The 2026 Labels & Labeling Global Awards have highlighted a noticeable shift in what counts as innovation in the label industry.

The winners, announced on September 15 during Loupe Americas in Rosemont, Illinois, covered five categories spanning converting, inspection technology, sustainable labels, flexible packaging and future leadership.

But the technologies selected by the judges tell a broader story.

Labels are no longer being developed only around print quality and decoration. They are increasingly expected to improve production control and solve recycling problems for the package underneath them.

AVT wins by solving a very practical inspection problem

AVT received the Innovation Award for its Helios varnish inspection module.

The technology addresses something deceptively difficult: detecting clear varnish reliably while a press is running at high speed.

Unlike conventional printed defects, transparent coating problems can be difficult for operators—and some inspection systems—to see before significant material has already been produced.

That makes AVT’s win interesting because it reflects the growing role of automated inspection in reducing:

waste,

reruns,

quality escapes,

and operator dependence.

Cerm’s Lexis AI assistant and Esko’s CDI Quartz ecosystem were the other finalists, reinforcing how strongly digital workflow and automation featured in this year’s innovation category.

Brook + Whittle tackles the label’s impact on bottle recycling

Brook + Whittle won the Sustainability – Converter category with GreenLabel BlockOut, a recyclable light-blocking shrink sleeve.

Light-blocking decoration can be necessary for sensitive products.

But labels and sleeves can also interfere with sorting or recycling of the much larger container.

The judges highlighted GreenLabel BlockOut specifically because the technology aims to provide the required light protection while allowing the main container to remain compatible with recycling.

That points toward an increasingly important design principle:

the sustainability of a label should be judged partly by what it allows the entire package to do after use.

A small label can determine whether a much heavier bottle is correctly sorted or recovered.

That makes label design a packaging-system issue, not simply a substrate issue.

Siegwerk’s win pushes flexible packaging into the label conversation

Siegwerk received the Sustainability – Supplier award for the high-barrier mono-layer polypropylene pouch developed with Enplater.

The system uses functional coatings to deliver barrier and sealing properties within a PP-based structure rather than relying on multiple dissimilar laminated materials.

This is particularly significant because Loupe itself has expanded beyond its historical label focus into:

flexible packaging,

shrink sleeves,

and in-line carton converting.

The winning technology reflects that convergence.

Many label converters already understand:

coating,

printing,

web handling,

inspection,

and finishing.

Those same competencies can increasingly be applied to narrow- and mid-web flexible packaging.

Functional coatings may therefore become one of the bridges between traditional label converting and recyclable pouch production.

Steinhauser shows how converters are changing with the market

Kentucky-based Steinhauser was named Converter of the Year.

The judges highlighted the company’s evolution across several generations of technology—from offset cut-and-stack labels toward blow-mold labels, shrink sleeves and pressure-sensitive applications.

That transformation is increasingly representative of the wider converting industry.

Label businesses are moving beyond one printing format and adding capabilities around:

shrink sleeves,

flexible packaging,

digital printing,

automation,

and adjacent package-converting applications.

Loupe’s own rebranding from Labelexpo reflects exactly that transition: labels remain central, but the event now explicitly includes flexible packaging and folding-carton technologies.

Future Leader adds another signal

Rachel Jackson, vice president of operations at Columbine Label, received the inaugural Future Leader Award.

The judging panel highlighted both her operational role at the family-owned converter and her participation in TLMI initiatives, including its Membership Committee and Label Leaders of Tomorrow program.

The addition of the category is notable in an industry facing:

automation,

consolidation,

succession,

and changing workforce requirements.

Technology may be reshaping production, but converters still need people capable of integrating those technologies into real operations.

The winning technologies have one thing in common

AVT improves production visibility.

Brook + Whittle tries to prevent decoration from compromising container recycling.

Siegwerk uses coatings to simplify flexible-packaging material architecture.

Steinhauser represents a converter diversifying across new packaging formats.

These are different developments.

But they all move the industry in the same direction:

labels are becoming part of a much larger packaging-production system.

The next competitive advantage may therefore come less from printing a more attractive label and more from using labels, coatings, inspection and converting technology to improve:

manufacturing efficiency,

recyclability,

material simplicity,

and package performance.

That is arguably the more important message from the 2026 Global Awards.

The award trophies recognize individual companies.

The shortlist shows where the industry is moving.

Last Updated on 21/09/2026 by Jota Machinery