Label Expo 2009: High-speed Color Inkjet ramps up
I just got back from some travel to support our upcoming Label & Packaging study and one of the events I went to a very encouraging LabelExpo in Brussels (September 23-26). LabelExpo was a big and busy show, with stats to indicate that despite the current economy, the industry may have turned a corner. I just posted a complete analysis of the event and it is posted on Xaar’s website (www.xaar.co.uk), but I thought I’d mention a few things of particular interest about LabelExpo here too from a Jetting technologies perspective.
One thing that is pretty clear about attending LabelExpo is that there are many different digital printing vendors that are targeting the label printing market. Those that I got to learn about include: Agfa, ALS Engineering GmbH, Atlantic Zeiser, CSAT, Delta Industrial, Domino Printing Sciences, Durst, EFI Jetrion, Epson, HP Indigo, Nilpeter A/S, Omet Srl, Stork Prints, Xaar plc, and Xeikon. Among these vendors there is a mix of toner-based and inkjet equipment suppliers, which itself is beginning to become a more interesting positioning. The toner-based equipment manufacturers, including the market-leading HP-Indigo and Xeikon, have been in digital labels for many years, so they have large installed bases and their systems produce outstanding results. Many of the inkjet suppliers have only been in the label business for a few years, or are just entering the market, but have products and technologies that have the potential to substantially grow inkjet’s share of the label printing market based on lower running costs and the ability onto print onto uncoated substrates using UV-curable inkjet inks. Inkjet is a little different than those toner-based systems because while there are standalone inkjet presses, inkjet is also applied as a module to flexo presses to provide the variable data element and there were at least 4 such configurations at LabelExpo.
Another of the major themes from LabelExpo, and indeed from the subsequent PackExpo, is that sustainability is a strategic emphasis in the label and packaging market. Label Expo 2009 had “green” products in all its halls (and even a “Green Park” to highlight the offerings of particular vendors). Examples included media suppliers with recycling programs for silicon-ized liners, clear pressure sensitive label stocks that wash off (a key consideration for recycling bottles in Europe), and HP Indigo’s publicity about its recycling of printer parts. For digital in general, the overarching emphasis is on reduced waste in relation to analog systems, which is an accurate and compelling point. From an inkjet standpoint, the focus on sustainability is important because of issues such as power consumption, VOC emissions and recycling. Digital equipment vendors in general and inkjet vendors in particular should be prepared to make their positions clear on these issues as the focus on sustainability increases.
The overarching impression that Label Expo 2009 made on InfoTrends was that inkjet is strongly rising in the label industry. HP Indigo and Xeikon dominate the installed base, and they appear to be continuing to refine, innovate, and grow. At the same time, however, inkjet competitors are popping up all around them. Within that inkjet group, a core of highly qualified companies is now evident, and these companies will cause inkjet color POD presses to become a major competitor to electrophotographic (EP) equipment over the next few years.
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