Our November/December issue is L&NW’s last of 2015, so it’s fitting to take a moment to reflect on some of the year’s highlights. The label industry is in the midst of a very active era, and on the heels of the largest Labelexpo in the history of the event, 2015 is closing with activity at a fever pitch.

The show in Brussels was the eighth Labelexpo I’ve covered as a journalist. Seeing it firsthand and being present for all four days, I can attest that there was a renewed energy among both exhibitors and attendees. I’d never seen such interest in label printers looking to invest in new technology, and there was plenty to look at, particularly if these new investments are in digital. There were nearly 60 different equipment vendors on hand offering some sort of digital printer or press.

And visitors weren’t just kicking tires. When the smoke cleared and people came home, caught their breath and crunched numbers, news began trickling in. HP Indigo, who was honored in Brussels for its SmartStream Mosaic software, (the technology behind the popular Share a Coke campaign), announced that 70 new digital press orders came at the show.  One customer alone, Germany-based Rako-Group, made history with the purchase of 11 HP Indigo presses.  Meanwhile, Xeikon, HP’s biggest competitor in the space, reported closing 25 digital press deals in Brussels, and added that by the close of 2015, the company will have sold 20 Cheetah-powered Xeikon CX3 presses.

The above are just accounts from leaders in EP digital technology. I’d need a lot more pages here to disseminate the reports of the myriad number of inkjet players, which leads to what’s inside this issue. Among the content on the pages that follow is a feature on inkjet presses, where we break down what some of the leading OEMs are offering. The inkjet buzz has never been bigger, and I am eager to see which technology providers emerge and which do not. They can’t all succeed, right? Or can they?

But taking center stage in this issue is an article written by Sean Skelly, where he outlines potential purchasing strategies for converters now looking into a second or third digital press investment – a sure sign of the times. Skelly, who is a consultant to the industry with an extensive digital printing background, provides an unbiased expert’s perspective that could prove valuable to those where buying a digital press “isn’t their first rodeo.”

So 2016 is shaping up to be another interesting year for the labels and packaging industry. With that said, it’s an honor to be a part of it. And from all of us here at L&NW, happy holidays!




Steve Katz, Editor
[email protected]
Twitter: @LabelSteve