Digital Printing
Digital is transforming the future of folding carton production
It’s not a question of if digital will transform folding carton production but a matter of when, says Ludovico Frati, sales & marketing director, digital, BOBST
he digital transformation of folding carton converting is happening at pace. As the packaging industry evolves and technologies improve, the supply chain is transitioning from wide format, long run production to agile, fully integrated lines for short runs. The fl exible packaging industry has already experienced this, with digital printing and complementary converting technologies allowing the change. Folding cartons are next in line. Both fl exibles and cartons are stalwarts of the packaging industry but must adapt to new paradigms. When folding cartons fi rst came about in the 1840s, production was a manual process that limited their use. As the industrialisation of manufacturing took place, folding cartons become more widely available and applicable for many FMCG products.
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used to feed fl atbed die-cutters and folder-gluers, which converted large format printed sheets into 3D shapes.
Since then, they have cemented their place on retail shelves and in the lives of consumers. Now it is inconceivable to imagine a world without folding cartons. From store cupboard staples such as cereal, ready-meals and toothpaste, to liquor boxes, cigarette cartons, paracetamol packs and food delivery containers, even the award-winning packaging for Apple’s game-changing iPhone, folding cartons are everywhere and touch almost every aspect of consumers’ lives.
As folding cartons became synonymous with mass-market products, it was necessary for them to be produced at an industrial scale. This led to wide format, sheet-fed printing and converting machinery becoming the accepted norm. Gravure, litho and fl exo presses of more than 1.5 metres width were
This drove folding cartons to become the multi- billion dollar industry it is today. But for tomorrow’s world, a new way of producing folding cartons is necessary.
As runs become shorter, pack formats get smaller, more versions are required and lead times become quicker, fully integrated platforms for all-in-one production are increasingly important. At the heart of these systems is digital printing that has been developed and refi ned in label printing and is now being leveraged for folding cartons. Narrow web inkjet printing, in particular, is turning legacy packaging into future-forward cartons and packs through the adoption of modern-day technology. A 1200 x 1200dpi native resolution, accurate and consistent colour and production of up to 100m/min
are examples of the characteristics that make inkjet critical to the future of folding cartons. Digital printing of folding cartons is projected to grow with a CAGR far exceeding the industry average of 2.5 per cent. Inkjet alone is to grow at 11 per cent CAGR through to 2030, having already seen its share of the digital carton market treble from 2015 to 2025. This growth is being driven by the technology’s ability to manage shorter runs, enable versioning and support faster design-to-market cycles. Digital printing alone is not enough. True transformation lies in all-in-one digital converting. These systems integrate printing, embellishment, quality control, cutting and creasing into a seamless, automated fl ow.
By consolidating multiple steps into one process, platforms such as the BOBST DIGITAL MASTER 55 transform the way short- to mid-size runs of folding cartons are produced. By integrating all necessary steps into one machine, DIGITAL MASTER 55 allows the cost-eff ective, same-day delivery of converted folding cartons and the shortest time to market. In the case of DIGITAL MASTER 55, high uptime (more than 70 per cent) ensures fast turnaround of work at an industrial scale, while manufacturing costs for ultra-short runs below 1,000 equivalent B1 sheets are slashed by as much as 80 per cent. A modular design ensures the BOBST DIGITAL MASTER 55 can be adapted in line with future requirements and capitalise on the best of both fl exo and digital converting at scale. An added benefi t is that conventional equipment is freed up to work on longer runs, where the crossover point is higher and profi t is greater. This all-in-one approach refl ects a broader industry shift toward modular, connected production. Machines no longer operate as isolated units but as part of an integrated ecosystem, supported by data analytics, remote diagnostics and predictive maintenance.
The result is greater agility, transparency and control from fi le to fi nished pack, with digital transforming folding carton production into a process fi t for the next generation of brands and their packaging requirements.
22
November 2025
www.convertermag.com
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