Labelling Blog

The organizers of the Labelexpo Global Series have formalized their partnership with Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) for this year’s edition of Labelexpo Americas, the biggest of its kind in the region. Lisa Milburn, managing director for the Labelexpo Global Series, explained:  “We are delighted to work more closely with the FTA, thereby formalizing our longstanding partnership. Flexible packaging is set to become the fastest growing segment of the labels and package printing industry*. This offers huge potential for package converters, technology suppliers and brand owners, but also poses challenges for the flexo sector which needs to adapt to the demands of an ever-changing industry. “The percentage of Labelexpo Americas visitors who are interested in flexible packaging has grown year on year, while for our 2018 edition, 66 per cent of over 450 exhibitors service flexible packaging and many will be launching flexible packaging products during the show. This progression

FINAT, the international association for the self-adhesive labelling industry, named Coveris this year’s winner of the 2018 FINAT Recycling and Sustainability Awards at its annual European Label Forum. FINAT recycling consultant Jacques van Leeuwen chaired the jury, supported by Andreas Faul of INGEDE (Paper deinking industry), Peter Sundt of EPRO (the European organisation of plastics recycling) and Rosalyn Bandy of TLMI (Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute, Inc.). “We were delighted by the variety of entries presenting different commercially successful ways to increase the sustainability of the self-adhesive label industry. They ranged from downgauging to improving the recyclability of materials used in the production process. This year the widened scope of the awards allowed us to recognize the breath of activities being undertaken at all stages of the production process to improve the environmental credentials of the self-adhesive label industry, from raw materials all th

The Flexographic business of Flint Group is gearing up for an exciting presentation at the upcoming Labelexpo Americas 2018, to be held in Rosemont, IL September 25 – 27. As an integral part of the “Flint Group Label Factory,” an unmatched product and service portfolio that covers all steps of the value chain for label printing, the Flexographic division will demonstrate how it adds value to prepress and press side operations with its latest innovations in nyloflex ® printing plates, plate processing equipment and rotec ® sleeves and adapters for label and narrow web printing. “As a solutions provider, Flint Group is able to share its expertise in the different flexo printing components to develop products that synergistically work together to deliver added value to our customers,” states Jim Rogers, Vice President / General Manager Flexographic. “For example, we used our technical competence in the area of inks to foster our development of the nyloflex ® XVH thermal printing plat

Huanlejia, well-known as a Chinese producer of food and beverages, recently started producing its coconut milk – formerly packaged in HDPE – in PET bottles. Its main objectives in this change were to reinforce its brand image and increase production speed. The company relied on Sidel’s 40-year expertise in aseptic packaging to make this happen. The new coconut milk PET bottle, already awarded by local consumers, is produced on two Sidel complete aseptic PET packaging lines, running at 48,000 bottles per hour (bph). In 2016, coconut and other plant waters was the fastest growing beverage product category globally with a remarkable 20% value growth. The success of this new category can be linked to an increased consumer demand for healthy and functional hydration solutions. While coconut water dominates the market of packaged plant and root waters, the peripheries of this category have seen a wide range of new product introductions and sophisticated ex

For the 14th consecutive year, representatives from web offset printing houses that use Cortina printing presses from the Koenig and Bauer group will meet from 26 to 27 September 2018. As this year’s host, ink manufacturer huber group is looking forward to welcoming participants in Munich. In the last year, huber group has reorientated its focus to the field of web offset printing. After revising formulation principles and undertaking comprehensive measures to optimise the consistent quality of manufacturing through targeted, procedural adjustments, the ink manufacturer is once again enjoying market success with competitive inks for waterless newspaper printing. Around 90 participants from more than ten countries will be able to update themselves on the latest industry developments through numerous technical presentations. The speakers include Bernd Groh and Henry Winkler from huber group, a partner from the supply industry, who will speak about current experiences in waterless new

Brands and suppliers in the packaging, sign and display supply chains face many challenges in today’s fast-paced and highly competitive marketplace. Esko can help: During this series of five seminars attendees will receive a wealth of new ideas and approaches for the future of their businesses. Ghent (Belgium), August 24, 2018 – Esko ( www.esko.com ) will be conducting a series of five full-day educational seminars for packaging professionals over the next several weeks. Seminars will be held in: Stuttgart on Tuesday 11/09 Düsseldorf on Thursday 13/09 Malmö on Wednesday 02/10 Paris on Thursday 11/10 Manchester on Tuesday 30/10 These seminars will consist of plenary sessions with expert and thought-leadership content as well as break-out sessions dedicated to specific segments across labels, flexible packaging, corrugated carton, folding carton, sign and display production. “We are excited to be presenting these important educational sessions,” said Eddy Fa

For everyone involved in the pressure-sensitive label industry supply chain and planning to visit Labelexpo Americas, the AWA  Label Release Liner Seminar 2018 represents a valuable co-located feature event.   Taking place at a prime location, the Aloft Chicago O’Hare Hotel close by the Donald E Stephens Convention Center, on September 24th -- the day before the show opens -- the seminar addresses an appropriate theme:  ‘Release Liner in a Changing Label Market’. Wide-ranging program content The day’s program spans every aspect of the subject, from materials management, sustainability, downgauging, recycling, linerless labeling, coating and lamination, to AWA’s data on the global market today.   In addition to presentations from a number of leading suppliers, it features a panel discussion led by Corey Reardon, AWA Alexander Watson Associates, on the issues, challenges and opportunities facing the release liner industry over the next five years.   This debate brings together a high

South Africa is receiving another Screen UV inkjet label press, this time at Cape Town's Label Link. Sold through ROTOCON, the sale also includes a ROTOCON Ecoline RDF 340 machine for digital label converting and finishing. The Screen Truepress Jet L350UV+ brings unrivalled levels of functionality and productivity to label production. It's prominent inkjet-head technology ensures both outstanding quality and throughput. For richer reproduction of colours, Label Link has invested in the newly supported orange ink, an option along with their standard C, M, Y, K and white inks for vivid colour functionality. Corporate colours that usually require spot colours can be reproduced with complete accuracy. Complementing Label Link's new Screen UV inkjet press is ROTOCON's own servo-driven Ecoline RDF 340 for digital label converting and finishing, the fourth machine sold in South Africa over the last 12 months. ROTOCON service technicians will install, train and pr

Avery Dennison will be the first pressure sensitive labelling material supplier to introduce liner made from recycled PET (rPET) commercially in Europe. This move reflects the firm’s commitment to finding more sustainable solutions for the labelling industry. Jasper Zonnenberg, global director films, explains that the new rPET liner uses carefully selected post-consumer waste (PCW) and will be introduced in October 2018 across a number of self-adhesive constructions: “Avery Dennison has established eight ambitious sustainability goals that we are committed to achieving by 2025. As part of these goals we are focused on reducing waste, not only throughout our operations, but also through the whole value chain. We are determined to pioneer change across the industry. With a continued innovation focus on solutions that are responsibly sourced, use reduced amounts of material and are more easily recyclable we are pleased to be able to introduce a rPET liner to our portfolio - a liner

International label association FINAT has launched its #LABELicious competition to attract fresh, creative and enthusiastic industry talent. The initiative follows the finding of the latest FINAT Radar industry survey that discovered how challenging it is for the industry to attract a newly skilled next generation workforce. The competition also marks FINAT’s 60th anniversary, and its aim is to increase awareness among students and young professionals about the creative, technical and leadership skills involved in shaping tomorrow’s labels and label sector. The goal is to educate students and young professionals about the exciting and challenging opportunities the industry offers and how their innovative spirits can make a difference. The #LABELicious competition features three categories, all of which have an important sustainability aspect. These include: Brand Design : The winning entry will demonstrate how in 2025 a branded label will create an outstanding experien

Bringing their "Finish First" theme unveiled at Labelexpo Europe 2017, ROTOCONTROL will join EMT International in their first exhibition at Labelexpo Americas 2018 . Visitors to the show can find an array of ROTOCONTROL and EMT International finishing technologies in hall C, booth 3511. Finish FIRST with ROTOCONTROL With three machines showcasing a range of finishing innovations with live demonstrations, ROTOCONTROL is urging printers and converters to finish first and in control, at a very crucial part of the printing process. On stand will be the DT-Series 340 for advanced finishing of digitally preprinted label rolls, the FC-Series 540 fully-automatic turret for rewinding of pressure sensitive self-adhesive labels, and the RSC-Series 440 high-performance, compact, extremely robust label slitter/rewinder. EMT International finishing solutions EMT will provide technical information and application support for their Chameleon high speed inkjet finishing solu

Based in Noida, India and established in 1985, Uflex is India’s largest flexible packaging company. Delivering substantial manufacturing of packaging films and products and providing an end to end security solution to customers in over 140 countries. As an existing Edale customer having already purchased an Edale around 6 years ago, Uflex have once again invested in Edale, this time with a 10 colour 350mm web width FL3 flexographic press including IST UV drying system including 3 hot air dryers, motorised print impression, anilox pressure and cross register control system, a rail mounted peel and reveal module and a vacuum delivery table. Edale’s Sales & Marketing Director Darren Pickford, who works closely with Edale’s Agent Amitabh Luthra, MD of Printers Supply Company, comments: “This new press order from Uflex is a testament to Edale’s continued commitment to the Indian market and is a valued addition to our growing machine install base within the region.

Xeikon Prepress, part of theFlint Group, will demonstrate platemaking solutions that optimise and drive productivity at Labelexpo Americas, Chicago, 25 to 27 September. Xeikon Prepress can be found in Hall A, Stand 728 at the show. Xeikon Prepress which designs and manufactures high quality, robust Computer to Plate equipment, digital platemaking systems under the ThermoFlexX brand name and CtCP as basysPrint, will show the ThermoFlexX 48-S. It offers fully automatic plate loading and unloading with a productivity up to 6m2/hr and a choice of imaging resolutions up to 5080 dpi. With the latest imager and multiplate software release customers will benefit from an optimized output, automatically selecting the best quality at the highest productivity. The ThermoFlexX User Interface automatically informs the operator for basic preventive maintenance actions, keeping the imager in perfect condition. Xeikon’s enhanced WoodPecker II solution provides surface screening at different r

Labelexpo Americas is the prime opportunity to witness the new face of Mark Andy and truly understand our commitment to the converter. Formerly a company maintaining an OEM-centric business model, the organization has more than doubled its supply and service operations and expanded workflow offerings in recent years. Six new innovations never before seen by the Labelexpo Americas audience will be unveiled and eight technologies are slated to be demonstrated during the three-day event in stand 319. Game-Changing Flexo Innovations The Performance Series press line is a Labelexpo veteran. However, this year’s show brings a new model- the P7E. The P7E was recently launched and brings key advancements that promote operator efficiencies and enhanced automation through Mark Andy AI. The P7E is also joined by the new P5E and P9E models. The P9E is catered to those interested in going wider and taking all competencies of the P5E and P7E into film and flexible packaging. An interactive P9E

Xeikon Prepress, part of theFlint Group, will demonstrate platemaking solutions that optimise and drive productivity at Labelexpo Americas, Chicago, 25 to 27 September. Xeikon Prepress can be found in Hall A, Stand 728 at the show. Xeikon Prepress which designs and manufactures high quality, robust Computer to Plate equipment, digital platemaking systems under the ThermoFlexX brand name and CtCP as basysPrint, will show the ThermoFlexX 48-S. It offers fully automatic plate loading and unloading with a productivity up to 6m2/hr and a choice of imaging resolutions up to 5080 dpi. With the latest imager and multiplate software release customers will benefit from an optimized output, automatically selecting the best quality at the highest productivity. The ThermoFlexX User Interface automatically informs the operator for basic preventive maintenance actions, keeping the imager in perfect condition. Xeikon’s enhanced WoodPecker II solution provides surface screening at different r

The industry-leading private label bottled water supplier, Niagara Bottling LLC, with its many plants throughout the US and Mexico, has recently upgraded its Salt Lake City facility with a Sidel complete PET line. The line features two Super Combis, equipped with the innovative and compact ground-level preform feeder, EasyFEED™, along with Gebo Cermex conveying and end-of-line equipment. This investment has enabled the ambitious bottler to significantly increase its productivity through high-speed, efficient manufacturing and high availability rates of the line. Niagara Bottling LLC, with more than 50 years of business experience, has based its success in the water market on offering customers a high-quality product, which is safe and has a great taste profile. Grounded on the fact that the PET bottled water market in the US is expected to grow by a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 3% year on year between 2016 and 2020 1 , the company decided to rely on its long-standing busines