The global packaging and printing market will leverage $618.2 billion in 2029

Smithers Institute, an international authority

Recently released the latest research report

The Future of Packaging and Printing to 2029

Look ahead 5 years

Global packaging and printing market development trend

The report shows that in 2024, the global packaging and printing industry returned to growth, the market size reached 517.9 billion US dollars, printing 14.3 trillion A4 paper labels, corrugated cardboard, folding cartons, soft paper and plastic, rigid plastic and metal packaging, consumption of 1.54 million tons of ink. It is expected that the global packaging and printing industry will continue to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 3.6% in the next five years, which will bring the market size to $618.2 billion in 2029, and the production will rise to 17.1 trillion A4 sheets.

Read data

Flexographic printing market share of 52.6%, digital printing compound annual growth rate will reach 12.8%

The report breaks down the packaging and printing industry by packaging material, printing process, geographic region, etc. This is driven by an analysis of leading technology and market developments, including the widespread adoption of digital printing, increasing automation of packaging printing lines, changes in demographics and retail infrastructure, brand owners' calls for more sustainable packaging, and the use of artificial intelligence in print design.

According to the report, flexographic printing is still a widely used printing process, especially for high-volume corrugated cardboard and label applications, with a market share as high as 52.6%. Gravure and offset printing technologies are also popular, mainly for printing higher-quality graphics on folding cartons and flexible packaging, accounting for 20.1% and 17.9% of packaging and label production, respectively.

Digital printing is currently the mainstream production process for labels and is entering the field of corrugated packaging. Although digital printing products will only account for 1.1% of production in 2024, it will account for 3.9% of the market size. Smithers Institute predicts that in the next five years, the compound annual growth rate of digital printing will reach 12.8%, and the market share will further expand. The continuous advancement of digital printing technology also poses a challenge to traditional printing equipment manufacturers. As inkjet and toner printing equipment improves in terms of print quality and cost effectiveness, it is showing greater competitiveness in long-form orders, providing packaging buyers with greater flexibility and customization options. This trend was also revealed at Drupa 2024, where a number of new machines for high-speed digital printing of folding cartons were unveiled, as well as the further development of single-channel inkjet corrugated presses and narrow-band toner and inkjet presses, which are increasingly configured to accommodate short-plate printing operations. At the same time, traditional printing equipment manufacturers are also actively responding, increasing investment in pre-press and printing automation technology, and combining it with software such as workflow and online maintenance platforms. In addition, the development of hybrid printing systems has become a major trend.

In terms of geographical region, in 2024, the three regions of Asia, Western Europe and North America contributed 81.5% of global packaging printing output value and 82.0% of sales volume, and these shares will remain basically unchanged in 2029. Among them, the Asian market share is larger, led by China, which has a strong manufacturing base and export market, the market is driven by the growing demand for packaged goods by domestic consumers.

Analysis report

Packaging printing will become a substantial growth area, and the industry will gradually change to digital printing

According to the Smithers Institute's latest analysis, packaging printing will be an area of substantial growth over the next five years. The global packaging printing market will grow by a relatively strong 3.6% in the next five years, in sharp contrast to the decline in traditional graphic printing.

"This is a real growth forecast." Smithers Institute editor Johnny Nelson explained that growth is concentrated in developing regions, particularly Asia, rather than Western Europe and North America.

"At the end of the day, demand is consumer-led, with more and more households around the world using packaging." Sean Smith, a consultant and industry veteran in the information sector at Smithers Institute, added that as supply chains further develop in these regions, booming middle classes in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa are driving demand.

Sean Smith also added that in more developed printing markets like the UK, technological advances in digital printing have provided more opportunities for printers. "In some areas, digital technology is competing directly with flexo printing and its share is gradually increasing, including labels, cartons, flexible packaging and corrugated paper." According to Sean Smith, at present, the two processes are largely complementary. As digitization continues to improve in terms of reliability and productivity, it is becoming more competitive, and the digital advantage of variable data being easy to change offers brands benefits that cannot be achieved using flexo or other traditional printing processes.

"Flexo's 52.6 per cent market share shows that it is still a widely used process and is very cost-effective in the long run." Sean Smith says the shift to digital printing is obvious, though it's a gradual one. At the same time, many flexo printing equipment vendors are developing machines with mixed configurations and increasing automation to counter the threat of inkjet.

John Nelson said that printing process automation is becoming increasingly important for the packaging industry, and advanced workflow software that can handle complex processes will be valued. "As AI moves deeper into the industry, it has the potential to become a valuable tool in packaging design and accelerate time-to-market for packaged products." "He added.