Trends in Printing Software

The printing industry has deep roots and a really huge history. Over the years, it evolved from Gutenberg’s printing press and political posters into on-demand manufacturing solutions that changed the way of old-school printing. Nowadays, digital printing solutions are in high demand. With the help of software products, it can provide customers with such printed items as advertisements, brochures, and stationery ending with textile, thermal printing, and packaging. According to recent statistics, the Global Commercial Printing Market was valued at USD 411. 99 billion in 2020, and expected to be worth USD 472. 35 billion by 2026. In the next five years, we anticipate remarkable growth in the printing market and the establishment of new trends: constant evolvement, eco-friendliness, higher level of security, and conscious consumption. The printing sphere has never been that vast.   

Software

Web-to-print, print management, and cloud print software. They all have a mission to ensure clients receive fine-printed products as soon as possible and in the most comfortable way. Thanks to technological progress, printing has become more affordable to clients and less bulk to workers in this sphere. Software diversity makes it possible to offer customers high-quality products despite their material. Another common feature is that all of them are facing new demands based on clients’ preferences.  

Print on demand 

Print-on-demand, or POD, in other words, gained great popularity among creative users and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). POD software allows clients to create, edit, and order various products from stationery to textiles without mandatory quantity. Yet, if you need a specific number, you can be sure of receiving it. Software creators made sure the POD application is understandable to users. In most cases, it is a web platform with numerous functions and a user-friendly design. But since the industry is developing, customers’ demands have evolved too. The TOP 3 innovations in print-on-demand are personalization, digitalization, and demand for cybersecurity.   

Personalization and digital enhancement 

The printing industry’s digitalization allows it to be closer to consumers. Now customers can scan and store their documents, banners, and brochures in one place. Quickly and easily. Due to cloud implementation, consumers and manufacturers are not limited by space and time. This small, on the one hand, enhancement rapidly grows in relevance, and numbers prove that 45% of consumers say cloud print management is a crucial consideration when choosing a managed print service provider. The cloud computing sector expects a CAGR of 17.5% between 2020 and 2025, bringing that market to $832 billion. In order to remain competitive, companies can’t avoid such innovations. A more personalized approach is another trend to follow. Printing can be proudly called a personal service due to the sensitive documents being used. However, to benefit from this point, enlargement of possibilities is required. More capabilities like design, edit option, shared folder, and management lead to improvement of customer relations and potentially long-term loyalty. 

The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) into various industries have already begun. With the help of intelligent solutions, companies can significantly reduce costs, diminish risks, and improve user experience. In addition, smart automation releases employees from repetitive duties and allows them to focus on more sophisticated tasks. 

Demand for cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has been a rising issue in many tech companies associated with the printing industry. Promoted by giants of the printed sphere, like HP, and providing the market with appropriate security software, this issue became crucial to other players. Traditionally, printing companies are dealing with a significant amount of sensitive data, and it is essential for customers to keep it safe. Not only the private sector is vulnerable without proper actions, but the government is as well. Statistics show that in 2021 the security printing industry was valued at 40 billion U.S. dollars. Security printing helps to protect various items such as banknotes or identity cards from fraud. It means that companies that are providing printing services should pay great attention to hardware and ensure these products possess a high degree of protection from hacking attempts. As well as, companies that offer printing as a service must ensure the safety of their connection. While this trend remains relatively new, its demand will definitely rise in the next few years

Digital Textile Printing

Numbers show that the global digital textile printing market was valued at $2.0 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $7.9 billion by 2030. With the right software, you can make your business potential almost endless. Compared to conventional dyeing and printing methods, the software provides your customers with customized, user-friendly solutions which do not require specialized technical knowledge. Consumers create any design with multiple color combinations in a few clicks and print it easily and quickly on their choice of fabric. Personalization and simplicity of use make such software attractive to the audience. In digital printing, there is no need to use a screen or plates for screen print or rotary printing, yet the equipment price is much lower, and the facility requires much smaller space and resources. In digital printing, there is less waste during production, which means the precise application of the artwork. Textile printing software allows you to model the future product in real time, so you can see how it will look on you or your house. Such functionality allows us to minimize the sampling waste and predict how much-printed products will cost. In addition, the computer chooses colors more accurately, and the printer reproduces them without losing saturation.  All these innovations are possible due to software solutions that allow at minimal cost to deliver customers a print-on-demand business model.

Packaging 

The global retail market keeps growing due to the widespread use of the Internet as well as smartphones. Generation shifts, pandemics, and many other factors influence consumers’ behavior, yet more and more people prefer to buy goods online. This habit continues to grow and elevate the demand for packaging solutions, especially corrugated board formats.

In a constant rush, more people are consuming products such as food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals on the go, which leads to increasing demand for convenient and portable packaging solutions. According to Smithers Research: the global packaging market is set to expand by almost 3% per annum, reaching over $1.2 trillion in 2028. Yet, trends show that consumers are more interested in their health matters, leading to healthier lifestyles. Products marked gluten-free, organic/natural, and nutritional supplements require the corresponding package. To achieve desirable designs, packaging software offers its clients a design function. 2D and 3D modeling allow the user to see how the package will look after printing, including all the angles and points. A prepress editor will assist greatly in ensuring everything in your design is perfect. Extensions like font editing, color palette, and layout are available in a few clicks. Add barcodes and images, and edit them freely in PDF format. High quality guaranteed. Among software solutions for packaging, great popularity among big and medium enterprises goes to packaging management. Solution (product) goes in hand regarding inventory and logistics, as it tracks and visualizes all the stock. Plus, you can constantly adjust solutions with CRM to keep all the managers up-to-date about all the affairs.  

The industry should consider implementing such innovations as environment-friendly vegetable inks and release approximately 2-4% VOC emission, which is significantly less than solvent-based inks. Reusable and eco-friendly packaging not only allows for preserving nature and reducing harm but also stands out from the crowd.

Thermal Printing 

Growing industrialization and disposable income are the prime factors driving the thermal printing market. Thermal printing is a process where required text or image is placed on thermal paper due to a chemical reaction. Unlike its laser and conventional colleagues, it is faster in use and more cost-effective. A significant benefit of thermal printing is its recycling ability. Thermal paper can easily be reused or recycled without harm, as used chemicals resolve. Thermal printing is most frequently used in industries for printing receipts, bills, lottery tickets, and other labels. Thermal printing is used in healthcare, transportation, logistics, and retail. Key thermal printing solution providers are focusing on RFID (Radio-frequency identification) technology which is very helpful in mentioned industries, as thermal printing minimizes manual error, reduces labor costs, and even enables product tracking. With such printing software, you can generate, design, and print QR codes and different types of barcodes in minutes. Thanks to RFID technology in thermal printers, enterprises can enhance productivity and improve user experience. Among label printing software are Label LIVE, LabelJoy Software, SKULabs Software, eSwap, and more.

Conclusion 

The print sector is one of the main domains in Proffiz. Within five years of our active work with international enterprises and startups, we provided them with solutions that improved their productivity and income. User-friendly, simple-use platforms, and web applications offer endless potential for your business. If you are ready to try out software possibilities, contact us, and we will tell you more.