HEIDELBERG GERMANY—  According to a survey by HEIDELBERG, the flexible papers market will grow yearly by over 4%, but the technology needs to be developed further to properly replace plastic packaging. Flexible papers will see an annual average growth of over 4.5% by the end of the decade, according to a new study released by print press manufacturer, HEIDELBERG. The study is based on a range of interviews with trade and industry decision-makers, aiming to highlight the ongoing trend toward ‘paperisation’ – the substitution of plastic with paper. The results indicate that paper-based packaging solutions will increasingly play a dominant role, as long as key technological and economic challenges relating to coated paper packaging can be resolved. The company highlights that plastic packaging is currently cheaper than fibre-based solutions in many cases, and consumers are often unwilling to pay the additional cost.In particular, paper does not act as a barrier to moisture, oxygen, or grease. Consequently, either hybrid paper-plastic solutions or functional coatings for monomaterials are required, and such options can result in limited sustainability. A white paper on the current position of fibre-based solutions in the packaging mix was also released by the manufacturer, which can be downloades at