Digitally Challenged in Latin American
Like all label markets around the world, Latin America is faced with the challenge of meeting the rising demand for short runs. Converters here are taking a look at digital printing as a solution, but adoption is not easy. "The main problem for this technology to become more popular in Brazil is not so much about the level of investment behind the purchase of a digital press, but the operational costs behind it," says Wilmers. "Normally you need an operator for a digital press with a much different skills set compared to a conventional press, and this is the kind of professional that you do not find in our market. Therefore, if you buy a digital press here, either you invest time and money by educating an operator or you try to hire someone from the competition – something that normally inflates the market with salaries completely out of the norm. And by doing this, you're then in a situation where someone could 'steal' this same professional from you within a matter of months.
"Another challenge that we see here are the importation taxes on top of the consumables used for digital printing. This is very expensive, and it's what makes the famous 'break-even' for digital in Brazil to be very, very different compared to other countries where you don't face such draconian taxes. Even comparing the same technology and the same type of labels, the break-even would always be much, much less in Brazil compared to other countries," adds Wilmers. John Cavey of Mark Andy also notices the inherent financial challenges associated with going digital. "Digital applications are growing, but are not taking the region by storm. Due to the investment and volume of business required to turn a profit, digital seems to be limited to only the high-end converters," he says, adding that there are some that are able to succeed with digital, but it's not the norm.
"Digital definitely has its place for short runs, new product development and variable printing, but is limited to specialized applications and doesn't meet volume needs. We see new flexo presses, such as the Mark Andy Performance Series press, challenging the need for digital. And new in-line flexo presses are making a case for short runs with fast changeovers and minimal waste. In-line flexo also retains an advantage with the product going through a single process versus the multiple processes required in digital printing. "Converters are looking for the most inexpensive way to produce the highest quality product, and the investment in digital doesn't always support that," says Cavey.
From Internet
27 April, 2012
