April 2003 Issue
2003 Excellance Awards-Indelible Inland
THE SHEER SIZE and impeccable registration of the Domaine Chandon Brut corrugated preprint entry captured the attention of the 2003 Excellence Awards judges and this year's Best of Show prize. The package, produced by Inland Paperboard and Packaging, stands 75˝ tall with six panels printed across the web—a difficult undertaking, remarked Cordes Porcher of Smurfit-Stone Container and a 2003 Excellence Awards judge. "The registration across the web is very consistent," Porcher said, "and the size of the repeat is very large. As a result, the job was very difficult." Excellence Awards judge Roy Webb of Mark Andy added, "Because of the big sheet it
Check, Check, Check!
Two packaging printers share their ideas on preflighting electronic design files. IT WAS A printer by the name of Ben Franklin who once quipped "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Farsighted and wise as he was, Ben could never have imagined how true those words would ring for his twenty-first century inky-fingered brethren. Preflighting—the process of reviewing and repairing incoming electronic files from agencies and designers—is good medicine for avoiding costly and time-consuming problems further down the road in the production process. Whether you use off-the-shelf preflighting software, or have developed your own procedures, the extent to which you examine
Digital Does It
Digital printing is in its early stages of adoption in package printing, but it promises to add real value to any converter's capabilities. packagePRINTING POSED A series of questions to experts from companies that are actively involved in different aspects of digital printing. The following are their responses. pP: What are the main strengths that digital printing has to offer package printers? Chris Faust, director of business development, Chromas/Aquaflex: The main strength is variability—this can be in the form of barcodes, numbers, and languages. Don Bence, VP, labels and packaging, Xeikon America, Inc.: • Low cost proofing on actual substrates; • Very short runs
State of the Industry-Flexible Packaging
FLEXIBLE PACKAGING CONTINUES to be an area for growth opportunities in the package printing industry, even in an economic recovery that is spotty at best. Several market drivers for this growth potential were identified in a study done in 2002 by The Freedonia Group titled, "World Converted Flexible Packaging." These drivers include: the expansion of end-use markets such as snack foods, pet and prepared foods, and pharmaceuticals; the continuing trend for conversion of rigid packaging to new flexible packaging alternatives; the need to reduce packaging costs and volume; and the increased use of stand-up pouches and liquid flexible packaging. The Flexible Packaging Association's
State of the Industry-Industry Wide
LAST OCTOBER, DURING a panel discussion at GRAPH EXPO® and CONVERTING EXPO® 2002, one long-time industry observer noted that the printing industry isn't really one industry at all, but rather a collection of different niches and specialties in which conditions, pressures, and opportunities can vary widely. Bearing this diversity in mind is the key to understanding where our industry may be headed in 2003. Clearly, the starting point for any such discussion is a distinctly lackluster 2002. A number of factors have come together during the last two years to create one of the most challenging periods our industry has ever faced. National economic
State of the Industry-Tags and Labels
THE BEST THING that could be said about 2002 is that our economy was in a recovery mode. The ongoing problem is that this recovery is not one that is exuding much business confidence. It seems like everyone is looking over their shoulder waiting for the shoe to drop. There is much uncertainty, what Dr. Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisors, termed as "event uncertainty" at his presentation at TLMI's Annual Meeting in October. And it appears that this uncertainty won't go away anytime soon. Prakken pointed out that this recovery will be different from typical recoveries that we've seen in the past, mainly
Top Flexible Packaging Converters
One flexible package printer looked across the Atlantic to save its shop. ALMOST TWO YEARS ago, Lawson Mardon USA Inc., an Alcan Packaging Company in Bellwood, Ill. realized it was at a competitive disadvantage. Other companies in the flexible food packaging industry were beginning to deliver flatter, clearer products. Suddenly, some of Alcan's most important customers began scaling back their orders. To make matters worse, Alcan needed to increase capacity, but because of its location in a residential area, there was no room for expansion. Alcan's management team contemplated integrating, for the first time in the history of the site, solventless, off-line
