REPORTER CLIPS
- Published: August 01, 2007
Covering the Full Spectrum of Narrow Web News, Events & Activities
For Converters’ Eyes Only
NAPERVILLE, IL—The Tag and Label Mfrs. Inst. (TLMI) is channeling James Bond for its 2007 Technical Conference, Tech 007: For Your Eyes Only, coming September 4-6 to the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago.
The names of the sessions play with Bond titles cleverly, e.g., Dr., No Downtime!; Print Another Day; Performance Never Dies; Digital License to 2-D Barcode; Investment Royale; etc. However, the information will be anything but make-believe. Sessions will cover digital plates; color control from design to press; sleeve technology; product counterfeiting; printing and converting electronics; low/mid-cost digital; packaging technology; and more.
TLMI says topics will be relevant for “change agents” in all levels of an organization: owners and presidents, operations and plant managers, and sales and marketing personnel.
For more information visit tlmi.com.
Digital Press Helps Expand Offerings
PALO ALTO, CA—HP reports Label Advantage, Des Moines, IA, will be expanding its range of offerings for the retail and pharmaceutical industries with the HP Indigo ws4000. The press prints in up to seven colors and will help the converter provide customers with medium- and small-quantity orders, as well as faster turnaround.
Label Advantage also is using the HP Indigo Capture program, a comprehensive offering of business development tools and training.
Tom Weisner, co-owner of Label Advantage, says, “The HP Indigo Capture program has really surpassed our expectations. The extensive and ongoing digital printing educational programs that HP offers have given us the tools to enter into new markets and proactively target more sales and profit opportunities.”
SUPPLIER INFO:
Hewlett Packard—PFFC-ASAP 312. hp.com
Alliance Aids UV Digital Coating
MYSTIC, CT—Packaging Systems Solutions (PacSys) and PAT Technology Systems, Montreal, QC, Canada, have formed a strategic alliance to expand North American sales and marketing efforts related to PAT’s Designated True Digital Coating Technology (TDC).
PacSys president Mike McGuinness says, “[We] recognized the potential of this new method of UV coating as a way to increase profitability in the printing industry as a whole.…”
Adds Ross Hoge, PAT VP of technology, “PAT is very excited about the strong commitment from PacSys for this new technology and the two available products, the Varstar sheet-fed coater and the Rotoworx web-fed coater/semi-rotary converting system for targeted label and direct mail markets.…”
Printed Electronics vs. Silicon
CAMBRIDGE, UK—IDTechEx, a consultancy company providing research and analysis on RFID, printed and organic electronics, and smart packaging, has issued a report on printed electronics vs. silicon.
There has been little or no reduction in the cost of the simplest silicon chips for decades, says the report, and there are other concerns about chips and their profit. In contrast, production facilities for printed electronics are relatively cheap and easy to expand, and the technology is coming down in price.
However, says IdTechEx, “It will be many years before very high frequency performance is economically feasible for most forms of printed electronics, so even simple microprocessors and the UHF and microwave part of the RFID market, [e.g.], will be served by silicon chips for many years.
The conclusion of the report is that there is too little emphasis on creating new applications and exploiting existing printed electronic technology.
For more details visit idtechex.com.
It’s Europe’s Turn for Labelexpo
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM—The world of labels will again be centered in Belgium when Labelexpo Europe 2007 fills the halls of the Brussels Expo September 26–29.
More than 500 exhibitors are signed up in categories that include printing, prepress, production, RFID, security, substrates, adhesives, label application, overprinting, and inspection.
Three keynote presentations are on the schedule:
- Challenging our business—today’s RFID and environmental opportunities, chaired by Mike Fairley, with a panel that includes Heikki Pikkarainen, president, UPM Raflatac; September 26, 3:00-4:15 p.m.
- The European and global label markets—trends, opportunities, and issues, presented by Mike Fairley; September 27, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
- The future of label converting—materials, technology, solutions, and management, presented by Andy Thomas; September 28, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
