If you work in packaging production, at a print shop, or you collaborate with brands that need large-scale packaging, you already know that choosing the printing method is never simple. The question „flexo or digital?” comes up constantly, and the right answer depends on the print run, the complexity of the artwork, the substrate and, to an ever-greater extent, the marketing strategy of the end client.

In this article we analyze the two technologies in depth, with concrete examples from the industry, including how international retailers of the caliber of Kaufland or Lidl manage the printing decision in order to control costs, and why famous campaigns such as „Share a Coke” or the personalization of Nutella jars have redefined the logic of packaging production.

What flexographic printing is and where it excels

Flexographic printing, abbreviated „flexo”, is a relief printing process that uses flexible plates (photopolymer or rubber) to transfer ink onto a substrate. The ink is delivered by an anilox roller onto the flexible plate, which applies it directly onto the material moving through on the reel.

The main advantage of flexo is its speed and cost per unit at large print runs. Once the printing form is prepared, every linear meter of printed material becomes cheaper, which is why flexo dominates in flexible packaging, labels, corrugated cardboard and zipper-type bags.

The example of zipper bags (zipper packaging): what large retailers choose

Zipper bags are one of the most common types of packaging on the shelves of Kaufland, Lidl, Penny or Mega Image, from oat flakes, nuts and dried fruit to coffee or spices. They are printed almost exclusively in flexo, on BOPP, PE or metallized film.

Why flexo and not digital or offset for these products?

• The print runs are massive: a national or international retailer can order hundreds of thousands of bags per SKU, enough for the cost of the flexo plates to be amortized quickly.
• The material is flexible and comes on a reel, the very condition flexo is designed for. Flexo presses run the reel continuously, at high speeds, with minimal material waste.
• Flexo inks adhere excellently to polyethylene and BOPP, ensuring the vivid colors and rub resistance required of packaging that must survive storage, transport and in-store handling.
• The cost per unit is significantly lower than with any alternative method at print runs above 20,000–30,000 units.

Lidl and Kaufland, which produce an extensive range of packaging under their own brands (Milbona, Pikok, Alesto, etc.), standardize their orders at print runs that clearly justify flexo. Moreover, these chains work with packaging suppliers from Central and Eastern Europe (including from Romania and Poland) that own high-speed rotary flexo presses with 6–10 colors.

Their cost-reduction strategy does not mean changing the printing method with every design refresh; on the contrary, they standardize formats, simplify color palettes and place volume orders that maximize flexo efficiency.

What digital printing is and where it beats every other method

Digital printing prints directly from the file, without any physical printing form. The machine receives the file and applies the ink (or toner) directly onto the substrate. There are no plates to engrave, no lengthy setup time, no mounting costs.

This means digital printing is ideal for:

• small and medium print runs, from 1 copy up to a few thousand, with an acceptable cost per unit;
• variable personalization, each copy can be different (a different name, a different code, a different message);
• very short turnaround time, the proof and the production run can be delivered in hours or days, not weeks;
• testing a design before mass production in flexo or offset.

The disadvantage appears at scale: the larger the print run, the more the cost per unit in digital stays relatively constant, whereas in flexo or offset it drops aggressively as the print run grows.

 

Variable personalization: the lessons from Coca-Cola and Nutella

Recent years have shown that personalized packaging is no longer a luxury whim, but a marketing strategy with measurable impact. Two benchmark examples explain the role digital printing plays behind these campaigns.

„Share a Coke”, 120 countries, millions of variants

Initially launched in Australia in 2011 and revived globally in 2025, the „Share a Coke” campaign replaced the Coca-Cola logo on bottles and cans with the 150 most popular first names in each country, including in Romania, in collaboration with the Ministry of Administration and the Interior.

What is the printing logic behind it? The standard bottles (mass production) are printed in offset or flexo, millions of identical units. Small-scale personalization (interactive stands, kiosks, digital hubs), however, used inkjet digital printing equipment that could apply a different first name to each bottle, without any change to the printing form.

Coca-Cola thus demonstrated that the hybrid model works: mass production in offset/flexo for the standard shelf, digital printing for targeted personalization and for experiential activations.

The campaign returned in 2025, adding a digital hub and QR codes on the packaging. Consumers can create their own virtual versions and send them to friends, extending personalization beyond physical production.

Nutella: 235,000 jars with a different name

The „Nutella's New Name? Yours!” campaign took the concept further: over 235,000 fans renamed their Nutella jar during the campaign period, through personalized labels applied directly to 400 g jars. In the UAE, 94.45% of the Nutella jars sold in partner stores (Geant, Lulu, Danube, Carrefour) included a personalized label.

From a print-production standpoint, the variable label, with the buyer's first name instead of „Nutella”, requires digital printing or on-demand inkjet printing. It is impossible to achieve in flexo or classic offset, where the printing form is fixed.

The lesson for packaging producers: variable-personalization campaigns do not replace mass production, they complement it. The brand prints millions of jars in offset or flexo, and the personalization layer is added either through subsequent digital labeling or through an integrated digital printing line.

 

 

How large retailers cut printing costs: the strategy behind shelf packaging

A retailer like Kaufland or Lidl manages thousands of private-label packaging SKUs each year. Their logic for reducing printing costs works on a few clear principles:

1. Consolidated volume with dedicated suppliers.
Large retailers negotiate framework contracts with a few selected packaging suppliers that guarantee volumes. This allows suppliers to invest in high-speed flexo equipment and to offer a very competitive price per unit.

2. Standardization of formats and colors.
The fewer custom spot colors a package uses and the more standardized the formats are, the faster and cheaper the flexo setup becomes. Lidl, for example, imposes strict technical color and format specifications on its suppliers precisely in order to optimize the cost per run.

3. Offset for brochures and advertising print, flexo for packaging.
Retailers' weekly promotional catalogs are printed in heatset (web) offset, in hundreds of thousands of copies. The packaging of their own products is printed in flexo, on flexible substrates. Digital enters the scene for low-volume communication materials or for personalization.

4. Testing the design in digital before flexo production.
Before engraving a set of flexo plates, which can cost a few hundred or even a few thousand euros, a brand (or its supplier) produces a small-scale digital mockup. If the design changes following internal approvals, the cost is minimal. Mass production in flexo is launched only after final confirmation.

5. Reducing minimum print runs by adopting digital.
Retailers with modern inventory-management systems no longer order a full year's worth of packaging. They prefer shorter turnaround times and flexibility, even if that means accepting a slightly higher cost per unit in exchange for a minimal risk of unused stock.

 

The limits you need to know before deciding

No method is universally superior. There are situations in which the wrong choice costs time, money or quality:

Flexo at small print runs means a much higher cost per unit than at large runs, because of the fixed cost of the plates and the setup. If you need 500 personalized bags, flexo is not the right option.

Digital on unsuitable substrates can produce poor results. Not all digital presses print on metallized film, corrugated cardboard or substrates without an inkjet receiving layer. Checking compatibility is essential.

Classic sheet-fed offset is not the usual solution for flexible films on the reel, where flexo and rotogravure are far more common technologies. There are, however, specialized and hybrid solutions, so the choice depends on the equipment, the substrate and the application.

Neither digital nor flexo eliminates the need for quality consumables. The inks, the plates, the flexo mounting tapes, the dampening solutions (in the case of offset) and the finishing varnishes decisively influence the final quality, regardless of the technology.

 

The hybrid model: how advanced printers combine flexo and digital

The most competitive packaging printers do not choose one or the other, but combine both methods depending on the project. A model frequently seen in the market looks like this:

• Mass production (the standard shelf) → flexo or offset printing, at large print runs, with an optimal cost per unit.
• Limited editions or seasonal campaigns → digital or flexo printing in smaller runs, with a fast delivery time.
• Variable personalization (campaigns with first names, unique codes, different QR codes) → integrated inkjet digital printing, sometimes applied as an additional layer over a substrate already printed in flexo.
• Testing and prototyping → always digital, to validate the design before investing in plates.

This hybrid logic is also visible in the Coca-Cola and Nutella campaigns: the base production remains in mass printing, while personalization is added through a digital layer or through an on-demand labeling solution.

 

Conclusion: how to choose correctly

The decision between flexo and digital is not technical, but strategic. It comes down to volume, flexibility, delivery speed and the marketing objectives of the printed product.

As a rule of thumb:

• Under 5,000–10,000 units → Under 5,000–10,000 units, digital is most often the more advantageous option, especially when the design changes frequently or personalization is needed.
• Over 20,000–30,000 units on flexible packaging → flexo becomes clearly superior in terms of total cost.
• You need variable personalization → digital, without exception.
• The client's brand launches a campaign with mixed print runs → the hybrid model is the right answer.

Regardless of the chosen method, the quality of the consumables used in the printing process remains the determining factor in the final result: chromatically stable ink, precisely engraved flexo plates, mounting tapes with controlled adhesion, finishing varnishes compatible with the substrate. These are the parameters that make the difference between an order delivered perfectly and one that is returned.

 

Do you have questions about consumables for flexo or digital printing?

The Printman Romania team specializes in consumables for flexo, offset and digital printing: inks, flexo mounting tapes, auxiliaries, CtP plates and more. Contact us for a free technical consultation.

 

Frequently asked questions about flexo vs digital printing for packaging

At what print run does flexo printing become cheaper than digital printing for packaging?

There is no universal threshold, because it depends on the number of colors, the format size and the type of substrate. As a general rule, flexo becomes competitive against digital starting from 10,000–20,000 units, and the cost advantage grows significantly above 30,000 units. Below this threshold, the fixed cost of the plates and of the machine setup weighs too heavily on the price per unit. If your print runs hover around this transition zone, a cost-versus-run analysis is essential before placing the order.

Can I print flexible packaging (BOPP, PE, metallized bags) on a digital press?

Yes, but under strict conditions. State-of-the-art inkjet digital presses can print on certain films treated with a primer or an inkjet receiving layer, but not all types of flexible substrate are compatible. Metallized film, for example, raises adhesion problems on many digital devices. Checking the substrate–equipment compatibility is mandatory before production. For large volumes of flexible packaging on the reel, flexo remains the benchmark technology.

Which type of printing is suitable for a variable-personalization campaign on packaging — with different names, codes or QR codes on each unit?

Digital printing is the only viable solution for genuine variable personalization, where each copy differs from the previous one. Flexo and offset produce a fixed printing form, identical on all units within a run. Campaigns like „Share a Coke" or Nutella worked precisely by combining mass production in offset/flexo with a digital personalization layer added afterwards — either through on-demand inkjet labeling or through a digital module integrated on the line.

Which printing method reduces long-term costs better: flexo or digital?

The answer depends on your production model. Flexo drastically reduces the cost per unit at large volumes, but involves recurring investments in plates and setup with every design change. Digital eliminates these fixed costs, but maintains a relatively constant cost per unit, regardless of the print run. In the long run, printers with stable orders and large volumes save through flexo. Those with varied orders, short turnaround times or a frequent need for flexibility reduce their total costs through digital. The hybrid model — flexo for the base production, digital for variants and short runs — is the best-balanced strategy for packaging producers with a mixed portfolio.

Which consumables most influence quality in flexo printing versus digital printing?

In flexo, the final quality is determined mainly by the photopolymer plates (the precision of the engraving), by the double-sided mounting tape (which controls uniform pressure on the cylinder) and by the ink used (adhesion, rub resistance, chromatic fidelity on the given substrate). In digital printing, the key factors are the ink or toner compatible with the substrate and, where present, the finishing varnish or primer applied afterwards. Regardless of the technology, a lower-quality consumable — chromatically unstable ink, flexo tape with poor adhesion or a varnish incompatible with the substrate — can compromise an entire order.