The survey reveals a sector that is focusing less on hourly productivity alone and more on fast start-ups, waste reduction, and integrated processes: data becomes a key lever, but skills and standards remain the real bottleneck.
The findings of this new research project by the editorial team of Converting Magazine converge around three axes that describe the current state of companies: production continuity in a world of shorter runs; quality as the repeatability required by the market; and the management of variables (materials, regulations, skills) that widen the process window. From a production perspective, efficiency is mainly described as the reduction of lost time: job changes become central and, correspondingly, suppliers are addressing the most concrete demand — fast startups and reliability. Some responses within the survey seem to mirror one another: as orders become more fragmented, nominal productivity matters less than real OEE, made up of set-up efficiency, process stability, and standardized routines.
On the quality front, the pressure from brand owners weighs heavily, pushing converters toward tighter color control and greater consistency between print runs. Sustainability is interpreted in pragmatic terms: first reducing waste (34.62%), then working on recyclability and compliance/certifications (both at 23.08%); in this sample of respondents, energy consumption reduction does not appear (0%).[Ritorno a capo del testo]This is a clear signal: in the short term, the perceived lever remains “getting it right the first time,” because every reject leads to rework, delays, and additional costs.
Job Changes and Short Runs: Efficiency Is Won in the Set-up
The factor with the greatest impact on efficiency is frequent job changes (42.31%), followed by the availability of skilled personnel (23.08%) and the management of short runs (15.38%).[Ritorno a capo del testo]Start-up times (11.54%) and unexpected downtime (7.69%) have a lower overall impact, but they become critical when planning is unstable. The operational priority therefore becomes standardization: recipes, presets, checklists, and scheduling that “protects” machines from continuous restarts.[Ritorno a capo del testo]In practical terms: more preparation “offpress,” fewer repeated adjustments, and shift handovers that do not start from scratch every time.
Automation: Widespread Integration, Real-Time Control Still Limited
30.77% report an integrated process between prepress, printing, and converting; 26.92% rely on digital workflows limited to prepress; 19.23% are connected to ERP/ MIS systems. [Ritorno a capo del testo] Only 11.54% report full automation with realtime monitoring, and none declare “zero automation” (0%) (Table 4). This represents a good starting point, but not yet a decisive leap forward: integration generates value when data becomes department-level KPIs (waste, start-up times, downtime) and supports rapid decision-making, rather than producing reports only “at the end of the shift.”
Print Quality: Repeatability and Color Become Market Requirements
The main critical factor is the increase in brand owners’ requirements (38.46%). This is followed by color consistency between print runs and color control on different substrates (19.23%), as well as alignment between prepress and production (15.38%). Process stability over time is mentioned less frequently (7.69%), but it remains the foundation that makes any standard credible (Table 3).[Ritorno a capo del testo]Here, quality is not simply the “absence of defects”: it is the ability to reproduce a result consistently, with a clear framework defining who makes decisions in the event of deviations, avoiding inconsistent adjustments between shifts and production lines.
