Digital printing across inkjet and electrophotography, or toner, machinery will continue to create new value across almost all applications, and are now the focus for many print OEMs looking to capitalise on the expected increase in digital print volumes, which Smithers estimated will grow from 1.8tn A4 equivalents to 2.8tn in the next ten years.
Equivalent to a 54% rise in volume, it will result in an overall growth of 49% in expenditure, according to The Future of Digital Printing to 2035 report.
Just over half of digital print’s growth will come from graphics and publication, most notably in the book sector, according to Sean Smyth, lead author and printing sector technical director for Smithers.
He told Printweek that as digital print technology advances, it would only continue to become more accessible to printers.
“Providers are developing more productive digital presses with higher reliability, and these continue to reduce the overall cost of production,” he said.
“So digital print becomes economic against analogue alternatives, meaning more print companies and packaging converters will choose to invest in digital presses rather than litho or flexo. Many of the leading analogue machine manufacturers recognise this and are offering digital or hybrid equipment as part of their market offering.”
By 2035, Smithers has predicted that future generations of digital print lines will be able to compete directly with analogue in all sectors bar low-value newspaper, magazine and graphics work, and the highest-volume, low-graphics packaging jobs.
Inkjet resolution will continue to improve, and is expected to approach 3,000dpi at 300m/min by 2035, with drop size falling to one picoliter for high quality images.
Packaging print is set for particularly strong growth, having seen an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of around 20% from 2020–25. Over the next ten years, Smithers predicted the vertical would generally see around 10% CAGR, except for metal packaging.
Metal packaging was picked out as an extraordinary growth area, having seen around 95% CAGR over the past five years. In the next five, it is anticipated to grow by around 54% CAGR, then from 2030–35 by around 23% CAGR.
“Our data shows metal packaging had the highest growth rates of any application between 2020 and 2025, and this will continue over the next ten years,” Smyth said.
“The growth is through the arrival of high performance equipment from providers including Velox, Hinterkopf and SLAC International that is being adopted by the leading can manufacturers in 2022-2024.
“This [segment’s] absolute volumes are not high but from an almost zero start point show really high compound annual growth rates. The very high levels of recycling of printed aluminium (and steel) cans makes them a preferred format for fizzy drinks and this will continue. Applying labels or sleeves onto cans reduces recyclability leading to bans in some locations of single use plastics, pushing the adoption of direct printing.”
Overall, printers hoping to take advantage of the rapidly advancing digital tech should make sure to invest, particularly paying attention to unit cost, Smyth advised.
“Look to make investments in the latest capabilities with lower unit costs of printing,” he said.
“This could include finishing as it is easier to integrate digital print with finishing to create manufacturing cells; there are many examples of automated print product manufacturing providing lower costs and reduced time to market.”
