News in the Channel - January 2023

LABEL PRINTERS

Check the label Labelling on products is increasingly important – especially in industries such as food and beverage and retail – which means demand for label printers is also growing and presenting new opportunities for sales.

response time, thus increasing investment in digital print technology. “In the labels and packaging industry and even in the commercial print industry, we will see more brands tap into mass personalisation as a form to marketing to drive sales, feeding consumer desires to be unique.” Eli also expects innovation in the sector. “New technologies and concepts such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality are slowly making their way into the print industry, changing the way labels and packaging companies run their day-to-day businesses,” he says. Trends for 2023 “In 2023, we will see a rise in the ‘Phytigal World’, particularly within the commercial sector, where the integration of the best of physical and digital worlds will provide consumers with a full experience. This includes connecting physical applications with AR, where consumers can scan QR codes in books or on packaging to reveal a new world of live content. “We will also see label and packaging converters diversify into pouches and shrink sleeves as they utilise narrow web press capabilities with a range of applications. Series 3 presses enable

Ecommerce has grown hugely in recent years – fuelled by the pandemic where many physical shops were shut – and, while the growth seen in that time has tapered off more recently, it is still growing strongly. As a result, demand for label printers is too as online retailers require bespoke labels they can print and attach to their packages prior to dispatching them. As Eli Mahal, head of L&P marketing at HP Indigo, notes, the industry witnessed continued growth throughout 2022. “However, as supply chain constraints settle and the global economy slows, the industry growth rate has slowed down, mostly attributed to brands lowering inventories built during the preceding months, when they bought whatever stock they could get their hands on,” he says. “As we head into 2023, we will begin see a shift in brands’ mindsets, who will become more concerned about emptying the shelves rather than filling them, highlighting the need to drive demand generation, and fighting fiercely on consumer attention. In turn, this will bring new opportunities for the industry, which must respond to this demand by being more efficient than ever before and will cement the long-term trend for agile supply chains with less inventory and faster

Eli Mahal head of L&P marketing HP Indigo

We will see more brands tap into mass personalisation as a form to marketing to drive sales, feeding consumer desires to be unique “ ”

hp.com

Neleman wine uses Indigo Smartstream Mosaic to produce one of a kind labels conveying creativity, individualism and that every wine drinking moment is different.

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