Flexible packaging printing: technical innovation and market opportunity of modern packaging industry
2025,06,19
In the field of consumer goods packaging, soft packaging is gradually replacing traditional hard packaging and becoming the mainstream choice in the market because of its portability, durability and high cost-effectiveness. As the core link of this transformation, flexible packaging printing technology combines the innovative achievements of material science and printing technology, which gives more possibilities for product packaging.
The basis of flexible packaging printing lies in the accurate treatment of various composite materials. The composite use of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyester (PET) and other plastic films with aluminum foil and paper requires that the printing process must adapt to the surface characteristics of different materials. Modern intaglio printing has become the preferred technology for flexible packaging printing because of its excellent color reproduction ability and high-speed production efficiency, especially suitable for long-page printing. Flexographic printing, on the other hand, occupies an important position in the field of short-run printing and special design packaging because of its environmental protection characteristics and rapid plate change advantages.
Technological innovation promotes the continuous expansion of the boundary of flexible packaging printing. The introduction of digital printing technology has realized the real variable data printing and made it possible to customize the packaging in small batches. The application of water-based ink and UV curing technology greatly reduced the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC), which responded to the global environmental protection trend. The breakthrough development of nano-coating technology has given packaging materials special functions such as barrier and antibacterial, which greatly expanded the application scenarios of flexible packaging.
The diversification of market demand is reshaping the flexible packaging printing industry. The vigorous development of e-commerce has created a huge market space for express packaging, which requires packaging to have both protective performance and brand display function. The food industry's demand for extending the shelf life gave birth to high barrier printing and packaging solutions. The improvement of consumers' environmental awareness has promoted the research and development of printing technology of recyclable and degradable materials. These trends together constitute a global flexible packaging printing market worth hundreds of billions of yuan.
In the future, flexible packaging printing will develop in the direction of intelligence, personalization and sustainability. Intelligent packaging integrates RFID, QR code and other technologies to realize product traceability; On-demand printing technology meets the individual needs of minority brands; Bio-based materials and single material structure design improve packaging recyclability. These innovations will not only reduce the environmental impact, but also create new commercial value, making flexible packaging printing an important medium to connect products and consumers.
