Labelexpo, the world’s leading exhibition series for label printing, is entering a transformative
new phase. Beginning in 2026, the show will adopt a new identity, Loupe, with the first
edition, Loupe Americas 2026, to be held in Chicago next September. The rebrand reflects
how technologies that originated in label production are now driving innovation across the
wider flexible packaging and folding carton segments.
While Labelexpo began as a niche event for narrow-web label converters, its scope has
expanded significantly over the past two decades. Shrink sleeves, wraparound labels, inmold
labels, and RFID smart technologies rapidly broadened the show’s focus. The most
dramatic shift occurred in the last decade as flexible packaging took centre stage. Digital and
flexo press developments, kickstarted by the HP Indigo 20000 and followed by wider-web presses from Bobst, Omet, Lombardi, Nilpeter, and Mark Andy, brought new converters and
applications into the fold. Laminators, pouch-making specialists, material suppliers, and ink
manufacturers soon reinforced this direction.
Market data confirms this evolution. At Labelexpo Europe 2025, over 45% of exhibitors
served both labels and flexible packaging, while 40% of visitors at the 2023 event expressed
interest in flexpack solutions. Growing attention is also turning toward folding cartons, with
25% of visitors at the 2023 show seeking carton technologies. Converters are increasingly
exploring crossover production, supported by inline and hybrid systems such as the Canon-
Edale single-pass flexo carton line demonstrated in 2025.
With its ecosystem now spanning labels, flexible packaging, and carton converting,
organisers felt a new identity was essential. The name Loupe was chosen as a symbol of
precision and as an acronym for Labels and OUter Pack Embellishment.
The organisers emphasise that Loupe will not compete with mega-shows like drupa or Pack
Expo, but will instead champion the inline flexo, rotary offset, digital, and hybrid technologies
that originated in labels and are now reshaping package printing worldwide.
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