Labelling Blog

CPC Haferkamp in Norden, Germany, installs ten colour full rotary offset combination machine from the product line MO-4 of Nilpeter. The coast area around the East Frisian city Norden in Germany is primarily characterized by landscape and tourism. The fact that the print shop CPC Haferkamp is producing for multinational branded article companies exactly here, in this rather contemplative surrounding of the most north western city on the German mainland, may be surprising for people outside this industry. For insiders the company development due to the membership of the French CPC Group is just as logical as the installation of a modern ten colour roll printing machine end of September 2009. This article highlights the motivations for the investment decision and tells about the first practical experience. In the world of the multinational branded article companies issues like promptitude, product variety and safety play an important roll, in order to get into the act in the front ro

This summer, Grafiche Federighi installed a Nilpeter MO-4 offset-based platform press. Within just a few weeks it was producing labels for premium-quality wines for export at its plant in Camerata Picena, some 14 km southwest of Ancona. Following the completion of a planned upgrade in early October, the company decided it was time to properly celebrate the successful commissioning of its latest arrival with a staff party. The machine was expanded with a flatbed hot foil and embossing unit from Pantec, enabling very high quality embellishments on even short runs. The decoration for the fine cake, that went with the celebration, was not printed on the new MO-4, but the company is confident that a combination of fast job changeovers with benchmark print quality, will help maintain its competitive edge in the Italian wine and spirits sector. Technical Note The fourth-generation MO-4 is an offset-based combination press with a maximum web width of 420 mm (16½ inches). The flexible

Ideal for water and oil, the DeepGrip™ large-format PET bottle has a deep grip that makes it easier to use. With no external handle, this grip is blow-molded using the punching-conforming technology. Elegant and triangular in shape, the three-liter DeepGrip is the first PET bottle with a deep blow-molded grip, requiring no external handle. It is produced using Sidel’s punching-conforming technology (patent pending). Developed in partnership with PTI-Europe, this technology makes it possible to manufacture single-material packages in large, functional formats: it includes a deep grip to give consumers an ergonomic handle, making it ideal for the bottling of water or oil. A single-material package Trying to make bottles with deep grips using traditional blow molding technologies has a number of technical limitations. For example, to be deep enough, the grip has to be outside the inscribed diameter of the preform. This requires offsetting the grip area and increases blow moldin

Sidel is launching FreeShape™, the first PET bottle that can be used for the packaging of sensitive beverages aseptically or by hot fill with a single shape. How? It’s all thanks to the overstroke base technology. Hot fill or aseptic? Bottle shape constraints related to the choice of filling technology are no longer a consideration with FreeShape™. This innovative bottle needs no panels due to its overstroke base, and in addition to shape freedom, it also offers the possibility of using a single bottle for both types of filling. This development is based on an in-depth knowledge of material characteristics, aseptic packaging, hot filling and blow molding technologies. A membrane base The secret of FreeShape™ lies in its patented bottle base profile, which acts like a membrane or piston: it rises and falls depending on variations in the volume contained within the bottle. This innovative solution responds to the packaging needs of sensitive products such as juices or teas fill

This PET bottle for still water offers the best in user comfort for an ultra-lightweight package – less than 10g for a 500-ml bottle – thanks to its reinforced foundation using the overstroke base technology. Lighter, yes, but not at just any price. On supermarket shelves, ultra-lightweight water bottles increasingly suffer from deformations of their base, which alters not only package appearance but also stability. Sidel has found a solution for this issue: SmartWeight™, a lightweight 500-ml PET water bottle weighing less than 10 g, with a much stiffer base that ensures better mechanical performance and appearance. Due to the overstroke base technology, these benefits open the door for the lightweighting of premium water bottles. Stiff base for ultra-lightweight bottles The overstroke base technology consists in synchronizing the blow molding process with the rise of the bases. It increases the lengthwise stretching rate of the PET preform. It therefore helps to decrease th

Lighter than an extruded HDPE bottle for the same level of functionality, the SafeSense™ HDPE bottle made by ISBM also offers equivalent capping quality to PET, without a sealing lid. This is a real alternative for the fresh milk market . Keeping the same material and the same recycling circuits, while changing only the bottle manufacturing technology: these are the opportunities offered by the conversion to ISBM-type (injectionstretching-blow molding) HDPE (high-density polyethylene) for dairy producers who already use EBM-type (extrusion-blow molding) HDPE to package their products. This leads to economic and environmental benefits as well as new industrial opportunities in terms of output rates and complete line bottling solutions, such as the Combi. 20% lighter Producing an HDPE bottle with ISBM technology enables much better thickness control than with EBM. The use of a preform instead of a parison also helps keep bottle weight constant. Thanks to precise control of the

Leading shrink sleeve manufacturer Chadwicks has given Manchester Drinks’ Pina Colada a sweet new look to make it stand out from the crowd. Innovators in shrink sleeves Chadwicks has created a modern, bright sleeve for the cocktail from Manchester Drinks, which blends pineapple, banana, coconut and white rum to create a ready-mixed version of the world-famous cocktail. The sleeves are printed using six colours UV Flexo on 50 micron film and a high opacity white was developed to minimise transparency.   Mike Kelly, Account Manager at Chadwicks Sleeves, said: “It is always rewarding to work with Manchester Drinks as they are industry leaders looking for sleeves of the highest quality. “Chadwicks worked hard to design a sleeve which would stand out against competitors, and our development of the high opacity white means the Pina Colada looks clean and bright on the shelf. We always aim to provide quality sleeving solutions, as well as unrivalled customer service.” Rich

The first Xeikon Café on ‘Effective communication in today’s retail market’, staged recently at the company's headquarters in Belgium, proved to be a success. The balanced program of expert speakers and a live printing demo struck the right chord with more than 100 local and international attendees. The event underlined printers’ and retailers’ willingness to gain a better understanding of the changing dynamics in offline and online retail marketing. With personal data gathered through the event subscription process, Xeikon welcomed every visitor with a personalized fashion folder, demonstrating the possibilities, speed and impact of customized digital printing and direct marketing. Xeikon launched the Xeikon Café event to bring printing and communications professionals together in shared learning experience. Communication plays an essential role at every stage in a product’s lifecycle, from development through manufacturing, promotion and sales. With today’s technologies open

Seamless tube printing capabilities launched at Dusseldorf, Hall 04 / E21, October 27 – November 3 Xeikon, a division of Punch Graphix, and Italy-based MOSS, a leader in container decorating technologies, is to showcase newapplications for its jointly developed digital heat transfer Digital Decorating System at K-Messe. The exhibition is being staged in Dusseldorf from October 27 to November 3. Xeikon and MOSS can be found at Hall 04 / E21. New application, new market The Digital Decorating System enables the digital heat transfer process to be applied to seamless plastic tubes. The solution has been developed to meet increasing demand for wider versioning capabilities from global brand owners. Previously designed for printing on polypropylene, the Digital Decorating System’s ability to print on HDPE has opened up a new sector and a vast array of end uses. Filip Weymans, Business Development Manager Labels & Packaging, Xeikon, explains:  “Brand owners are continually revisi

Packaging experts from around the UK got together at the recently-staged Denny Bros Open Day event to discuss how to boost brand visibility, product functionality and sustainability with contemporary packaging ideas covering food, pharma, household, DIY and public sectors. "Enhancing the Packaging Experience" looked at the production and supply of all forms of niche packaging including on-pack concepts such as the multi-functional booklet label Fix-a-Form. The event covered the creative strategies available that can help to maximise sales; and the various printed labelling technologies that can help to achieve long term brand loyalty. Keynote speakers Andrew Streeter of Pack-Track and Doug Johnston of Packology discussed how companies are gaining competitive advantage by addressing the green packaging agenda; and outlined how to organise the most effective packaging supply routes to market. Denny Bros experts detailed how to implement effective promotions on-shelf, how

New special metals: embellish your reputation with unique effects Two new faces, one solid aluminium, the other uniquely gold-metallized on both sides. Together they offer eye-catching, premium options for wines and beverages and a multitude of luxury-look and personal care products. Grab the attention you deserve with Aluminium TC 40 and PP Double Gold TC 60! Aluminium TC 40 combines excellent ink adhesion on a on a bright solid metal face with a quality embossing result. It’s ideal for adding a highly distinctive selling touch to premium-look beverages and eye-catching luxury packaging. Aluminium TC 40 product information PP Double Gold TC 60 presents the perfect opportunity to make a unique impression in beverage and wine, personal care and prestige goods labelling. This innovative material is gold-metallized on the front and reverse to give the most credible impression of luxury, especially with transparent liquids in clear containers .   The solid gold

EskoArtwork’s dedication to delivering optimum service to the packaging and printing industry around the globe is behind its decision to underpin its MEA presence and open a Turkish office in Istanbul. The new venture is being headed up by Mustafa Salur, who joined the company in September as Sales Manager Turkey. He will also provide additional support to the local distribution channels in Turkey. Recently appointed Regional Business Manager MEA Jacques Staelens, comments: “EskoArtwork is enjoying an exciting period of growth and this move demonstrates our commitment to long-term co-operation with local distributors in Turkey. It illustrates, too, how determined we are to provide the most responsive and comprehensive support for the increasing number of operations choosing to use our solutions to help safeguard their business future.” Prior to joining EskoArtwork, Salur was Prepress Product & Sales Account manager for Heidelberg Turkey, and before that Regional Sales Manage

ew solutions include i1Basic Pro, i1Photo Pro, i1Publish and i1Publish Pro; featuring i1Profiler next generation color profiling software, PANTONE ® Color Manager software and ColorChecker ® Proof. X-Rite , Incorporated (NASDAQ: XRIT), the world leader in color management, measurement and communication technologies, today announced its new portfolio of i1 Professional Color Management Solutions.  Designed to accommodate all levels of proficiency and expertise, these high performance solutions are specifically targeted to meet the unique needs of photo, pre-press, and publishing professionals, providing exceptional value at very attractive price points.  The portfolio is comprised of i1Basic Pro, i1Photo Pro, i1 Publish and i1Publish Pro.  All four feature groundbreaking new technology and applications: i1Profiler, X-Rite’s entirely new next generation color profiling software; new PANTONE Color Manager color swatch bridging software; and ColorChecker Proof, a new color checker

High productivity and quality of the Speedmaster XL 105 technology also impress with die-cutting in the press Developed specifically for die cutting inmold labels (IML) - cuts makeready time considerably compared to flatbed die-cutters New press made its debut public appearance at the Heidelberg Print Media Center Label Days The Speedmaster XL 105-DD uses the principle of rotary die-cutting and has been specifically designed for processing inmold labels Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) has extended its product portfolio to include an innovative solution for label production. The new Speedmaster XL 105-DD was launched to an international audience on October 20 and 21, 2010 at the Print Media Center (PMC) Label Days in Wiesloch-Walldorf. "DD" stands for die-cutting. More than 150 international guests used this opportunity to discover the benefits of the new press through various practical demonstrations and expert lectures. The Speedmaster XL 10

Edale have today announced the appointment of Grafitech as their exclusive distributor to cover Germany. As Edale’s sales have increased, so have the enquiries into partnerships with distributors worldwide; the company feel that signing Grafitech will allow Edale to penetrate more of the European market and Germany in particular was a key country that Edale were eager to ‘crack’. Bernhard Grob, Edale’s Export Sales Director adds, “Grafitech are a well established and trusted company in Germany and we are delighted that they have chosen to represent Edale”. Keen to get the ball rolling in their partnership, Grafitech have recently participated at the Druck + Form trade show which took place at Messe Sinsheim between 14-17 October 2010, where the company represented Edale and their range of narrow web flexo presses and converting equipment. For more information on any of Edale’s products or distributor opportunities, please contact Louise Bailey on +44 (0) 1489 569230 or

Ball Packaging Europe’s adoption of EskoArtwork technology has helped Pepsi Cola achieve its highest ever share of cola sales during the World Cup period*. As part of a Pepsi Cola promotional campaign, Ball Packaging Europe printed pin-sharp images of some of the world’s best footballers – including Frank Lampard, Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba – on Pepsi cans u sing EskoArtwork’s flexo technology. Ultra-fine detail helps bring campaign to life The hi-res optics on the CDI Spark Computer to Plate device enables images to be applied directly to flexible letterpress printing plates, and brings out the finest image detail in pin-sharp resolution. The eye-catching Pepsi cans held up to close scrutiny according to Gary Brown , Manager Graphics UK for Ball Packaging Europe. He explains: “The differentiation we achieved on the flesh tones and the fine text detail for the nutritional information was very impressive.” For Brown, the striking results were particularly satisfying as

Leading web-to-print provider PrintPlace.com won a ISO 12647 Standards Gap Analysis Audit at GraphExpo 2010. The company scooped the prize after entering a draw at the IDEAlliance G7® Summit. The competition was run by KEE Consultants and sponsored by Alwan Color Expertise. PrintPlace.com has aligned its presswork with ISO 12647-2-based printing specifications since its inception in 2006. While many of PrintPlace.com 's customers are unfamiliar with terms such as PSO, G7®, ISO 12647, Gracol® and Fogra, the far-sighted company understands that implementing best practices in print reproduction serve the interests of everyone involved in the print procurement chain. With more and more printers joining the standards initiative, print buyers are benefitting from the common appearance of pages, regardless of their chosen print providers. Matt Louis, G7® Expert and Color Assurance Manager at PrintPlace.com , comments: "Printing has been priced as a commodity for the past de

GraphExpo 2010 proved a huge success for Alwan Color Expertise, with the  company registering its best trade show sales since Drupa 2008. The exhibition helped the French software innovator record a 28% year-on-year revenue increase. The company’s flagship products, CMYK Optimizer ECO, which includes the unique Dynamic Ink Optimization technology, and PRINT Standardizer, which includes the unique Dynamic Press Calibration technology, accounted for more than 15 of the on-show and post-show sales. Alwan shared two booths with Digital Information and Techkon USA, and attracted a stream of printing and publishing professionals. Alwan engineers conducted more than 30 demonstrations of its system-automated press calibration technology with Techkon SpectroDrive and Digital Information InkZone systems. GraphExpo 2010 was also an excellent platform for Alwan to network and forge new relationships. Following the show, the company has entered into new partnership agreements with dealers in No

Xeikon, a division of Punch Graphix, and Italy-based MOSS, a leader in container decorating technologies, will be showcasing their jointly developed Digital Decorating System at the K-Messe, which takes place in Düsseldorf (Germany) from October 27 to November 3. This technology, displayed on stand 04/E21, enables fast and cost-efficient decoration of round, conical, rectangular and square pails and containers, even in very short runs. Labeling the Benefits Since its introduction in November 2009, the Digital Decorating System has been providing label printers and injection molders an alternative solution for in-mold labeling and direct screen or direct offset print. The benefits of the new decorating technology based on digital printing are vast. Not only does it offer greater flexibility and a more cost effective production of short to medium runs. Furthermore  there are no setup nor plate costs involved. It also offers a much higher quality compared the direct print technology,

Weldon also representing ROTOCONTROL leading-edge finishing machines in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and  United Arab Emirates Ralph Beier, ROTOCONTROL International Sales Manager, today announced the signing of an Agent agreement with Weldon Celloplast who is now representing ROTOCONTROL leading-edge inspection, slitting, rewinding and die cutting finishing machines in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and United Arab Emirates.  Weldon will promote ROTOCONTROL at Labelexpo India in Stand B50 December 8-11, 2010. "We are pleased to extend coverage of our sales and marketing efforts into India and surrounding countries with Weldon Celloplast- an industry respected supplier" states Ralph Beier. "With the range of expertise from manufacturing to offering the latest technology solutions to Converters, Weldon will represent ROTOCONTROL well in this high-growth territory". Pawandeep Sahni, Director of Weldon commented: "Weldon repres