This Is a TEST of Your Imagination!

Published: November 10, 2017, By Yolanda Simonsis

This is an unusual blog post for me. . .

Today I received an email from ebeam Technologies with the subject line: "2018 Industry Predictions from ebeam Technologies and Invitation for Briefing."

It caught my attention. . . no doubt because of the "predictions" lure. I love sci-fi, so anything that vaguely smells of the future catches my attention.

Naturally, as any sci-fi lover would attest, I gravitated to the 'predictions' portion of the message, which I'll share with you momentarily, but first let me tell you what idea this email sparked for me:

WHAT ARE YOUR PREDICTIONS FOR 2018 and beyond???? Tell me!

Here are the rules:

• Do not predict your competitor is going out of business.
• Limit your predictions to the technology(ies) concerning the printing and converting industries.
• No predictions will be published that have anything to do with teeth whiteners (for some reason, someone loves to send me these obnoxious messages).
• Your predictions can also be related to markets the converting industry serves.
• Please specify a prediction timeline. For example: Next year, in 5 years, in 10 years, etc.
• Your technology predictions will be shared here with or without your name and company affiliation—whatever you request.

I think that should be enough for rules. Be creative and innovative! Put on your thinking hats!

So let's get started with some predictions. . .

Below are three predictions from Elsa Callini, business development manager at ebeam Technologies:

Ahead of 2018, I foresee several key developments will significantly influence the industry:

1. Personalization is going to take off in a big way, especially for food and beverage packaging—almost two-thirds of all printed packaging (in terms of area) is for food and drink applications. Combine this with the pull of personalized promotion and brands can access a powerful marketing tool—just look at the Nestlé UK KitKat personalization campaign, which resulted in 56,000 custom-made wrappers and a huge social media engagement. In 2018, I think that we will see many more food and beverage brands running personalization promotions.

2. Sustainability will define competitive advantage—Brands looking to achieve a successful sustainability program will need to ensure that sustainable practices and technology are implemented in every step in their supply chains. By using fewer resources and achieving greater efficiency, they can reduce the carbon footprint of their manufacturing, helping to achieve their sustainability goals.

We’ve all heard of ‘green’ technology but we predict that in 2018 more and more of us will become aware of emerging ‘blue’ technologies, such as electron beam curing, which enables print manufacturers to increase throughput, efficiency and sustainability to realize benefits to the bottom line and the brand image at the same time.

3. Standards identification—Brands want to be associated with good manufacturing practice and safety standards, and we predict that 2018 will see more and more initiatives aiming to identify products and processes which guarantee a constant and high quality result or outcome.

In 2018, we expect to see these to develop further and gain popularity amongst print manufacturers, label printers and package converters as the business benefits manifest themselves as a clear competitive advantage which drives early adopters to excel.

It's your turn. Go for it! Send your predictions to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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