If Labelexpo set the fashion by changing its name to LOUPE, then the international print show drupa runs it a second by creating an octopus as its emblem. Why, when most people recoil from these beasts of the deep? (Except here in France, where we eat them). Well, according to the latest drupa press release, the octopus “…serves as a symbol of networking, adaptability, and the ability to control multiple processes simultaneously.” Wow, bet you didn’t know that. The next drupa will not be until May 2028, but the marketing of this Düsseldorf event has started. The (unstated) theme is that printing today is not just about putting ink where you want it: processes and workflows are becoming more closely linked, while hardware and software, materials, and automated functions are blending into each other. drupa has also announced a new “experience architecture” for 2028. “Content, applications, and formats for exchange and collaboration will be organized along clearly defined thematic clusters.” 

This begs the question, where does it leave the other big Düsseldorf show, Interpack, due to open in May of this year? The inevitable overlap between the two shows will probably not benefit either. It could, however, just possibly benefit another slightly smaller show, scheduled for October 2027, which aims to bring together all the wonderful things you can do with labels and printed packaging (no prizes for guessing which show). Or of course, the pendulum could swing the other way.

FINAT ventures forth

The springtime is what prompts many managers to find new ways to look at their future, and the European label association FINAT is no exception. The association reckons that the future for the label industry can be reduced to three things: putting sustainability and recycling into practice, working together with end users to make better recycling systems, and using traceability and AI to improve productivity. Not surprisingly, FINAT will continue to work closely with LOUPE/Labelexpo.

In estimating the industry’s growth in Europe, FINAT is cautious: “The market is more stable entering 2026, but growth is modest and uneven, and uncertainty remains the baseline.”

More on security labels

Security labels for garments have been around for a while but are not always effective against dishonest customers who buy high-fashion apparel, wear it once or twice, and then return it for a refund. This phenomenon of “wardrobing” is becoming one of the biggest challenges in the fashion retail sector, and it costs the industry millions each year. 

On platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, dubious users share how they “borrow” outfits for events and then return them. The label developed by Austria’s Securikett is meant to nip this practice in the bud: visibly attached to the garment, the label can be removed cleanly and without leaving any residue. Trying to stick it back on again, says Securikett, is impossible, so returns are blatantly obvious. 

“Not the biggest, just the best” says Desmedt

Currently employing 45 and generating sales of around € 15m ($17m) a year, Desmedt is far from being Europe’s biggest label converter, nor even leader in its home country of Belgium. But it has just recently invested in a Mark Andy hybrid line: the Digital Pro MAX. 

The D-Pro MAX is the latest version of Mark Andy’s toner-based digital engine mounted on a Pro series flexo platform that provides many converting options. To complement its small overall footprint, a Martin Automatic MBSC unwind butt splice was installed. According to Desmedt’s Henri Köhler, a man not given to understatements, “When the current program is completed, ours will be the most highly automated narrow web production facility in the world.”

Paragon goes it alone

European packaging manufacturer Coveris is set to sell its paper and labels business to US investment fund Kingswood Capital Management. The transaction, announced earlier this year, reduces the group’s industrial scope to €900 million (call it a billion) in revenue and gives autonomy to Paragon Print and Packaging. 

Following the sale, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2026, the paper business will operate as an independent entity under its former name: Paragon Print and Packaging. The company was one of five businesses acquired by Sun Capital in 2013 to form Exopack Holdings, which became Coveris that same year. For its part, Paragon will post revenues of $312 million and employ 1,400 people.

Spare-time activities

Let’s face it, most of the big names in the label business don’t excel at much outside their business, except maybe playing golf. Happily, there are a few exceptions. Some readers may remember how the CEO of A B Graphic crossed the Atlantic in a small yacht. One of the very early creators of a successful label magazine, now in retirement, is a prolific writer of history books. Then there’s Andrea Vimercati: he’s the boss of Pilot Italia, one of Italy’s leading label converters. When he’s not running the business, he goes off and runs marathons, and what’s more he does it rather well. Not quite in the same league, your correspondent’s only claim to fame in the sporting field is to have crossed the English Channel several times in a small inflatable dinghy – and in case you jump to conclusions, no he was not ferrying illegal migrants.