Hi everyone,
I’m Alex, a technical engineer at Zhongzhixing (Starcolor). I’ve been working in the printing ink industry for over 15 years now.
I started out as an apprentice on solvent-based ink production lines, then moved on to water-based and UV ink R&D and manufacturing. Today, I mainly focus on technical support and after-sales service. Over the years, I’ve set up and debugged both traditional printing presses and digital printing machines, and I’ve worked with all kinds of customers and applications.
In the past six months alone, at least 20 customers have asked me the same question:
“Alex, should we invest in digital printing equipment now? Everyone says it’s the future of the industry.”
So today, based on what I’ve seen and experienced in real production, I want to talk openly about this topic:
Is digital printing really the future of the printing industry?
Where Digital Printing Truly Shines — and Can’t Be Replaced
To be honest, the progress digital printing has made in recent years is impressive, even for someone who’s been in this industry for a long time.
When it comes to short runs and personalized jobs, digital printing has a clear and overwhelming advantage over traditional printing.
Just last month, a customer who makes creative gift boxes came to me with a problem. They needed customized gift boxes for different cities — each city with its own design and text — and the order quantity was only about 200 sets per city.
If they used traditional offset printing, just making the plates would cost a few hundred dollars, and machine setup would take half a day. For a run of only 200 sets, the unit cost would actually be higher than the selling price.
In the end, they switched to digital printing. They simply imported the design files and started printing. The entire order was finished within half a day, and the cost was more than 50% lower than offset printing.
That’s the core strength of digital printing:
no plates, high flexibility, and fast delivery.
With the growth of e-commerce, many brands are moving toward small batches and frequent orders — customized packaging, personalized labels, short-run brochures. These jobs are often not economical for traditional printing, but digital printing handles them easily.
The publishing industry is another good example. In the past, even niche books had to be printed in thousands of copies, and unsold books would sit in warehouses. Now, with print-on-demand, books are printed only after an order is placed. There’s no inventory pressure, and readers can even get personalized content, like their name or a message printed on the first page.
Environmental Regulations Are Also Pushing Digital Printing Forward
Environmental policy is another big driver behind digital printing.
Traditional printing involves plate-making, which creates waste. During press setup, a lot of ink and paper is wasted, and VOC emissions are relatively high. Digital printing eliminates plate-making and significantly reduces ink waste.
At Zhongzhixing, we supply water-based digital inks with almost zero VOC emissions, fully compliant with modern green printing standards.
Last year, I helped a printing plant in Dongguan with after-sales support. They used to rely on traditional offset printing and paid environmental fines almost every month. After switching part of their production to digital printing with water-based inks, the fines disappeared — and they even qualified for local green manufacturing subsidies.
The Market Data Confirms the Momentum
Industry data also shows how fast digital printing is growing.
According to industry reports, the global digital printing market exceeded USD 45 billion in 2025, while the Chinese market reached RMB 8.5 billion, nearly double compared to 2021.
In packaging printing alone, digital printing penetration increased from 6.2% in 2020 to 14.8% in 2024, and it’s expected to reach 28.5% by 2030.
Among the customers I work with — especially in FMCG and pharmaceutical packaging — almost everyone is considering adding digital printing equipment to better respond to fast-changing market demands.
But Don’t Follow the Trend Blindly — These Problems Still Exist
That said, claiming that digital printing will completely replace traditional printing is, in my opinion, still unrealistic.
The biggest issue is simple:
for large-volume jobs, digital printing is still expensive and inefficient.
Let me give you a real-world comparison.
If you’re printing 10,000 copies of a bestselling book, traditional offset printing can easily produce over 10,000 copies per hour. As volume increases, the unit cost drops significantly.
With digital printing, mainstream equipment might print only around 300 copies per hour. Printing 10,000 copies would take more than 30 hours, and the unit cost stays almost the same. In the end, total cost can be 3–5 times higher than offset printing.
Just last month, a long-term food packaging customer asked me if they should switch to digital printing. Their main product requires 100,000 packages per month. I told them directly: don’t switch. For that volume, offset or flexo printing is far more cost-effective.
Quality, Materials, and Consumable Costs Still Matter
Print quality is another consideration.
Digital printing quality has improved a lot, but for high-end applications, it still can’t fully match premium offset printing. Fine lines, complex gradients, and highly saturated colors are reproduced more accurately with traditional printing. Digital printing generally has a narrower color gamut.
That’s why high-end brochures and luxury packaging still rely on traditional processes.
Consumable costs are also higher in digital printing. Digital inks and toners are significantly more expensive, and many high-end machines require original consumables only. Maintenance costs can be painful.
Last year, I helped a customer replace a digital printer printhead — the cost was over RMB 20,000. For small and medium-sized businesses, that’s not a small expense.
Material compatibility is another issue. Thick paperboard and rough specialty papers often perform better with flexographic or gravure printing in terms of adhesion and print quality.
Food Packaging: Compliance Is a Real Limitation
In food packaging, compliance adds another layer of complexity.
Although food-grade digital inks exist, many digital inks used in high-end machines still struggle to meet strict requirements for migration limits and heat resistance.
Just last month, I worked with a customer producing baby food packaging. They wanted to use digital printing, but migration tests failed. In the end, they returned to traditional flexo printing, using our water-based food-contact inks.
My Conclusion: The Future Is “Digital + Traditional,” Not One Replacing the Other
After 15 years in this industry, I’ve seen the transition from solvent-based inks to water-based systems, and I’ve watched digital printing move from a niche solution to a mainstream option.
Based on my experience, digital printing is absolutely a key part of the future — but it won’t completely replace traditional printing. Instead, the future belongs to collaboration between digital and traditional printing.
The logic is actually very simple:
- Use digital printing for short runs, customization, and fast delivery.
- Use traditional printing for large volumes, high quality, and low unit cost.
Many large printing companies I know are already operating this way. They keep offset, flexo, or gravure presses for bulk orders, while running several digital presses for customized and short-run jobs. This approach maximizes equipment utilization and meets diverse customer needs.
One large packaging company I worked with is a great example. They use traditional flexo presses for mass production for major brands, and digital printers for customized packaging and trial-market products for smaller brands. They even combine both methods — printing the main design with flexo, then adding personalized QR codes or customer-specific information using digital printing. Cost stays under control, personalization is achieved, and customers love it.
Final Advice: Choose Based on Your Needs, Not the Hype
To wrap up, here’s my honest advice.
For printing companies:
Don’t rush to buy digital equipment just because it’s trendy. First, understand your customer base. If your business focuses on large, standardized orders for big brands, upgrading traditional equipment for efficiency and sustainability may be enough. If your customers are mainly small brands or e-commerce sellers with short runs and customization needs, digital printing makes sense.
No matter which process you use, ink selection is critical. Make sure your inks are compliant and environmentally friendly. That’s why water-based inks — like those from Zhongzhixing — are becoming the baseline requirement, whether for digital or traditional printing.
For brands and buyers:
Don’t assume digital printing is always better, and don’t think traditional printing is outdated. Small quantities, personalization, and urgent delivery? Choose digital. Large volumes, strict quality standards, and cost control? Traditional printing is still the best choice. If you need both, talk to your printer about hybrid solutions.
I’m Alex. I’ve handled thousands of real printing cases over the past 15 years. If you have questions about choosing printing methods, ink selection, or equipment setup, feel free to reach out.
In this industry, what truly matters is choosing what fits your needs — not blindly following trends.
StarColor Printing Ink 
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