Packaging: A $1.2 Trillion Sector Going Through a Rethink

We want it personal, digital, flexible, and eco-friendly, and we’re starting to turn away from plastics, but none of this is easy.

We’re Asking a Lot More of Packaging Than We Used To — and Suppliers Are Responding

As e-commerce continues its penetration into every corner of our commercial lives, the packages that land on our doorstep have a lot more work to do than ever. The massive amounts of packaging that have accompanied the digital revolution and a surge in single-use products such as Starbucks coffee cups are starting to draw critics’ attention.

Out With Analog, In With Digital, and Not Just for Replacing Printing

Although digital technologies for producing labels and other printed messages on packaging containers have been around for some time, the last few years have seen an inflection point in producers’ preferences. Sales of conventional analog “flexo” printers have been declining, while sales of digital printers are enjoying double-digit growth. As it does in many other industries, digital is enabling entirely new kinds of connections with end users by making small print runs affordable. One outcome is a rise in the amount of personalization that…