Plastics Decorating
Anticipated growth for industrial, digital inkjet print technology for production in functional, decorative and packaging printing sectors remains strong and buoyant, according to a survey and report produced by I.T. Strategies for InPrint USA: The Industrial Print Show.
Seventy-four percent of survey respondents felt that the packaging sector has the greatest amount of expected growth in 2017. InPrint USA defines industrial print as “using print technologies within the process of manufacturing.” It refers to a procedure whereby ink or another substance is printed onto a product either for functional or decorative purposes, like packaging.
Survey respondents felt speed and flexibility were the main reasons inkjet industrial print solutions will play a larger role in packaging in the near future. Other highlights of the survey and report include:
- The segments that perceive growth for the industrial print market to be between 1 to 5 percent has more than doubled from 13.07 percent in 2016 to 29.63 percent in 2017.
- Almost 50 percent of responders believe inkjet will play a larger role in packaging within the next 2 to 5 years.
- Ink chemistry remains the biggest single challenge for new applications with inkjet.
- Flexible packaging, labels and direct-to-shape packaging segments have the most potential to invest and adopt industrial inkjet solutions.
- Almost 32 percent of respondents feel flexibility and speed offer the most value for digital printing for packaging.
- Respondents felt that two of the biggest barriers to greater market adoption are that brands and retailers are too focused on digital print quality matching and analog printing, as well as that the supply chain is too heavily invested in analog technology, so it is resistant to change.
Conducted in January 2017 with 162 respondents from around the world, the survey and report were designed to gather insights on the growth potential of inkjet industrial print in the packaging sector, analyze market penetration to date and identify any challenges that may prevent further adoption. The report offers analytical insight from Mark Hanley, founder of IT Strategies, and Simon Edwards, vice president of sales and marketing for Tonejet, the Global Packaging Partner for InPrint.
The pair will share additional market insight and case studies on the industrial inkjet market at the Global Industrial Inkjet Conference at InPrint USA in Orlando, Florida, on April 25-27.
To request a complimentary copy of the full survey and report, visit www.inprintshow.com/usa/industrial-print/white-paper/. For more information, visit www.inprintshow.com/usa/.
