Flexography to digital: Key innovations at Labelexpo

The Labelexpo Europe 2025 show in Barcelona highlighted a mature industry undergoing a decisive shift, with three core drivers: sustainability, automation and hybrid printing. As I sauntered through the halls, it was heartwarming that India was repeatedly cited as a vital, fast-growing market. Several exhibitors noted India’s unusually rapid adoption curves for automation, colour management and workflow software, placing it among the top three global regions for digital onboarding.

A major theme was the commitment to reducing waste, material, and carbon footprint. Actega’s Ecoleaf technology was presented as a significant step, eliminating the plastic carrier film used in traditional foiling, which is claimed to cut CO2 equivalent emissions associated with metallic decoration by at least 80%. Converters and suppliers also pointed to waste reduction in makeready stages, with several systems demonstrating sub-20-metre set-up capabilities driven by closed-loop colour and inline inspection.

Avery Dennison launched a clean series of adhesive innovations designed to enable cleaner label removal and separation to support the recycling of glass, carton, PET, and HDPE packaging. There was also a stronger interest in recycled-content facestocks and liner-thinning initiatives, areas where Indian converters were seen to be experimenting aggressively.

Archroma Packaging Technologies is accelerating the transition from plastic to paper packaging, using bio-based, polysaccharide-based chemistry to provide water resistance, strength, and other functional properties, positioning India to leapfrog traditional material stages. At the other end of the spectrum, Acme Rolltech showcased its AReP (Acme Refurbishment Anilox Programme), a full reconstruction process for used anilox rollers that saves metal and offers customers a 10 to 15% cost advantage. GEW noted that the shift to UV LED curing with up to 70% energy savings and lamp life of 40,000+ hours is now driven by economic discipline as much as sustainability targets.

Suppliers also highlighted escalating scrutiny around photoinitiator regulations in Europe, prompting wider interest in LED-optimised ink sets, low-migration formulations and dual-cure systems designed to align with emerging compliance frameworks. What stood out for me was how the focus for presses shifted from raw speed to throughput, agility and system intelligence. In this, Nilpeter emphasised automation, job-change flexibility and minimal waste on the FA-17 and FA-26 to deliver real throughput gains.

While Durst unveiled its G3 platform (Core and Peak models, up to 100-m/min), featuring automated setup, Hawkeye AI inspection and material edge protection for new levels of reliability. Across multiple stands, the rise of predictive maintenance, sensor-led diagnostics and operator-assistance software was notable, signalling a move toward semi-autonomous production lines.

The consensus from companies like Gallus and Vinsak Rotatek is that hybrid printing, combining digital flexibility with flexo or offset industrial speed and embellishment, is the right way to go. Hybrid demonstrations increasingly extended to inline embellishment, with cold foil, screen, textured varnishes and die-cutting integrated into single-pass lines to eliminate secondary workflows.

HP Indigo highlighted that short runs have evolved into complex, high-SKU jobs, for example, 1,00,000 labels split across 40 designs. And Domino introduced its Generation 7 N730i and a new entry-level press, the N410, to support a wider range of digital adopters. AI-driven colour automation and automated substrate calibrations were recurring themes, particularly as converters sought to reduce dependence on skilled operators.

During the PrintWeek Awards Jury Meet, brand specialists spoke about packaging value and how it is used to connect with consumers.

On the eve of Labelexpo, Vinsak Rotatek noted that embellishment on a store shelf is a key differentiator today. Many manufacturers see huge potential in India as the vast unpackaged food and home care sectors organise and shift to packaged formats. Suppliers repeatedly noted that India’s shift from manual to automated workflows is occurring faster than expected, particularly in inspection, finishing and workflow orchestration, making the market central to their 2025 to 2027 strategies.