2025 Trends Shaping the Label Industry
- Published: March 11, 2025
By Amy Donato, PPG Global Strategic Marketing Director, TESLIN®
Brand owners rely on converters to help them bring their packaging visions to life and to help meet their business goals. In today’s label industry, successful label products must offer more than attractive appearances. Labels are expected to perform a wide variety of functions, from providing important information about ingredients to maintaining readability in harsh environments.
In 2025, brand owners want to stand out to consumers in an increasingly crowded and diverse market. Many brands are expanding their product lines, creating special editions and customized options that require smaller print runs and faster turnaround times without compromising print quality. Due to consumer preferences and packaging legislation, reducing the environmental impact of labels and label production remains a high priority for producers.
With ongoing labor and staffing challenges, converters are searching for opportunities to maximize productivity while meeting the performance and sustainability requirements of brand owners. Innovations in digital printing presses and the growth of wider webs in flexo presses are opening the door to new label solutions, but these new technologies require process adjustments and supply chain considerations. The following analysis explores the trends shaping the industry through 2025 and beyond and how converters can adapt to rapidly changing market conditions.
Digital Printing
As the print quality of digital presses has improved, many converters have added or are considering adding digital printing to their offerings. Survey data from the PRINTING United Alliance suggests that tighter profit margins for the printing industry are leading to an increased focus on maximizing efficiency, with 88% of respondents who are planning capital investments in software and equipment stating that their primary goal is to increase productivity. These planned investments include solutions designed to increase automation, including artificial intelligence (AI), workflow software, and digital infrastructure.
Digital printing provides precise and variable printing capabilities, enabling converters to cost-effectively print smaller quantities for customized products and to accommodate the needs of small businesses and startups. The latest digital printers also offer increased monitoring and optimization opportunities, integrating with cloud-based software and supporting the larger trends of manufacturing digitization and automation through data analysis.
As hiring challenges persist, digital presses require less setup time than other methods, allowing converters to move traditional projects to digital with improved efficiency and to quickly ramp up production in times of high demand. The digital printing workflow also aligns with the experience of upcoming generations of workers who are accustomed to high levels of connectivity between computers, smartphones, and other technology.
Static Control
With the increased adoption of digital presses, static electricity is a significant concern. Static is always a concern for printers, and it can cause labels to stick together, attract dust, and shock operators, reducing throughput and productivity. The electrostatic processes of digital presses can create higher levels of static that can negatively impact operations.
When label liners are removed in environments where solvents and fumes are present, static can result in increased fire risk, causing sparks that could ignite flammable substances. This is particularly important for chemical manufacturing and chemical drum labels that require the use of GHS-compliant hazardous chemical labels. Converters must consider the choice of substrate material, its charge density, and its charge relaxation time, as well as static dissipative technology within presses. Converters should educate brand owners about the risks of static when discussing labeling solutions in at-risk environments.
Supply Chain Resiliency
When selecting label materials, it is also important to investigate procurement options and availability. In response to supply chain disruptions after COVID-19, many companies are pursuing onshoring and regional supply chains that provide fast shipping and response times.
Many converters are working with multiple types of print technologies to handle various types of projects, and it is becoming more important to use versatile materials to simplify operations. From the expansion of digital presses, which require high heat tolerance, to the new wider web width flexographic presses, which require high stability, the use of versatile substrates can reduce the need for multiple suppliers and overstock of different materials.
Flexible Packaging
End use applications are also affecting label production trends. The Flexible Packaging Association reports that flexible packaging is the second largest packaging segment in the U.S., accounting for 20% of the $180 billion national packaging market. The market for flexible pouches is growing steadily, led by demand from the food sector, but pouches are also gaining in popularity for cleaning solution concentrates, soap refills, and laundry and dish detergent pods.
Labels need excellent conformability and adhesion for flexible containers. Substrate printability is also important to ensure ink opacity, particularly for thicker ink applications on transparent and flexible packages.
Sustainability
Sustainability concerns and source reduction targets are impacting all aspects of packaging design and production. Downgauged and smaller labels can help make packaging lighter, reducing emissions associated with production and transportation. Digital printing supports sustainability goals by enabling print-on-demand services, which can reduce excess inventory and reduce procedural waste. Water-based ink options also provide a solvent- and petroleum-free alternative for multiple types of printing technologies.
Disposal options for labels are also affecting label material choices. Suppliers are developing labels and other packaging components that are made of biodegradable or compostable materials. In other applications, labels are being designed to accommodate existing recycling processes. Understanding the end-of-life options for different materials is essential when selecting the ideal label stock.
Enhancing productivity in the face of workforce challenges will be paramount for converters this year. Overall market trends, including sustainability and shorter product development life cycles, make versatility and flexibility a high priority for label materials and production processes.
To remain competitive in such a demanding market, converters should explore the latest innovations in printing and workflow equipment and explore new high-performance substrates that offer multiple functionalities. Converters cannot afford to be resistant to change. The industry must welcome the next era of printing technology and discover how to incorporate new advances into their operations to maximize efficiency and not only meet, but surpass, customer expectations.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amy Donato is PPG’s global platform director for TESLIN® substrate — a synthetic facestock for printed labels. She has nearly two decades of experience in marketing and sales for consumer and B2B industries. She earned a B.S.B.A in marketing from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.B.A. from West Virginia University.
