. "Compared with traditional printing methods, its fixed costs are much lower and there is less prepress work. It also guarantees high print quality. That said, we believe it is crucial to consider the overall workflow in order to make full use of digital printing solutions. Although we have very efficient printing systems, we need to ensure that jobs are fed into the machine at a considerable rate to fully realize the machine's potential."

James Nelson, EFI Product Marketing Manager, elaborated: "EFI has always focused on developing the total ecosystem, which connects all aspects of the plant through seamless solutions. A digital press can print multiple jobs per hour, but many businesses face the challenge of handling those jobs efficiently. Creating orders, scheduling, planning, shipping and so on are all important steps in handling jobs, which is why taking a strategic approach to workflow through the ecosystem truly pushes the adoption of digital printing to a higher level."

EFI offers the Nozomi C18000, a 1.8-meter-wide press capable of printing at 75 m/min, of which more than 30 units have already been installed worldwide. The Nozomi C18000 and Nozomi C18000 Plus print at 360 dpi with four grey levels and use CMYK, orange and violet.

Of course, digital printing technology has many other advantages. Mr. Easton said it is very well suited to medium and short runs with multiple versions, and it does not cause downtime due to production changes. Operation is simple, it does not require the skills of a flexo operator, and there is no need for plate making, mounting, plate changes and storage of flexo plates.

Fewer setups and less make-ready mean less downtime and less waste. Lower cost per job enables carton plants to optimize production across different equipment, and the ability to print on demand can reduce finished goods inventory, which means less storage space is needed and less waste is caused by outdated packaging. There is even the opportunity for more benefits, such as personalization and traceability through the use of variable data printing.

On the technology side, Domino offers the single-pass X630i digital inkjet press. Designed for everyday corrugated carton production. Based on Domino's sixth-generation inkjet platform with nearly 1,000 installations, the X630i can run at speeds of up to 75 m/min, 600

x600 dpi and a maximum print area of 3000 x 1345 mm.

For his part, Mr. Stabler believes that digital technology can respond well to the market trends sweeping the industry. "One of the positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it accelerated the process of digital transformation in packaging printing. We have seen an accelerated shift toward shorter run lengths and unpredictable demand. The channel mix is changing, retail brand promotion through channels is more important than ever, and of course online ordering continues to increase, which usually requires different packaging."

To meet these challenges, converters need more flexible and automated systems to handle more small orders with faster plant cycle times. In addition, there is an opportunity to develop new business models that allow brands to take advantage of the flexibility offered by high-speed digital printing.

Ms. Chesler agrees. "The corrugated packaging industry has not only shown growth, it has also demonstrated strong economic resilience during the pandemic, especially inkjet printing on corrugated board. E-commerce is a driver of growth, but so is the search for sustainable packaging. Our PageWide customers are fully seeing the growth in market demand for e-commerce projects, and by leveraging the advantages of HP's true water-based inks, they can provide truly sustainable packaging solutions for their brands."

HP offers the PageWide series of presses, including the 75 m/min PageWide C500 based on HP thermal inkjet technology, and the PageWide T1190, a six-color inkjet preprint device with a 2.8 m web width. There is also the 1066 mm PageWide T 470S, which is likewise a digital preprint solution suitable for large-scale preprint of corrugated board.

Mr. Mark highlighted many of the same advantages. "Worth mentioning are time to market and the cost-effectiveness of short runs. Digital printing also benefits different carton designs; because of the cost structure of traditional printing, solid colors now dominate, but digital printing removes this obstacle. In addition, digital can produce realistic graphics, opening up new possibilities for brand owners. The last big advantage of digital printing is that corrugated packaging printed digitally can now play the role of both transport packaging and primary packaging."

Speaking of the trends driving the shift to digital, Mr. Mark mentioned factors such as short runs, variable data, waste reduction and the e-commerce boom. He also elaborated on a series of other trends the industry should note: "There is always a gap between what brands want, what they are willing to pay, and what can actually be produced. Digital printing technology is closing this gap, especially in terms of personalization, sustainability and personalized experiences. Government regulations on carbon footprint, waste streams and cradle-to-grave tracking cannot be ignored either."

The pandemic has led to growing demand for corrugated cartons

Of course, it would be inaccurate to review the development of corrugated packaging without judging the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Ms. Chesler explained, while other printing markets have been eliminated one after another, corrugated packaging has had the opportunity to shine.

Mr. Easton added, "The pandemic led to increased demand for corrugated packaging across society, and many converters focused on delivering what they could offer rather than looking for new investment opportunities. However, as the e-commerce market develops, there is growing awareness that digital printing can offer customers something different in this market. We believe this trend is returning, because the trend toward more customized products and the need to reduce inventory are driving growth in shorter runs."

Mr. Stabler pointed out, "Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we were already living in a world of lower predictability, a clear trend toward short runs, and higher color requirements, which opened the door to more digital production. The main factors include continued brand proliferation, more sales channels and less predictability, especially in a world where online sales have grown substantially. Converters fully recognize the need to be more agile than ever and to use technology that supports mass customization. The latest generation of single-pass presses suitable for the corrugated packaging market (such as our Delta SPC 130 and CorruJET 170), combined with the right workflow solutions, can enable converters to print large numbers of short runs efficiently and cost-effectively. In this model, leading companies will invest more to meet changing market demands and position themselves as supply chain and brand partners."

Finally, Mr. Rosenberg emphasized the way the COVID-19 pandemic affected the e-commerce market. "The COVID-19 pandemic did have an impact on the corrugated carton market. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the boom in the e-commerce market, which created demand for printed corrugated cartons at the time of rapid market launch. Suppliers urgently needed to shorten lead times and simplify the supply chain. Digital printing became a more ideal choice for converters."

Experts' advice

Finally, on what advice to give customers new to corrugated packaging, Mr. Stabler believes: "It has never been more important to build close relationships with brand partners, understand the challenges they face, and stand out in sales and packaging to become their trusted supply chain partner. Such rapid change is certainly unsettling, but with pressure across the entire value chain, this is a real opportunity for converters to accept the new reality and develop new business models to be ready for the future. In short, invest in systems, processes and people to achieve maximum flexibility and agility, reduce the touchpoints in the plant that require manual intervention, and be able to fully meet market demand for short runs without compromising core efficiency."

On the technology side, Koenig & Bauer Durst offers the CorruJET 170 and the Delta SPC 130. The former is based on Koenig & Bauer's RotaJET and has a maximum production speed of 5500 sph, and can process corrugated board up to 8 mm thick at 1200 x 600 dpi. The Delta SPC can be configured with up to six colors and can print from 500

x600 mm to 1300

x2100 mm and thicknesses of up to 12 mm.

HP's Ms. Chesler added, "It is worth remembering that corrugated packaging ranges from brown box shipping cartons, to high-definition e-commerce or subscription cartons, to corrugated displays. The high-definition corrugated packaging market hides greater profit potential, while shipping cartons printed at lower resolution are more like a commodity. When printers decide to enter the corrugated packaging industry, they need a clear understanding of the competitive field they are in, which will affect the entire business plan, including the type of equipment they need. In practice, corrugated packaging is a great medium with almost unlimited possibilities in both structure and design. However, handling corrugated board requires very specialized skills and knowledge, because they are susceptible to temperature and humidity changes, which makes the board harder to handle on printing equipment. When choosing a corrugated digital press, it is necessary to consider the press's ability to handle warped board and uneven board stacks."

Finally, EFI's view focuses on acquiring knowledge, as Ms. Westmeier explained: "I would ask customers to look at the huge number of opportunities that exist in digital printing technology, and I would suggest looking for the best success stories of digital printing technology and how digital printing can be used in their own business. I would also advocate considering your target customers and matching these new opportunities and applications to the target group, so that you can expand your business."

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-378573.html