Label & Narrow Web articles from April 2008

Label & Narrow Web archives from April 2008

Motivated.(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... Since the launch of this magazine in 1996 I have attended industry conferences beyond number that have featured speakers whose goal is to motivate attendees. These speakers, all of them with books and jokes, some of them talented, give advice...

York Label acquires Chilean converters.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Company overview)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... York Label, headquartered in Omaha, NE, USA, continues its expansion with the acquisition of Etiprak S.A. through its Cameo-Marinetti joint venture, and a 50 percent interest in Etiquetas Industriales Ltda., both located in Santiago, Chile....

Gallus Group reports a profitable 2007.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... The Gallus Group, a manufacturer of narrow web presses and screen printing equipment based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, reports turnover for 2007 at CHF289 million (US$295 million), up CHF6 million from 2006. "The label industry benefited...

Raflatac: 100 million RFID inlays delivered.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... UPM Raflatac, based in Tampere, Finland, has manufactured and supplied 100 million RFID inlays to mass transit ticketing applications globally. The landmark figure was reached in early 2008 with a delivery lot to Moscow Metro in Russia. ...

Stork to supply screen units for Omet presses.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Stork Prints, a producer of rotary screen technology, based in Boxmeer, the Netherlands, will supply Italian press manufacturer Omet with dedicated RSI (Rotary Screen Integration) modules for the Varyflex 520mm and 670mm combination presses....

Channeled Resources opens recycling centers.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Channeled Resources Group, headquartered in Chicago, has announced the opening of two North American Recycling Service Centers. The service centers are located in Hayward, CA, USA, and Marathon City, WI, USA. "They begin with a specific...

WS Packaging installs Radius Solutions system.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... WS Packaging Group, headquartered in Algoma, WI, USA, has implemented Radius Solutions' PECAS Vision business information management/enterprise resource planning system at three of its sites, and has plans to install it at its remaining fifteen...

Mondi presents Tape Innovation Days.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)(Conference notes)
April 1, 2008... "Tape Innovation Days" will be held May 28 to 29 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The event, an industry conference for self-adhesive tape manufacturers, is presented by Mondi Coating & Release, a supplier of silicon release liners based in...

New UV heat product developed by GEW.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(GEW (EC) Ltd.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... GEW Ltd., a UK based UV systems manufacturer, has announced the development of a new heat management product. According to a company statement, the new product, AIRFilm, "permits processing of a wide range of heat-sensitive materials without...

A & V to distribute Polywest sleeves.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Polywest Sleeve Systems, of Ahaus, Germany, has appointed Anderson & Vreeland (A & V) to distribute its sleeves in the United States. A & V, based in Bryan, OH, USA, is a manufacturer and distributor of flexographic printing materials and...

GIDUE changes name in Australia, New Zealand.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Universal Print Partners)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... GIDUE Sales Australia & New Zealand, representing the Italian manufacturer of narrow and midweb printing machines since 2005, has a new name: Universal Print Partners. The company is based in Victoria, Australia. In three years, the number...

Wausau Coated reduces minimums on Indigo rolls.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Wausau Coated Products, of Wausau, WI, USA, a manufacturer of pressure sensitive roll and sheet label products, has announced lower minimum order quantities on all stocked HP Indigo products. The company has reduced minimum order quantities on...

Label Traxx sets up connection with Acucote.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Tailored Solutions Label Traxx, a print management software for narrow web flexo printers, now connects with Acucote, a supplier of pressure sensitive stock. With this feature, Label Traxx users can gain access to the Acucote order system...

Flexo Concepts, JM Heaford open UK demo center.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Flexo Concepts, a manufacturer of MicroClean dry media anilox cleaning systems and TruPoint plastic and composite doctor blades, has joined with J.M. Heaford Ltd. to open a MicroClean demonstration center in Altrincham, England. J.M....

Transilwrap and Dunmore offer HP Indigo synthetic materials.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Transilwrap Company Inc. and Dunmore Corporation have joined resources to offer the DUN-DIGITAL Films line of synthetic materials designed for use with digital printing presses such as the HP Indigo. DUN-DIGITAL films offer three star...

Braden Sutphin Ink launches EcoSmart certification program.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Braden Sutphin Ink Company, Cleveland, OH, USA, has launched EcoSmart, a certification program that gives printers, print buyers and end users the ability to identify and understand the attributes of Braden Sutphin's environmentally friendly...

Digital proofing seminar returns to Clemson.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... The Graphic Communications department of Clemson University will present two back-to-back reprises of one of its most popular seminars: Digital Proofing for Flexography, in cooperation with the Foundation of the Flexographic Technical...

Tropper to speak at NELMA Expo.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Conference notes)
April 1, 2008... Industry consultant Elisha Tropper, former president of Prestige Label and a long-time columnist for L & NW, will speak on "Guerrilla Marketing" at the sixth NELMA Expo and Networking Conference. The event, sponsored by the North East...

XSYS changes its name to Flint Group Narrow Web.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Flint Group changes its name to Flint Group Narrow Web)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... XSYS Print Solutions, a division of Flint Group, has changed its name to Flint Group Narrow Web. The name change is the last in a long series of rebranding moves for the narrow web ink maker, which started out as part of the Akzo Nobel group,...

Sani-Blast forms alliance with ARCS.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Sani-Blast and ARCS, manufacturers and distributors of anilox roll cleaning equipment and service, have announced a marketing and service alliance throughout North America. The companies have a 20-year relationship, and the new owners of both...

New ink manufacturer opens in USA.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Advanced Ink & Chemical announced that it has opened for business. Operating out of a manufacturing facility in Bensalem, PA, USA, Advanced makes specialty printing products; pearlescent, matte, tactile, gloss coatings, as well as fluorescent...

Schmitt to offer custom encoded labels.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... InkSure Technologies Inc., Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, a provider of covert machine-readable authentication systems, has entered into an agreement with George Schmitt & Company in which InkSure will develop a custom SmartInk code specifically for...

Edale provides a new name for its RFID press.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Edale, a British manufacturer of printing and converting equipment, says it has been forced to rename one of its machines to avoid misleading potential customers. The press previously marketed as the Edale Lambda RFID Entry now will be known as...

Technicote expands plant in Indiana.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... Technicote Inc., an ISO 9001:2000 certified company headquartered in Miamisburg, OH, USA, has recently expanded its Terre Haute, IN, USA, manufacturing and distribution facility floor space by 15 percent to accommodate sales growth and improve...

RotoMetrics is sold.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... RotoMetrics, the prominent narrow web die manufacturer, has been acquired by Morgenthaler Partners in conjunction with RotoMetrics management. Morgenthaler Partners is a private investment firm focusing on high value manufacturing and business...

HP Indigo launches new press.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... A new digital label and packaging press from HP Indigo will be unveiled in May at Drupa, the large German print show. To be called the ws6000, the press will be geared toward longer-run, higher volume print jobs, and will have a four-color...

CCL reports a solid 2007: sales up 11 percent.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Financial report)
April 1, 2008... CCL Industries Inc., a manufacturer of labels and specialty packaging for the consumer products and healthcare industries, announced that its 2007 sales revenue was CAN$1.14 billion, up 11 percent over 2006. A public company based in Toronto,...

Fasson introduces Ready Width service.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... The Fasson Roll North America division of Avery Dennison Corporation has introduced a pre-slit service. Branded under Fasson Advantage service offerings, Fasson Ready Width delivers narrow slit widths with low minimum order quantities on prime,...

Labelexpo returns to 3-day show.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Tarsus Group PLC)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Tarsus Group, the producer of Labelexpo trade shows, has announced new dates for Labelexpo Americas 2008. The event now will begin on Tuesday, September 9, and conclude on Thursday, September 11. For the past two shows in Chicago, Labelexpo had...

Avery Dennison.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
April 1, 2008... AVERY DENNISON, Pasadena, CA, USA -- Avery Dennison has named Donald Nolan group vice president, roll materials. He will be based at the global roll materials headquarters in Mentor, OH, USA. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

CC1 Inc.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
April 1, 2008... CC1 INC., PORTSMOUTH, NH, USA -- Vladimir Kozulin has been hired as a field service engineer for the company. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Domino Printing Sciences.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
April 1, 2008... DOMINO PRINTING SCIENCES, Gurnee, IL, USA -- Carl Traynor has been appointed vice president of marketing for the company's North American operations. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

FILMtech.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
April 1, 2008... FILMTECH, Bean Station, TX, USA -- FILMtech, Inc., has hired Dave DeAngelis as the company's business development manager. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Xante.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
April 1, 2008... XANTE, Mobile, AL, USA -- Loretta Castello has been promoted to the position of director of sales and marketing for Europe, India, Middle East and Africa (MEA).

DSCOOP provides digital smarts to HP Indigo users.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
April 1, 2008... The 2008 DSCOOP Conference, a gathering of users of HP Indigo digital printing presses, took place from February 19-21 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina. Around 1,200 people attended, although the label and packaging side of the...

TLMI Converters in Cabo: best managed companies take the stage.(ASSOCIATION NEWS)
April 1, 2008... The Eugene M. Singer Awards for Best Managed Company were unveiled in March as members of the Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute gathered in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for their yearly Converter Meeting. The awards were presented at a banquet on...

Gravure label awards unveiled by PLGA.(ASSOCIATION NEWS)(Conference notes)
April 1, 2008... The annual awards of the Packaging & Label Gravure Association were revealed recently at the PLGA's annual conference, held in Miami, FL, USA. The best of show award went once again to Avery Dennison for its printing of Liberty Bell US postage...

PLGA award winners.(ASSOCIATION NEWS)(Packaging and Label Gravure Association)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Film/film lamination, process printing: Bemis Flexible Packaging (Milprint Division), Hershey's Bliss [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pouches: CLP Packaging Solutions, Royco Cheese Sauce [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In-mold label, paper:...

Return of the non-returnable bottle.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Once upon a time, Europeans threw their empty bottles in the trash can, and were happy. Then the Guardians of the Environment told them that was wasteful, so in came the returnable bottle, first a glass one then a nice lightweight PET number....

Some surprising dos and don'ts in wine labeling.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
April 1, 2008... The Council of Ministers of the European Union (EU) has lifted restrictions on what may be printed on wine labels. From now on labels for all EU-produced wines may be printed with the variety of grape, the vintage and the vineyard. Hitherto,...

No rush to Russian label show.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
April 1, 2008... With excitement mounting in the run-up to Labelexpo Americas, spare a thought for the Russian label show, last held in Moscow in the spring of 2006. From its beginnings in 1995, Etiketka-LabelShow grew rapidly, attracting over 100 exhibitors...

Bucking the trend.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)(UPM Corp. closes its facility)(HERMA GmbH und Company KG opens facility)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... While UPM, the Finnish papermaking giant, is closing some of its older European mills and shifting labelstock production to China, it is also continuing construction work on its new labelstock plant near Wroclaw in Poland. With Eastern European...

Talking Turkey.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)(Avery Dennison Corp. opens a distribution center)(Polinas ranked on top)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Long considered an economic backwater in the label business, Turkey is emerging as a major player with several world class converters, as well as BOPP film manufacturer Polinas, now in the top rank of European producers. The active Turkish...

Price hikes.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
April 1, 2008... Finnish paper manufacturer Ahlstrom surprised no one in the industry when it announced, at the end of February, a raft of price increases for products (which include label and packaging papers) produced at its two French paper mills. ...

Italian press manufacturers top the ratings.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
April 1, 2008... When Prime Minister Romano Prodi's government was brought down by a no confidence vote in January, Italy was thrown into yet another political crisis. But for the Italian economy it was business as usual, and in the narrow web machinery sector...

Mergers and acquisitions.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
April 1, 2008... After several years of frenetic activity, the acquisition business in Europe has slowed to a crawl as first banks and now industrialists realize that the storm clouds stirred up by the US sub-prime meltdown are not going to stop in the...

Davos here we come.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... If a healthy label sector can be predicted from studying the latest statistics for GDP growth and for the rise in industrial production, then Russia, the Netherlands and Poland are the European countries to concentrate on. But on that basis,...

Six keys.(MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS)
April 1, 2008... Thomas Boswell, the sports columnist for the Washington Post, has long been one of my favorite writers. His columns and books, which include the wonderfully titled Why Time Begins on Opening Day and How Life Imitates the World Series, utilize...

Crisis and commitment.(LETTERS FROM THE EARTH)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... There was a great editorial in one of the trade publications that I read that wondered if "concerns for the earth is a passing fad." It caused me to speculate about the pending transfer of the world champion polluter title. Part of my thought...

Wrap artist.(FIELD REPORT)
April 1, 2008... What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay there... especially if it's Xbrand Fluids energy drink with custom process color full-wrap sleeves. With a claim to fame as the "smallest minimum order" in the energy drink field--a single case of 24...

Questions & answers.(PRINTING LEAN)(Column)
April 1, 2008... Since the inception of this column in July 2007 I've been writing about Lean and printing from a theoretical or academic viewpoint. For this month's column I wanted to provide some "real life" examples, so I've pulled some questions that were...

The Control Group: a New Jersey converter has found a profitable niche in the manufacture of film pouches, and is capitalizing on its technical expertise to expand even further.(NARROW WEB PROFILE)
April 1, 2008... The people who work at The Control Group are looking forward to a big change. Right now the company occupies two buildings that it owns in Norwood, NJ, USA. One has 12,000 square feet of floor space; in the building next door The Control Group...

Color management: refinements to color management in the digital age have made many tools available to the narrow web converted to achieve perfection in proofs and on press.
April 1, 2008... At this point, "color management" is something that most print professionals are aware of, but they might not be using it or be certain of how to implement it. Of course, printers have been "managing" color for decades, one way or another as...

Proofing systems: with digital now dominant, label converters and their customers have a myriad of choices to help them create an acceptable proof, the result of the prepress process.
April 1, 2008... Owners and operators are often very excited to speak of their latest acquisition. Whether it's their new anilox roll, diecutting or inspection system, converters are often chomping at the bit to discuss how their new gadget increases efficiency...

Midweb flexo: it's a big investment that comes with challenges, but a midweb press can open doors to profitable markets.
April 1, 2008... The market is small, and it's not for everyone to jump into. Yet there are signs that midweb inline flexographic printing is establishing itself as a solid niche between the narrow and wide web industries. The change is coming at the insistence...

Release liners: facing the challenges of today and tomorrow; The release liner industry enjoys steady growth, but must address rising manufacturing costs and the growing global concern about packaging waste. These were among the issues addressed at a recent global conference.(Conference news)
April 1, 2008... The Global Release Liner Industry Conference, hosted annually by AWA Conferences & Events, took place this year in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in February. The event alternates annually between North America and Europe, and has become the...

Unwind/rewind upgrade.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Converter Accessory Corp.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... CONVERTER ACCESSORY CORPORATION Wind Gap PA USA Converter Accessory Corporation (CAC) has introduced a dual pedestal unwind upgrade offered as an inexpensive alternative to complete machine replacement. It is offered in single, dual...

Ink cleaners.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
April 1, 2008... ADVANCED INK & CHEMICAL Bensalem PA USA Advanced Ink & Chemical has introduced two ink cleaning products, Ink Sol UV 1000 for oil based and UV curable inks, and Ink Sol WB 1000 for water based inks. Both products are designed to...

RIP software.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
April 1, 2008... STORK PRINTS Kufstein Austria Stork Prints Austria has introduced Active 3D RIP, a new raster image processing (RIP) software tool that automatically generates ideal dot dimensions across the whole tonal range, for producing...

Labeling system.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Label-Aire Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... LABEL-AIRE Fullerton CA USA Label-Aire introduces the newest version of its line of labeling systems, the Inline Series 6000 Front/Back Zero Downtime Labeling System. The new system comes equipped with four 3115 Wipe-On applicators in...

Butt splicer.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(West Caldwell NJ USA)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... CTC INTERNATIONAL West Caldwell NJ USA CTC International introduces its Model S-900AB-ACV-EG Automatic Butt Splicer. The splicer is suitable for splicing a variety of materials including tag, label, board, film stocks, and other thick...

Hybrid press.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... ETI CONVERTING EQUIPMENT Boucherville Quebec Canada ETI's machine range will expand to offer an offset-flexo hybrid press. The company says that offset to flexo on the same station in less than two minutes will be possible on the...

Technology brochure.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Rotoflex Inc.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... ROTOFLEX Mississauga ON Canada Rotoflex has developed a broad portfolio of label converting and finishing machines based on its eDrive web transport (electronically synchronized motor drive system) technology. Featured is the eDrive...

Nip rolls.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... PFE ROLLS Orange MA USA Nip rolls from PFE are designed for a variety of converting applications including thermal bonding, compacting and squeezing webs, creating composite webs, web pulling or web braking, and web calendering. The...

Pressure sensitive films.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Flexcon Corp.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... FLEXCON Spencer MA USA FLEXcon's COMPUcal EXCEL series of pressure sensitive films is designed to fulfill labeling needs in a variety of durable goods industries. The films aim to provide solutions for a wide range of labeling...

Radiation systems.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
April 1, 2008... EVONIK GOLDSCHMIDT Hopewell VA USA Evonik Goldschmidt Corporation recently introduced two radiation technology systems for labeling applications for the Latin American market. These RC silicone systems are acrylate modified silicones,...

Braille adhesive.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Nordson Corp.)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... NORDSON Duluth GA USA The Nordson Braille system features a three-module e.dot gun, a specially developed electronic Braille code pattern controller and a Nordson adhesive melter. The all-electric e.dot gun applies adhesive Braille...

Screen print module.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)(Stork Prints)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... STORK PRINTS Kufstein Austria Stork Prints has introduced the RSI-2, an improved version of its RSI (Rotary Screen Integration) module, according to the company. The RSI-2 can be controlled through the main panel of the press. This...

Collaborative marketing solution.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
April 1, 2008... KODAK Rochester NY USA Kodak announced its intent to acquire Design2Launch (D2L), developer of an end to end digital workflow solution for marketing and creative teams in a variety of marketplaces. D2L is a series of integrated...

Synthetic substrates.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
April 1, 2008... TRANSILWRAP Franklin Park IL USA Transilwrap Company Inc. and Dunmore Corporation have joined resources to offer the DUN-DIGITAL Films line of synthetic materials designed for use with digital printing presses. According to the...

2008 industry events.(Calendar)
April 1, 2008... APRIL 2008 16 Harper Flexographic Solutions Seminar Springfield, MA, USA. Jazmin Kluttz: 704-588-3371 or 800-438-3111, ext. 285. www.harperimage.com 16-17 Seven Color Process Seminar Madren Conference Center, Clemson, SC,...

Color management blogs.(THE BLOGSMITH)
April 1, 2008... For every label printer, managing color is a critical part of the operation. If you can't reproduce color accurately and consistently then you will not stay in business very long. Color management is a very broad topic so I have tried to...