Taking place in Hall 1 of the NEC, Birmingham the show will run on May 25th and 26th and will feature 280 exhibitors using the space to launch new products and meet with customers and partners.

The show covers industries such as food and drink, cosmetics and beauty, household, pharmaceutical and chemical, and contract packaging and fulfilment.

New to this year, the show will host two interactive features: The Big Debate and the Sustainability Trail, both of which are designed to address challenges being faced by the industry.

Described by organisers as “the event’s headline feature”, The Big Debate will take place across both days and will see a panel of industry experts including OPRL executive chair and director Jane Bevis, and the UKRI’s challenge director of Smart Sustainable Plastics Packaging discuss important topics.

The Sustainability Trail will seek to guide visitors on the challenges around reducing the industry’s carbon footprint and will highlight particular exhibitors who are offering the most innovative green products at the show.

As well as these new features, the show will feature popular seminar programmes across three stages with speakers from Ocado, Nestlé, and HP included in the line-up.

The Big Debate and the Sustainability Trail are both new features for 2022

Renan Joel, divisional director of the show comments: “The interactive show features at Packaging Innovations and Empack are something our visitors look forward to year-on-year and are a key part of what sets us apart from other industry events.

“Every session will aim to educate and inspire our guests, as our panels and speakers tackle the challenges and developments affecting our industry right now.”

On Stand A49, Durst will be showcasing what can be achieved on its Tau inkjet single-pass presses with a focus on its water-based ink technology and P5 wide-format platform.

The company’s RSC Tau UV portfolio covers the RSC E and RSC presses for short and medium runs and the RSCi for medium and long runs. Durst’s Workflow Label software and other integration packages are also available.

On hand on the stand will be Durst’s global sales manager for Label & Flexible Printing Thomas Macina; Simon Cosh, the Durst UK & Ireland label business development manager; and Durst managing director Peter Bray.

Bray comments: “Packaging Innovations and Empack is another important platform for us to continue to push forward our market-leading RSC Tau and P5 systems, service and software, as well as our inks, in markets where we have a growing presence.”

Epson will showcase its range of labelling solutions including the brand new ColorWorks C4000e

On Stand B56, Epson will showcase its range of labelling solutions in the form of its ColorWorks inkjet colour label printers including the brand new ColorWorks C4000e.

Also on the stand, Epson partner Magnum Materials will demonstrate its automated labelling solutions through the Epson ColorWorks C6000Pe and Epson SCARA LS3-B401S selective compliance assembly robotic arm.

In keeping with the theme of sustainability at the show, Epson is also giving one visitor to its stand the chance to win an Epson C3500 desktop label printer. This will be given to the company with the most compelling description of how on-demand labelling can help its business. The idea behind this is to reinforce the environmental benefits of replacing label outsourcing with on-demand colour inkjet label printing.

“We’re excited to be attending this year’s Packaging Innovations and Empack in the flesh and to be meeting with such a variety of businesses,” says Gavin Thurston, business development manager for ColorWorks at Epson UK.

On Stand J12, AM Labels will be previewing the new Epson ColorWorks C4000 colour label on its stand as well as holding a competition to win the new printer.

Across the two days, the company will showcase how the printer can produce high quality and vibrant personalised labels via a tablet using its enhanced wireless connectivity option.

Available in either a gloss ink or matte ink model, the printer is described as compact, durable, and intuitive.

As well as this, AM Labels will be showcasing the Afinia DLP-2100 digital label press for the first time. When used with the Afinia L901 digital label printer inline, AM Labels says the kit can produce over 25,000 full-colour, 3 x 4in labels each hour.

AM Labels will be showcasing the Afinia DLP-2100 digital label press for the first time

Brendon Bass, sales and marketing manager for AM Labels says: “The product offering on our stand will be more diverse than ever this year, with visitors having the added benefit of seeing the new Epson C4000 colour label printer in action.”

Developer of colour management systems, GMG will be running live, interactive demos on its stand D32 throughout the show.

The company will show how to scan in a colour, run an accurate contract proof, print the job and compare the results in its light booth.

On the stand, prints will be running on a 4-colour digital label printer with the GMG ColorServer solution. This solution can be used on any press, ink set, or substrate and print jobs can be switched between presses and sites using the software.

GMG’s range includes GMG OpenColor and GMG ColorServer Multicolor and the company will also be showcasing how its colour-accurate contract proofing solution can offer high quality spot colour reproduction.

Launching for the first time at the show will be Coveris’ HeatSeal cartonboard trays

Over on Stand J58, European packaging manufacturer, Coveris will have a strong focus on sustainability as it demonstrates its range of paper and plastic packaging solutions. These solutions have a No Waste sustainability strategy targeting no product waste, no packaging waste and no operational waste.

Launching for the first time at the show will be Coveris’ HeatSeal cartonboard trays which are recyclable and sustainably sourced. These trays are fully printable on the outer face and designed for use with heat-sealed lidding film.

Also on show will be Coveris’ range of MonoFlex monomaterial laminates, which the company describes as a significant development in recyclable consumer plastic packaging.

Coveris also has a dedicated facility for speciality bags and played a big part in the UK’s Covid-19 testing programme when it produced over 125 million bags in collaboration with MedDx. As a result of this, Coveris is now seeking to develop at-home, healthcare and laboratory testing and will showcase its range of diagnostics bags at the show.

If you have any news, please email carys@linkpublishing.co.uk or join in with the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn.