Long live the print and love towards this!

Packaging is one of the fastest growing segments of the printing industry. So, even if printed material in the form of newspapers, periodicals and books is decreasing moderately, the size of packaging market is growing phenomenally. This is due to myriad reasons. The purchasing power of middleclass segment is growing. The food industry is getting organised, with many players venturing into packed food segment. Besides, the online retail stores have opened up new avenues for packaging. Each product sold at these retail outlets has not just the original packaging but also an outer packaging, which has to endure the wear and tear of transport and in case, the product is returned, it has to be strong enough to reach the sender.

All forms of packaging – flexible, container, tetrapack, corrugated, etc are growing. Hence, a lot of offset printers are now venturing into packaging and there has been substantial investment in this field. On the other hand, many new machines are now available in this segment, with automated processes and stringent quality measures.

This has also opened up new avenues for security printing as organised players look for security features in their packaging. The recent PackPlus exhibition and conclave in New Delhi focused on the future of packaging. And another show Pack Print International in Bangkok is just on the cards.

But, this is not all…there was a recent report in US, which says that print is going to make a comeback in a big way. People have realised the power of print as this is something which is tangible and can be passed from one hand to another. Gone are the days when we received printed New Year greetings, which sat pretty on our desks for months on end. That personal touch is missing. Online greetings can never get this kind of admiration as compared to a printed product.

The industry thus seems to be rejuvenating. It is time to understand your core competencies and focus on the same.

The print is here to stay and the world will continue to love print.