Printing and Packaging Trade Shows to Watch
Written by Shannon Buchholz
Trade show season is one of the clearest ways to see where the printing, packaging, and converting industries are headed next.
The machines on the show floor tell part of the story. The conversations around them often tell the rest. Automation, labor, materials, sustainability, efficiency, digital print, hybrid production, finishing, and inspection are all shaping how companies plan for the next several years.
Our team at Flexo Finders recently attended LOUPE Americas 2026 in Chicago, formerly Labelexpo Americas. One of our biggest takeaways was how much the lines between different areas of the industry continue to blur.
Label converters are moving into flexible packaging. Commercial printers are expanding into cartons and labels. Flexographic plants are adding digital and hybrid technology. Corrugated and converting operations are investing in automation, better print quality, and more sophisticated finishing equipment.
As we finish out 2026 and look toward 2027, here are some of the industry events worth watching.
Why trade shows still matter for print and packaging
The industry has plenty of ways to learn without leaving the plant. Webinars, supplier calls, videos, and spec sheets all have value. Still, trade shows offer something different.
They let people see how equipment actually runs. They make it easier to compare materials side by side. They bring suppliers, plant leaders, sales teams, operators, engineers, and hiring partners into the same space.
That matters because many companies are trying to answer similar questions:
How can we produce more with the same headcount?
Which jobs should move to digital, flexo, offset, or hybrid?
Where can automation reduce bottlenecks?
How do we improve quality without slowing production?
What skills will pressrooms and converting departments need next?
Which markets offer the best growth opportunities?
The best printing and packaging trade shows do more than display new machines. They show how companies are trying to solve real production problems.
For employers, these events also reveal what talent needs are coming next. When plants invest in new presses, coating lines, finishing systems, inspection technology, robotics, or workflow software, staffing needs change right along with the equipment.
Late 2026 events to keep on the radar
The final months of 2026 include several important events for corrugated, packaging, processing, and converting companies. Dates and locations can change, so it is always smart to confirm details with the event organizer before booking travel.
AICC/TAPPI Corrugated Week
September 28–30, 2026 | Fort Worth, Texas
Corrugated Week brings together professionals from across the corrugated packaging industry, including independent box manufacturers, converters, suppliers, and equipment manufacturers.
For companies involved in corrugators, flexographic folder gluers, rotary die cutters, finishing, plant operations, and automation, this is an important event for the corrugated community.
Corrugated plants continue to face pressure from several directions at once. Customers want shorter lead times, stronger graphics, reliable quality, and packaging that performs well through distribution. At the same time, plants need to manage labor shortages, maintenance demands, uptime, waste, and safety.
That makes Corrugated Week a useful place to watch these areas:
Automation around feeding, stacking, bundling, and material handling
Flexo print quality improvements for corrugated packaging
Rotary die cutting and finishing advances
Maintenance and reliability practices
Training needs for operators, supervisors, and plant leaders
The corrugated side of the industry has always been highly practical. This event tends to reflect that. The focus is not just what equipment can do, but how it works inside a busy production environment.
PACK EXPO International
October 18–21, 2026 | Chicago, Illinois
We will be attending PACK EXPO International this year as well.
PACK EXPO is one of the largest packaging and processing events in North America, covering packaging machinery, materials, automation, robotics, processing, labeling, inspection, and end-of-line systems.
It is also a good opportunity to see how packaging fits into the entire manufacturing process, from labels, cartons, and flexible packaging to filling, packing, palletizing, and distribution.
For print and converting companies, PACK EXPO offers a broader view than a print-specific event. It shows what brand owners, food producers, beverage companies, pharmaceutical companies, household product manufacturers, and consumer goods companies are asking from their packaging partners.
That broader view matters. A converter may print a pouch, label, carton, or sleeve, but the package still has to run through filling lines, case packing, inspection systems, palletizers, and shipping networks.
At PACK EXPO, watch for:
Robotics for packing, palletizing, and materials movement
Vision inspection and quality control systems
Sustainable packaging material discussions
Labeling and coding equipment
Flexible packaging machinery
End-of-line systems that affect package design and performance
PACK EXPO is especially useful for companies that want to understand the full production chain. It connects print quality, package design, machine performance, labor needs, and logistics in one place.
2027 shows that point to the next stage of growth
The 2027 calendar brings another strong year of events for label, flexible packaging, converting, commercial print, and packaging operations. Some shows focus tightly on one segment. Others bring several parts of the industry together.
Both types are useful.
Specialized events help teams compare equipment in detail. Larger cross-segment shows help companies see how customer expectations are changing across print and packaging as a whole.
Labelexpo Europe
September 14–17, 2027 | Barcelona, Spain
Labelexpo Europe remains one of the most important global events for label and package printing. While it is based in Europe, many North American label converters, suppliers, press manufacturers, and material companies pay close attention to what appears there.
The label market has become a key testing ground for many broader industry trends. Digital print, hybrid presses, shorter runs, faster changeovers, embellishment, automation, inspection, and workflow tools often show up strongly in labels before spreading further into other packaging segments.
For converters working in pressure-sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, wraparound labels, in-mold labels, flexible packaging, or folding cartons, Labelexpo Europe is worth tracking even if attendance is not practical.
Key areas to watch include:
Hybrid flexo and digital press platforms
Digital embellishment and finishing
Automated inspection and defect detection
Expanded gamut printing
Sustainable label materials and liner reduction
Flexible packaging applications for label converters
The line between labels and flexible packaging will likely continue to thin. Many label converters already have customer relationships, print expertise, finishing knowledge, and quality systems that can support expansion into adjacent work.
PACK EXPO Las Vegas
September 27–29, 2027 | Las Vegas, Nevada
PACK EXPO Las Vegas is another major event for packaging machinery, materials, processing, automation, labeling, and end-of-line systems.
For companies that cannot attend PACK EXPO International in Chicago, the Las Vegas event offers another opportunity to see many of the same broad themes in action.
This show is especially relevant for companies looking at automation beyond the pressroom. Printing and converting plants often focus on press speed, makeready, color, waste, and finishing. Those areas are still critical. But more companies are also asking what happens before and after the press.
That includes:
How rolls, sheets, cartons, or pallets move through the plant
How finished goods are counted, labeled, packed, and staged
How inspection data is captured and used
How packaging formats affect filling and packing efficiency
How automation changes staffing needs on each shift
The companies that get the most value from PACK EXPO often look beyond a single machine. They look at the full path of a job, from incoming material to finished shipment.
PRINTING United Expo
October 6–8, 2027 | Atlanta, Georgia
PRINTING United Expo is one of the broadest print industry shows in North America. It brings together commercial print, wide-format, apparel, packaging, mailing, fulfillment, and related technologies.
That broad mix makes it especially relevant as print service providers move into new markets.
A commercial printer may be evaluating labels. A wide-format shop may be exploring packaging displays or short-run corrugated. A folding carton operation may be watching digital print quality. A label converter may be considering workflow tools that came from the commercial print world.
PRINTING United reflects that crossover.
For packaging and converting companies, the most useful areas may include:
Digital print equipment for short-run and versioned work
Workflow software and estimating systems
Color management tools
Finishing and embellishment equipment
Ink, substrate, and curing developments
Labor-saving systems for production and fulfillment
This is also a strong event for watching how print buyers think. The more print segments overlap, the more customers expect flexibility, speed, and consistent quality across different formats.
As more plants add digital and hybrid technology, flexo knowledge does not become less important. It becomes part of a wider production strategy.
The themes showing up across the industry
Different shows serve different markets, but several themes are showing up almost everywhere.
Automation is now a staffing strategy
Automation is not only about speed. It is also about keeping production moving when skilled operators are hard to find.
Plants are using automation to reduce repetitive work, improve consistency, and support less experienced team members. That includes automatic setup tools, closed-loop color systems, inspection equipment, robotic palletizing, automated splicing, material handling systems, and data collection.
This changes hiring priorities. Companies still need strong operators, maintenance technicians, supervisors, and plant leaders. They also need people who can work with data, sensors, controls, software, robotics, and more advanced production equipment.
Sustainability is tied to performance
Sustainability conversations have moved beyond broad claims. More companies are asking practical questions.
Will the material run well? Can it be sealed, folded, labeled, filled, shipped, and recycled as intended? Does it create more waste during production? Can it meet customer requirements without hurting shelf life or package strength?
Trade shows make these questions easier to evaluate because teams can compare materials, coatings, adhesives, inks, and equipment together.
Digital and flexo are being used together
The conversation is no longer only about digital replacing analog print. In many plants, the better question is how digital, flexo, offset, screen, and hybrid systems fit together.
Digital works well for short runs, versioning, prototypes, and quick turns. Flexo remains strong for longer production runs and many packaging applications. Hybrid systems give some converters a way to combine the strengths of both.
The right answer depends on run length, graphics, material, finishing, cost, turnaround time, and customer needs.
Converters are moving into adjacent markets
One of the clearest takeaways from LOUPE Americas was market crossover.
Label converters are looking at flexible packaging. Commercial printers are exploring cartons and labels. Corrugated companies are investing in better graphics. Flexible packaging plants are adding new inspection, finishing, and automation systems.
That creates opportunity, but it also raises the bar. Moving into a new segment requires more than buying equipment. It requires the right process knowledge, quality systems, sales approach, estimating discipline, and production talent.
How to get the most from upcoming shows
A trade show can be overwhelming if the only plan is to walk the aisles. The companies that get the most from these events usually arrive with clear questions.
Before attending, it helps to define what the team needs to learn.
Useful questions include:
Which production bottleneck are we trying to solve?
Which markets are we seriously considering?
What skills will we need if we buy new equipment?
Which current jobs are poor fits for our equipment mix?
Where are we losing time, waste, or margin?
What are customers asking for that we cannot produce today?
It also helps to send different people with different goals. A plant manager may focus on uptime and workflow. A pressroom leader may look closely at setup and operation. A sales leader may watch market trends. A maintenance leader may ask about parts, access, training, and service.
After the show, the real value comes from sorting what was learned. Which ideas are near-term priorities? Which ones need more research? Which ones affect hiring, training, or leadership planning?
The takeaway for 2026 and 2027
The next wave of industry growth will not fit neatly into one category. Labels, flexible packaging, folding cartons, corrugated, commercial print, and converting are becoming more connected.
That is what makes the 2026 and 2027 trade show calendar so useful. These events show where equipment is going, where customers are placing pressure, and where plants may need new talent to support growth.
For Flexo Finders, the biggest signal is clear. Companies are not standing still. They are investing in technology, expanding into nearby markets, and rethinking how people, equipment, and processes work together.
The best trade shows help reveal what is coming next. The best teams use that information to plan before the next hiring need, production bottleneck, or market shift arrives.
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