Digital package printing is no longer confined to converter wish lists and trade-show demonstrations—it's here, in use and generating profits today. Converters who attended the Digital Printing for Labels and Packaging conference in San Francisco, March 13-14, to get a handle on what's new with these technologies left the gathering surprised at just how far digital package printing has progressed. Its pioneers in the U.S. presented frank and open assessments of the advantages—and drawbacks—of digital package printing from several viewpoints.

This month at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, IL outside Chicago, a whole new group of attendees is hearing about digital printing from the suppliers, converters, print shops and customers who are using and benefiting from digital package printing. Both events were organized and co-sponsored by Pira Intl., a leading U.K. research center, and Reed Business Information, publisher of several Web sites and publications serving the graphic arts, packaging and printing markets, including Converting, Packaging Digest, and Graphic Arts Monthly magazines.

While the numbers aren't yet large, there are some prominent American packagers who have embraced digital printing, in a variety of ways and for a variety of different projects. And they're not afraid to talk about their experiences with the technology.

Among them were representatives from Kraft Foods, Coors Brewing, and Bristol-Myers Squibb's Convatec division. If there are questions as to the ability of major brand packagers to "self-convert" using digital printing, these three presentations alone put those doubts to rest.

Gary Vogt, group manager of prepress and print quality for Kraft Foods stressed in his presentation the importance of short-run, digitally-printed package sales samples, design-review samples, mock-ups, etc. for the food marketer's dizzying array of brands. While Kraft still contends with the size and caliber limitations of digital printing, as well as the lack of FDA-approved inks for food contact, Vogt named consistent quality, speed to market and lower inventory as valued advantages of the technology.

Dan D'Andrea, Convatec's director of worldwide package design and engineering, explored the healthcare-product group's use of in-house, small-batch, digital printing for cartons and inserts in multiple languages for global distribution. Cost and cycle-time reduction, reduced packaging inventory, fast changeover and the quality of the small-batch printing have led Convatec to consider digital printing a success—to the extent that managers are now considering generic packaging and digital printing as a "platform of the future," according to D'Andrea.

For beer marketer Ray Toms, manager of package innovation at Coors Brewing, digital printing is a tool in his fight to compete with some 2,600 other brands of beer. High-quality print, low upcharge, and quick package turnaround are the overall goals for Coors packaging, and digital offers them speed to market, low artwork prep costs, the ability to devise interactive packaging strategies for bar and retail promotions, and Coors brand customization for target markets. Coors' current applications for in-house digital printing include comps and sales samples, focus-group samples, and on-premise marketing ideas like trivia questions on bottle-neck labels, which the participant can answer by placing a finger over an area of the label treated with thermochromic ink. In the case of Coors' "hoop-time action promotion," digital printing let marketers combine variable printing with thermochromic graphics for highly interactive packaging.

Coors' future hopes for digital: print in-line at each brewery, make every package "unique" or personalized, and generate ever-higher quality graphics.

As a presentation by Ray Dickinson, product marketing manager at digital press supplier Indigo, made clear, digital system marketers realize that several factors are keeping many converters from embracing the technology.

Among them are:

• Business is already good without digital
• Investment/risk hurdle remains high
• High operations costs
• Steep learning curve
• Low annual capacity, compared with a flexo press
• Format/size restrictions
• Improvements needed in color management, repeatability, etc.

For all these reasons, says Dickinson, digital printing remains a low priority among many converters until their businesses are competitively hurt or threatened. By then, these converters will be behind the curve, he says.

It's hardly surprising, then, that digital press suppliers have been focusing their efforts on selling the concept to brand packagers—in effect, attempting an "end-around" the reluctant converter.

That marketing shift, as well as proof that packagers are indeed installing their own digital printing capabilities, may be the most significant clues to come out of the two conferences.

Converters will have some hard choices to make as they decide whether to be an "early adopter," hang back and wait, or put their faith in the same old printing technologies they've always used.

Editor's Note: For more information on past or upcoming "Digital Printing for Packaging" conferences, or to order copies of technical papers, visit www.piranet.com, or e-mail Ciaran Little at CiaranL@ pira.co.uk