Packaging and Labels Are Critical to the Strategic Future of the Printing Industry

Smithers predicts that after Drupa 2024, the packaging printing market will see a compound annual growth rate of 3.6%, reaching USD 504.9 billion.

Packaging and labels are becoming increasingly important to the strategic future of the printing industry, with current annual sales exceeding USD 500 billion.

While traditional publication and graphic markets are stagnating or declining, the growth in consumption of packaged goods is driving growth. This was witnessed at Drupa 2024 earlier this year, where multiple original equipment manufacturers launched new machines for printing corrugated board, folding cartons, flexible packaging and labels.

Smithers' *The Future of Packaging Printing to 2029* shows that by 2024, the total global value of the industry will reach USD 504.9 billion (at 2023 constant prices). This year, 14.31 trillion A4 print equivalents of labels, corrugated board, folding cartons, flexible paper and plastics, rigid plastics and metal packaging will be printed; 1.54 million tons of ink will be consumed.

Despite global economic challenges and new sustainability requirements, a stable growth trajectory is re-emerging. This will push the global value to USD 604 billion in 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.6%. Over this five-year period, output will increase to 17.12 trillion A4 equivalents.

Both digital and analog printing press manufacturers are developing technologies to capture opportunities in this market. Flexographic printing remains the most widely used printing process, especially for high-volume corrugated board, labels and flexible formats, accounting for 52.6% of output. Gravure printing and offset printing are also popular, mainly used for printing higher-quality graphics on folding cartons and flexible packaging. These account for 20.1% and 17.9% of the packaging and label volume respectively.

For all analog original equipment manufacturers, the further penetration of digital printing, especially the latest generation of higher-throughput inkjet presses, poses a direct challenge. The quality of inkjet presses and electrophotographic (toner) presses is improving, even as they become more cost-competitive for long print runs. These also offer shorter turnaround times, less waste, greater room for customization, and easier integration with online design and ordering systems, all of which meet the demand of packaging buyers for more functions.

At Drupa 2024, a range of new machines for high-speed digital printing of folding cartons were showcased, single-pass inkjet corrugated printing presses are also evolving, and narrow-web toner and inkjet presses are increasingly being configured to handle short-run flexible jobs as well. The value-added potential of these systems means that while digital systems accounted for only 1.1% of total volume in 2024, they accounted for 3.9% of value. Smithers expert modeling forecasts that digital output will grow at a CAGR of +12.8% over the next five years, leading to further expansion.