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5 L&P Trends That Are Bigger Than the Press
Posted Sep 29, 2026 | Views 6
# Labels & Packaging
# Labels
# Packaging
# Trends
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SUMMARY
Keypoint Intelligence Principal Analyst Marc Mascara logged plenty of steps at LOUPE Americas — and left with five trends he believes are worth watching as labels and packaging moves toward 2027. In a fun, fast-paced Dscoop.com conversation, Marc breaks down what he saw, connects it with Keypoint Intelligence research, and challenges converters to think about the entire production ecosystem surrounding the press.
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CONTENT & TRANSCRIPT
Marc Mascara spends his working life studying where the labels and packaging is heading, and LOUPE Americas gave the Principal Analyst, Global Labels & Packaging at Keypoint Intelligence plenty to investigate. After walking the show floor, talking with technology providers and converters, and comparing what he saw with Keypoint Intelligence’s market research, Marc identified five themes that could have implications well beyond the technologies being demonstrated in Chicago.
1. The Next Battleground Is Utilization, Not Installation
Buying another press isn't necessarily the only way to create more capacity. Marc heard considerably more discussion about getting greater productivity from the equipment converters already have — through workflow, automation, faster changeovers, better production visibility, and fewer operator interventions. That also gives the industry's AI conversation a practical test: Rather than asking whether a system uses AI, Marc is interested in whether that intelligence can improve scheduling, eliminate touches, or create more productive hours. As converters look toward 2027, getting more saleable output through the plant may matter as much as adding another piece of equipment.
2. Digital vs. Analog May Be the Wrong Conversation
Marc doesn't see analog disappearing from packaging production, and what he saw at LOUPE suggested that the industry's future doesn't need to be framed as analog versus digital. Standalone digital and analog equipment can coexist, with converters directing each job toward the technology that makes the most sense, while true hybrid systems integrate digital capabilities directly with conventional production. That gives established converters another potential path toward shorter runs, versioning, and greater flexibility without necessarily abandoning productive analog assets. The more interesting question, Marc suggests, is how digital can work alongside analog — not simply how quickly it can replace it.
3. Your Technology Is Only as Strong as the Ecosystem Around It
A press doesn't operate by itself. Marc saw numerous examples of technology companies collaborating around inks, primers, substrates, drying, finishing, and workflow because making one part of production better doesn't accomplish much if it creates a problem somewhere else. That becomes especially important as converters experiment with new materials and pursue sustainability goals. Marc raised a particularly practical question for converters evaluating these interconnected systems: If something goes wrong between the substrate, ink, dryer, press and finishing equipment, who owns the problem? The willingness of suppliers to collaborate on the answer can be as important as the individual technology they sell.
4. Complexity Is Growing Faster Than Volume
One of Marc's most important observations wasn't about how many labels converters can produce, but how many different jobs, SKUs, and requirements they increasingly have to manage while producing them. Shorter runs, versioning, variable data, serialization, 2D codes, and tighter turnaround expectations can create enormous operational complexity. Automation becomes essential because converters can't keep adding manual touches every time the job count increases. And greater press flexibility only solves part of the problem: If prepress, scheduling, finishing, and fulfillment can't absorb the same pace of change, the bottleneck simply moves somewhere else. The emerging competitive advantage may be the ability to absorb change without giving away margin.
5. The Companies Competing for Packaging Are Changing
Converters also have a changing field of suppliers competing for their investment. Marc sees traditional packaging technology companies moving further into digital, companies with digital and commercial-print roots expanding deeper into packaging, and Chinese manufacturers entering the market from a different starting point. Those groups bring different histories and strengths, but increasingly they want to serve the same converter. That means an equipment decision may require looking beyond what a machine can do today. Marc encourages converters to consider where the company behind that technology is headed, what kind of ecosystem and support it can provide, and whether its longer-term direction aligns with their own.
**
Put the five trends together, and at a show filled with impressive printing technology, the biggest conversations were around what happens around the press. Utilization, automation, workflow, hybrid production, supplier collaboration, operational complexity, and evolving technology ecosystems will all help determine how effectively converters turn press capability into profitable production.
That's where thoughtful analysis from Marc and Keypoint Intelligence can help Dscoopers look beyond what's new and shiny, and think more deeply about what it means for their businesses as they plan for 2027.
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