Digital Print for Packaging: The Paradox

Digital print is often hailed as a force of innovation in packaging—a technology that enables agility, personalization, sustainability, and speed. By all measures, it should be a no-brainer.

Yet, adoption still lags surprisingly behind.

Why? That’s the paradox.

On the surface, digital print seems perfectly aligned with the demands of modern packaging. But dig deeper, and you’ll find a set of contradictions—ways in which market behavior doesn’t align with the technology’s potential.

Let’s unpack these paradoxes.

First, the fundamentals. Today’s market dynamics demand agility. Shorter lead times, lower inventories, and the ability to respond rapidly to shifting consumer preferences are no longer nice-to-haves—they’re essential. Consumers expect personalized experiences, frequent product refreshes, and seamless connections between physical and digital brand touchpoints.

In this environment, digital print should be an obvious choice. It enables just-in-time delivery, reduces waste, supports mass customization, and fosters creativity like never before. Brands can use it to run hyper-local campaigns, celebrate regional holidays, or launch limited-edition packaging aligned with global events like the Super Bowl or Stanley Cup.

And many have. For over a decade now, companies like HP have empowered brands to produce powerful, customized packaging campaigns with real emotional impact. These aren’t theoretical benefits—they’re proven. So, if digital print is such a game-changer, why does it still account for less than 10% of label print volume and under 1% of packaging volume globally?

The most common answer? Cost.

Digital print’s per-unit cost is indeed higher than analog methods. And so, converters and procurement teams still lean on the familiar break-even point: if your print run is below x sheets or meters, go digital. Otherwise, analog still wins the economic argument.

But here’s the first paradox: just like the visible tip of an iceberg hides a massive structure below the surface, unit cost is only a small part of the real cost of bringing packaged goods to market.

Focusing solely on print cost ignores the broader value digital print unlocks—reduced working capital, less obsolescence, faster time to market, and significantly lower waste. Brands can write off up to 30% of packaging inventory due to forecasting errors, design changes, or obsolescence. Reallocating that waste alone could fund a transition to digital.

The second paradox lies in where the benefits are realized. While converters focus on job-level economics, the strategic value of digital print is felt across the entire value chain—inventory, warehousing, marketing, sales, sustainability. Yet these downstream gains don’t show up on a print procurement spreadsheet.

That’s a disconnect.

Digital print enables SKU-level agility, more engaging marketing campaigns, and deeper personalization — all of which drive revenue growth and brand differentiation. But unless the brand’s marketing and operations teams are looped into the discussion, these benefits often go unrecognized or under-leveraged.

To break this paradox, brands must stop evaluating digital print in isolation. Instead, the conversation must shift from “How much does it cost per unit?” to “How much value does it unlock across the chain?”

That’s where workflow integration becomes critical.

The creativity exists. Brand teams and agencies are brimming with ideas for personalized, hyper-targeted campaigns. But they’re often stifled by manual workflows, misaligned processes, and a lack of integration across the creative, prepress, and production lifecycle.

Managing brand integrity, maintaining version control, and ensuring approval cycles are respected requires more than just a great press — it requires a seamless, automated ecosystem.

This is where Esko and HP provide a clear advantage.

Esko’s WebCenter and Automation Engine, integrated with HP’s PrintOS, deliver an end-to-end workflow solution that bridges the gap between design and delivery. From a single source of truth for artwork, through automated prepress and intelligent sheet layout, to factory floor planning and production monitoring—everything is connected.

This isn’t future talk. These solutions are in use today, automating the path from concept to shelf. PrintOS gathers real-time production data while Esko solutions streamline the creative and prepress side, ensuring every customized package is not only possible but profitable.

To truly realize the promise of digital print, the industry must stop sustaining the paradox. That means stepping up one level, from job cost to value chain transformation.

We need to integrate, automate, and connect—not just presses, but people, platforms, and processes.

Only then will digital print shed its paradoxical status and stand as the powerful enabler it really is: not just a way to print, but a way to transform the way brands bring products to market.

Let’s move beyond the tip of the iceberg.