New AWA report looks at direct-to-container digital print
‘New directions’ in packaging and labelling technology are a strong feature of today’s market – and the latest is digital direct-to-container print. It may, indeed, be a disruptive technology, as the new Direct Digital Printing Technology for Labeling & Product Decoration AWAreness Report 2016 demonstrates. This latest addition to AWA Alexander Watson Associates’ portfolio of up-to-the-minute assessments of aspects of global label printing market provides a valuable resource for all interested in, or already committed to, this 21st-century product identification technology.
New opportunities for brand owners
Eliminating entirely the need for a label on rigid or semi-rigid containers, direct digital print offers brand owners a new palette of opportunities — including economies of scale, shorter route to market, and enhanced levels of brand presentation and promotion, such as personalization. However, this is a technology in its infancy, and further technical and commercial innovation and a broader supplier source at all levels can be expected.
Substitution
The report posits that the total potential volume growth of the global label market could be negatively affected, losing market share to direct container print. Pressure-sensitive and wet glue labels are the leading candidates for replacement, but sleeving and in-mold labels will not be immune. Substitution of labels in all technologies will, says the report, represent the equivalent of 0.5%-1.0% of the global label market by 2019/2020.
Today and tomorrow
Complete with an industry-wide survey of the technology’s present status and future opportunities, and a directory of equipment, inks, and ancillary manufacturers, Direct Digital Printing Technology for Labeling & Product Decoration AWAreness Report 2016 represents an expert overview of a key packaging market development. The report may be ordered online via the AWA Alexander Watson Associates website, www.awa-bv.com, along with details of the company’s full range of market research and consultancy services and events.
