"Last week was one of the best presentations I have seen on digital. I am sitting here watching the clock for your next session," says Fred J. Koehn Jr., a Lake Wylie, SC-based package-printing and graphics consultant. Koehn was among a select group of package printers, converters, consumer-product makers and others attending last month's breakthrough "Digital Printing for Packaging and Labels" Webcast E-conference organized by Converting and Karstedt Associates.

Fourteen speakers from across North America and Europe presented the latest information on markets, technology, end-use applications and the future of digital printing to nearly 300 registered attendees. A unique feature of the Webcast was a series of polling questions that were answered, and the results displayed to attendees, live during each of the E-conference's five sessions. Some of those questions are reported below.

"Digital-print savvy" describes the Webcast's audience as more than 40 percent already have a system in place, while another 24 percent plan to purchase a digital-offset press or inkjet-based machine in the next 12 months.

What's driving our Webcast's audience to purchase a digital-printing system? Business considerations sum up the response. About one-third of all respondents chose either the process' fast turnaround, lower setup costs or variable-data capability.

Attendees were somewhat evenly divided over what's holding back the acceptance of digital printing for packaging. Most do not blame the print method's image quality. Instead, equal numbers of respondents say it's either a lack of understanding for applications or a push from customers, or digital's current speeds and costs.

Again, the Webcast audience was fairly well divided over their biggest concerns about getting into digital printing. Twenty-four percent question the cost of entry, while 21 percent want a thorough assessment of the available technology first. Equal shares of the attendees also question digital's operational fit with their production, its quality/reliability today or finding end-user customers to buy digital printing.