Package printing is also now considered to be one of the next key frontiers of digital printing. Whether its new substrates, inks, or foils, digital printing devices are exploring many new possibilities. Yes, there are certain substrates and vertical markets where toner is perhaps better suited than inkjet, and maybe provides an alternative for the packaging markets where there may be a concern for health and safety, but digital is here to stay and there is certainly a lot of growth opportunity in this market for the future.

Digital printing has undoubtedly given label and package printers the latitude to meet new and ongoing customer expectations and to service new product niches. Interestingly, it has also enabled a number of entrepreneurs, perhaps from the IT or marketing fields, to enter the world of digital label printing industry, often very successfully.

Looking to the future, digital label and package designers and printers will most likely need to better educate their clients on how to produce more environmentally-friendly design applications, on the use of more sustainable substrates, coatings and inks, and in the creation of print that takes the life cycle of the product into account. In short, the future of digital printing will not only be about printing for brand, retail, industrial or other customers, but about helping them  ̶  and the world  ̶  to become more sustainable.

Digital label printing is undoubtedly now one of the important mainstream label printing processes, alongside flexo, UV flexo, or offset. It will certainly continue to further evolve and play a key role in the future of the label industry, as well as continue to grow rapidly in a variety of package printing applications. It will not replace other printing processes − they all have a role to play.

However, digital has proved that for the right markets and applications it can provide profitable and exciting solutions where other technologies strive to compete and, today, is largely able to offer a good return on investment.