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At present, from the perspective of consumption, corrugated packaging is the largest part of the packaging market. Because of this, the industry uses tons as the unit of measurement for corrugated packaging, not square meters or square feet. Today, corrugated packaging is widely used in the following three main areas: secondary cargo containers, first-class large-sized goods boxes, and retail booths.
The largest use of corrugated packaging is for secondary shipping containers. In addition to simple single- and dual-color
printing , this type of packaging requires almost no other printing. This type of packaging with auxiliary
labels is regarded as the simplest variable printing.
Corrugated paper can also be used in primary packaging, mainly for consumer electronics. The brightly colored boxes placed on the retailer's shelves are printed on paper and the paper is laminated on corrugated paper. The industry term is called cover-film offset printing.
In addition, corrugated paper retail booths have become more and more popular as a way to differentiate other promotions and effectively stimulate purchasers. The size of the booth is usually determined by the site area, and its size varies according to the area of the store. Commodity vendors often pay extra fees for supermarkets or retailers to pay for extra space that retail booths and merchandise occupy. Corrugated paper booths are a very economical way for temporary promotion products and can effectively increase profits.
International Paper is the largest corrugated paper manufacturer and supplier in the world. Here we have selected the most survey data for them in 2013, as shown in Figure 1.
China, as the world's factory, holds the largest volume of corrugated cartons in the industry. Most of these corrugated cartons are used as secondary packaging and do not require printing. At present, the data show that China’s demand for corrugated cartons has become the fastest growing country after Latin America.
Manufacturers of corrugated
packaging materials often also have a supplier role. They crease corrugated paper for folding, and often laminate-to-stencil (usually outsourced) corrugated board, ie, the overlaid film offset printing mentioned above. According to the data of International Paper, the company’s market for corrugated packaging reached 8%.
International Paper is a special case because they are a vertically integrated system with hundreds of independent carton manufacturers who print corrugated material and make it into cartons. How many of them need a
digital printing system to print corrugated paper? We are not aware that many small factories are now more inclined to use mid-range or advanced UV-curable inkjet lithography machines, and do not need a dedicated corrugated digital printing system.
In addition, the production of corrugated paper retail booths requires flexo, screen, and offset presses. Currently, there are already more than 100 UV-curable flatbed printers that are priced at $1 million worldwide, so we expect there will be higher ceiling prices for digital ink-jet production systems for special corrugated retail booths.
However, we do not know the exact numbers that can be provided to digital
ink jet printing system suppliers, but we know that overlaminated offset printing or digital printing is a higher profit segment in the oversupply of corrugated packaging market.
In addition to Western markets, the start of the North American market may be better, because it is the world's largest area of white corrugated paper users.
Corrugated base paper is easier to print because there is no need to consider too much about ink transparency and the handling of recyclable cardboard pieces. However, this huge potential market will also bring various technical challenges for digital inkjet printing (for example, inkjet printing for corrugated paper is a non-contact
printing technology , which requires a printing width wider than 29 inches). The minimum print width required for corrugated paper printing is estimated to be 48 inches.
There are indications that digital printing of corrugated packaging will eventually become a trip, starting with a trip to a UV-curable flatbed printer that is not limited to a specific width. This also means that it will eventually bring a small but high-value application for digital printing. Just like Ralph
