Digital finds firm foothold in Latin America

Digital technology may have appeared on the label printing scene later than the likes of flexo and offset, but nowadays it boasts such ubiquity that it is very much a mainstream process. Similarly, though Latin America may be deemed a ‘developing market’ when compared to the US or Europe, its growth has been such in recent years that it is no surprise to find that the region’s converters have been swift in adopting high-end digital technology from leading global suppliers.

Digital label presses are commonplace in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and – more recently – Colombia. Your correspondent has also seen them running in Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and Guatemala. But such has been the process’s penetration in the region that machines can be found in even the smallest local markets: right down to Guiana and the islands of the Caribbean (which, though not all strictly part of Latin America, are often handled by Latin American sales teams within the label industry). Indeed, both HP Indigo and Xeikon have reported that Latin America has been the fastest-growing market for their respective digital press portfolios in recent years, with the number of Latin American converters using their machines likely soon to surpass the 200 mark. Inkjet, though newer on the scene, is also making headway; EFI reports15 installations in the region.