Labelling Blog

Discussion on Linerless developments at Label Expo focused on terminology, the history of linerless and significantly, a realisation by existing material suppliers of the new opportunities available.   Monoweb, the first significant Linerless technology launched in the 1980’s offered a functional system but still delivered waste to the end user, all with adhesive coating.Pictured is a typical machine designed and built by Turpin Engineering in the UK. Another machine successfully labelled squeezable Heinz Tomato sauce bottles at 300 per minute, but the comlexity of on line label shape die-cutting whilst still delivering waste proved unaccepable to this major FMGG company, and as a consequence the project failed.             Proven eliminating waste advantages with Catchpoint labels means printers can invest in adhesive coating systems with confidence. Sustainability concerns will encourage a response, both in terms of new ideas and appropriate capacity.   Existi

H.B. Fuller Company  announced today that it has signed an agreement to purchase the global industrial adhesives business of Forbo Group.   The acquisition will enhance H.B. Fuller's position as a global leader in the adhesives industry. The business to be acquired represents about 80 percent (by revenue) of the Forbo Bonding Systems division of Forbo Group. This business will generate approximately $580 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011, operates 17 manufacturing facilities in 10 countries, and employs more than 1,100 people globally.   The purchase price for the transaction is CHF 370 million on a debt-free and cash-free basis, or about $394 million at current exchange rates. The consideration will be paid in cash at the time of closing. H.B. Fuller has committed financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. to support the completion of this transaction. Prior to closing the acquis

Europe’s largest automobile and motorcyclist club, the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club (ADAC), now utilizes KODAK THERMAL DIRECT Non Process Plates at its in-house printing department located in Munich, Germany.This latest installation at ADAC marks the 1,500th KODAK THERMAL DIRECT Plate customer.           As more commercial and publication printers opt for more sustainable solutions, like process-free technology, the customer demand for KODAK THERMAL DIRECT Non Process Plates continues to increase. ADAC chose KODAK Plates to improve its prepress productivity and lessen the environmental impact of its printing jobs.         ADAC provides services ranging from mobile mechanics to urgent medical helicopters. The company’s printing department required an efficient plate solution to improve and manage its extensive printing jobs, including ADAC maps of Germany distributed in approximately 400 gas stations along the autobahn. Kodak’s THERMAL DIRECT Plates deliver the res

FINAT, the international association for the self-adhesive label industry announces its 2012 key events. Learning and networking are key aspects of FINAT's associations' activities and greatly valued by its members. Hence FINAT organizes also in the coming year a number of gatherings. This gives members the opportunity to both meet with peers, clients, press and other industry related contact, get informed and exchange information.       A fully packed agenda 2012 FINAT Technical Seminar : 'Self-adhesive labels and their future versus alternative technologies - evolution or extinction' On March 7-9 at Hotel Fira Palace Barcelona (Spain). This 1,5 day event (with simultaneous translation in Spanish, German, French and Italian) is designed to give an update on the latest status with regards to legislation, materials science, converting technology as well as application requirements and is targeted at all levels of the technical community from R&D or prod

CCL Industries Inc., a world leader in specialty packaging solutions for the consumer products and healthcare industries, announced today that it is appointing a new license holder for shrink sleeve labels in Turkey. Dekopak Ambalaj Sanayi Ve Tic. A.S. (“Dekopak”) started business in 2005 and is headed by entrepreneur Peter Zegir. The company is based in Istanbul and manufactures sleeve labels for multinational customers in the region. The license agreement is effective January 1, 2012 and provides for the transfer of CCL technologies and the cooperation of both companies to leverage supplier and customer relationships. Dekopak will change its trading name to “CCL- Dekopak” and will operate under CCL Label’s corporate identity system. CCL- Dekopak will complement CCL’s existing European sleeve label operations in Austria, France and the United Kingdom. Geoffrey T. Martin, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We have known and admired Peter’s business for so

Mectec Elektronik is proud to announce that a corporate agreement has been reached with UPM, a global player in the pulp and paper industry. The agreement concerns the implementation of industrial printers for A3 labels, an area where MECTEC has a market leading position. When selecting supplier UPM focused on the solution’s quality and reliability, and the availability of service, support and spare parts.  - This agreement is of course very important to us. The interest from several sites around the world is already big, says Jonas Melander, Export Area Manager at MECTEC. Many companies within the UPM group have a need to replace older machines since there are no longer spare parts or service available, adds Jonas Melander. The need to label big rolls of paper with A3 size labels is large throughout the entire pulp and paper industry. MECTEC has several customers in the industry already and therefore the technical knowhow and experience required along with high availability of s

Fully satisfying results for PE LABELLERS who presented itself with a new booth, an image change that follows the continue innovation of PE Family. A particular thanks to the numerous customers who visited our booth confirming once more that PE brand is, more than ever, a byword for technology and quality in labelling field. In this occasion in fact, PE presented the new modular labeller for mid-low speeds, equipped with servomotors with integrated drive for plates rotation, thanks to an electronic cam system, programmable by touch screen “visual cam” panel, which has been expressly studied for middle and low sized wineries and oil mills, allowing them the maximum flexibility in operation with a reasonable investment. This is the evolution of the standard modular labeller, the only one labelling machine that gives you the total freedom to decide how to fit your labeller at any time (before, during or after purchasing) and to choose the kind of modules to be installed, fixed or on

Exceptional functional properties make biobased plastic PEF a suitable alternative for future beverage packaging following technology break-through by Avantium   Dutch research and technology company Avantium has developed a patented technology YXY to produce 100% biobased PEF bottles. Currently PET is the most widely used oil-based polyester. Based on the performance of the new PEF material, Avantium believes PEF will become the next-generation biobased polyester. Today the company announced an agreement with The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) to further co-develop Avantium's YXY technology for producing PEF bottles. First milestones include the start-up of an Avantium PEF pilot plant, officially opened on December 8th in Geleen, the Netherlands. It is expected that other large co-development partners will join from early 2012. Avantium's CEO Tom van Aken: "Our YXY solution for the packaging industry creates a new biobased plastic with exceptional functional properti

The Flemish Innovation Centre for Graphic Communication (VIGC) is to launch two important tools to achieve ink savings: the ICC profiles that VIGC developed and its Max TAC Evaluation Kit. There was a strong response to the study by the organization that found total area coverage (TAC) of 260% - or even 220% - is adequate as long as the conversion is carried out with the correct profiles. To ensure the correct profiles are used, the VIGC is to distribute its Max TAC ICC profiles free of charge. And the Max TAC Evaluation Kit is a tool that will convince everybody of the quality of a lower TAC. Eddy Hagen, VIGC Director, comments: "Our test clearly showed that a lower TAC can deliver more than adequate results and enable print service providers to make huge cost savings on inks." “However, the conversion to lower TAC must be done using the appropriate ICC profiles. This is why we have invested time in optimising the ICC profiles during tests. We believe strongly in h

Spear has long been at the forefront of environmental leadership in the label industry. Their global corporate program, Spear Earth®, encompasses numerous environmental initiatives, the latest of which is a liner recycling process in partnership with Mitsubishi.   Release liner represents approximately 30% of Spear’s product. Traditionally, this has been landfilled, a process which is simply not sustainable in today’s industry. Mitsubishi Polyester Films, one of the largest PET film release producers, has developed a solution.   “Reprocess™” is a technology that allows a cradle-to-cradle recycling of spent liner into new, quality liner. Mitsubishi has proven the reliability of the technology by working with Spear to test the quality of Reprocess liner in high-speed application lines. This has been a success and Spear is now leading customer collection.   Bill Wells; Sales & Marketing Director, Label; for Mitsubishi Polyester Films Americas comments, “ Spear has demons

P.E. LABELLERS ADHESLEEVE TECHNOLOGY is a labelling machine using white or clear pre-glued roll-fed films with thickness lower than the films normally used on classic roll-fed labellers.   The pre-glue film is not new is merely the evolution of adhesive tape technology since 1950. Any converter nowadays is able to pre-glue film for labels using standard materials available on the market. In fact the pre-glued labels are easy to be produced and easy to be found.         Due to this innovative technology P.E. has achieved several important goals: sanitary, environmental, ecological: the elimination of the hot melt, the absence of fumes produced by heating the hot melt as well as the elimination of harmful products to clean the glue residuals makes the product entirely recyclable user friendly, reliability, savings: this new labelling machine is easy to use and doesn’t need skilled labeller operators. Being available also with the thermal shrinking system, this te

Belgian print house Offset Vandevelde is enjoying huge time savings after automating its prepress operations using the KODAK PRINERGY POWERPACK Workflow and INSITE Prepress Portal System. The Kruishoutem-based company employs 19 people, with production taking place over two shifts. Kurt Vandevelde, joint owner of the family-run business, is responsible for prepress. “Time is crucial in a print environment,” he explained, “so receiving and processing the files, running proofs, and platesetting need to be as efficient as possible. This is something we’ve certainly achieved with KODAK Unified Workflow Solutions. The extensive automation means many of the more laborious tasks are taken care of, and has freed up our staff to work in other areas of the business and add value.” Servicing a fast-growing packaging market Offset Vandevelde has a varied order book with approximately half of the jobs comprised of commercial printing, such as flyers, brochures and posters, while the oth

Despite good understanding and prevalence of nutrition information on food labels in Europe, a lack of motivation and attention of consumers prevents labels from impacting positively on food choices.   These are the final results from the FLABEL project (Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life). The project provides state-of-the-art research on consumer behaviour  and nutrition labels,  and will provide guidelines for research, industry and policy-makers.   Nutrition labelling may be a quick guide to inform consumers about the nutritional value of different products, however use and actual effects on shopping basket composition have been largely unknown. Additionally, the different formats already in place (Nutrition table, Traffic Light scheme, Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), Health Logos, etc.) may stimulate different responses. FLABEL therefore aimed to fully examine the aspects that lead from label availability to effects on dietary intake.   In an EU-wide nu

Durst has installed the first Tau 150 8C UV Inkjet Label Press with eight colors anywhere in the world at Commerce, in Montréal, (Québec) Canada.   The company evaluated a number of digital label systems before deciding on the “Durst Digital Label Factory”, the Tau 150 8C and Rotoworx 330 converting and finishing system. “The Durst brand is well known in the wide format printing market, and their reputation for quality engineering and service was important in our decision to buy Durst” explains Jean Brazeau, founder and President of Commerce. With over 50 years’ experience in the Québec flexographic market, Commerce has seen an increased demand for short runs, faster turnaround times; and jobs with added value. “The investment in digital means we can offer our customers a highquality product without sacrificing turnaround times or service” he continued.   Source:  http://www.durst.it

The packaging for the “Krempewskoje” spread brand  is now being manufactured by GIZEH Verpackungen at its main factory in Bergneustadt, Germany.   The Krempewskoje brand is sold throughout Russia and the GUS-States. Gizeh Verpackungen is supplying a 450g pack where both tub and lid are injection-moulded  and  in-mould labelled. It replaces the customers previous pack which was a thermoformed post printed pack. The IML decoration of the new Gizeh pack covers virtually the entire tub, and gives the dark red and golden pack a lovely satin finish.   Source:  http://www.gizeh.de

Packaging has been the focus in recent years for the wine and spirits industry. The increasing popularity amongst a younger demographic (especially wine) has led to more competition. Thus, packaging that stands out on the shelves is a major advantage. Packaging designers are striving to do things a little less conventional while making the packaging memorable and creating a positive perception for the consumer.   In the case of wine packaging, it started with the label on the bottle itself. Over the past decade, wine’s popularity has increased quite a bit and wine enthusiasts are becoming younger and younger. So it’s only fitting that the wine labels are going to be designed to appeal to its target market. While wine packaging has increasingly become more colorful, fun, and vibrant, designers have been taking it a step further using unconventional methods to etch their packaging and experience into the consumer’s memory. Below are a few examples of wine and spirits packaging that a

Labelexpo Asia 2011, which was held between 29 November and 2 December in Shanghai, has proved to be the most successful year in the show’s history. The show exceeded all previous statistics in attendee and exhibitor numbers and many senior executives visited, confirming the importance of the event and the market in Asia.   In total, 18,019 top level visitors attended this year’s show – an increase of nine per cent over 2009’s show. Labelexpo Asia also boasted 270 exhibitors (up by 21% on 2009) and attracted the highest level of space rebooking for 2013 as exhibitors enjoyed high levels of onsite sales of machinery and materials.   Again proving to be a major vehicle for new product launches, the Labelexpo Asia showfloor was packed with new press demonstrations. New launches included Omet’s Flexy 330 press, Xeikon’s  high capacity and speed 3300 digital label press and  UPM Raflatac’s PP White TC 60 RH 9 ProLiner PP30. HP and Kama also showed for the first time the digital prin

HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a systematic preventative approach to food safety that addresses physical, chemical and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finish product inspection (food safety management system) that’s been adopted by government agencies in many countries. Numerous glass container customers have asked their packaging suppliers including their glass suppliers to adopt the approach. Although HACCP wasn’t specifically designed for glass container manufacturing, the basic principals can be applied as a proactive product safety program. To better adapt the HACCP approach to glass container manufacturing, GPI members have come together to produce a generic voluntary Glass Container HACCP Program that’s suitable and tailored for the many different types of glass container manufacturing operations and applications. Members of the GPI HACCP Group include representatives from Gallo, O-I, Saint Gobain and Vitro.   Download GPI’s HA

Twelve months ago SOS Print + Media Group in Sydney installed KODAK’s high-performance inkjet web press solution, the KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press. Director Michael Schulz says the leap of faith the company took, in being the first in Australasia to install this new KODAK Technology, is definitely paying off. “Being the first means we are ahead of the trend and at the forefront of innovation. That’s a very good place to be, especially in an environment where the ability to react quickly to market demands is tantamount to success,” said Schulz. He continues: “We chose the KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press because we needed an inkjet solution that would deliver on speed and quality, and help us to improve productivity. Since the press was installed we’ve seen a quantum leap in productivity. We literally can’t do without this press now, as the volume of digital print work we are doing is only increasing.” SOS Print + Media Group uses the KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press to produce a range of black-and-wh

ColorMunki Display, i1Profiler and i1Profiler D2LionEdition software now available as free downloads . X-Rite , Incorporated (NASDAQ: XRIT), the world leader in color management, measurement and communication technologies, today announces the availability of several free downloadable software updates including ColorMunki Display software, i1Profiler software and i1Profiler D2LionEdition software for i1Display LT and i1Display 2 Color Calibration Devices. “Today’s announcement of free software updates underscores X-Rite’s on going commitment to delivering the highest quality color management solutions.  We are committed to continually improve and enhance our software in order to deliver the world class solutions our customers expect,” said Thomas Kunz, X-Rite’s Market Manager, Imaging.  i1Profiler Software v.1.2 is the latest i1Profiler update offering several new functions and improvements including: Display Profiling Updates · Ability to balance RGB controls dur

Last week AC Labels played support to the UK band Coldplay on their Mylo Xyloto World Tour. “Yes, you heard correctly!” said Peter Hartshorn, General Manager at AC Labels “Although we do have some members of staff who can belt out a good tune on the karaoke, thankfully we were not actually on stage performing”.   The support was in the form of unique promotional labels that were enclosed within a specially interactive LED light wristband, the brainchild of the UK marketing strategies company RB Concepts.   “We were approached by RB Concepts as they knew of our expertise in large print runs of variable data barcode labelling ” said Jason Woodhouse, Business Development Manager. “The job needed to be turned around very quickly to meet their tight manufacturing deadline ahead of the Glasgow Arena Concert, a task we achieved within 36 hours, we are very proud to be working with such an innovative company as RB Concepts.”       AC Labels experience with data management en

Kodak recommends strategic partner to all KODAK NEXPRESS Press customers for waste management     Kodak is pleased to announce the launch of a sustainable support program for its printing and publishing customers in the UK with its preferred partner in this sector - J & G Environmental. The specialists in waste control will now be recommended to all Kodak’s existing and potential KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Press customers for the management of all consumable waste and all Operator Replaceable Components (ORCs) which will be collected, segregated and returned to a Kodak factory for refurbishment and reuse. J & G Environmental General Manager John Haines says: “We are delighted to have been chosen by Kodak as the preferred partner in its new Sustainable Printer Program (SPP). We have worked closely with Kodak for a number of years and the launch of the Sustainable Printer Program is the culmination of both companies’ aim to provide KODAK NEXPRESS Press

Through an extensive upgrade to a second plate manufacturing line at its facility in Leeds, UK, Kodak is increasing its capacity for production of process-free-technology printing plates that reduce environmental impact for customers.         The expansion in capacity is in response to growing demand from commercial and publication printers for THERMAL DIRECT Non Process Plates and from newspaper printers for PF-N Non Process Plates. In addition to meeting current demand in process-free-technology plate sales, which has grown by an average of 35 percent over the past two years, the enhanced production line also will help Kodak prepare for an exciting new product expected to be announced early next year.   KODAK THERMAL DIRECT Non Process Plates and KODAK PF-N Non Process Plates deliver the resolution and imaging accuracy of thermal, digital plates while eliminating the installation, management and maintenance of traditional processors and processing chemistry. Removing tradit

State of the European Economy and Future of Printing Technology. Why is Customer Communications Management getting so much attention? How data collected online can make for better targeted communications offline. Interactive print by using Mobile, Social Media, PURLs, QR codes, and Augmented Reality. Applications for high speed colour inkjet printers. Digital mailbox services, trends in hybrid mail and beyond mail consolidation services. When multichannel marketing strategies include paper. Marketing Dynamics across Europe: trends in communication and role of paper.  Tailormade solutions for the travel and tickets industry. Data Protection regulation in Europe for on line and off line communication.   These are the topics the European Marketing Dynamics Summit addressed in Bruxelles on last 25th and 26th of November. In a time when digital media have shuffled the market of communication the Summit showed to Print Service Providers and end users practical examples on how print can p