Digital Color Printing-Labeling & Packaging

Package Design recently held a webinar on how brand owners can use digital packaging and labeling to improve their marketing and product offerings.  

During this presentation, I found a lot of parallels in the discussion with digital, print on-demand color labels.  The two key speakers, Peter Borowski, 

http://www.linkedin.com

and Bob Leahey

http://www.linkedin.com

made several points that supported the move to print on-demand color packaging and labeling.  To hear the entire webinar, listen here: 

http://event.onlineseminarsolutions.com

As a summary, Peter provided the following key points.

• Packaging and Labeling are the marketing vehicles with the greatest leverage; and the last interruptive media.  Further, consumers or businesses interact with the packaging regardless of how it is purchased; in-store or on-line.  It’s advertising; with high reach, low cost and strategic in nature.  And on-line shopping is making packaging and labeling more important.
• Digital printing is allowing packaging and labeling to become more fluid and personalized.  It’s a revolution in packaging and labeling that will continue for decades; enabling shorter runs, more effective promotions and personalization.
• Digital packaging and labeling enables you to print what you need, how you need it and when you need it.  On-demand dramatically reduces inventory and waste/obsolescence costs; enables production adjustments based on demand; and provides 100% revision control allowing companies to target consumers better.

Peter’s take away is that digital makes packaging and labeling more compelling, enables companies to make bolder moves in the market, and drives sales both on and off line.

Bob Leahey (full disclosure; an acquaintance of mine) researches digital printing, both label and packaging.  According to Bob:

• Digital packaging and labeling are growing significantly.  The value of labels printed on color digital systems will increase from approximately $3 billion in 2014 to just under $6 billion in 2019, reflecting a 15.9% CAGR (compound annual growth rate). Direct color digital printing of packaging, mainly folding cartons, flexible packaging, is less established, about $300 million in print value today, but that is expected to easily top $1 billion in 2019.
• Short run color digital printing of labels and packaging enables companies to launch new products, outfit pop-up retailers, produce private label products, make new versions to better target customers, cut out obsolescence, and eliminate costs like plates.  As a print technology option, it’s effectively the closest a brand owner will come to “mass customization”.
• Digital labeling allows companies to print variable data, a tool conventional printing doesn’t have. Brands can use variable data printing (VDP) to serialize products and thereby tighten the tracking of them, to prevent fraud. Meanwhile , VDP offers something else, personalization, a boon to on-line entrepreneurs and others who offer products customized for individuals, such as wedding favors, new product samples, etc.

Overall, I believe digital label and package printing technology enables great new ways to reach businesses and consumers; improves processes and ultimately increase sales; especially in the on-line world.  If you want help to move to digitally printing color labels on-demand, contact us; we’ll help you start quickly and easily.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com