Kate Sharon

The key to a high-performance, flawless flexo printing plate is time—imaging time, processing time, and drying time. by Kate Sharon, Associate Editor EMERIL LAGASSE IS a thorough chef who doesn't take shortcuts when preparing his mouth-watering cuisine. He never skips over the most tedious of cooking chores, and he never forgets to "take it up a notch" or add a "bam!". As flexo platemakers take it up a notch to meet today's demands for faster turnarounds, shortcuts can quickly spoil the key ingredients consumer product companies need most to build their brands: accurate and consistent color. The platemaker's role is more important than ever

Shrink substrates are popular for packaging, but they wouldn't be anywhere without the high-performance powers of shrink inks. by Kate Sharon, Associate Editor INKS USED FOR shrink applications have to be capable of going above and beyond the call of ordinary ink duties. Shrink inks have to adhere well to film substrates, hold color despite heat, maintain a certain coefficient of friction (COF), and—most importantly—shrink. "[Shrink inks] need to have superior adhesion, flexibility, be fairly heat resistant because heat is involved in the process, and [be made with] pigments that won't change color or fade with heat application," said Ed Dedman, market development

A troubleshooting guide to coatings and adhesives. by Kate Sharon, Associate Editor COATINGS AND ADHESIVES are the unsung heroes of the packaging world. They protect a package and its goods, while making it look and perform exceedingly better than it would otherwise. But when a problem arises in the application or formulation of a coating or adhesive, those protective, enhancing, and functional substances can be the sole reason for a job's rejection. To get to the root of such costly issues and for ways to prevent them, packagePRINTING recently asked industry suppliers for their advice. Coatings Coatings play a very critical role in

Stamping and embossing experts reveal how to get the best results from the package-enhancing processes. by Kate Sharon, Associate Editor THE VALUE OF stamping and embossing equipment is well known. In today's retail world, where it's hard to walk down a grocery store aisle without seeing several packages enhanced by the glimmer of foil, stamping and embossing capabilities are a converter's key to value-added products. "Increasingly competitive markets create a larger demand for differentiation in product, packaging, and promotion, which is perfect for foil stamping and embossing," according to Jim Hutchison, senior vice president of sales of Universal Engraving Inc., a foil stamping and

Despite losses in market share, paper labels continue to dominate. by Kate Sharon, Associate Editor WITH ALL THE talk about film substrates, it's easy to forget that paper is still the most widely used material for packaging labels. Films, and their sister substrates synthetic papers, often take the limelight thanks to the mounting popularity of shrink materials and the need for evermore durable labels. In the end, however, paper's simplicity and practicality persist. "Paper is still the dominant label type, with over 70 percent of the market by volume," said Paul Bailin, an industry analyst and author of a study called "World Labels," soon

Inkjet has stamped its place in commercial printing, but will it ever mean more than coding and marking in package printing? by Kate Sharon "DIGITAL" IS THE buzzword in package printing today. There's digital printing, and even some diecutting, anilox engraving, and platemaking processes have been digitalized. But digital printing—specifically inkjet—is on the minds of many in the industry, and everyone wants to know how the new technology stands up to its conventional counterparts. Inkjet basics More and more inkjet products, designed for packaging applications, come to market each year. While the technology itself attracts attention, its big price tag and muted capabilities often