Printer News

Meeting Customer 
Needs for Tag Stringing

ST. LOUIS—In the world of hang tags, the type of string attachment a customer chooses can make a significant impact on both a tag's practicality and its appearance. St. Louis Tag Company, a supplier of customized hang tags, offers a wide range of stringing options designed to meet its customers' needs.

"Different stringing options work better for different tags depending on the item the tag will be attached to and the type of material used to make the tag," says Bob Barenholtz, president of St. Louis Tag Co. "With options like cotton, elastic, and rayon, in addition to greener options such as jute and natural cotton, the choice of attachment material is just as important as the design of the tag itself."

String is one of the most commonly used tag attachment options. Various industries use string for their tag applications because of its ease of use and its strength. These industries include retail, travel, recreational, and agricultural. String is a particularly popular attachment for retailers who want to market a brand or product. Retailers typically use a high-end cotton or pearlray string to hang tags around their products, as those types of string add to the perceived value of an item.

When deciding what type of string attachment to use, it is best for customers to determine both what the tag will be used for and how the tag will be featured. For example, elastic is a desirable attachment for many customers, because its ability to stretch makes it easy to quickly attach a tag to an object. Elastic is often used to attach tags to luggage handles, glass jars, wine or liquor bottles, and a host of other items.

For customers who want more of an environmentally-friendly tag, jute string and natural cotton string are popular options. Jute is a natural, biodegradable material made from vegetable fiber, while natural cotton is manufactured without dye. Tags manufactured using recycled paper and soy ink with jute or natural cotton string meet the needs for those wanting "green" tags.

Smyth Companies Partners 
with Private Equity Firm Novacap

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Smyth Companies has partnered with Novacap, a leading private equity firm in Montreal, Canada, to assist it in continuing on its path toward being one of the industry's premiere label suppliers. John Hickey, CEO of Smyth Companies, states, "Smyth has concluded a year-long search to find the right partner, and we are pleased to announce this partnership with Novacap who will supply the capital and acquisition expertise to expand our reach throughout North America and worldwide."

Novacap's stated mission is "to invest in middle-market companies that have the potential to become world leaders by helping to develop their markets, technology, and operations."

The Hickey family, proprietors of Smyth for more than 100 years, gave careful consideration to this partnership with Novacap. John, Bill, and Dan Hickey, along with the entire Smyth management team, will retain a significant ownership stake in the company and continue in their current roles managing Smyth using their industry expertise, family-based values, ethics, and environmental stewardship. John Hickey states, "We will continue to manage our business using these guiding principles: We deliver quality; create innovation; keep our promises; and treat customers like family."

iPhone App for Labels

DENVER—iPhone users can now get a free custom-label printing quote in less than a minute with the new iLabel application from Lightning Labels. To download the iPhone label quoting application, users can go to iTunes and search for iLabel.

"It's fast, easy, and can be done from anywhere," notes Lightning Labels founder, Peter Renton. "Fill out six selection fields and get a price almost instantaneously. I've been able to get the entire process down to a little over 30 seconds, a far cry from the days when custom printing quotes often took days to turn around."

The impetus for building a label printing quote application was the high volume of iPhone users getting quotes from the company Web site. "We decided to make it super easy for these people," Renton says.

People in the News

NEENAH, Wis.—Bemis Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a succession plan for Bemis Company's CFO. In accordance with the approved plan, in May 2010, Gene C. Wulf will step down as the CFO and assume a new role as executive vice president. Scott B. Ullem, currently Bemis' vice president of finance, will assume the title of vice president and chief financial officer.

The Board also elected Timothy S. Fliss as vice president of human resources. Fliss replaces Eugene H. Seashore, who will assume a new role as Bemis' senior vice president until his retirement in 2011. In this role, Seashore will focus on the integration of the Alcan Packaging Food Americas business.

PITTSBURGH—Printing Industries of America (PIA) announced that James H. Mayes, Jr., president of Colorcraft of Virginia, Inc., is the recipient of the 2009 Lewis Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors a business leader who has gone beyond standard obligations to become a significant force in shaping the business of producing printed communications. pP