Brandowners rely on innovative packaging

Packaging is more than ever an important sales and marketing tool.Due to changing communication patterns, packaging now no longer functions merely as a "protective cover" but is an important sales and marketing tool. In a media-neutral environment, they are increasingly taking on marketing and technical functions, providing brand owners with a secure medium to brand their products to customers.To optimize customer response at the point of sale, brand owners must invest not only in imaginative, innovative and well-crafted design to differentiate and stand out from competitors, but also in the appropriate color management techniques to ensure accurate reproduction regardless of material or location. At drupa 2016, the latest developments in web-based workflow platforms and systems that link all components within the packaging supply chain will be on display.Even though a consistently reproduced and instantly recognizable brand image is of great importance for brand identity and its authenticity, brand owners need to demonstrate their responsiveness and speed. Updated print communication keeps them competitive. And it usually has to be printed within short delivery times, in short runs and as cost-effectively as possible. The same requirements apply to the introduction of brand extensions and new products. Improved analog printing systems and pioneering digital printing systems that reduce the cost and time required to bring a product to market will be vying for the attention of the trade audience at drupa 2016.Increasingly, decorative special effects and additional functions are adding value to print finishing - putting the finishing touches, so to speak - and are designed to strengthen the brand-customer relationship not only at the point of sale but throughout the brand and product lifecycle.The appropriate systems and solutions to meet these requirements are available to print service providers and are also being continuously upgraded, modernized and expanded. Applications that create synergies between printed text and graphics, the Internet and social media through the development of interactive packaging using modern smartphone technology represent an area that will attract increasing interest from trade visitors at drupa 2016 in Düsseldorf.The complete text is available here here as PDF .author: Des King