Labelling Blog

Nilpeter is the first press manufacturer to install GEW's new ArcLED hybrid UV curing system. It will be installed on three FA-4* UV-flexo presses, which are designed for high productivity of pressure-sensitive labels and flexible packaging. The ArcLED E2C and LW1 Two of the FA-4* orders come from large, long-established American converters. The first ever ArcLED hybrid press was acquired by Flexible Technologies based in Orem, Utah, a privately owned company. The second American company is Best Label Co, a privately owned company formed in 1976 and headquartered in Cerritos, California. A third press FA-4* with the hybrid curing system has been delivered to UK-based OPM Group. For digital InkJet printing too The ArcLED curing system is also an option for Nilpeter's new PANORAMA UV-InkJet digital press line. It receives its global debut at LabelExpo Europe in Brussels in Hall 7, Stand no. 7B35. This major development from the Danish press manufacturer integrates many

Mark Andy Inc., leading manufacturer of globally distributed label and package printing and converting machinery, has put an emphasis on corporate responsibility, committing to reduce its carbon footprint by transforming waste disposal methods. The company has begun supplying a majority of its operational waste as raw material in the production of an alternative fuel source, ENVIRO-Fuelcubes®, a green fossil fuel substitute produced by Materials Lifecycle Management Company (MLMC). This is a bold step in Mark Andy’s effort to positively impact the community and promote a greener environment. ENVIRO-Fuel Cubes are MLMC's innovative alternative to coal. MLMC, located near St. Louis, MO USA, is committed to providing solutions to transfer millions of tons of Secondary Recovered Materials (SRM) – nonresidential, non-hazardous, solid materials that are being landfilled or incinerated annually in the United States. MLMC has developed a manufacturing process which converts SRM i

Xeikon, an innovator in digital color printing technology, is pleased to announce that it has now opened a second Technology Center in the Asia Pacific region. The new Center is located in Tokyo and signifies continued growth and expansion for Xeikon in the region. The grand opening included a Xeikon Café featuring a number of educational partner presentations.  More than 50 invited guests joined Xeikon for this exciting event, including trade journalists. “We are seeing continued and unprecedented growth in the Asia Pacific region,” Wim Maes, Xeikon’s CEO, says, “and we are especially pleased to be able to open this important Technology Center in Japan. This state-of-the-art facility will play an important role in spurring growth for Xeikon in Japan, and in helping our Japanese customers make the most of their investments in Xeikon. The Center will focus on testing, benchmarking and product demonstrations that the Japanese printing and packaging community has been requesting a

Full details have been announced for the Packprint Workshop as it returns to Labelexpo Europe’s show floor for 2015. Being held at Brussels Expo in Belgium from 29 September to 2 October, the popular feature area is again set to be one of the exhibition’s key attractions. The technical workshop will give visitors the opportunity to enhance their product knowledge, understand the capabilities of the latest cutting edge technologies and learn how to add scale to their existing business.  The Packprint Workshop has been developed and hosted in partnership with Nilpeter and Xeikon. During daily 30 minute long workshops in Hall 8 (Stand A05), label converters will discover how to produce packaging using both digital and conventional printing. Nilpeter will demonstrate how to print flexible packaging and Xeikon will showcase carton printing. Nilpeter’s FA-4* press, with a web width of 420mm (16.5in) and a top speed of 175m/min (574ft/min), will run various sachet jobs. An innovative sle

Schreiner MediPharm has developed in a joint project with the packaging manufacturer Edelmann an innovative solution which makes important product information accessible without opening the pharmaceutical pack. The packaging solution is based on the requirements of the EU Falsified Medicines Directive 2011/62/EU. The solution by Schreiner MediPharm and Edelmann: The package insert is easy to access by pharmacists and patients without affecting the first-opening protection of the pack. Among other things, the said EU directive requires a security seal for the outer packaging of medicines, in order to prevent manipulations. Pharmacists can then only read the package insert after destroying the seal which is meant to form a barrier and to serve as a first-opening indication. In order to avoid this, Schreiner MediPharm as a leading manufacturer of specialty labels for the pharmaceutical industry has jointly developed with Edelmann, a leading supplier of folding boxes, a novel soluti

AWA Alexander Watson Associates’ latest addition to their portfolio of release liner market reports focuses on a region of considerable interest today:  South America.  Today representing just 4% of the global market overall for release liners, the continent nevertheless represents – alongside Asia -- one of the leading regional opportunities for future market growth in release liner usage.   AWA South American Release Liner Market Study 2015 provides insights of value to all involved in, or seeking to explore, the complex release liner supply chain in the region, in terms of current and forecast future status.   In terms of end-use markets, South America’s release liner usage is dominated by pressure-sensitive labelstock applications, which currently claim over 60% of usage.  Other segments for growth are said to be graphic arts applications and medical and hygiene products.   Overall annual growth in the medium term is predicted to be 4%. Release liner structures The repor

2015 is a memorable year for Distillerie Caffo: indeed this year it celebrates its 100th anniversary.  This is a crucial target for the company founded in 1915 by Giuseppe Caffo and based in Limbadi (VV). Over the years the company kept expanding in Italy and abroad: its first international subsidiary, Caffo Beverages Inc., was founded in New Jersey (USA) in 1999. In 2006 it acquired a distillery near Udine specialising in making quality grappa and then set up a company in Munich to expand on the German market. Its latest achievement, in 2013, was the management of production and sales of the Borsci plant of Taranto. Gruppo Caffo provides a number of specialities in terms of spirits and other products, including: grappa, liqueurs, syrups, creamy liqueurs, sticks of liquorice and chocolate pralines, though its true pride and joy is the renowned “Vecchio Amaro del capo”. Distillerie Caffo has been a P.E. LABELLERS client for years and it currently labels its small-sized products w

Established in 1912 in Bourges (central France) by George Monin, over the years the company reported impressive growth whilst remaining a strictly family-run firm. Now in its third generation, Monin is the top leading company on the syrups market; with 75 million bottles made on average every year, it operates in five continents and 100 countries. Monin has two plants in Europe, a production site in Florida that makes 10 million bottles for the US market alone and two sites in Asia serving the local market, a 75m euro turnover with 100 different syrup flavours. One of our clients already since 2005, in 2014 it reconfirmed its trust in our labelling systems, especially because of the advantage provided by P.E. LABELLERS of having a direct presence with its branches, consisting of sales and after-sales staff, for their production sites in France, the US, China and Malaysia. Indeed last year we provided two cutting-edge MODULAR PLUS 1120 labelling machines with 4 and 5 peninsula la

UPM Raflatac has achieved ISO 50001 certification for its factory in Nancy, France. ISO 50001 is an energy management system for continuous improvement in energy efficiency, and in consequence energy costs and environmental impacts. Nancy is the first UPM Raflatac site to achieve this certification. Since the ISO 50001 project began, energy efficiency compared to each preceding year at Nancy improved by 7% in 2013 and 8% in 2014. In the longer term, continuous improvement is expected to yield an energy consumption reduction of 10-15%. The energy management system also aligns with the UPM’s long term environmental targets and Clean Run programme where UPM Raflatac aims to reduce product carbon footprint by 15% through selection of raw materials, energy efficiency and logistics by 2020. The front-running Nancy factory already has ISO 9001 Quality Management, ISO 14001 Environmental Management and OHSAS18001 Health and Safety Management certifications in place. Factory Genera

Mondi’s Consumer Goods Packaging business in North America will exhibit flexible packaging in a variety of configurations, with innovative closures and handling devices, at Pack Expo 2015, Las Vegas, September 28 – 30. Packages on display will exhibit high definition flexographic and rotogravure printing. Highlights include Mondi’s  Square Bag, which is preapproved for use on PSG LEE filling machines; the robust FlexZiBox® Flexible Bag with Side Pour Function and the Flat Bottom Bag. Mondi is in touch with its customers every day, providing innovative solutions for virtually any flexible packaging application. At the show, Mondi will occupy Booth S-6719. The Square Bag Mondi’s Square Bag packaging solution has been tested and preapproved by PPi Technologies GROUP for use on PSG LEE filling machines. No additional tooling or adjustments are needed with the Square Bag. It is ready for integration into existing filling lines in diverse packaging applications. At Pack Expo, Mondi

Edale, the UK manufacturer of high specification printing and converting equipment today announce their attendance at this year’s Labelexpo Europe. Edale confirm they will be exhibiting the much‐anticipated Graphium‐Hybrid. Graphium is a fully integrated solution that combines workflow, digital and flexographic print with automated finishing, delivering a highly productive solution for the manufacture of short, medium and long run labels, packaging and cartons.     Edale’s partnership alongside FFEI led to the creation of the Graphium Hybrid, a printer that provides the efficiencies of digital printing technology alongside the more traditional, robust flexo printing and finishing.  This allows customers to choose a significantly wider range of solutions for their printing requirements.   As the packaging and labelling market demands more time and waste efficiencies, Edale have manufactured a machine that allows printers the opportunity to invest wisely in new technologies that

Colordyne Technologies is pleased to announce Brian Connolly has joined the company in the role of Vice President, Sales and Marketing. Connolly brings 28 years of experience in converting, labels, printers, software, coatings and adhesives to Colordyne’s leadership team. Connolly served as a senior executive in sales, marketing and business development with Milwaukee-based Brady Corporation, a global manufacturer of high performance labeling solutions and die cut converting. He also served as general manager of the North American division of barcode software publisher Teklynx International and managing director of Brady Medical Converting, a global converter of disposable medical products. Connolly also brings international experience to Colordyne, having spent three years in the Asia-Pacific region developing a marketing function and sales forces throughout the region for Brady. More recently, Connolly was involved in several private ventures including commodities futures and

A project for the General Soft Drinks Co ltd (GSD) of Malta, the country’s sole licensed bottler of Coca-Cola products, has demonstrated the capacity to add new technology to an existing line with minimum disruption following the installation of a new Rollquattro rollfed labeller in only five days.    The decision to acquire the new Rollquattro labelling machine from Sidel the world’s leading global provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging was taken after GSD had considered the retrofitting of an existing rollfed labeller.  “With the high season about to start, we consulted Sidel - originally to have our existing Rollquattro rollfed labeller retrofitted with all the relevant upgrades,” commented Brian Galea, Technical Manager at GSD.  “Sidel undertook a careful evaluation of the whole situation on our behalf. When they presented the results of this thorough analysis and the comparable improvements we would likely be faced with by investing in the new machine, we quickly

Esko ( www.esko.com ) reports on a highly successful edition of the recently organized Honours Class in Flexible Packaging. This Honours Class is organized in cooperation with the Artevelde University College Ghent. The unique Honours Class provides the school’s education program with a complementary in-depth course on Flexible Packaging Prepress. The 2015 Honours Class thrived on last year’s two weeks Summer Class, but was now formalized with credits and widened to include international partners of Artevelde University College. The Honours Class is from this year on an official free of choice add-on program worth 13 credits supplementary to the 180 credits of the bachelor degree Graphic and Digital Media of the Artevelde University College in Ghent. Also new for this year’s session was the participation of international students, with nine attendees from Canada, Finland and Slovenia, next to nine Artevelde students. All of these third-year students enjoyed both a theoretical and pra

As part of its ongoing program of live webinars, the Association of International Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators, AIMCAL, recently featured a leading-edge market insights webinar on release liner in its events program.   Presented by international market researchers AWA Alexander Watson Associates, who have a unique industry focus on the specialty paper, film, packaging, coating and converting sector, the event attracted over 170 registrants to learn about the latest developments.  Release liner’s many roles Release liner is unquestionably a key enabler for applying labels and tapes, protecting the seals on envelopes, hygiene and consumer wound care products, as well as a variety of industrial uses.    Based on the latest AWA research, Corey M Reardon, President & CEO of AWA Alexander Watson Associates provided an overview of both the global and the regional markets for release liners. He outlined the market by segment and by substrate, and included data on future proje

Following the successful launch of the AWA Sleeve Label Awards this year, AWA Alexander Watson Associates are now accepting entries for the 2016 competition.   Developed to recognize this dynamic industry’s outstanding achievements in stretch- and shrink-sleeve labeling and product decoration, the Awards are open to all participants in the sleeve label value chain -- designers, film producers, printers/converters, end users/brand owners. Award categories Awards will be presented in four categories:  heat shrink TD sleeves, stretch sleeves, roll-fed MD shrink sleeves, and sleeves of any type which demonstrate special environmental consideration. In addition, all class winners will automatically be entered for recognition as the outstanding entry overall --  as the ‘Best Sleeve Label’ of 2016. The competition will close for entries on Friday January 29 2016, and entry forms are available via the AWA Alexander Watson Associates website at https://www.awa-bv.com/files/web/fil

Watershed Packaging are a fast growing adhesive label and flexible packaging producer with three production sites, including a recently completed  custom-built factory in Leeds. Watershed needed a slitting machine with fast set-up times to slit material used within its conversion operation. Watershed chose the Universal X6 for its automatic shear knife set up, ease of operation and closed loop tension control.  The X6 automation systems and fast, easy job set-up enable Watershed to respond quickly to customers’ requirements with minimal downtime and reduced waste. The Universal X6 slitting machine is designed for processing flexible materials. A typical specification includes digital web guiding, automatic knife setting (ComputaSlit), an additional tension zone through slitting, closed loop rewind tension control, constant geometry contact rollers, automatic core alignment (ComputaCore) and a running speed of 600m/min. The machine is designed to be simple to operate with a 22inch

X-Rite Incorporated, a global leader in color science and technology, and its subsidiary Pantone LLC, today announce that the company has donated two X-Rite eXact™ Advanced Scan Spectrophotometers and one Ci64 Portable Sphere Spectrophotometer to the Technology Centre (TZ) of the DFTA flexographic association in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1994, the DFTA-TZ serves as the center of Flexographic excellence. X-Rite’s donations will improve how their students measure color in the flexo printing process. The DFTA-TZ offers seminars, workshops and continuous training and extension studies that train and support experts in the Flexographic printing method. This training, combined with DFTA’s ongoing scientific press experiments and research, ensures the flexo industry will flourish today and well into the future. X-Rite’s donation of the Ci64 and the X-Rite eXact Advanced Scan spectrophotometers are designed to support that mission. Mr. Anton Jahn, Lab Engineer for Research and De

Reliability being a key issue to the management at Wind Walker, President Mike Willeford found it an easy decision to decide upon a Nilpeter FB-3300 UV-press. Established in Kiel, Wisconsin, in 1994, Wind Walker produces many variations of prime labels and flexible packaging, including pressure sensitive labels, cut and stack labels, roll fed labels, unsupported film, and shrink sleeves. “When we were in the market for a top-notch press, that we know would start producing on day one, we didn’t look any further than Nilpeter”, says Mike Willeford. “Their responsiveness to our urgent situation definitely weighed into our decision making process, but first and foremost was our long history with Nilpeter and our confidence in the FB- Line. The press was only in our building a matter of a few days, before we had it printing 8-colour labels at 500 FPM with incredible quality. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a great flexo press." It is Wind Walker’s philosophy that c

PhotoBox, Europe's leading personalised product printing company, is supporting growth in its canvas production division with investment in an Esko Kongsberg XN22 digital finishing device and Automation Engine prepress workflow solution. James Lawrence-Jones, Group Technical Innovation Director of PhotoBox, expects last year’s record canvas volumes produced in one single day will be broken, as a result of the streamlined production enabled by the Esko solutions. “We broke the record at peak season, and I am confident that this year, with our newly streamlined and automated operation, we will beat it again,” he says. “We expect to continue to see increasing demand for our canvas products as customer desire to personalize their homes continues to grow, and having the best-of-breed solutions, automated workflow and a very robust cutting solution will help us not only cope with the increasing demand but ensure we maintain our best of breed next day turnaround service levels and e

Kodak Limited and Guiton Group Limited announced today the birth of KP Services (Jersey) Limited, a collaboration between Kodak and Guiton Group Limited, which also owns the Jersey Evening Post . KP Services (Jersey) Limited will print the Jersey Evening Post as well as the majority of U.K. national newspapers (11 titles in total) for distribution in Jersey and Guernsey. It is estimated that KP Services (Jersey) Limited will print approximately 35,000 newspapers in total each day (made up of the combined circulations required for each separate publication). The new service will bring a number of benefits to Guernsey and Jersey and, in particular, will overcome the challenges of reliable delivery by avoiding the frequent weather delays associated with flying newspapers into islands on the day of publication. KP Services (Jersey) Limited will open for business in 2016. Kodak will install two KODAK PROSPER 6000P Presses and four of the newly-launched Hunkeler Combi-Solution News

Over 400 participants are expected to come together, learn and network about the technology behind digital print at The Inkjet Conference 2015. Developed in partnership with drupa, organised by ESMA and offering a two-track programme of over 50 technical presentations the event takes place on 7-8th October 2015 in Swissôtel Neuss/Düsseldorf Germany. “The narrow web sector has witnessed recent important players challenging the market with new digital solutions. The movement towards digital starts to include traditional brands, as well, which only shows how mature the digital inkjet technology has grown in the last couple of years,” says Peter Buttiens, CEO of ESMA. The full impact of inkjet print has not yet been seen in the label and packaging market and still the core technology continues to evolve at breakneck speeds. Early developments aside, the breakthroughs occurred with innovations in “re-circulating ink systems” and “small multi-level drops”. This in combination with incre

The full impact of inkjet print technology has not yet been seen in the label and packaging market and still the core technology continues to evolve at breakneck speeds. Steve Knight from TheIJC.com explains how digital revolutionises the industry. Early developments aside, the breakthroughs occurred with innovations in “re-circulating ink systems” and “small multi-level drops”. This in combination with increased nozzle density and ink improvements has led to reliable high speed, high resolution, single pass digital label presses. The first generation of machines satisfied market’s demand for flexibility, the second quickly followed with improvements in image quality. Each successive generation of machines shows yet higher performance and more integration to a digital workflow; each generation building on developments in the core inkjet technologies. We are now starting to see direct to object printing which – when fully implemented – will revolutionise the production process.

Xeikon, an innovator in digital color printing technology, announces that US-based Action Packaging Systems, Inc. is the second North American and the fifth worldwide pilot site for Xeikon Cheetah technology. Xeikon’s newest digital label press based on Cheetah technology – the Xeikon CX3 – will complement Action Packaging’s existing production platform which includes a Xeikon 3500 digital press as well as flexographic printing solutions. Action Packaging selected the Xeikon CX3 to support its mission of providing high quality products within exceptionally fast turnaround times to its customers. The outstanding speed of the press (98 ft/min or 30m/min) combined with Xeikon’s reputation for reliability and quality, made Xeikon Cheetah the technology of choice for Action Packaging. “Our customers know that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that their labels are delivered in a timely fashion, without any compromises on quality. Everything our business does supports this goal,”

The commitment that Sidel is making in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been independently evaluated, placing the leading global provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging in the top 30% of the 20,000 companies assessed in 2015. Sidel received a Silver CSR rating from EcoVadis, a sustainability rating platform used to understand, track and improve environmental, ethical and social performance worldwide. Respect for the environment and a strong focus on CSR and Corporate Governance is fundamental to Sidel’s operations. Nicholas Bloch is Executive Vice President for Communications at Sidel and comments – “Sidel’s purpose is to help brands protect the product inside and the planet outside. We continue to implement CSR in everything we do to help us achieve this and are pleased to see our EcoVadis rating this year is an improvement on last year.” Supply chain focus As a rating platform, EcoVadis focuses on the whole supply chain with a system which brings