From PPWR compliance to rising plastic input costs driven by Strait of Hormuz disruption, converters at interpack 2026 are navigating a sector in structural transition and digital inkjet printing is emerging as acentral part of the answer.
SCREEN concluded its exhibition at interpack 2026 having presented digital inkjet printing solutions demonstrating the full commercial viability of inkjet technology across paper and plastic flexible packaging and label converting. Conversations across the show floor, conference presentations, and SCREEN's own live demonstrations pointed consistently towards a packaging printing sector under simultaneous pressure from multiple directions, with digital inkjet printing offering effective solutions.
Supply Chain Disruptions & the Case forPaper Packaging
The most significant theme at interpack 2026 was one many attendees had not anticipated, the impact of Strait of Hormuz instability on the global plastics supply chain. The ongoing disruption has sharply reduced petrochemical availability, and the consequences in Europe are already measurable. Polyethylene spot prices have increased significantly with some even exceeding levels seen during the 2022 Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Industry analysts are clear that recovery will be slow. Shipping networks, production facilities, and operating rates will take time to reset, and the structural premium now attached to secure chemical supply is likely to keep plastics prices elevated well into the medium term. For converters already managing PPWR compliance deadlines and labour pressures, this volatility presents a compelling case to broaden their substrate options.
Against this backdrop, interest in paper-based flexible packaging at interpack shifted noticeably from sustainability aspiration to commercial urgency. At the centre of SCREEN's stand, live demonstrations of the Truepress PAC 520P drew consistent interest from converters reassessing their material strategies. Engineered for recyclable paper substrates with a range of sealing and barrier coatings, and printing at 80 m/min with water-based food-safe inks and no plates or tooling, the Truepress PAC 520P enables paper packaging to be produced at the speed and economics converters need.
Thought Leadership:Guiding the Digital Transition
Juan Cano, Business Development Director for Flexible Packaging Printing at SCREEN Europe, presented Scaling Sustainable Paper Packaging: How Digital Inkjet Printing Enables Circularity at the interpack SPOTLIGHT Forum — addressing the market forces reshaping flexible packaging print and how converters can navigate them. Drawing on real-world evidence from SCREEN's world-first installations of the Truepress PAC 520P at Sacchital in Italy and the Truepress PAC 830F at Chiyoda Gravure Corporation in Japan now printing for major specialty food brands with products now available on brand shop or own website shelves. With this landmark digital inkjet press installation, their business can now supply a wider catalogue of consumer goods that meet the colour accuracy and consistency demanded by major brand owners, while opening new avenues with short and medium run lengths that conventional gravure or flexo printing cannot support economically.
SCREEN also shared the stand with CGS ORIS GmbH, presenting advancements in colour management software. Their PRESS MATCHER suite enables accurate colour gamut profiling while reducing ink consumption, directly supporting efficient, consistent downstream packaging production.
A New Direction for Packaging Converting
The response from converters across food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and consumer goods segments, many with little prior experience of digital printing technology reflected how inkjet integration is becoming an increasingly vital long-term strategic response to the market converters are operating in today.
SCREEN extends its sincere thanks to every visitor at Hall 8a, Stand E50, to the SCREEN team, and to all professional partners whose collaboration made the exhibition a success. The transition to digital inkjet printing in flexible packaging is already under way. For converters ready to lead that shift, SCREEN's technology, expertise, and solution experts are ready.