Labelling Blog

Windmill Tapes & Labels, a manufacturer of printed and plain labels and tapes, has chosen Sun Chemical as its ink supplier of choice, after the latest technology in UV flexo narrow-web inks, SolarFlex® Nova, was introduced to them. Designed to work with all the latest presses, Sun Chemical’s SolarFlex Nova offers unrivalled levels of strength, cure and transference, and will allow Windmill Tapes & Labels to increase efficiency and productivity. Additionally, Sun Chemical and ValeTech have worked together to develop a pantone predictive database which allows ink formulations to correlate with anilox volumes, in conjunction with Windmills’ “Cube” ink management system. Tony Palmer, Sales Director for Sun Chemical UK & Ireland said, “Sun Chemical is delighted to be working with Windmill Tapes & Labels. We are committed to helping them continue to grow their businesses in the label sector with tailored solutions to its business needs. We look forward to working with them cl...

Leading Australian label manufacturer insignia has extended its partnership with Domino Printing Sciences to distribute Domino’s printing technologies throughout Australia. Domino is a world-leader in ink jet and laser technologies offering total coding and printing solutions. Their products print variable data such as 'best before' dates, bar codes and traceability codes onto products in a range of industries ranging from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals. With 40 years experience in the labelling industry, insignia manufactures a range of prime product labels, blank labels, barcode labels and laser labels. The company also offers systems hardware, software and service to support their clients’ labelling, coding and marking needs. insignia’s National Sales and Marketing Manager Andy Hecke recently announced that after a successful two-year distribution partnership in Queensland and New South Wales, insignia andDomino have expanded their distribution relationship Australia...

Nuova Castagnoli S.r.l., a producer of printing and converting machines for the label and packaging industry, announces that the name will be changed to NUOVA GIDUE S.r.l. due to the recent agreements to take the former activities of GIDUE S.p.A. The change will be completed within 3 months, following the usual legal procedures. Nuova Castagnoli S.r.l. officially thank the Castagnoli family for the allowance of their family name for the over 30 years of activity in the Web Offset industry and over 1.000 Offset print heads delivered in the market. NUOVA GIDUE S.r.l. will be manufacturing Flexographic, Offset and Digital presses for the label and packaging markets. SOURCE

Printing company Verstraete has been nominated for the “Leeuw van de export 2009” [Lion of Export 2009]. This prestigious award is bestowed annually by Flanders Investment and Trade, an active agency within the Flemish government which promotes support for international business. The award recognises companies that have enjoyed significant sustainable growth in exports of their products and/or services in past years. To this end the following criteria are evaluated: * Growth and proportion of turnover exported * Export policy and marketing tools employed * Future prospects in terms of exports * Financial performance * Geographic diversification * Innovative approach * Growth in employment Printing company Verstraete has already been conducting a sustainable and profitable export policy for many years. Through our business strategy, together with our 310 motivated employees, we endeavour to respond in an innovative and ethically sound manner to the requisite ...

The Pago Group, a leading international manufacturer of self-adhesive labels and labelling systems in Europe, is to acquire a minority shareholding interest in Salee Printing Co. Ltd, a prominent producer of self-adhesive labels based in Thailand. Cooperation already began in the spring and is now to be further strengthened and placed on a long-term foundation by a financial participation acquired by the Pago Group. The Thai label manufacturer will in future be present on the market under the new name of Pago Salee Printing Co. Ltd. The two partners have set themselves the goal of delivering high quality decorative labels jointly to multinational companies and of providing the logistic concepts required for that purpose on a transcontinental basis. The two companies announced today the conclusion of a binding contract on the basis of which the Pago Group will take a 30% participation in the equity capital of Salee Printing. Salee Printing is a subsidiary company of the Salee Industry ...

Marco Aengenvoort, Managing Director, today announced the signed supplier contract with CCL Industries Inc. to purchase ROTOCONTROL finishing machines. The first machine will be shipping to CCL’s Chilly Mazarin plant in France. ROTOCONTROL designs and manufactures leading edge inspection, slitting, rewinding and die cutting finishing machines for the narrow web industry. ROTOCONTROL machines provide convenient and simple operator interface through graphical input and display, with excellent access to all web viewing and handling areas. “CCL is a global leader in the label and packaging industries and we are extremely excited about the chance to play an important role in their success through our advanced finishing technology” states Marco Aengenvoort. Werner Ehrmann, Vice President Technology Development at CCL LABEL commented, “CCL has maintained a leadership position in the industry by continually innovating and exceeding our customer’s expectations. We needed a technology partn...

The demand for beverages in PET bottles is on the increase worldwide. Predictions for the future also reckon with further growth. Cutting down on costs in the manufacture of PET bottles and in the field of filling and packing technology as a whole is also a topic of increased discussion. With this in mind, KHS has now developed InnoPET BloFill, a monoblocked stretch blow molder/filler/capper system that has a whole host of advantages. Using an InnoPET BloFill setup as opposed to traditional PET bottle manufacturing and processing equipment incurs lower costs for investment and production. There are also the added benefits of increased line efficiency, minimized space requirements, and lower operator involvement. Another innovation that speaks for the InnoPET BloFill system is the ability to only half load the stretch blow molder even within the monoblock concept. This enables even more flexible coordination of the various components in the monoblock. Another important plus point is tha...

Europe is leading the market in terms of sustainable development thanks to the abundance of European legislation aiming to protect the environment. The European Treaty of Lisbon goes even further than previous Treaty regarding environment. The new Treaty lays down that the European Union should aim to the “improvement of the quality of the environment” and not only protect it. New technologies are the one way to achieve the above mentioned objective. Nonetheless, after our analysis, some technologies bring more drawbacks than advantages for certain uses. This is the case of the OXO degradable additives used in plastics for several reasons. Firstly, plastics are like an energy bank. Once the energy is stored by a polymerisation one can transform this energy into stable products. Depending on the product cycle the waste produced can be mechanically recycled or energy recovered to recuperate the enclosed energy. Therefore, in both cases the plastic has an energy value. On the opposite the...

Last year the Swiss moulding machine manufacturer Netstal-Maschinen AG launched several new developments on its systems for the production of PET preforms. Proof of the sustainability of these innovations had to be submitted on completion of the successful introduction. The results are now evident: outstandingly good values and processes! Energy saving – energy reductions of up to 30% are achieved Efforts to save energy are a mega trend also and especially in the plastics industry. Netstal identified potentials in this respect in its PET-LINE and worked on them relentlessly. Design changes concerned especially the areas of the screw drive, screw geometry, the mould closing unit and product handling equipment. Numerous measurements revealed that the novelties permit to save up to 30 percent energy at the components in question. Beyond this, Netstal focused on the entire periphery and obtained the support of the respective manufacturers. Particular attention was paid to the material drie...

Husky Injection Molding Systems today announced that at NPE 2009 (Chicago, June 22 – 26) it will be demonstrating technologies and services that will help customers succeed in the current economy. These initiatives will be presented at Husky’s booth (16,000 sq ft) at NPE, to be located in South Hall at S36009. “Husky is committed to helping both new and existing customers compete in today’s market by lowering their part costs, improving quality and maximizing operational efficiency,” said John Galt, Husky’s President and CEO. “We are looking forward to NPE, which will give us the opportunity to demonstrate our latest technologies and communicate how we can help customers grow and prosper over the long-term.” Husky ended 2008 in a strong financial position. Last year marked the company’s third consecutive year of record performance, with revenues of US$1.2 billion. The company continues to invest in research and development that will enhance customer service and introduce new products. ...

Avery Dennison Corporation has developed a new adhesive for durable goods labeling that offers performance comparable to that of solvent acrylics but is based on lower-cost emulsion acrylic technology. New Fasson S8001 is available globally with a number of UL-approved facestocks that give durable goods manufacturers worldwide consistency in quality and performance along with all the benefits of regional manufacturing and support. Technology Creates an Economical Alternative In an industry traditionally dominated by solvent adhesive technology, Fasson S8001 is a timely economical alternative. Throughout the durable goods supply chain, pricing pressure is higher than ever before – and labels are no exception. Technology and engineering experts at Avery Dennison leveraged more than 70 years of knowledge and experience in high speed emulsion coating to provide solvent-like performance at an emulsion price with Fasson S8001. Reduce Inventory Complexity….Save Time, Save Money Fasson S8001 i...

In September 2009, Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, will be delivering its thousandth Variopac packer. Flexible, product-specific, customised packing, grouping containers in a wide choice of sales packs, responsively geared to the market’s requirements and wherever possible with just one single machine: these stipulations from many bottlers and canners governed the design concept for the first fully automatic, continuously operating Variopac packer from Krones. And that still applies today. It was in June 1999, ten years ago, that the Variopac embarked upon its triumphal progress, when the first machine was commissioned at the mineral water bottlers VMH Rosbach. In just eighteen months, by February 2001, 100 of these machines had been supplied to clients in the beverage, food and non-food industries all over the world, for packing cans, glass or plastic containers. Following purposeful design enhancement, the Variopac shrink-wrapper for non-returnables was soon available for the high ...

RPC Containers Oakham has used state-of-the-art digital printing to ensure that the packaging of a new collection of fashion paints delivers an accurate depiction of the range’s unusual shades. Dekoral Fashion is the premium sub-brand of Poland’s leading paint brand, Dekoral, and is dedicated to providing fashionable consumers with the latest trends for their interiors. Its new collection is Italian Impressions – a range of paints for creating decorative effects in gold, silver and antique gold. The colour range has been created in partnership with renowned Polish fashion designer Eva Minge. She previewed a new collection of clothing using the same colours at the Dekoral Fashion Show in Warsaw in November 2008. PPG turned to the expertise of regular supplier RPC Oakham to devise a means of replicating the Italian Impressions colours on the packaging. RPC’s solution is to use self adhesive labels with a combination of digital print on silver foil, which ensures a shiny, metallic appeara...

PRIMEX, the WITTMANN BATTENFELD agent for Serbia, launched the production of 3 in-mold labeling (IML) side entry robots for ATM d.o.o. The collaboration between ATM d.o.o. and PRIMEX began 4 years ago with the purchase of a BATTENFELD TMS 2100/1330 injection molding machine for packaging products. The story of ATM d.o.o. began in 1994 when Dragan Djordjevic, a video rental shop owner, felt there was an opportunity in the market for VHS boxes. At first an old injection molding machine was used to produce these boxes in Dragan’s garage. Working together with his brother Zoran the business grew in the first year and success came very soon after with a big order for the German market. “This order really launched our company and convinced us to explore new business”, says Dragan. The company went through the Yugoslavian war without any interruption in production. “During this period our strategy was to be very innovative with customers’ requests in order to provide global service and produc...

Industramark™ , a Standard Register (NYSE:SR) business unit, today introduced its latest innovative product offering to industrial manufacturers: In-Mold Labeling and Decorating. Made possible through a strategic partnership with Dayton, Ohio-based Fusion Graphics, in-mold labeling and decorating allows manufacturers to enhance the appearance of their products by expanding available decoration space, including curved, contoured and textured surfaces. In-mold labels bond with molded parts and are permanent and non-removable, providing manufacturers with safety labeling that lasts the life of the product. Using existing molds and tooling, in-mold labels work with all thermoplastics and rubber. The in-mold process is eco-friendly and cost-effective, minimizing the waste typically associated with pressure-sensitive labels. In-mold labels also are completely recyclable. “In-mold labeling and decorating provides a secure and cost-effective method of fusing safety messages and decorative ele...

Marco Aengenvoort, Managing Director, today announced the confirmed order from Reynders for the ROTOCONTROL RSI 430 series inspection Machine. The ROTOCONTROL RSI 430 series of inspection machines are designed for fast, accurate, robust inspection, slitting and rewinding of all types of labels. The fully modular machines offer a rich suite of standard features as well as numerous options allowing tailored solutions for even the most demanding application. “Reynders is one of the most respected label printers in the industry and I am extremely pleased that they have chosen the ROTOCONTROL RSI machine to advance their finishing capability.” states Marco Aengenvoort. “This order, coupled with our current order backlog of over 12 machines shows that the label industry is still aggressively pursuing the best technology available as a way of increasing efficiency and maintaining profit margins in these difficult times”. Marc Reynders, Managing Director of Reynders Etiketten nv commented, “T...

Now, for the first time ever, Enercon is offering sheetfed printing operations an integrated sheet feeding, treating and stacking solution. The PolySheet Treater™ is an automated pretreatment solution that provides sheetfed printers with in-house ability to treat and print on a wide variety of non-porous polymer based materials and synthetic papers. This new pretreatment solution is ideal for any sheet printing process including lithography, UV, EB and Screen Printing. Materials treated with Enercon's PolySheet Treater™ are ready for successful printing on all leading brands of sheetfed presses including Heidelberg, Komori, and Man Roland. Common materials that require treatment include Polystyrene (PS), Polyvinylchloride (PVC), Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), Polycarbonate (PC), and Polyester (PL). Enercon's treatment technology is effective at treating leading synthetic materials including Teslin®, Kimdura®, Polyart® and Yupo®. Increased Productivity. Reduced Waste. Ne...

Rochester-based Label World announced the installation of a 12-station 10” Ko-Pack Combination Press with UV inks for advanced high-quality printing and converting of labels and flexible packaging. The Ko-Pack press, supplied by KPG Corporation in Williston, VT, is highly unique in offering not just a large number of print stations (in this case 12 print stations plus a 13th station for applying UV varnish), but also includes a number of finishing capabilities inline: • Up to 12-color printing with solid pigment UV inks for super-saturated color • Screen-printing for extra opacity or texture • Plow-folding, pattern adhesive coating, and laminating for converting multiple webs—creating nearly any label or flexible packaging construction required. Ko-Pack’s unique design consists of six print stations positioned around a central impression drum, plus six additional print stations in a vertical stack of 3 and 3. This design minimizes the floor print of the press, therefore utili...

The company is using the 2010 Winter Olympics to trumpet its “environmental call to action” and herald a new image for the 123-year-old firm. Market research in Canada told the company it had a lot of work to do to sell its green image – especially to consumers in the 13- to-29 age group, the company's most important market. The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games was the perfect platform, decided the company, which has been an Olympic sponsor since 1928. One major push will likely be for what Coca-Cola calls the PlantBottle, its new eco-friendlier container, made in part from sugar cane and molasses. Along with trying to find a better bottle for its beverage products, Coca-Cola is trying to use water more efficiently, in response to criticisms in places such as India that the company wastes water and sucks aquifers dry. “We had to work on the image of Coca-Cola in Canada,” said Nicola Kettlitz, the company's general manager for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. “The Olympics are a powerful...

Amcor PET Packaging has created an industry first with the introduction of a new and unique 2.5 ounce hot fill PET container. Natural energy drink industry leader Steaz successfully launched the Steaz Energy Shot earlier this year and the response nationwide has been nothing short of sensational. Amcor ingenuity and engineering was required to create this one-of-its-kind mini bottle that is available in 12 count cases. Steaz Energy Shot is a convenient and healthy way to build stamina and sustained energy with 150 mg of plant-based caffeine. The all-natural ingredients include organic, Fair Trade Certified™ green tea, Sambazon’s acai juice, Guayaki’s yerba mate, organic berry flavor and organic guarana from the rainforest. The bottle is produced at Amcor’s state-of-the-art facility in Nicholasville, Kentucky. Amcor has long been the leader in hot fill engineering and the foundation for development of this project was based on proprietary technology that Amcor has developed over the yea...

With its new NitroHotfill process, Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, is offering a financially interesting alternative to conventional hotfill processes. NitroHotfill rounds off the choice of systems available, so that Krones can now provide the best solution for each and every filling application involving sensitive beverages. Krones’ in-house expertise in bottle design and stretch blow-moulding technology has now enabled a concept familiar from other applications to be used for a PET hotfill process as well. Process control is based on the newly developed “Relax-Cooling” (RC) concept, where the installation of a nitrogen injection dosing feature just before the capper creates a positive pressure of 1.5 to 2 bar inside the bottle. The positive bottle pressure compensates for the shrinkage in product volume downstream of the recooler, thus preventing any bottle deformation due to underpressure. This means the panel design hitherto required to compensate for the vacuum pressure with hot...

A West Coast contract brewer specializing in continental European ales required a labeling system to accurately wrap apply three decorative labels (two stacked front labels and one back label) to its tall pint glass bottles. Prior to this, each label was hand applied. The new labeling system had to work seamlessly with the customer's printed roll stock of alternating (front/back) labels. Furthermore, high labeling speeds, label placement accuracy/orientation, and stainless steel construction for a wet production environment were all important requirements. The Solution Label-Aire's solution was to configure its stainless steel/cabinet-based Inline Series 5100 labeling system with a vacuumized wrap transport belt using a single Label-Aire 3015-ND applicator. As the product sensor detects a bottle on the conveyor, properly-spaced front and back labels are dispensed onto the vacuum wrap belt and applied to the spinning bottles accurately to within +/- 1/32" (.8 mm) maintainin...

With a booth of more than 4,000 m2 (approximately 43,000 square feet) at drinktec 2009, the Sidel Group will present state-of-the-art technologies and services, innovative solutions designed to meet customers’ current requirements in terms of cost and productivity and a responsible approach to the environment. The historic economic downturn has dramatically changed the beverage industry and is bringing new concerns to the surface: How can you get the best out of your equipment? How can you optimize your existing packaging lines? How can you give new life to your products? At drinktec, Sidel will demonstrate both its responsiveness and its foresight, and will show itself to be a true partner in responding to these new expectations. From problem diagnosis to the recommendation and implementation of improvement solutions, the services on display at the stand are aimed at reducing costs and consumption, while increasing yield and performance, for complete lines, individual equipment or pac...

Sun Chemical has acquired certain assets and liabilities of Handschy inks, coatings and varnishes business, from its parent company, Graphic Packaging International, Inc. Handschy’s customer lists, formulations and trademarks will be included in the acquisition. With this acquisition, Sun Chemical will have the opportunity to meet the inks, coatings and other printing needs of Handschy’s customers. To demonstrate its commitment to a seamless transition and facilitation to Sun Chemical, a dedicated transition team has been created with Jim Putney, transition program manager, named to head that team. It is Sun Chemical’s intention to transition all products and customers into existing Sun Chemical facilities over the next 3-4 months. During that time, customers may continue to purchase their traditional Handschy products through their customary channels. “Our customer relationships are our most treasured asset,” said Brian Leen, president of North American Inks, Sun Chemical. “We will wo...

UPM Raflatac is celebrating the opening of a new labelstock factory in Kobierzyce, close to Wroclaw in south-western Poland. The new world-class manufacturing facility serves the European labelling industry with a wide range of high-quality film and paper labelstock featuring water-based acrylic and hotmelt adhesives "This new production and logistics centre has an excellent location in the heart of Europe. It supports UPM Raflatac’s strategy and assists the future growth of labelstock customers in Europe. UPM Raflatac aims to be the leading supplier of label materials in Europe, where Eastern Europe is a key growth area," says Jussi Vanhanen, President of UPM Raflatac. The construction work of the Polish factory started in the autumn of 2007 and production started as planned at the end of 2008. The EUR 90 million facility is the final part of UPM’s strategic development programme for the global expansion of its self-adhesive label materials business. In addition to Poland, g...

RPC Containers Raunds has produced a custom moulded bottle for a new range of plant foods from Bayer CropScience. VitaGro is Bayer’s premium brand liquid fertiliser, sold through garden centres, Do It Yourself stores, and larger supermarkets in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Although widely available in larger sizes, research indicated a shift towards smaller packs and Bayer has introduced three concentrated varieties – VitaGro Plantfood concentrate, VitaGro Citrusfood and VitaGro Orchidfood – capable of meeting this demand. “The garden season does not wait for anybody, so we needed a reliable packaging supplier who could deliver an appropriate solution within a tight timeframe,” explains Tomas Kvillstrom, Nordic Brand Manager for Bayer CropScience. “We have a good working relationship with RPC Raunds and knew that their expertise in garden care packaging would prove invaluable.” RPC Raunds’ container has been designed to complement Bayer’s existing NewGen bottle for herbicide concentrate...

AkzoNobel Salt Hengelo and RPC Kerkrade have redesigned AkzoNobel’s best-selling JOZO table salt shaker for improved brand presence and performance. The existing design has been in use for almost thirty years. AkzoNobel wanted to refresh the JOZO brand with a modern design. RPC Kerkrade – manufacturer of the original pack – was briefed to assist in the creation of a quality upgrade without an excessive rise in cost per unit. RPC has played an active role in the project from the early stages of development, ensuring that the ideas of the design office led to a producible container. Amongst the requirements was that the existing caps be retained and integrated into the new design, requiring tight specification of the neck area. In contrast to the straight-sided design of the original container, the new shaker features stylish curved walls that stand out on shelf, enhanced by colourful shrink sleeves. The shape also provides significant practical advantages, as it increases pack rigidity ...

Commission says simpler system of labelling is needed to help EU producers compete on quality. The European Commission has launched a plan aimed at helping farmers sell their food and drinks using labels that identify where a product was farmed. In a policy paper published today, the Commission also raised the prospect that some produce could bear the label ‘traditional product' or ‘product of mountain farming'. Mariann Fischer Boel, the European commissioner for agriculture, said “we have to realise that in Europe that we cannot compete on bulk production...We need to compete on quality.” “Our job is to ensure that information about standards get through to consumers and buyers,” she continued. Fischer Boel said that there is “a huge demand for simplification” of the current labelling system on the part of farmers and for labels to be more informative for consumers. The work could lead to the abolition of the ‘traditional specialities guaranteed' (TSG) label, which was cre...

A new alliance between Kodak and Xeikon enables label printers to extend their web-based businesses with branded online ordering of tags, labels, and other print products. It also simplifies and streamlines production, from order origination on the web, via KODAK Web to Print Solutions, to final output on the XEIKON 3300 Digital Color Label Press. The agreement is effective in the United States and Canada “The adoption of digital printing within the packaging market is growing, and Kodak is excited to work with Xeikon to bring web-to-print solutions to the tag and label market. Kodak’s e-commerce solutions—as well as our web-based tools for content creation, collaboration and approval—connect seamlessly into the production workflow and through to the digital label press,” said Steve Miller, Product Manager, Packaging Workflow, Kodak. “Integrating Kodak’s web-based systems with the XEIKON Press will give label printers the ability to provide new services to existing customers while also...