Flexible packaging is packaging made from thin, flexible materials that can bend, fold, or conform around a product, typically supplied as films, foils, or papers that are later formed into items such as pouches, sachets, wraps, or lidding. Converters choose flexible formats because they reduce material use compared with rigid packaging, support high-speed filling lines, and allow a wide range of barrier and sealing structures.
Why does printing the method matter for flexible packaging?
There is no single optimal printing method for flexible packaging, and instead run-length, product, and the overall design should inform the chosen production process. Digital inkjet is the economic choice shorter runs, faster artwork changes, and quicker targeted product versioning, which becomes valuable as SKU counts rise and brands demand regionalisation, limited editions, and faster response cycles.
Digital production enables a more agile manufacturing model. By printing only what is required, when it is required, converters can avoid overproduction and significantly reduce inventory levels and associated costs. The elimination of plates and cylinders also removes a major source of material waste, while reduced start-up requirements and highly repeatable workflows minimise waste linked to defects or operator error.
Meanwhile, traditional analogue methods such as flexography and gravure remain efficient for longer fixed runs, but they impose fixed setup times and expenses that make frequent changeovers less cost-effective. When choosing a printing method, converters should carefully consider the requirements of their current clients and opportunities for growth or can adopt both digital and analogue printing as complementary solutions to maintain the optimal throughput job-to-job.
How can businesses use flexible packaging to grow?
Businesses can use flexible packaging to grow by reducing the risks associated with packaging change while opening new routes to market.
Operationally, flexible packaging can support growth by improving responsiveness. Digital print-on-demand production reduces inventory exposure, shortens lead times, and helps businesses avoid overproduction when regulations, designs, or product ranges change quickly. This is especially relevant in markets being reshaped by sustainability targets, recyclability requirements, and the need for faster product turnover. In that context, flexible packaging is not only a format choice but a business model advantage.
Because flexible packaging supports shorter runs and faster artwork changes, brands can test new products, launch seasonal editions, create regional variants, and respond to retailer or consumer feedback without committing to large volumes of obsolete stock. This lowers the cost of experimentation and makes packaging a more active tool for market development rather than a fixed production constraint.
Flexible packaging also creates growth opportunities through differentiation. High-quality graphics, customised formats, and targeted messaging help brands stand out on shelf, while digital production makes it easier to align packaging with online campaigns and targeted consumer personalisation enabled through digital variable data printing. In sectors such as food, cosmetics, personal care, household goods, and pharmaceuticals, this adaptability allows companies to serve more niche audiences and react faster to market trends profitably while enabling packaging to also become a direct communication channel through serialisation, QR codes, and market-specific artwork.
Digital printing can also help businesses address labour constraints that increasingly affect packaging production. Analogue packaging workflows often depend on specialist skills for plate making, press setup, colour matching, and changeover routines that require long training periods. As experienced operators retire and hiring pools tighten, production environments benefit from digital systems that reduce operator-dependent setup tasks and standardise repeatability through software-driven workflows. When a converter reduces plate changes, manual registration tuning, and subjective colour correction, it shortens training time and allows fewer operators to manage more output consistently. This matters in flexible packaging where production schedules often include various SKUs and frequent artwork updates, which can otherwise increase manual workload and the risk of operator error and downstream defects.
Because digital presses rely on structured data handling and preset job parameters through the print workflow, production teams can automate more of the repetitive work that traditionally absorbed skilled labour. Over time, this lets businesses expand capacity without scaling headcount linearly, which directly supports growth when labour availability becomes a limiting factor rather than market demand.
How does digital printing fit into the current flexible packaging production?
Digital printing fits into current flexible packaging production by addressing the two pressures now shaping the market most clearly: the need for greater production agility and the need to manufacture more sustainably without sacrificing commercial viability. SCREEN’s implementation of industrial inkjet for flexible packaging sits in the Truepress PAC platform, which was developed around these real production requirements and long-term market forecasts.
The Truepress PAC 520P targets paper-based flexible packaging and runs up to 80 m/min at a native 600 × 900 dpi, while the Truepress PAC 830F is a single-pass digital inkjet press designed for plastic-based flexible packaging with an industrial-scale operating speed of 75m/min, supporting a maximum dpi of 1200 x 1200. Together, these two platforms reflect how the market is evolving. Together, these two platforms reflect how the market is evolving. Converters increasingly need to manage shorter runs, more frequent artwork changes, regional variants, seasonal editions, and a growing number of SKUs, all while keeping waste low and response times short. In that environment, digital printing is increasingly valued because it allows production to move from fixed, forecast-heavy manufacturing towards more responsive, demand-led models.
This shift is particularly important in flexible packaging because it also changes the sustainability profile of packaging production, an invaluable consideration as consumers and government regulation is increasingly requiring more transparent and environmentally friendly packaging. The demand-led production model creates broader sustainability gains across the supply chain as lower inventory requirements mean less warehousing, less handling, and fewer emergency logistics interventions to replace outdated packaging. Shorter, more accurate production runs also reduce the likelihood of overproduction, which remains one of the least efficient aspects of packaging manufacturing from both a cost and environmental perspective. In practical terms, digital printing helps converters and brands use less substrate, waste less ink, consume less energy on setup and rework, and lower the emissions associated with storing, transporting, and disposing of unnecessary packaging.
In paper-based flexible packaging, digital inkjet like the Truepress PAC 520P supports the growing shift towards fibre-based formats by making shorter runs and new product introductions more commercially viable. In plastic-based flexible packaging, digital presses such as the Truepress PAC 830F support more efficient production of recyclable mono-material structures and reduce the waste associated with analogue changeovers while introducing new more recyclable mono-material packaging architecture. In both cases, the use of water-based inkjet inks, which reduce reliance on the solvent-heavy chemistries traditionally associated with flexible packaging printing lower VOC emissions while supporting food-compliant production requirements in regulated packaging markets.
Why is digital printing important in flexible packaging?
Digital printing is becoming strategically important in flexible packaging because it allows converters and brands to respond to market fragmentation, sustainability pressures, and operational complexity with greater control.
Rather than treating print as a fixed, plate-driven manufacturing stage, digital production turns packaging into a more adaptable part of the supply chain, where shorter runs, versioning, lower waste, and faster response can be delivered without undermining production efficiency. Increasingly, digital inkjet is no longer a specialist alternative for flexible packaging, but a practical production method for converters trying to grow while meeting tighter commercial and environmental requirements.