The Dscoop brand owner panel session made it clear that brand owners require more education on the opportunities that can be realized through digitally printed labels and packaging.
The conference's panel, which included Texas Instruments, Bic, P&G and Frito-Lay, generally appeared to view digital printing only as a way to economically produce mock-ups and product trials.
These were some of the comments: 'For the size runs that we do, it doesn't make sense to use digital'; 'When you compare digital print to PMS it does not match'; and 'Our brand color is not going away: this is one of the problems with digital'.
The audience, filled with converters from around the world, HP and its partners, was frustrated with the inability to communicate their capabilities to more receptive ears. Many questions and comments were voiced from the crowd in an effort to make the panel aware of the recent advancements of the technology – throughput, frame size, color management and more.
Heineken’s success with its ‘Your Heineken’ campaign was shared in the Web 2 Print session on the subsequent day, vividly proving that even the world’s biggest players can find a place for digital printing in their portfolio. Your Heineken gives consumers the ability to custom design their own shrink sleeve label; a six-pack with personalized labels sells for 15 euros – an over 200 percent mark up. The project has been so successful that it will be taken into more European countries in 2010 and will be made available in a 24-pack. Wonder what a case will cost?
Brand owners need to be more educated on what the label and packaging industry can truly offer them. They must become more knowledgeable, not only with digital printing, but also with the industry’s sustainability efforts, its advanced media introductions and added value capabilities, extended gamut printing opportunities, HD flexo and color management.
L&L’s End User Newsletter, to be launched in Spring 2010, will be a solution for this issue. It will grow the awareness of the industry’s continual advancement amongst its customers, closing the gap through education.
Danielle Jerschefske
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The comments
I'd like to share some highlights from the Dscoop conference:
1. Mexico has six HP Indigo WS6000 presses installed - amazing regardless, but when you take into consideration that there are only ten installed in the US, the market's advancement is truly incredible - keep an eye on these eager business owners!
Note that there were two more sold into the US last week as well as the necessary ancillary equipment.
2. Brazil had its first WS6000 press installation in Sao Paulo at the beginning of 2010.
3. Eighty WS6000 presses have been installed worldwide in under one year - 50% of installations were in Eastern Europe, Middle East & Asia; only 27% in North America; 15% Latin America.
4. A Web 2 Print session hosted by LabelTraxx revealed some fantastic work that the converter-catered MIS supplier is doing with EskoArtwork with regards to better managed throughput and easy, on-line proof approvals for customers.
Be sure to check out what this company is doing - surely as all of the digital equipment in our industry continues to increase speed: liquid toner, dry toner and inkjet. LabelTraxx will have a solution to assist converters to make the most of their investment, eliminating bottlenecks throughout the production stream.
5. AB Graphic introduced what it calls the 'Digi-Lite'. It's a finishing machine based on the Digicon Series 2 technology, but it has a much smaller footprint and a few more limitations - ideal for a converter just breaking into the digital world.
6. Avery Dennison currently has 20 products that can be used on Indigo presses; by early Spring they will have a portfolio of 70 HP Indigo certified products to offer label converters, implementing all of their benefit programs such as Fasson Exact and Ready Width.
7. Delta Industrial promoted its high-tech modular converting equipment that assists converters in expanding into markets beyond labels.
8. The industry's first iApp was introduced by Lightning Labels, allowing customers to obtain label quotes on the go.
Please note that in #1, the number of presses installed in the US is not correct. The actually number is closer to twenty.