Labelling Blog

FINAT, the European association for the self-adhesive label industry, is teaming up with the organisers of Labelexpo Europe 2011 and its affiliated national label associations in Europe to organise ‘Operators Day’.  Operators Day will be held on the final day of the Show that will run from 28 September – 1 October at the Parc des Expositions in Brussels.     On Saturday 1 October, operators from label companies across Europe will be welcomed to a special ‘Show Trail’ programme that will lead them to the stands of participating supplier member companies exhibiting at the show. The show trail will contain an educational competition element and will offer participants to qualify for prizes to be awarded at the closing ceremony of the event.     FINAT Managing Director Jules Lejeune comments: ”This year will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the FINAT – Labelexpo Europe partnership. Over the years, we have seen Labelexpo Europe grow to the standard setting international trade s

Husky Injection Molding Systems has announced it has completed the acquisition of KTW of Waidhofen, Austria, recognized as a global leader in closure mold making.     With the addition of KTW, Husky becomes the closure industry’s only provider of complete injection molding systems, including mold, machine, hot runner, temperature controller, as well as a range of consulting and after-sales services. Husky will now offer KTW-branded closure molds as part of its fully integrated turnkey systems.     “This acquisition allows us to more closely integrate KTW technologies into the industry’s most advanced closure molding systems,” said John Galt, Husky’s President and CEO. “Being able to offer customers a complete solution that is optimized to work seamlessly means increased productivity, less waste and improved part quality.     Husky’s closure offering includes its HyCAP system for beverage closures, Hylectric system for specialty closures, a full line of hot runners, Al

BERICAP’s DoubleSeal SuperShorty® secures high quality of beer also in hot climates   Beer as an oxygen sensitive product challenges the PET bottle and the closure with respect to oxygen transmission.   Especially  for  the  beer  market,  BERICAP  has  developed  a  closure  in ‘crown cork design’, the DoubleSealTMSuperShorty®Crown O2 Scavenger closure, which looks very similar to the traditional beer crown cork and it was the first 28mm closure fitting to the PCO 1881 neck. To secure the high quality of beer in PET bottles during the shelf life, BERICAP equipped the closure with an oxygen scavenger absorbing the oxygen in the headspace of the beer bottle.     The world market for beer filled in PET bottles and closed by plastic screw caps is  steadily  growing.  Starting  2003  in  Germany,  several  countries,  mainly  in Eastern Europe, have meanwhile introduced beer in PET bottles.   Outside  Europe  it  was  China  starting  in  2009  with  beer  in 

Under the motto “Take off to tomorrow”, Henkel is presenting a new generation of hotmelts for edgebanding and profile wrapping at the LIGNA 2011 trade fair in Hannover. In addition to high thermal stability and minimal application weights, the innovative hotmelt Technomelt Supreme is characterized mainly by its use of a new polymer base. By opening up this raw materials category, adhesives manufacturer Henkel is offering its customers not only supply security but also a broader spectrum of product solutions.     “Take off to tomorrow” is the motto under which Henkel will be presenting itself at this year’s LIGNA in Hannover, from Monday, May 30, to Friday, June 3. At stages along an innovation path, visitors can learn about the new products and talk shop with the Henkel experts. Among a series of innovations, one stands out in particular and best symbolizes the chosen motto for this year’s event: Technomelt Supreme. This is the new brand name under which an innovative product lin

On 23 May, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) held its second annual Supplier Sustainability Summit and Awards Ceremony, attended by its key suppliers. At the Ceremony, Awards were presented to those suppliers who contributed most to the success of the business in 2010.   CCE recognized Smurfit Kappa for top performance in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability with 2010 Award for best Corporate Supplier.   Smurfit Kappa is working closely with CCE to help reduce the impact of its packaging through its unique Performance Packaging know-how. Smurfit Kappa worked closely together with CCE on key sustainability indicators to help reduce energy, water and carbon usage and improve transport efficiency.   The certification of Smurfit Kappa production locations in the UK by the Carbon Trust was in line with CCE expectations. “We are delighted to award the packaging manufacturer, Smurfit Kappa, as our CRS Supplier. Smurfit Kappa has been working closely with CCE to develop joint

Avery Dennison has added a new BPA-free thermal facestock to its variable information printing product portfolio: Fasson® Thermal 200LD BPA-Free paper.   Bisphenol-A (BPA) is used as an image developer on direct thermal papers for day-to-day applications such as catchweigh labels, and has been the subject of public debate. ‘Although BPA is not restricted for use in direct thermal paper products in Europe, we understand that some customers prefer to have a non-BPA option. In response, Avery Dennison has developed a complementary non-BPA product line.     The new Fasson Thermal 200LD BPA-Free paper also uses a more robust colour developer that offers the added benefit of higher water and oil resistance’, says Mark Lloyd, senior product manager, Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials.   The paper is available with three standard Fasson adhesives – permanent Fasson S2000N and S2045N, which have European Legislation 2011/10/EC and BfR approval for direct and indirect con

Bekaert's eco-friendly coating for bookbinding wire Format Werk, Austria's largest producer of stationery for schools and offices has chosen Bekaert’s eco-friendly coating for bookbinding wire – Ecobind® - to produce a range of sustainable spiral bound exercise books.   Committed to a green policy Format Werk's Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Thomas Riemer, explains the company's policy: "Throughout production we strive to use raw materials that are managed in a responsible way. To live up to this ambition, we have set up a multi-faceted environmental system, which is also part of the quality control. This enables us to guarantee the sustainable credentials of the high-quality raw materials we use and their sources."       A brand new green finishing When Bekaert introduced Ecobind® - bookbinding wires finished with a carbon neutral, colored coating, developed specifically for the ecology-minded producer and consumer of spiral bound stationery

Global demand for radiation indicator products has led to the launch of a new website to support Gammatex™, a brand of the Mercian Labels Group.   The new website at www.gammatex.co.uk showcases the product for both users and international distributors. Launched in 2010, Gammatex labels are used in the medical and pharmaceuticals industries as verification that products have been subjected to the required dosage of radiation to ensure correct sterilisation.       Hugo Gell, Sales Director of The Mercian Labels Group said ”Gammatex labels have been around for several years under a different name – Detex. Since the re-launch, we have been widening our net to a global market of gamma irradiation users and suppliers, and the response has been remarkable. Currently the biggest customers are from the pharma industry, but recent experience is telling us that there are many other user groups, including food and beverage, who are using gamma sterilisation, and the list is growin

Marco Aengenvoort, ROTOCONTROL Managing Director, today announced the availability of the WC70 Vacuum Splice Table option on all ROTOCONTROL RSC and RSP slitting, rewinding and inspection machines taking Operator efficiency to a whole new level.     By automatically placing mill-splice/flags, matrix/missing labels and vision detected defects right on the vertical inspection plate for reworking, the Operator is only required to leave the rewind zone to change the master roll. The vacuum and mechanical clamping system holds the material in a vertical position at eye level directly in front of the Operator, assuring perfect splices for finished rolls every time.     Manohar Dhugga, ROTOCONTROL Field Applications Engineering Manager commented: "With over 15 years of engineering and field service experience, I can attest to the value of the Vacuum Splice Table option, specifically the ergonomic benefit it provides the Operator of the finishing machine. The waste rewind retr

Only ‘excellent quality food label’ without special embellishment! “Last night we achieved great success at the New Zealand print awards winning 2 gold medals. I am pleased to inform you that a Xeikon label printed last year after the first earthquake won GOLD! The label category is an extremely competitive section, it includes sheetfed, reelfed, wine labels and multi process, printed using any process”, stated Roger Kirwan, General Manager at GEON.     Ewan Howieson, sales engineer from our Distribution Partner Absolute Electronics, added; “The point to note is, all other contenders were wine labels with high levels of embellishment, this was the only food product with no embellishment and was judged as excellent quality of print.”     GEON is Australia and New Zealand’s leading print & communications business. With locations throughout Australia and New Zealand, GEON is the leading business in the market able to provide the full suite of integrated print & comm

PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) announced today that it has begun offering five options of eco-friendly, recyclable and compostable cups to Foodservice customers in the United States through company-owned and independent bottler distribution systems.     The new offerings consist of fully recyclable clear plastic cups, including an rPET cup containing 20 percent post-consumer recycled content, as well as compostable paper cups and wax cups made with plant-based materials sourced from sustainably managed forests. The fountain cup portfolio mix empowers Foodservice customers – such as restaurants, stadiums and theme parks, and colleges and universities – to select the right green cup options based on locally available recycling and composting disposal facilities.         The Pepsi-branded cups display engaging green imagery and clearly communicate the environmental benefit, stating "Wow, Our Cups are Fully Recyclable," or a similar message respective to the materials u

The specialty chemicals Group ALTANA has signed an agreement to acquire the Color Chemie Group. The chemical company, which is headquartered in Büdingen, Hesse, Germany, mainly produces environmentally friendly, water-based specialty printing inks and offers related services to its customers. Color Chemie’s printing inks are primarily used for packaging boxes, but also on foils, carrier bags, gift wrapping papers and wallpapers. In 2010, the Color Chemie Group achieved sales of €46 million with about 150 employees. In addition to Büdingen, the company has production sites in Bonn, Germany, as well as in Austria, France and Poland. Color Chemie will be integrated into the ALTANA division ACTEGA Coatings & Sealants. The transaction is subject to approval by Germany’s Federal Cartel Office.     Strengthening of market position “Like ALTANA, Color Chemie focuses on products and services in technologically demanding niche markets and therefore fits excellently into our portfolio

Designed for the label, packaging and direct product printing market, full-color, high quality and use of challenging substrates differentiate this printer family from the competition.     Atlantic Zeiser is to demonstrate its GAMMA™ 70 series of full-color UV print engines at FESPA. The GAMMA™ series delivers outstanding visual print quality up to 1060 dpi, and is ideal for ‘wet-on-wet’ requirements in the pattern application process, as well as pinning (GAMMA™ 70 and GAMMA™ 140 Premium) for texts, pictures and logotypes.   Atlantic Zeiser Group, a leading innovator and technology supplier for industrial digital label, packaging, direct product  and decoration printing processes, will demonstrate at FESPA Digital its innovative GAMMA™ 70 print engine, part of the comprehensive GAMMA printer family.    GAMMA™ 70 combines Atlantic Zeiser’s innovation with Xaar printhead technology to create a powerful solution that includes a UV printer, UV inks, and UV curing capability.

    PRESTIGE is one of The Stock Spirits Group’s premium vodkas and retails in 14 countries, including its principal market of Poland.   CCL Label offered The Stock Spirits Group the opportunity to use a different printing technology other than what was currently being used on the existing label which was printed by a competitor in combination print. CCL convinced the customer of the advantages of using the rotogravure printing process. With this printing technology CCL could achieve a more traditional and premium look for the label. As the labels are printed reverse the print image is scuff resistant and can't be damaged.   Another challenge was to use a high gloss silver, which looks brilliant, but not too heavy. The specialty appearance also gives this a 3D effect. The combination of clear fronts and innovative back labels creates a fascinating and dimensional look. Consumers see through the front label to the images behind which are enhanced by the product within

To meet the increased market demand for low migration UV inks Flint Group has decided to make a major investment into additional manufacturing equipment for their growing ink product range in its motherplant for narrow web inks in Trelleborg, Sweden. “The capacity for low migration inks manufacture will be considerably increased after completion of this investment and we will be able to quickly follow the global market demands of food packaging applications”, explains Peter Hakansson, Operations Director Trelleborg.   He continues: “The investment will also ensure the elimination of potential contamination since the low migration products will be processed in separate and specialised equipment. We are currently in the process of the installation and plan to reach full capacity from this expansion during the summer. Although demands for low migration UV inks are currently centred on mainland Europe, this investment will also strengthen our global infrastructure to enable Flint Group

Argentinean based Mai S.A., founded in the 1970’s was the brainchild of Pablo Enrique Mai, who dreamt of developing new solutions for the packaging of tea, a sector with great potential to exploit. Today Mai S.A. manufacture tea bag packaging machines, with a separate printing department in which they print the tea bag labels and envelopes.   As business has continued to grow, existing machinery could not keep up with demand so Mr Guillermo Mai - son of Mr Pablo Mai and President of Mai S.A - began looking into new printing machine options. Mr Mai commented “ I’ve been familiar with Edale for years, and after visiting www.edale.com and researching the product range, it was decided that the Alpha looked the most appropriate for our business needs, and so I arranged a visit to the UK to visit Edale’s Head Office and watch a demonstration of their showroom Alpha ”.   Following in-depth demonstrations, Mr Mai signed the deal for a 4 colour Alpha compact flexo-press with water based

The Vienna-based multinational paper trading company ROXCEL Group has today signed an agreement to purchase the paper manufacturer Brigl & Bergmeister and Vevce from the Prinzhorn Group, taking over complete ownership.     Brigl & Bergmeister runs two production facilities in Niklasdorf/Austria and Vevče/Slovenia which produce an aggregate of 165.000 tons of paper per year with 500 employees. Brigl & Bergmeister is the world market leader and specialist manufacturer for label paper with an export share of 95%.   With aggregate sales of EUR 729 Mio./USD 1.033 Mio in 2010, the ROXCEL Group is one of the world’s largest paper and paper board trading companies. ROXCEL is based in Vienna and operates through a global network of sales offices in more than 100 countries. With the acquisition of Brigl & Bergmeister, ROXCEL is entering the field of paper manufacturing for the first time in its history. The production arm will operate separately from Roxcel’s trading di

The increase in popularity for real ales has seen Daniel Thwaites   launch its Old Dan beer to be sold throughout supermarkets nationwide. Glass packaging manufacturer Beatson Clark, is pleased to have been chosen as supplier of the distinctive 330ml amber beer bottle with a characteristic crown neck finish. Thwaites producers of Thwaites Original, Nutty Black and the renowned Lancaster Bomber ale, made popular by cricketing legend Freddie Flintoff, chose Beatson Clark to supply the amber beer bottle because of the company’s ability to convey a traditional shape and style, yet in a smaller bottle.     Lee Williams, marketing manager of Thwaites said: “Unlike most other bottled ales, bottle conditioned ale contains live yeast, which means the beer goes through an additional fermentation stage that continues right up until the bottle is opened.     “The character and flavours of the bottle conditioned beer like Old Dan develops, ages and becomes more complex ove

The new KODAK NEXPRESS SX Digital Production Color Press is to make its UK premiere at Print Efficiently, an industry partner event, taking place in June 2011 at the IFS showrooms in Perivale, NW London. The event has been planned to help businesses in a tough marketplace by demonstrating print efficiencies through integration and provide printers with information and ideas on improving their working processes.  There will be demonstrations on prepress workflow and MIS, platemaking and print (both offset and digital) and a comprehensive suite of finishing equipment.      “We are looking forward to demonstrating the efficiencies of the new NEXPRESS SX Platform at this event,” says Pat Holloway, Kodak’s UK Marketing Manager. “This machine’s new features can enable print service providers to work more efficiently and speed up their production capacity – this in turn helps them strengthen relationships with their customers as they can offer them higher value products with a faster tu

EFI ™ (Nasdaq:EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today made available the latest version of its Fiery ® Command WorkStation ® print job management and user interface software, with all-new features to improve image quality, color output, usability, and imposition workflows. Available to most Fiery users worldwide*, Fiery Command WorkStation version 5.3 can be downloaded at no cost at www.efi.com/cws5 .   "Fiery Command WorkStation is the recognized industry standard for production printing job management technology, serving as the window into the entire printing workflow," said John Henze, vice president of Fiery marketing, EFI. "Known for its intuitive interface, Command WorkStation gives businesses a productivity boost for production printing. It enables seasoned pros to more quickly produce even higher quality output, while making it easy for less experienced users to produce professional looking documents in just a few clicks

  Taghleef Industries is pleased to announce the installation of a new BoPP line at Ti S.A.E. 6th of October City, Egypt.   Thin for downgauging Most packaging solutions are today made with fossil raw material, Ti is committing new investments that will save resources by making possible significant downgauging while preserving original properties. For this, Ti will install a new line in Egypt with very specific design features. The proprietary technology emerging from this combined hardware and software will be implemented on major brands through partnerships.   Strategic location With its enviable location, Egypt bridges Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Egypt is the hub for the world’s maritime traffic with commercial ports on the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Located at Taghleef Industries S.A.E. near Cairo, Egypt, the new line will cover the growing demand of BoPP films in Africa and in Europe at the same time.   Efficiency Our customers will cont

  As a dedicated supporter of Inprinting since 2005, Xeikon is participating for the sixth time to the trade event in Milan (Italy), that runs from May 18 to May 20 at East End Studios, Mecenate. This year - besides the traditional exhibiting space - Inprinting will surprise printing and communication specialists with innovative and tailored initiatives. And Xeikon will be joining in the excitement. As well as exhibiting, the company is a key player in a Direct Marketing production chain highlighting the capabilities of its Xeikon 6000 digital press. The live production line will showcase each step in the completion of a finance product.   "During recent years Xeikon’s business strategy has been to concentrate on specific market segments and offer high level products: high quality transpromo communications as well as label and packaging applications,” says Marco Avanzi, Sales and Operation Manager at Xeikon Italia. “It's within this perspective that we have always chosen

New package boasts exceptional consumer appeal, cost and environmental advantages compared to other aseptic bottles Tetra Pak today launches the Tetra Evero Aseptic 1 litre, the first aseptic carton bottle for milk. Employing market driven insight and breakthrough engineering techniques, Tetra Evero Aseptic for white milk combines the easy handling and pouring of a bottle with the environmental and cost advantages of a carton.   “Tetra Evero Aseptic is a new carton shape that delivers ease of use, high impact branding and cost effectiveness,” said Charles Brand, Tetra Pak Vice President of Marketing and Product Management. “This is a unique packaging concept that brings benefits to producers, retailers and consumers.   ” Tetra Evero Aseptic is initially aimed at the ambient white milk market, including non-oxygen sensitive milk enriched with calcium, proteins, fibres (inulin), vitamins A and D and some minerals. This will soon expand to cover a wide range of beverages, includ

Mercury Print Productions, a leader in digital book printing for publishers in the education market, has begun installation of a KODAK PROSPER 5000XL Press . Mercury will use the PROSPER 5000XL Press to boost the company’s ability to produce short-run and on-demand books in color, meeting publishers’ needs in the education/textbook market.       The PROSPER 5000XL Press brings offset class output approaching 175 lines per inch to Mercury’s digital capabilities, with roll-fed speeds up to 650 feet (or 200 meters) per minute. This combination of speed and superior quality make the PROSPER 5000XL Press the most productive inkjet web press on the market for 8, 12, and 16 page signatures. The PROSPER 5000XL Press has monthly duty cycles of up to 120 million A4 impressions, with print widths up to 24.5 inches. The result: short turnaround times for virtually any quantity of books, with the high quality publishers expect from offset presses. The comprehensive book system with the KODAK PROS

Leave coding until last to generate the greatest savings: at interpack in Düsseldorf Atlantic Zeiser will demonstrate its inkjet print innovations for coding and marking packages and products at the latest possible stage in the production process. The event takes place 12-18 May, and Atlantic Zeiser can be found in hall 13, stand C12. Atlantic Zeiser Group, a leading innovator and technology supplier for digital narrow format, packaging and direct product printing processes, will demonstrate at interpack various applications to show customers cutting-edge late-stage customization (LSC).     Digital inkjet print solutions for LSC – which involves coding and marking at the latest stage possible in the production process – guarantee maximum machine availability, flexible print job changes, and flexibility regarding choice of product format, surface and material. Atlantic Zeiser’s end-to-end system solutions incorporate DoD inkjet printer modules, proprietary UV inks, air-cooled

Karlville Development , a leading manufaturer of shrink sleeve application and shrink sleeve converting equipment, released the premier shrink sleeve prototyping system, STEAMBOX . The Steambox was designed to help converters simulate the shrinkage process of full-size steam tunnels in house, without having to buy an expensive Steam Tunnel. The compact design and affordability of the STEAMBOX, makes it the ideal tool for shrink testing. The STEAMBOX's patented design is easy to transport and quick to set up! Anywhere, Anytime! At Interpack 2011, we will be presenting for the first time the STEAMBOX! Come and visit us at our Stand Hall 8B Stand G85 to see a live demonstration Source: www.karlville.com

During next Chinaplas 2011 Karville  and webcontrol will be exhibiting   LM-SF 1300 The LM-SF 1300 is a solventless laminating machine with Auto Splice function to minimize waste during changeover. Machine Speed: 400m/minute Width: 1300mm Rewind Diameter : 1000 mm Unwind Diameter: 800 mm Shaftless Auto Splice SLIT-HSI 1300 The SLIT-HSI 1300 is able to slit various types and qualities of flexible packaging materials, especially toughest substrate such as single layer with low tension required.     Machine Speed: 400 m/minute Shaftless Unwind with hydraulic system High performance-Differential Shaft Individual lay-on-roller   Visit Karville and Webcontrol at  Booth 5.J41 from May 17, 2011 to May 20, 2011

The Atlantic Zeiser Group, a leading supplier of technology, modules and system solutions for industrial digital printing, will present at interpack 2011 its optimized end-to-end system solution DIGILINE™ Single Product 300 for digital late-stage customization of packages and products within current production processes. At the event the company will demonstrate the versatility of the solution and the possibilities for high-resolution industrial digital printing of variable data on absorbent and non-absorbent surfaces, including 3D packaging. Atlantic Zeiser provides system solutions for packaging, labeling, product, security and paper printing. interpack takes place 12-18 May, and Atlantic Zeiser can be found in hall 13 at stand C12.     Atlantic Zeiser’s DIGILINE™ Single Product 300 simplifies the late-stage customization process for packages with high-quality print requirements and helps create innovative applications through the integration of different modules in a ‘one-s