Digital Printing for Flexible Packaging/Label Stickers

Companies providing flexible packaging printing and sticker label printing, and other peripheral businesses

I   Current Status and Future Outlook of Digital Printing Market

1. Current Status and Future Outlook of Digital Printing for Flexible Packaging

• The digital printing market for flexible packaging in FY2014 increased by 13.3% on Y-o-Y basis
• In spite of rising tendency, the digital printing for flexible packaging market faces big challenges in light of quality and cost
• The market of digital printing presses has been dominated by HP Japan, which has built the foundation of digital printing market by itself
• With inkjet printers from other makers are likely to go on the market, the market is expected to flourish for the future
• Due to the cost issue, digital printing demands have become only project-base
• Whether or not new standard for digital printing, other than cost, can be provided to customers is the key

2. Current Status and Future Outlook of Digital Printing for Sticker labels:

• The market of digital printing for sticker labels in FY2014 rose by 7.2% on Y-o-Y basis
• The cost difference from the existing devices is quite large
• Production is done mostly by intermittent printing machines supplemented by platen press printing machines
• Such machines are about to take positions in the realm where no other types of printing presses are able to cover
• However, without many cases applicable, they face difficulty to secure profits
• To find out new directions for digital printing to be used may be the key for new step forward

II   Business Trends of Digital Printing Companies

6 companies

III   Studies on Digital Printers

• Less than 10% of the digital printing presses
• The percentage of use of digital printing presses for flexible packaging at companies that had adopted such presses account for less than 10%, for label stickers account for approximately 30%
• Such corporate users of digital printing presses for both applications (flexible packaging and label stickers) assess the printing presses as satisfactory in color reproductivity, but discontent in cost.

1. Characteristics
2. Number of digital printing orders accepted
3. Whether or not to adopt digital printing presses
4. About businesses that have adopted digital printers
5. Awareness of digital printing by the businesses not yet adopted digital printing presses
6. Marketability of digital printing presses