Label & Narrow Web articles from May 2007

Label & Narrow Web archives from May 2007

Lean and smiling.(EDITORIAL)
May 1, 2007... Over the past few years I visited several label converters who have committed themselves and their companies--and their customers in some cases--to the process known as continuous improvement. The methodology often goes by the name Lean...

Daetwyler system recovers solvents.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Max Daetwyler Corporation, of Huntersville, NC, USA, is introducing the newly designed RotoMAX solvent recovery system. The RotoMAX is available in six sizes, with an output from 10 to 300 gallons per hour, depending on the solvent type and...

Charter Films expands, adds blown film lines.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Charter Films Inc., of Superior, WI, USA, has completed a major plant expansion of its existing manufacturing and warehouse facilities. The company, which specializes in extruded blown film, has also added two new coex blown film lines. ...

GEW appoints agent for Thailand sales.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(GEW (EC) Ltd. in contract with Techno Global Graphics Co. Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... GEW (EC) Ltd., a manufacturer of UV curing systems headquartered in Redhill, England, has announced the appointment of Techno Global Graphics Co. Ltd. as its representative in Thailand. Techno Global Graphics is part of the Techno Global...

PeterLynn Labels adds another Mark Andy.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... PeterLynn Labels has installed a second 10" Mark Andy 2200 UV flexo line at its production plant in Corby, England to cope with growing demand for self-adhesive work. The family owned company acquired its first 2200 in 1998, says Managing...

Beau Label acquires a new Nilpeter press.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Beau Label Corporation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Beau Label Corporation, of New York City, has purchased a Nilpeter FB-3300-S servo-driven press in response to the increasing demand for high quality flexographic printing, says President V. J. Melapioni. The new press is expected to...

Esko strengthens its business during 2006.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Esko, a system integrator for packaging pre-production headquartered in Gent, Belgium, reports a strong performance throughout 2006, its first complete year under Axcel ownership. Audited consolidated revenues for the full year amounted to...

Sekuworks redesigns its brand identity.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... Sekuworks, a supplier of brand protection products based in Cincinnati, OH, USA, has unveiled a new corporate brand identity that emphasizes the company's continued dedication to providing full service solutions to address the ever-increasing...

Clemson plans seminars on digital flexo proofing.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... The Graphic Communications Department of Clemson University, located in Clemson, SC, USA, will conduct two day-and-a-half seminars in May on the subject of digital proofing for flexography. The seminars will take place May 22-23 and May 24-25,...

McGee and Nard form industry partnership.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Wally Nard and Denny McGee signs partnership)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Two FTA Hall of Fame personalities, Wally Nard and Denny McGee, are now partners in Novaflex and MPS America. Both are based in Carol Stream, IL, USA. Nard has more than 42 years in the industry and Denny has more than 30 years. Their...

Kodak donates prepress systems to Cal Poly.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), in San Luis Obispo, has upgraded its digital imaging lab with an equipment donation from Kodak that included a Trendsetter 800 III Quantum Platesetter and a Prinergy EVO Workflow System. ...

Play golf and support flexo scholarships.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... DiTrolio Flexographic Institute (DFI) is holding its 4th Annual Scholarship Drive Golf Outing on June 13. The outing raises funds to give future flexo press operators the opportunity to be trained and start a career in the flexographic...

New print consultancy specializes in 'Lean'.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... Southworth Consulting LLC, of Niantic, CT, USA, has recently launched and specializes in assisting printers and other graphic arts firms in the elimination of waste and inefficiency using the principles commonly known as Lean Manufacturing....

Conference addresses specialty papers.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... A conference on specialty papers is planned for May 15-16 in Finland, sponsored by AWA Conferences. The event is designed for all involved in the specialty papers market: pulp and paper producers, chemical and equipment suppliers, converters,...

UV Days 2007 planned in Germany by IST METZ.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... IST METZ is holding its third UV Days event June 18 to 22 at its headquarters in Nurtingen, Germany. The event will feature specialist technical presentations and the opportunity to exchange information with leading service providers. The event...

Tadbik Pak adds new Drent-Goebel press.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Tadbik Pak, of Teradion, Israel, is known for its shrink sleeves, in-mold labels and blow-mold labels. To meet growing demand, the company has installed a second Drent-Goebel offset-gravure combination press. The new press prints on a 680mm...

Adchem begins 24-hour shipment turnarounds.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Adchem Corporation, a manufacturer of pressure sensitive adhesive tape systems, has introduced its 24-Hour Turnaround Program for its most popular products. According to company officials, Adchem's full width log rolls of tape will be...

UPM to invest [euro]90 million in Polish PS materials plant.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... UPM, a manufacturer of pressure sensitive materials based in Helsinki, Finland, will build a [euro]90 million factory in Poland to produce self-adhesive labelstock. Construction is expected to start in the third quarter of this year, and...

CMM to feature narrow and midweb tech center.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... CMM, the USA's biennial converting trade show, will feature a converting technology center dedicated to narrow and midweb products. The organizer has announced that bielomatik, J & H Printing Solutions, Propheteer, BST Pro Mark, Martin...

FINAT leadership spearheads major membership drive.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... FINAT, the European label association, is eager to boost its global membership by at least 100 in the two years up to its 50th anniversary. To that end the association has made a "splendid" start, says GIDUE's Federico d'Annunzio, chairman of...

Phoenix Challenge launches Katherine Harper Teachers fund.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... The Katherine Harper Teachers Education Fund, named in honor of the former Harper Corporation of America president and long-time champion of flexo education, has been established within the Phoenix Challenge Foundation. The purpose of the...

GIDUE presses going global.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
May 1, 2007... The Italian press company GIDUE has sold its sixth press in India, and its third since the beginning of 2007, says Managing Director Federico d'Annunzio. The company also has announced machinery sales in Australia, Spain and Poland ...

Smyth Companies celebrates 130 years.(INDUSTRY NEWS)(Company overview)
May 1, 2007... Smyth Companies Inc., based in Minnesota, USA, marks 130 years in the printing business in 2007. The company was founded in St. Paul, MN, in 1877 by Henry Martin (H.M.) Smyth as a commercial printer of bond certificates, books, surveying maps,...

3 Sigma Corporation.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)(Dora Francis appointed at 3 Sigma Corporation.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... 3 SIGMA CORPORATION, Troy, OH, USA -- Dora Francis is moving to the position of marketing coordinator for the company. She has been in the customer service organization for seven years and has functioned as customer service manager for the past...

Arjobex America.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
May 1, 2007... ARJOBEX AMERICA, Charlotte, NC, USA -- David Manny has been appointed to the position of Eastern regional sales manager. He has served the graphics industry most recently in the role of sales representative for Vacumet Corporation.

Cham Paper Group.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)(Olmar Albers and Nicolas Frochaux appointed)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... CHAM PAPER GROUP, Cham, Switzerland -- Two people have been named as new members of the Group Executive Board. Olmar Albers is responsible for marketing and sales. Recently, he acted as consultant to restructure the group's sales organization....

Harper Corporation of America.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
May 1, 2007... HARPER CORPORATION OF AMERICA, Charlotte, NC, USA -- The company has promoted David Stamey, lead plasma operator, to the position of second-shift supervisor. He will be responsible for management and scheduling, as well as the workflow and...

IQ Colour Inc.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)(John P. Sweeney appointed at IQ Colour Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... IQ COLOUR INC., Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA -- Graphic communications industry veteran John P. Sweeney has been appointed to the position of vice president of business development. He will direct the company's launch of the IQ Colour system. He...

Mark Andy.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)(Jeff Feltz appointed at Mark Andy Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... MARK ANDY, St. Louis, MO, USA -- Jeff Feltz has been promoted to director of product management. He has been with Mark Andy for more than eight years and will be responsible for managing the Mark Andy, Comco and UVTechnology product lines. Mary...

Package Service Company.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
May 1, 2007... PACKAGE SERVICE COMPANY, Kansas City, MO, USA -- Russell G. Jones Jr., chief executive officer and vice chairman, has retired. He joined the company in 1988 and held a variety of executive positions throughout his tenure.

Wausau Coated Products.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
May 1, 2007... WAUSAU COATED PRODUCTS, Wausau, WI, USA -- Mike Mead has joined the company as marketing manager. He will be responsible for identification of potential business through end-use market research, evaluation and development of distribution...

XericWeb Drying Systems.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)
May 1, 2007... XERICWEB DRYING SYSTEMS, Neenah, WI, USA -- Scott Hamilton has been promoted to sales engineer. His primary focus is selling the company's narrow web drying and curing equipment in the North American flexographic printing market. He joined...

XSYS Print Solutions.(INDUSTRY PEOPLE)(Ewald Draaijer appointed )(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... XSYS PRINT SOLUTIONS, Trelleborg, Sweden -- After eight years as president and general manager of the company, Ewald Draaijer has decided to leave the company to pursue other activities. He will be succeeded as XSYS president by Russell Joyce,...

Inkjet/film development opens up printed memories.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
May 1, 2007... One of the more intriguing developments involving industrial inkjet printheads is to team them with a thin-film substrate as a memory based image carrier. The project is taking shape following a technology partnership between Xaar plc, the...

European sales boost HP Indigo performance.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
May 1, 2007... After more than a dozen years of solid technical development and intense marketing activity, digital color printing of labels is taken more seriously. A few concerns about the true cost of ownership and consumable costs remain, but HP Indigo...

Omet and Asahi cooperate for standardized flexo.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
May 1, 2007... Omet, an Italian flexo press manufacturer, and Asahi Photoproducts, a supplier of photopolymer plates, have produced a series of controlled tests to "define all parameters that influence flexo printing". At its Graphic Arts Center in Brussels,...

Solid base for Nilpeter's FA-4 UV flexo press.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
May 1, 2007... According to Jakob Landberg, Nilpeter's sales and marketing director, the 13" wide FA-3300 UV flexo press has proved to be one of the company's best sellers in recent years. However, he has high hopes for the FA-4 modular UV flexo press in...

Laser engraving for US converters.(NARROW WEB EUROPE)
May 1, 2007... Stork Prints, headquartered in Boxmeer in the Netherlands, has appointed Anderson & Vreeland of Bryan, OH, USA, as its US distributor. The main focus will be on direct laser engraving technology, especially the Helios 6010 for digitally...

Atmospheric pressures or, culture does matter.(MINDING MY OWN BUSINESS)
May 1, 2007... In 1993, I was living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan when Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park was released. That Saturday night, some friends and I made sure to see the movie at a theater that was specially equipped with an oversized screen...

Waste or by-product?(LETTERS FROM THE EARTH)
May 1, 2007... During a recent AWA conference on release liners, Corey Reardon, principal of AWA, summarized the key factors affecting global demand for liners. His final slide was titled, "Threats". There were three: linerless labels, waste and alternative...

Process control for narrow web flexo.(ART DIRECTION)
May 1, 2007... We have discussed the concept of process control in several previous articles. Most of the focus from our perspective has been on the prepress end of the business. We need to review the downstream operations beyond prepress to understand the...

Cleaning up, naturally.(FIELD REPORT)
May 1, 2007... In this era of glitzy, flashy, eye-popping packaging, the lineup of Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products has kept its uncomplicated natural look, which now distinguishes it on the shelf. Made with naturally derived, eco-friendly ingredients, the...

Labelgraphics: Scottish entrepreneur Alex Mulvenny has built one of the most enviable label converting operations in the UK over the last 24 years. He plans to hand the baton to his sons this year, but will still have a role in helping make major strategic decisions.(NARROW WEB PROFILE)
May 1, 2007... There's an old Scottish proverb that says, "Fools look to tomorrow. Wise men use tonight." Alex Mulvenny, chairman of Labelgraphics Ltd. of Glasgow in Scotland has certainly taken heed of this advice throughout his career. After founding the...

Label inspection: the tools that help improve color, shape, type and overall precision come in many variations, and the technology continually improves.
May 1, 2007... Converters are expected to produce labels that match their customers' proofs and are free from errors. Inspection equipment helps them achieve that by alerting operators to printing defects and inconsistencies. Inspection during the printing...

Release liners: these vital components of the pressure sensitive laminate are steadily evolving in a marketplace that is changing through competition.
May 1, 2007... Without a good release liner, a pressure sensitive label cannot be diecut or dispensed. It's that simple. Though diecutting and dispensing are separate operations performed at different locations by different companies, they both are fully...

Pharmaceutical labeling: tough regulations, high standards and utmost quality set drug labels--and their converters--apart from the rest.
May 1, 2007... Labeling pharmaceutical products poses challenges to converters unlike those encountered in other industries because of the regulations in place to ensure their accuracy. In addition to making sure the labels are correct, converters might be...

Continuous improvement: Lean Manufacturing and other continuous improvement methods have been in place at many converting plants for up to a few years. Here's a progress report.
May 1, 2007... Lean Manufacturing was first implemented in the previous century, so the story goes, by Toyota. Taiichi Ohno was a Toyota executive who abhorred waste, and developed a program called the Toyota Production System, now world famous and the model...

May/June 2007 literature showcase.
May 1, 2007... The following pages offer new brochures and product information from companies advertising in this section. To receive a particular brochure or more information on a product, please contact the company direct. Cutting Tools World Wide ...

Direct laser engraving system.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... STORK PRINTS, ANDERSON & VREELAND Boxmeer The Netherlands, Bryan OH USA Stork Prints has appointed Anderson & Vreeland its distributor in the USA. Stork offers a range of direct laser engraving systems, including the Helios 6010, a...

Rotary punching.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... SCHOBER USA Cincinnati OH USA Schober USA presents rotary die technologies specifically geared to cut the thinner fibers used in today's nonwoven products. The company says proven rotary tools provide high precision, long service...

Specialty film.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... TECHNICOTE Miamisburg OH USA Technicote introduces 2 mil Clear Laser Printable Polyester to its Specialty Films product line. Designed to function in continuous feed cold fusion laser systems, 2 mil Clear LP Polyester is compatible...

Software.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... ESKO Gent Belgium Esko has launched the Esko Software Suite 7, a complete update of its design and pre-production software tools offering significant improvements in features, productivity and compatibility with third party software....

Solvent recovery.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... MAX DAETWYLER CORPORATION Huntersville NC USA Max Daetwyler introduces the newly designed RotoMAX solvent recovery system. The RotoMAX is available in six sizes, with an output from 10 gal/h to 300 gal/h depending on the solvent type...

Release liner.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... STORA ENSO Stevens Point WI USA Stora Enso Speciality Papers launches a new grade of LumiSil LO as a direct competitive replacement for glassine release liner paper. This new LumiSil LO grade, offered at a 58 gsm basis weight and a 53...

Ink cleaner.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... HARPERSCIENTIFIC Charlotte NC USA HarperScientific now offers its Multi-Purpose Master Mix ink cleaner in boxes of convenient packets. Multi-Purpose Master Mix is a non-hazardous cleaner for water based inks. When mixed with water, the...

Thermal printers.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... CITIZEN SYSTEMS AMERICA Torrance CA USA CSA announces the newest model in its series of thermal printers, the CLP-631. The two-color printer incorporates CSA's Hi-Lift mechanism that allows easy access for loading of media and/or...

Tension control.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... MEROBEL Wanamassa NJ USA Merobel has launched a new line of EMP brakes and a new digital tension controller, the DGT 300. The new EMP brakes and clutches range is environmentally friendly. The company says it is dustless by design...

Servo driven press.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... F.L. SMITHE Duncansville PA USA F.L. Smithe introduces the new ESP (Enhanced Servo Press), the first totally servo driven printing press designed specifically for the envelope industry. The company says the ESP is an advanced...

Polyester film.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... TECHNICOTE Miamisburg OH USA Technicote introduces Chainlink instant redeemable coupon polyester film base label product. Chainlink features a specialty dry release adhesive chemically bonded between two polyester films. The adhesive...

UV curing system.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... MAXWELL Milan Italy The company says the Maxwell UV curing unit, used in conjunction with the Teleset wireless remote controlled monitoring and management system, provides economical and dependable performance critical in premium...

Inert gas atmosphere curing.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... GEW Surrey UK GEW has incorporated nitrogen into its N2 UV lamp head system for inert gas atmosphere curing of inks and coatings, and coupled the technology with its new e-Brick electronic power supply. GEW says users of the system...

Plate production.(NARROW WEB PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2007... DEGRAF Lacchiarella Italy Degraf offers the Concept 305 EDLF, a multi-process unit for exposing, drying and finishing flexographic plates. Concept 305 EDLF can process plates of a size up to 36" x 48" (92cm x 120cm). The automatic...

2007-2008 industry events.(Calendar)
May 1, 2007... MAY 2007 14-18 Pressure Sensitive Tape Council Week of Learning Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Orlando, FL, USA. Sponsored by the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council. E-mail: contactus@pstc.org. www.weekoflearning.pstc.org 15-16...

My three favorite blogs.(THE BLOGSMITH)
May 1, 2007... I subscribe to dozens of blogs. But when I get busy I spend less time reading these blogs than I would like. However, there are three blogs I make an effort to read no matter how busy I am. These blogs provide such a wealth of practical...