DIGITAL IS HERE TO STAY

With a mix of attendees ranging from students to printers to converters, the event was hosted by Kevin Karstedt of Karstedt Associates Ltd. The panel included four key players in the digital printing industry: Richard E. Bryant, Business Development Manager, Xerox; Sean Skelly, Director of Marketing & Service, EFI; Kristof Dekeukelaere, Dotrix Sales Manager, Agfa Corporation; and, Raymond W. Dickinson, Industrial Product Segment Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company. 

The discussion was focused around the growing acceptance of, and demand for digital printing, allowing smaller orders to be delivered faster at a cost effective price point. “We hope to belay the impression that digital printing is only for sampling,” said Karstedt.

The main benefit of digital printing is allowing the brand owner to print the quantity of labels they need in a shorter time window. Skelly comments that a big hurdle to overcome is that many “brand owners do not have an infrastructure in place to support short-run product labeling on the supply chain side, even though they want the [digital] technology.”

“There are hundreds of marketing messages around us every day,” commented Dekeukelaere. “So many of the brand and marketing-based decisions by consumers are being made on the store floor. If you can make your product stand out from your competitor with a short-term, eye-catching, local message you’ve got the sale.” 

Seasonal products, such as candy, often base label and package printing on forecasting, also known as guessing. If a seasonal candy, such as the current Halloween-focused branding, runs out, oftentime the brand owner does not have time to restock the product; essentially losing out on a sale. On the other side, if a particular candy isn’t a big seller, the brand owner is stuck with inventory to throw away. Digital printing allows for on-demand packaging to be run as needed for more profit and reduced waste.