HP's digital printing labels and packaging double-digit growth, expected to further this year

Digital printing giant HP expects that personalized products, business-to-consumer (B2C) printing and e-commerce will drive the digital printing market to flourish in 2021. Ronan Yanku, head of strategy and business management at HP, said the demand for personalized products will continue to soar in 2021. "Personalized products will continue to be a growth area for the printing industry, and we believe this trend will be expanded in 2021. HP research shows that the personalized gift market will grow by 55% in 2021 to reach $31 billion."

He said that business-to-consumer printing is growing, reflecting consumer demand for products, photography, gifts, greeting cards and packaging-many of which are to improve home space and home office, and to communicate with friends and family through social distancing keep in touch.

In addition, the e-commerce and B2C fields also provide diversified opportunities for printing service providers that have traditionally focused on business-to-business applications. This field has been affected for most of this year. "Another driving factor is the brand. In the ever-changing era, brands will continue to use customization and personalization as differentiating factors, but also as a tool to maintain an intimate relationship with consumers. A recent example is Mondelez International and Liverpool Football The cooperation between the clubs, the latter used HP Indigo technology to produce a limited edition champion chocolate bar for 50,000 fans to thank them for their firm support in the 2019/20 season."

Eli Maha, head of L&P marketing Indigo, said that HPIndigo label and packaging printing has achieved healthy growth in 2020 and is expected to continue to grow next year. [Demand in vertical industries such as food, beer, and cleaning products is particularly high. Although this epidemic will end sooner or later, it has accelerated the development of several major trends and provided opportunities for digital printing, especially for agile supply chains. , Rapid listing and demand for multi-functional digital printing presses. The trend of small brands and local manufacturing continues to grow. As the industry quickly responds to new demands, 2020 has proven the need for a digital-first mentality. Investing in the right technology now will be in the future Bring dividends."

Heim Levitt, vice president and general manager of HP Indigo, said his department is "looking forward to making positive progress in 2021." He said that although 2020 is an unprecedented year, the industry has also discovered new opportunities for digital printing that require automation, profitability and differentiation.

His colleague Maya Polleg added that customers are increasingly expecting faster turnaround times and innovative applications. Levitt said: "I will approach 2021 with a positive attitude and confidence. The industry will continue to develop and serve brands and communities around the world."

In fact, the full transition to digital printing and the overall growth of packaging have brought huge help to HP, otherwise HP will suffer severe losses due to the pandemic. CEO Enrique Lorres said that in 2020, the number of printed sheets and square meters using HP digital printed labels and packaging materials increased by double digits compared to 2019.

This is a highlight of the 2020 fiscal year. He specifically pointed to Epac, which has ordered another 20 machines for flexible packaging, and the American Corrugated Box manufacturer The Boxmaker, which installed a second C500 corrugated paper number in this year. Printing machine. Otherwise, the pandemic will have a "serious negative impact" on the hardware sales of HP's commercial printing department. Sales of Indigos, inkjet printers, and now 3D printing equipment constitute HP's commercial printing division, accounting for 7% of the company's total turnover of 56.6 billion U.S. dollars.

During the third quarter of 2020, printing production has been slowly recovering, which lasted until the fourth quarter of 2020, but it was not enough to make up for the reduction in related commercial printing activities caused by the pandemic. With further blockades around the world, the company expects this situation to reappear in the first quarter of 2021, and HP's fiscal year runs from November to October of the following year.

The pandemic-related commercial printing slowed down, while the consumer printing sector gained growth. The home office in the last quarter stimulated the sales of desktop printers and also drove the sales of related consumables. As a result, consumer hardware revenue fell by only 1% throughout the year, while commercial hardware fell by 25% over the same period. The printing department reported annual sales of 17.6 billion U.S. dollars, less than one-third of total sales, but operating profit was 5.2 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 52% of the company's operating profit.

Enrique Lores said that it was HP that not only has a broad product portfolio in printing, but also improved business resilience during the epidemic, allowing HP to surpass its peers. Although the pandemic continues to affect, Lores still I believe the situation will improve. "We expect the overall commercial printing will gradually resume."

As for the vice president and general manager of HP Page Wide Press, Karls Farre pointed out that many printing companies are committed to investing in new inkjet technology and post-press equipment to help them better participate in market competition, which proves that they are developing the industry. Willingness. This is a call to action for all participants in the industry. Printing equipment suppliers, workflow providers and finishing partners can only respond to this customer`s commitment and investment, and continue to invest to create solutions to achieve higher-value products, more efficient production facilities and supply chains , And have a positive impact on sustainable development.

As of the end of 2020, HP has installed many mass-produced inkjet devices, which have been well restored to a level similar to that of 2019. Some of these applications have shown significant growth trends, such as publishing and corrugated packaging. Although we face many uncertainties, this is another positive sign of the strength of our industry.