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Edoardo Coticini, Senior Manager, Professional Printing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe, and Yevhen Shilyaev, Sales Director, Professional Printing Solutions, Konica Minolta Ukraine, comment
No matter what happens in the economy as a whole, the printing industry, including the production of digital labels and packaging, will remain resilient and will continue to play a significant role in our daily lives.
Any crisis and the coronavirus is no exception, is a driver for accelerating the development of current trends. These include the desire for automation, online print orders, and web shops. And, of course, the rapid transition from analog to digital.
IDC’s “Western Europe Digital Label and Packaging Printer Forecast, 2020-2024” report indicates that brand owners will have a big say in the transition from analog to digital label printing. Toner machines can provide most of the supply. In particular, the article emphasizes that “digital printing allows companies and manufacturers to quickly fulfill all customer orders. It can improve production and supply chain, reduce warehouse costs and waste, and help brands get to market faster.”
Label manufacturers go digital
According to supplier data, Konica Minolta has a 19.1% market share in Western Europe [2] in the digital label and packaging printing sector in terms of shipments and volumes in 2019. And this growth will continue: “Label and packaging manufacturers will be forced to diversify their digital services portfolio as traditional offset and flexo printing volumes decline over time,” the report says.
This also reflects our own experience, as more and more label manufacturers are thinking about going digital and are looking for advice. We are confident that this transition will continue in 2021, as digital printing is the only technology that can provide fast printing of short and medium runs.
The expected drop in sales due to the postponement of Drupa 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic is mentioned in the same IDC report [3]. Although shipments of digital labeling and packaging equipment in Western Europe dropped by almost a third in 2019 to just over 200 units, the market is expected to sell around 450 units per year in 2024, not much less than the projected number before the pandemic.
We see increasing demand for a full production cycle from start to finish, as well as the need for productive printing devices that require fewer and less skilled operators.
Looking ahead, we know that labels will continue to be a key part of our everyday life and an important tool for communicating information. Industries such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage are among those that will continue to drive growth in digital label printing in the future.
Trends in the development of digital label printing technologies
Digital label printing will gradually displace flexographic printing from the market. Talking to customers, it becomes clear that label and packaging manufacturers are forced to expand their digital printing portfolio as offset and flexo printing volumes decline.
During the first lockdown in the spring, our research [4] showed that in March 2020, European printers printed 150% more digital labels compared to the previous month on our AccurioLabel presses. In Ukraine in particular, label production has more than tripled.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, we have installed three AccurioLabel 230s in Ukrainian print shops. Five roll-to-roll machines are already in the field: Konica Minolta in Ukraine operates the largest fleet of digital roll label printing equipment. Our customers are creating a new market – a market for inexpensive but very high quality labels printed in ultra-short runs
The unstoppable trend towards digitalization
This is a market that will continue to grow steadily, especially due to changes in user behavior: remote work and work in regional offices, a drop in the number of offers, and demand for an individual approach. One example is the development of the food production industry, from regional producers to microbreweries. This trend will continue. Labels will become increasingly important.
As a global technology provider with a local service structure, we see significant opportunities for digital toner printing in the coming years. We entered the digital label production market just four years ago and have already covered almost a fifth of all deliveries.
We recognize that Covid-19 has created unprecedented challenges. But there is hope for a quick return to the “new normal.” As always, we guarantee that our supplies and services will remain unchanged and safe for customers in 2021 and beyond.
Communication in online mode
We will continue to help implement our clients’ ideas as part of our partnership approach. It doesn’t matter if it’s live or virtual. We recognize the advantages of face-to-face meetings, but in the current environment, we will prefer online communication. This will mean creating more virtual showrooms that will have the functionality to interactively experience Konica Minolta products.
Undoubtedly, during the pandemic, the search for new ways to interact with customers has become especially important. However, the transition from face-to-face to virtual contacts can be a serious problem, as it is obvious that visual demonstrations are more effective: printing equipment is expensive, and customers need to be sure that they are not buying a pig in a poke. That is why, despite certain threats of the coronavirus crisis, we decided to expand the equipment fleet in our Kyiv showroom and rethought the approach to demonstrations, presenting two popular industrial solutions from our portfolio and a productive bestseller with a number of optional solutions.
We have installed more than 500 AccurioLabel digital machines worldwide and are committed to providing the best service to all our customers. Against all odds, we will always be there for you and take care of the safety and health of everyone.
Read more about digital label printing technologies here.
[1] The essential role of labels – Konica Minolta Europe website
[2] Konica Minolta website – Rethink the Way of having a Demonstration
[3] Background on digital label printing – Konica Minolta Europe website
[4] IDC Western Europe Digital Label and Packaging Printer Forecast, 2020-2024, Doc #EUR145503920, April 2020
[5] IDC Western Europe Digital Label and Packaging Printer Shipments and Value by Vendor, 2019 ($M), page 11, Doc #EUR145503920, April 2020.
[6] IDC Western Europe Digital Label and Packaging Printer Forecast, 2020-2024, Digital Label and Packaging Press Printer Shipment snapshot, Figure 4, Doc #EUR145503920, April 2020