中文Each August, WhatTheyThink opens a virtual window onto the technologies reshaping print and packaging, and in 2026 the spotlight turns firmly toward labels and packaging. The seventh annual Technology Outlook series of webinars continues on Wednesday, August 26 at 1 pm ET with a dedicated labels-and-packaging session. Industry analyst David Zwang will walk attendees through the latest technology and product announcements from manufacturers of label and packaging solutions, detailing new features, capabilities, and applications that converters can put to work as they plan for the year ahead.
The labels-and-packaging installment is sponsored by Michelman, Durst, and EFI, three suppliers whose recent roadmaps span coatings, digital presses, and production workflow software. Together they represent a cross-section of the value chain: substrate treatment and functional coatings, high-speed digital printing, and the software that ties it all together. Zwang’s briefing is designed to surface both prevailing trends and emerging ones, giving producers a consolidated view of where vendor investment is flowing.
What attendees can expect is a concentrated look at new label and packaging technology developments, the newest products from major industry vendors, and the features, capabilities, and applications that differentiate them. For operations teams weighing capital investments, that kind of side-by-side intelligence is difficult to assemble alone. The Technology Outlook format exists precisely to close that gap: it serves as a virtual platform where suppliers reach the industry efficiently and producers stay current without crisscrossing a crowded trade-show calendar.
The broader series spans five sessions. Production Print kicks off on August 24 with Mary Schilling. August 25 pairs Display Graphics & Signage and Textiles & Apparel, presented by Richard Romano and Cary Sherburne. After the labels-and-packaging focus on August 26, Software & Workflow follows on August 27 with Pat McGrew and Ryan McAbee, and Appearance Management closes the week on August 28 with Don Carli. Each session is built on the same premise: rely on the industry’s best-connected analysts and thought leaders, who stay in continuous contact with suppliers to ensure the information is current and practical.
WhatTheyThink positions itself as the global printing industry’s go-to information source, with print and digital offerings that include the website, email newsletters, and a magazine. Its mission is to inform, educate, and inspire across commercial, in-plant, mailing, finishing, sign, display, textile, industrial, labels, packaging, marketing technology, software, and workflow markets. The Technology Outlook Week reflects that breadth while giving each discipline its own moment.
A practical bonus for busy teams: registration is available for individual sessions or for all five. Those unable to attend live receive a complete archive of slides and audio after the session, so the intelligence can be shared internally or revisited during budgeting cycles. For label and packaging converters specifically, the August 26 session is the clearest signal of where the technology conversation is heading into 2027 and which vendor announcements deserve a closer look.
As packaging applications grow more demanding, from sustainable substrates to variable-data decoration, the value of a curated, analyst-led briefing only increases. The 2026 Technology Outlook Week distills a fragmented innovation landscape into a few focused hours, and the labels-and-packaging edition is where that value concentrates most directly for converters.
Source: WhatTheyThink (whattheythink.com)
