61 www.printmonthly.co.uk Issue 357 - November | December 2025 Packaging is no longer just a container. It is a statement of identity, purpose, and innovation. Today it speaks not only in design and materials but in sustainability and brand values. Driven by shifting consumer expectations, tighter regulations, and advances in material science and digital capabilities, packaging has become a complex ecosystem. For printers, this is both challenge and opportunity. Success means moving beyond traditional press work to embrace design, technology, compliance, and collaboration. Drawing on industry insight and examples from Packaging Innovations & Empack 2025, let’s explore how printers can adapt, innovate, and claim a place at the forefront of packaging’s transformation. The Changing Landscape of Packaging The packaging industry is undergoing a profound transformation. It is no longer simply a vessel for product protection or shelf display, packaging now sits at the intersection of regulation, consumer expectation, sustainability mandates, and brand purpose. As Martin Settle of Reckitt, a member of the Easyfairs Packaging Council, puts it, packaging now stands “at the centre of a global reckoning involving regulation, public pressure, and systemic change”. Because of this, printers entering the packaging domain must adapt not only their technical capabilities but also their mindset. Packaging is now a brand’s statement about its environmental, social, and governance credentials as much as its design flair. Material and process innovation lie at the heart of packaging’s transformation. Printers today must balance print performance, efficiency, and environmental responsibility, recognising that sustainabilWith packaging becoming such a big growth market in recent years, show organiser Easyfairs, takes a look at Packaging Innovations & Empack 2025 earlier in the year as inspiration for how printers can adapt and innovate within the worlds of print and packaging The Print Packaging Playbook: Materials, Tech, and Collaboration PACKAGING OPPORTUNITIES
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