Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the packaging industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked startups developing printing technology solutions.
Global Startup Heat Map: 5 Top Printing Technology Solutions
The 5 printing technology startups you will explore below are chosen based on our data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. This analysis is based on the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering over 1.3 million startups & scaleups globally.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the 5 printing technology startups & scaleups our Innovation Researchers curated for this report. Moreover, you get insights into regions that observe a high startup activity and the global geographic distribution of the 429 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
Smart Coloring creates Plastic Coloring Technology
Based on the purpose of using different colors on plastic packaging, the method of printing, the speed of color absorption, and material compatibility play an important role. Emerging printing technology uses improved inks and dyes and streamlines printing processes to increase the quality of coloring. Startups innovate within existing techniques including masterbatches, cubes, resins, and compounds.
German startup Smart Coloring develops an additive that absorbs dyes while coloring plastics using water-based coloring or inkjet printing. The startup’s reversible and repeatable coloring and decoloring technology, in combination with its InPrinting technology, encapsulates the additive and dye compound to avoid contamination. Moreover, the color encapsulation is also resistant to heat, ultraviolet (UV) light, and acidity. The startup’s coloring technology also enables coloring individual unprintable plastics with the InPrinting technology.
Ardena offers a Clinical Labeling Solution
Pharmaceutical and clinical trial labeling face multiple challenges. An evolving regulatory landscape, the need for creating multinational drug trials, and a lack of standardization in the industry open up opportunities for startups. Emerging clinical logistics solutions integrate packaging and label printing solutions to remove labeling-related confusion and increase regulatory compliance.
Belgian startup Ardena offers clinical logistics solutions that combine packaging and labeling operations for clinical trials. The startup’s printing capabilities include single-layer labels, booklet labels, and peel-off labels that account for variable fields, including patient or kit numbers as well as special requests. In addition to logistics, Ardena also provides solutions for drug substance production, bioanalysis, and dossier development.
S-One Labels & Packaging builds Thermal Laminators
Digital printing eliminates various labor-intensive pre-processing that is currently required in the printing press. Further, digital printing technology also eliminates the need for separate printing media, such as film and laminates, by directly printing onto the product or packaging. To this end, printing technology startups build digital printers that easily operate with existing machines to improve the efficiency of printing.
US-based startup S-One Labels & Packaging offers the T-Series Thermal Laminator. The startup’s laminators provide accurate tension control and high-speed capability that are ideal for digital label and flexible packaging printing and converting. The T-Series is especially useful when brands and companies want to increase their speed-to-market and minimize material waste. They are suitable for HP Indigo Series 3, HP 6000 series, and HP 20000 series press owners.
Inuru specializes in Light-based Printing Technology
Brands and companies are always looking for ways for their product to stand out on retail shelves. Advancements in electronic displays, microelectronics, and nanoelectronics, as well as the integration of reality technologies in the packaging sector, empower brands to implement eye-catching innovations. Light-based printing solutions allow brands to redesign their content and use light to draw people to certain aspects of their product.
Inuru is a German startup developing illuminated printing solutions for packaging, advertising, and print media. The startup utilizes printed electronics and advanced material inks to create paper-thin computing devices that find applications for any product and surface. The startup also incorporates eco-friendly printed batteries and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens to build organic human-machine interfaces. By providing a printable topcoat, the startup allows brands and companies to introduce light in their product packaging.
PakCan enables Mobile Canning & Inline Label Printing
One of the challenges of label printing is the volume of material that ends up as waste. Startups develop integrated and mobile solutions to minimize waste, as well as increase packing efficiency. For example, improvements in inline labeling techniques allow beverage manufacturers to eliminate handling errors and ensure greater seam integrity.
Australian startup PakCan offers an end-to-end fully-automated mobile service for beverage manufacturers spanning canning, labeling, packaging, and transportation. The startup enables post-fill pressure-sensitive inline labeling for cans to consistently apply labels. Thus the solution reduces packaging costs and wastage for beverage can companies and brands.
Discover all Packaging Startups
To keep you up-to-date on the latest technology and emerging solutions, we provide you with actionable innovation intelligence – quickly and exhaustively. You can download our free Packaging Industry Report and discover new business opportunities or save your time & let us look into your areas of interest. We provide you with an exhaustive overview of new startups, scaleups & emerging technologies that matter to you.
