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The labels and packaging market is still a great space for M&A, but economic factors make it more difficult to get deals done.

At Labelexpo Europe 2023, we saw an increased focus on automation, efficiency and waste reduction on both inline flexo presses and digital press finishing lines.

Ancillary products play an important supporting role in the production of labels and flexible packaging— from anilox rolls, barcode systems, doctor blades, cleaning solutions, curing, platemaking, web guiding systems and more.

A record 161 Chinese companies attended Labelexpo Europe 2023, demonstrating products and services that covered the entire label supply chain, from materials, to inks, printing equipment, finishing equipment, rollers and curing solutions.

Advancements in water‐wash flexo plate technology played a major role at Labelexpo Europe 2023, offering faster and more sustainable flexo plate production and banishing the negative quality perceptions of older generations of water‐wash technology.

Today’s label and packaging converters are more efficiency‐ savvy than ever, and looking for suppliers that can help them streamline production and get more out of their equipment at a time when workers are in short supply.

Labelexpo Europe 2023 was a manifestation of an industry-wide commitment to environmental concerns and innovation

A good label supplier, one who collaborates and innovates with customers, is oftentimes the winner in for the long haul, writes branding and design columnist, Vicki Strull

Just as since the last Labelexpo Europe, in 2019, digital and flexo printing presses have made great strides – the former in speed; the latter in automation and efficiency – so have there been significant developments in the finishing and converting machines that complement them.

It was a fantastic sight to see so much state‐of‐the‐art flexo press technology at Labelexpo Europe 2023 after all the talk about the ‘death of flexo’ after Labelexpo Americas last year.

Conventional flexo technology made a return to Labelexpo after an absence from the Americas show in 2022, with much success. Meanwhile, digital technology continues to be a clear addition to many converters’ technology toolkits.

When no flexo presses were shown at Labelexpo Americas in Chicago last year, some commentators asked if flexo was dead, finally superseded by a generation of faster, wider and more productive digital presses.