The first of these are expected to come on-line next year, with increasing numbers in 2004, says The Future of Digital Printing for Packaging strategic five-year forecasts and company intelligence profiles.

The total market for digital packaging grew 34% last year to 158m in Europe and North America and continual growth is expected.

The biggest market sectors for digital packaging are pharmaceuticals and healthcare, with a 24% share, followed by cosmetics and toiletries and industrial and automotive, which have a 16% share each.

The bulk of digitally printed packaging is labels, with 76%, followed by flexible packaging (14%) and folding cartons (10%). Corrugated has a tiny uptake.

Europe has a 72% share of the total global market. The UK and Germany are seen as the strongest growth markets.

Drivers that will help push the adoption of digital print include increasing productivity of presses and declining production costs. Pira predicts speeds will reach 40-70m per minute and increase to 380mm wide.

The report costs 2,500.

Contact: Shelagh Patterson: 01372 802071.

Story by Barney Cox