Author: Xu WencaiProfessor, Chairman of the Packaging Printing and Labeling Branch of the China Packaging Federation

Invited to shareI am honored to represent the Packaging Printing and Labeling Branch of the China Packaging Federation, focusing on the development trends of China's labeling and packaging printing industry LOUPE Between series exhibitions and industriesThe communicationShare some of my personal observations and thoughts.

Development trajectory: from professional division of labor to industrial integration

In the past decade, China's label and packaging printing industry has undergone a profound and pragmatic transformation. Five years ago, most companies were still sticking to their respective niche areas——Label factories specialize in making labels, paper box factories focus on paper boxes, and soft packaging factories only make bags, each guarding their own place. Today, these traditional business boundaries are rapidly being broken down.

The underlying logic driving this change is not complicated: brand owners are increasingly inclined to“do subtraction”——I hope to achieve more packaging needs with fewer suppliers. Taking a certain food brand as an example, for the same product line, it requires labels on beverage bottles, soft packaging for snack bags, and folding paper boxes for gift boxes. Driven by such demand, printing companies that can provide integrated packaging solutions are naturally more likely to win orders.

In the past three to five years, this“industrial convergence”Significantly accelerating in the Chinese market. Printing factories are investing in wide format printing equipment, digital printing machines, and post press processingproduction lineProactively expanding the boundaries of abilities. The core issues of the industry have been addressed“What are you printing”transform into“What can you package”。

This change in demand has directly forced upstream equipment suppliers to undergo cross-border transformation. Traditional label printing equipment suppliers are extending to the soft packaging field:Xpannd For example, its latest releaseACSeries printing production lines can achieve700-800mmThe printing width; Weigang, Zhongte, QianrunWan JieEnterprises are also synchronously upgrading equipment width and material compatibility, actively breaking down the technical barriers of labels and soft packaging.

At the same time, the upgrading of industry technology has spurred more cross-border collaborations,Label printing equipment manufacturers collaborate with digital printers to produce combination printing equipment,as ifTong YinJointly developed with SpandeCombination printing machineFurther blurring the equipment boundaries between different sub fields.

What is the most needed in the current industry

Despite significant transformation achievements, Chinese printing and packaging enterprises still face multiple pressures: weak market demand, intensified industry competition, fluctuating raw material costs, continuously rising labor costs, and increasingly stringent requirements from end customers for delivery time, quality, and price. Profit margins are continuously squeezed, and companies are generally entering“Increasing income without increasing profits”The difficult cycle.

In this context, the most urgent needs of the industry can be summarized in four words:Efficiency and direction。

efficiencyThis means that enterprises need intelligent devices that can reduce waste and shorten order replacement timeReduce costs and increase efficiency,We need green materials that are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly, and more importantly, we need to optimize the process to“price war”The traditional mode of transformation“Pinduoduo Value”Competitive ability.

directionIt is a realistic multiple-choice question presented to every practitioner: flexographic printing or notDigital printing?Label or soft pack?RFIDSmart tagsOr traditional anti-counterfeiting traceability?Deep cultivation of segmented markets or cross-border integration? Independent innovation or leveraging cooperation?

Ultimately, what current practitioners need is not vague trend analysis, but practical solutions that can be implemented and converted into orders——Find your own path of deterministic growth amidst uncertainty.

to, toward, at, facing“real”Pooling Strengthto, toward, at, facing“new”leap

Predictable future: smarter, greener, and more interconnected

Green low-carbon and sustainable development, as well as digital intelligence and artificial intelligence, are not only national development strategies, but also development priorities that enterprises pay attention to. How can the packaging printing and labeling industry cope with the challenges of "dual carbon" and digitization, and achieve high-quality development?This year is our country“the fifteenth five-year plan”The opening year of the plan. in2026—2030In the grand blueprint of the year,“Building a modern industrial system and consolidating and strengthening the foundation of the real economy”Placed at the forefront of major strategic tasks. this“consolidate the foundation”and“Peixin”The development orientation of collaborative progress has pointed out a clear path for high-quality development of the printing industry, which is an important component of the real economy.

'Strengthening the foundation' is the cornerstone of the stable and far-reaching development of the printing industry. base“the fifteenth five-year plan”The core of the printing industry's solid foundation lies in adhering to the foundation of the real economy, as outlined in the planning outline,Guided by greenization, digitization, intelligence, and integrationStabilize the industry fundamentals. Abandoning the extensive development model, promoting the digital upgrading of production processes, comprehensive application of environmental protection and low-carbon technologies, strengthening the upstream and downstream coordination of the industrial chain, filling the gaps in high-end equipment, core consumables and other areas, consolidating industry competitiveness, and making every effort to build a modern industrial system.

'Peixin' is the key to breaking through and upgrading the printing industry. The revitalization of the printing industry is not blind innovation that deviates from its main business, but rather relies on cutting-edge technology to cultivate new scenarios, formats, and models, promote the large-scale development of digital printing and intelligent printing, expand cultural creativity, personalized packaging, and other sub sectors, and integrate them5G、AIBy utilizing technology to achieve precise services, the printing industry can transform from processing and manufacturing to creative services, and leap from traditional formats to emerging tracks.

In“consolidate the foundation”and“Peixin”Under the joint drive of, I believe that the following three forces will continue to reshape the landscape of China's narrow width printing industry in the future:

First,Green, low-carbon and sustainable developmentThe tightening of environmental policies and the challenges faced by brand ownersESGAppeal, jointly forcing the industry to accelerate green transformation. fromenvironmentally friendly inkSolvent-free composite,To simplify packagingGreen technology is emerging from“optional item”change into“Mandatory option”。Optimize production processes, save energy and reduce emissions, achieve refined control of energy consumption and carbon emissions, promote the implementation of carbon reduction and carbon footprint accounting in the label packaging printing industry chain, and solve the pain points of high energy consumption in the industry.Low carbon printing technology and carbon footprint accounting system have begun to enter the supply chain management of top enterprises. In the future, companies without green capabilities will gradually be excluded from the choices of mainstream customers.

Secondly, digitization and intelligence.Digitization is reconstructing the entire process of printing production——From pre pressAutomated schedulingFrom on-demand production of digital printing to intelligent detection and data closed-loop.AITechnology has begun to be applied to defect recognition, color management, and production scheduling in printed products, significantly reducing manual dependence and error rates. Intelligence is not only an upgrade of efficiency tools, but also the starting point of business model transformation: short orders, variable data, and personalized customization have become a reality, and printing factories are transitioning from“Batch producer”to, toward, at, facing“Data driven service providers”Evolution.

Thirdly, intelligent packaging and interconnectivity.Printing no longer stops at“good-looking”And it is becoming the gateway connecting the physical world and the digital world. QR code, invisible codeRFID/NFCLabeling and other technologies make every packaging a data carrier, carrying functions such as anti-counterfeiting traceability, interactive marketing, inventory management, etc,Application digitalization andAITechnology, quality improvement and efficiency enhancement.Narrow width printing enterprises should pay close attention to this trend: intelligent packaging puts forward higher requirements for printing accuracy, material compatibility, and post-processing capabilities, while also opening up incremental space for high value-added services in the industry.

In summary, in“the fifteenth five-year plan”At the beginning of the year, China's narrow width printing industry is standing at the intersection of fixed cost and new development. Digitization is reshaping efficiency, defining the threshold for green packaging, and expanding the boundaries of intelligent packaging.

LOUPEThe relationship between exhibitions and industries: a practical platform for strategic implementation

Strategic implementation requires a platform; Industry transformation requires a lever.LOUPEGlobal Label and Packaging Printing Exhibition (formerly known asLabelexpo）With over 40 years of experience serving the global labeling and packaging industry, it has become a truly global practice platform. Here, international cutting-edge technology intersects deeply with local industrial demands,“Guben Peixin”The development concept has been implemented and transformed through multinational exhibitors, global buyers, and multiple international forums, allowing trends to not only be seen but also put into practice.

The latest practice of this concept is about to2026year12moon2—4The event was held at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center (Bao'an New Building)LOUPESouth China International Label and Packaging Printing Exhibition. The total area of this exhibition has exceeded30,000Square meters, spanning two exhibition halls for the first time, doubling the scale compared to the previous exhibition.Simultaneously organized by the Packaging Printing and Labeling Branch of the China Packaging Federation2026Tag forum.

At the same time, through brand upgrades, this yearLOUPEThe South China Exhibition has further expanded the scope of exhibits and concurrent activities. In addition to the core label printing business, the exhibition also covers areas such as flexible packaging (shrink wrap labeling, bag making) and folding paper boxes (online processing), actively breaking down barriers between segmented markets. Soft packaging companies can find label equipment suitable for narrow width production here, and label printing factories can also come into contact with cross-border processes such as shrink fit labeling and lightweight packaging. More importantly, the exhibition brings together brand owners, end-users, and printing suppliers, which can make“Integrated packaging solution”The supply and demand sides achieve precise docking.

Conclusion

As the Packaging Printing and Labeling Branch of the China Packaging Federation, we are always committed to promoting high-quality development in the industry. We believe,LOUPEThe series of exhibitions provides a clear, pragmatic, and accessible future perspective for the industry. In the process of continuous industrial integration and accelerated technological iteration, we look forward to working with our member companies toLOUPEOn the exhibition platform built, you can see the direction, find solutions, and win the future.