Sound Bite: What Drives the Digital Decision?

As digital printing continues to gain adoption and growth throughout the packaging industry, most converters are not using the technology as a replacement for conventional. Rather, package printers have found that when adopting a digital asset, there are jobs that are best suited for the new technology, while other jobs make more sense to keep on a conventional press.

Throughout the Digital Packaging Summit, which was held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., one of the major themes was the importance of understanding how to best balance digital and conventional printing.

To get some real-life examples, Marco Boer, VP of I.T. Strategies and the event’s co-chair, hosted a panel of three converters, highlighting three distinct experiences with digital technology.

Steve Luedke, business development/engineering manager for WS Packaging Group, explained that run size is often the first determining factor when deciding to run a job digitally versus conventionally. However, Luedke explained that registration requirements or the complexity of a job may factor into whether it gets printed digitally.

Dean Dietrich, VP and GM of Caraustar, explained that in his experience, run size and the quantity of SKUs associated with a job are the major factors that determine if a job is printed digitally or conventionally. He also stated that digital printing can also be beneficial for jobs that require a quick turnaround that conventional cannot provide.

Phil Edwards, president of PrintSure, offered a different perspective, in that his company solely uses digital printing. While much of PrintSure’s business stems from producing packaging prototypes, the company has since ventured into producing short-run product packaging.

The rise of short-run packaging and SKU proliferation were cited throughout the event as strong evidence that digital printing can be highly beneficial to package printers and converters. But finding the right balance between digital and conventional, understanding how digital can assist with job complexity and leveraging digital's flexibility to differentiate your business can all be drivers of the digital decision.