Industry News - January 2014

Printers in the Middle East and North Africa invest in solutions from Heidelberg
If you listen to much of the U.S. mainstream media you usually hear that print is not doing so well. But then there’s the rest of the world. Take the Middle East and North Africa for example, where Heidelberg has customers investing in packaging, labels and security printing.

Print products are in growing demand in the emerging markets and developing countries of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. For one thing, there are more consumer goods to be labeled and packaged. For another, there is a need for all kinds of advertising materials in the private sector and for security printing for documents and securities in the public sector. As a result, print shops in these markets are increasingly investing in cutting-edge technologies. While many printing businesses in industrialized nations is being shaped by growing consolidation and lean, efficient production, the MENA region offers growth potential as a result of the new print shops being set up there.

Heidelberg has been active in this region for over 50 years and has independent agencies in all the various countries plus subsidiaries in both Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. Over 400 Heidelberg specialists work in the MENA region, over half of them in service-based roles.

“The countries of the MENA region have highly diverse technical and economic requirements,” explains Wolfgang Roth, who is responsible for distributors at Heidelberg. “Despite a difficult political and economic climate, there are successful print shops supported by technology and services from Heidelberg and its distributors. And, we are seeing a general increase in the amount spent on digital and packaging printing.”

KBA North America Named Exclusive Distributor for Flexotecnica
KBA North America has been named the exclusive North American distributor for Flexotecnica, an Italian flexible packaging press manufacturer specializing in presses for printing on film and other substrates. The result of a recent acquisition by parent company Koenig & Bauer, the new subsidiary will operate as KBA-Flexotecnica. is The distributorship began January 1.

“We are honored to be named the exclusive distributor for Flexotecnica’s flexible packaging presses in North America,” said Mark Hischar, president and CEO of KBA North America. “Flexotecnica has a superb reputation in its market. With this acquisition, our parent company has made an important investment by entering this key growing print market for flexible packaging. This is an opportunity for KBA to expand its strong market position in the folding carton market into another growing packaging segment. We are certain that we will be able to offer our well known high-level of service, expertise and parts support to this important market and Flexotecnica’s current customer base.”

Flexotecnica SpA was founded in 1979 but started production in 1980. Flexotecnica specialized in the manufacture of reel-to-reel flexo printing presses from a minimum print width of 600 mm. to 3,200 mm—both with central impression drum (c.i. version) or with independent impression rollers (special stack version)—from one to 12 printing elements, suitable for printing all flexible materials used for the packaging industry, as well as paper and cardboard. While the company was profitable, limited resources curbed the mid-size firm’s growth.

KBA-Flexotecnica’s integration into the KBA’s global sales and service network will open up favorable prospects for further development. KBA took over the company from Officine Meccaniche G. Cerutti (OMGC), the previous majority stakeholder based in Casale Monferrato near Turin. OMGC will hold a 5 percent stake in the firm. Adriano Canette, a descendant of the founding family working in the company, remains a shareholder with 5 percent. KBA-Flexotecnica will be run by its previous managing director Claudio Bisogni. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

G-Force adds Colordyne Digital Flexo-bility to Existing Flexo Press Line-Up
Colordyne Technologies continues to make an impact on the label industry by engineering digital printing solutions for converters that augment existing CMYK flexographic printing services. One recent example is Plano, IL-based G-Force Labels & Printing which added a CDT 1600-PC Rotary Pro digital label and tag printing press, featuring Digital Flexo-bility™, to its line-up of presses.

G-Force specializes in custom labels and was looking for a digital label press to complement its Mark Andy 2200 rotary press and two Allied Gear presses. The Rotary Pro’s ability to combine the look and feel of flexo with the flexibility of digital supports G-Force’s promise of continually providing responsive service, superior quality labels, and innovative solutions for their customers.

The CDT 1600-PC Rotary Pro’s Memjet™ engine features four print heads, each containing 70,400 nozzles and able to print at 1600 x 1200 dpi resolution, offering true, flexo-like print quality. The flexibility digital printing provides is ideal for jobs that may be inefficient or cost prohibitive on existing CMYK flexo presses. In addition, shorter print runs can be broken out of large, multi-job blanket orders and produced on the Rotary Pro to complement traditional flexo printing.

AIOE & Ecodesk Collaborate to Improve Supply Chain Transparency for Sustainability Goals
The Alliance for Innovation & Operational Excellence (AIOE) is partnering with Ecodesk, a cloud-based platform for enhancing global supply chain sustainability. According to AIOE Managing Director Stephen C. Schlegel, “The partnership will promote supply chain sustainability and operational best practices to some of the world’s leading manufacturing brands and businesses. With this partnership, we will see some of the leading manufacturing brands in the US embracing open data sustainability reporting.”

The partnership agreement will give AIOE members a better way to communicate their sustainability efforts to customers while giving customers enhanced oversight over their supply chains.

“We are looking forward to working with AIOE to help develop best practice in the area of sustainable supply, and offering AIOE members the means to measure and manage their own supply chains,” said Dr. Nick Murry, Ecodesk’s chief sustainability officer and AIOE partnership manager.

AIOE’s more than 100 members include ConAgra, Del Monte, PepsiCo, Smithfield Foods, Sunny Delight, Snyder’s Lance, and Land O’Lakes. Its mission is to improve the performance of CPG manufacturers and their suppliers by developing non-proprietary solutions to common production operations challenges.

ZIP-PAK and TECHNIPAC DELIVER A RESEALABLE SOLUTION
Attend a baseball game or any other sporting event where sunflower seeds are the snack of choice and you’ll see players and coaches trying to reseal opened sunflower seed packaging in all kinds of ways: elastic bands, tape, paper clips, and even transferring the contents into a re-closeable plastic bag. The same do-it-yourself methods of resealing a package are also being applied to just about every other food or product group that comes in a flexible pouch.

Recognizing that these methods are far from consumer-friendly or effective, marketers are incorporating resealable features into packaging designs. One company at the forefront is GIANTS Snacks. Working with TechniPac, a leading flexible packaging converter, and in conjunction with Zip-Pak, a global leader in materials and machinery for resealable packaging, GIANTS Snacks recently introduced a new level of convenience in the packaging of its sunflower seeds.

First, GIANTS switched to Zip-Pak’s Vector closure for its most popular 5.0 oz. and 5.7 oz. sizes of sunflower seeds. Vector features a proprietary self-sealing matrix that closes securely without exact alignment of opposing segments. The solution provides tactile and audible feedback that assures complete fastening with each use.

But there’s another layer to the story: Because the GIANTS dry salty snacks are gas-flushed to preserve freshness, a hermetic packaging barrier was needed. TechniPac recognized they could not perforate the film due to the potential for gas loss, so they used a proprietary (patent-pending) heat score technology for the package. This enables an even tearing of the packaging material across the top of the zipper, leaving sufficient film to facilitate repeated closings and openings. Without the heat score technology an uneven tear could make re-sealing and re-opening virtually impossible.

In addition to the Vector resealable matrix, Zip-Pak lent technical ingenuity to the package, refining the closure profile to adapt to the packaging film and the tooling designed by TechniPac. They also provided technical support to the development of the manufacturing equipment to better facilitate the mating of the zipper to the film during the manufacturing process.

“Innovation rarely happens in isolation,” notes Art Malcomson, director of sales and marketing at Zip-Pak. “Given the requirements of the GIANTS packaging, it was critically important to work hand-in-hand with TechniPac throughout the development process to ensure a successful result.”

Roland Talks Profits for Flexographic Printers
Digital printing leader Roland DGA has published “How UV LED Inkjet Technology is Increasing Profits for Flexographic Printers,” a comprehensive 12-page report detailing the advantages of these advanced, innovative devices and the ways they are revolutionizing the pre-press process.
The paper presents expert analysis and user case studies to explain the specific benefits UV digital printers offer. Until recently, creating realistic package prototypes on actual press substrates has been a difficult, time-consuming and expensive process. The availability of cutting-edge UV LED printers is changing that, making production of prototypes that look just like the final product easier, faster and more-cost-effective than ever before.

The paper describes how companies can dramatically improve and expand their prototyping capabilities. by bringing UV digital printing in-house. It offers up real-world examples of businesses that have been successful in creating new profit centers and attracting new clients by integrating digital UV printing technology into their current workflow.”

To download your free copy go to: www.rolanddga.com/resources/pdf/whitepapers/UV_Flexo_White_Paper.pdf

Sun Chemical Lets You Make Your Own Colors
Narrow web tag and label printers using water-based flexo inks have a new way to reduce inventory and waste, improve color-matching consistency, and decrease ink volumes and costs by up to 25 percent. The latest version of Sun Chemical’s Water-Based Flexo Dispenser Program lets printers make blending bases, process, and spot colors from the same dispenser, mixing exactly the amount of flexo inks they need. Color concentrates and technology extenders can be dispensed to make inks for more than one application, providing the flexibility to control color density and compensate for various anilox configurations.

Customers can participate in Sun’s ink program at no risk or additional cost for upkeep. Participating NWTL printers receive a dispensing unit enabling color repeatability and accuracy with 0.5 gram accuracy of all process, spot, and blending base colors. The dispensing unit is provided at no cost through a minimum annual purchase of Sun Chemical products. To learn more visit www.sunchemical.com/WBDispenser.

MAXStick Offers 80gsm MAXStick X2 Colors
Building off the success of its 55 gram center and double side edge adhesive color products, MAXStick just released its newest product, 80 gram direct thermal, full coverage adhesive MAXStick X2 Colors.

MAXStick X2 Colors utilizes an 80 gram base material with a full adhesive pattern that increases the long term durability and water resistance of the label in the harshest of environments. The full coverage adhesive colors product line offers a more permanent label option and presents the opportunity to provide color-coding options where a more robust tack is required. Currently available colors include pink, canary, orange, violet, green, and blue.

Like the original MAXStick Colors, these labels offer flexibility with several different sizes and colors. The easy-to-see labels are ideal for a variety of applications such as departmental inventory, building and safety inspections, barcoding and daily classification systems for quick identification.

MAXStick X2 Colors retains the same silicone-free liner and release coating as other MAXStick products to ensure there will be no harmful effects to the printer or print head. They are also environmentally friendly and meet several green standards by being recyclable, biodegradable and BP-A Free.

MAXStick liner-free direct thermal label products are produced by Max International Converters, Inc. under a licensing agreement with MAXStick Products Ltd. MAXStick Products are distributed worldwide by MAX International and affiliated partners. MAXStick is a registered trademark of MAXStick Products Ltd.