As part of the roadmap leading up to Print4All 2022, recently took place the webinar “Protect, Customize, Ennoble. All the innovation in label printing”, organized by the Labelling Group of ARGI | Let's shorten the distance. Obviously, an appointment centred on the concept of label, particularly wine labels.

In the world of wine, trends describe a strong growth in online sales (+105% in 2020, with some platforms even reaching +140%) and an increase in microvinification (small numbered batches with higher market value). At the same time, digital label printing presses are growing by 19% year-over-year, with a revenue share that in Italy went from 13% in 2019 to 22% in 2020.

These are complementary dynamics, where digital printing is able to offer fast turnaround times and variable data management that are increasingly required by the world of labels, and whose demand leads printers to increase investments in a fast-growing sector.

A shortening of distances that was the common thread in the webinar whose protagonists were two designers (Mario Di Paolo and Stefano Torregrossa), a brand (the Ferro 13 winery in the person of Gabriele Stringa) and a printer (Nicola Roccati of Rotocel).

Mario Di Paolo, founder of Spazio Di Paolo, talked about how today digital printing offers great production flexibility, making it possible to create high quality labels in a short time, almost immediately, without influencing the designer's creativity. Which must not be just graphic ability, but also knowledge of printing techniques, study of materials, in-depth study of the production chain of the product that is described with the label. Essentially, designers need to put a lot more physicality into their work, reducing virtual on-screen processing to immerse themselves in the brand.

A concept on which also Stefano Torregrossa, creative director of O'Nice! Design Studio, has agreed by bringing, as a practical example, the project he created in collaboration with Ferro 13 on the occasion of Brand Revolution LAB 2020. Driven by a desire for proximity that was impossible when the idea was conceived (March 2020), the project of Ferro 13 pushes the limits of digital printing at its finest. Starting from the idea of giving a bottle of wine as a present to a friend, an end-to-end production flow was developed, delivering to the recipient a variable ennoblement pack, which contains and protects a decorated glass bottle on which is applied a label showing the name of the recipient, that of the sender and the distance in metres separating the two people. This label is protected by a postcard, wrapped around the bottle, which carries the same data plus the greeting message entered on the e-commerce. Basically, every single piece is completely unique in all its aspects. This project, as pointed out by Gabriele Stringa, one of the four founders of Ferro 13, is an expression of the brand's desire to stand out, to try new ways. Many producers are often lacking this entrepreneurial courage, with the risk of being confused among a thousand other wineries in the same area and with the same values. In order to stand out you need to find more modern ways to narrate the brand and what it is supposed to embody.

Again with a view to shortening the distances, Nicola Roccati of Rotocel talked about how the printer must constantly collaborate with the customer, working in close contact throughout the whole label creation process, in order to be considered a true partner. Obviously, digital printing helps this process a lot, so much so that nowadays almost all label printing is done with this technology, with the exception of large runs where it is still convenient to use traditional methods. The field of greatest experimentation and contamination is that of ennobling, where every possible technology is used. The choice is always guided by the type of application to be realized, as each process may require characteristics of precision and quality that are better served by a specific printing technology. However, these are all areas where digital ennobling will soon be able to compete.