SCREEN Releases Post-Interpack Report Highlighting Global Shift to Digital Inkjet Packaging Printing

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY – June 2, 2026 – SCREEN Europe has published its official post-show industry report following Interpack 2026, pointing out that global flexible packaging printing is speeding up large-scale transformation from traditional gravure and flexography toward water-based digital inkjet production, pushed by EU regulatory rules and volatile raw material costs.

The report names EU’s upcoming PPWR regulation and surging plastic resin prices from geopolitical tension around the Strait of Hormuz as two core driving factors. Scheduled to take effect this August, PPWR enforces strict bans on PFAS chemicals, tighter heavy-metal limits and optimized packaging space ratios, forcing European converters to phase out high-pollution solvent printing and shift to recyclable paper-based packaging solutions. Meanwhile, spiking PE costs make conventional plastic packaging far less cost-efficient, lifting market demand for eco-friendly single-material paper pouches by 22% month-on-month across Europe.

SCREEN’s flagship digital presses Truepress PAC 520P for paper packaging and PAC 830F for plastic flexibles have secured landmark commercial orders in Italy and Japan respectively. Installed at Italy’s Sacchital Group and Japan’s Chiyoda Gravure, the plate-free inkjet lines cut setup time drastically and suit small-batch, customized orders favored by modern FMCG brands.

According to Juan Cano, SCREEN Europe’s Flexible Packaging Director, more packaging factories across Europe and Asia will upgrade digital production lines within 12 months to balance regulatory compliance and production profitability, marking digital inkjet as the mainstream future of global packaging printing.