Digital presses have changed the economic models for printing across a wide variety of market segments. Digital transformation is no more just about technology — it’s about reimagining a company.

In 2022, converters will see the Indigo volume of their business growing four times faster than their conventional side. On an average, a label converter will print 15-20% of its volume using its Indigo, which will account for 35-40% of operating profit.

Digital first

• The new megatrends that will emerge in the new year include sustainability, automation, labour retention and eCommerce
• The industry will shift from an analogue-first mindset to Indigo-first
• Hiring, training and retaining employees is increasingly becoming challenging. Living in a tech-enabled world, digital equipment is becoming more attractive to the younger workforce and is easier to operate. The growth of online and the surge in new start-ups are pumping up the demand for ‘digital-born jobs’
• The supply chain crisis will force decision makers to revisit their ‘vendor and production tools’ strategy. It’ll be an inconvenience to put a halt on printing because of running out of media, parts, inks or service engineers that can’t catch a flight. A global, vertically integrated supplier and production tool that can print on any media will become the preferred choice

Sustainability focused innovation

• Climate change and waste reduction will become a global priority for everyone to address. The challenge for brands will lie in evolving new and existing products to become overall more sustainable, accessible, and flexible, all the while remaining high-quality
• Personalisation will continue to be a growth area for industry. It will be exciting to see how much more the boundaries between physical and digital are going to be blurred when it comes to transforming the physical experience of product packaging. In the future, offerings will be tailored not just to stated preferences, but also behaviors

Security and brand protection

• With the rise of eCommerce, the threat of counterfeit products will continue to evolve and become more sophisticated. Ever-emerging threats will require vigilance and continued investment in new solutions, such as like security inks, substrates, track and trance and origination software for those brands vulnerable to counterfeit goods and packaging
• The global market for brand protection investments in print technologies will continue to grow and will become increasingly important

A Appadurai: Digital printing megatrends for 2022 (printweek.in)