We unknowingly ingest more stuff than we would ever like to imagine. Between the microscopic bugs, bacteria, and viruses that find their way into the food we eat, we are walking hosts to a menagerie of living things—some of which can make us sick or even can be fatal. The good news is that there are layers of protection built into food production designed to keep what we eat safe from pathogens that cause food-borne illnesses. A growing part of this safety system is smart packaging. Smart packaging 101 There are several kinds of smart packaging that serve the food industry and protect consumers.
Kate Sharon
Plate mounting demands accuracy, and today’s plate mounting equipment and tapes help operators achieve just that. With available state-of-the-art equipment, what was once a painstaking manual process can now be done with computers and machines. According to Paul Zeinert, product manager, Anderson & Vreeland, the biggest change in plate mounting procedures has been “doing things automatically and using computers to make it repeatable.” These advances lend themselves to the pinnacle of plate mounting—a precisely, consistently, and easily mounted plate. In view of today’s plate mounting tapes, operators are now better equipped than ever to mount, demount, and reposition plates for accurate positioning. Some tapes
Adhesives are by no means a component of packaging selected on a whim. The sticky substances are an integral element in packaging projects, and differ depending on a variety of factors that are important to the structural integrity of the packaging and, ultimately, to a consumer’s experience with a product. Even still, adhesives aren’t exactly big headline newsmakers and they beg the question, “What’s new?” According suppliers of adhesive materials, that’s a question with good answers. The last five years have seen innovations in the raw material components that constitute adhesives. The result of these advancements has been the development of adhesives with refined
Wide-web printers are facing a transforming marketplace. The changes, however, are in many ways advantageous for wide-web print shops. For instance, consider the switch many brand owners have made in their packaging, swapping rigid packaging materials for retort and stand-up pouches. These packaging innovations have created a fast-growing market segment that benefits wide-web printers. In addition, competition on store shelves has forced brand owners to require higher print quality in their packaging in an attempt to make their products stand out from the crowd. This, in turn, has required wide-web press manufacturers to produce equipment that enables printers to meet and surpass these demands.
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Wide-web printers are facing a transforming marketplace. The changes, however, are in many ways advantageous for printers. To gain perspective on the evolving wide-web printing industry, packagePRINTING recently asked suppliers about the marketplace and how they are responding to demands for enhanced equipment. pP: What is your business climate like in terms of customer interest and sales? Johannes Stickling, vice president, BHS Printing Machinery—BHS has enjoyed continuous and sustainable sales growth over the past decade. The packaging industry has viewed BHS as a preeminent leader in terms of technology, print performance, and system capability specific to the inline production of packaging products. The packaging
Every package printer strives to produce packaging of the highest quality for its customers. Aiding in that effort is today’s higher anilox roll line counts. Line counts upwards of 1,000 have given printers the ability to reach realms of quality impossible with older, lower cell count aniloxes. The only drawback to these higher counts is the delicate nature of the anilox cells, which can be easily damaged during cleaning. This is a conundrum printers need to consider and take seriously if they plan on reaping the full rewards attainable through these newer rolls. “Higher count anilox rolls, in response to the need for higher
Bar codes revolutionized automatic identification and data collection more than 30 years ago. However, with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) attracting all the attention and developmental mind power, are bar codes soon to be obsolete? That’s not likely. In fact, bar codes and human-readable information are still required on smart labels to validate the products inside cases and pallets, and they are expected to remain an important part of RFID labels for many years. This is no more a relief than for suppliers of thermal transfer printers and materials. Thermal transfer printing has come a long way since its inception and relies on heat to
It’s an understatement to say Ampac Packaging LLC has had a successful first nine years of business. The flexible packaging converter grew from an offshoot of another business entity into a company with three main operating units—Ampac Flexibles, Retail Products, and Security Products—and 11 manufacturing facilities with approximately 80 presses. Its workforce is 815 employees strong and the company grosses more than $200 million in annual sales. Ampac capitalized on a flourishing industry, specializing in serving the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, specialty retailers, and medical markets. Such a customer base has put the company in perfect position for further expansion, if market predictions are correct.
The tag and label industry is facing issues with dynamically differing effects. On one hand, the industry is brimming with opportunity. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), security packaging, and shrink sleeves have grown and continue to grow in popularity, providing a burgeoning source of revenue across the industry. At the opposite end of the spectrum, tag and label suppliers and converters are facing shrinking margins. Economic pressures from industry consolidation and higher costs in energy and raw materials have squeezed the industry on all sides. Something has to give in the near future, and market predictions are leaning toward a positive result. Scott Pillsbury,
The human eye is an amazing organ but sometimes it needs a little help. With press speeds reaching 1,000 fpm, operators would have a hard time catching print blemishes and other defects on the web if it wasn’t for inspection systems. All inspection machines can help printers save money and to explain the types of inspection systems on the market, packagePRINTING asked industry experts for their input. Explain the difference between inspection systems available in the package printing marketplace. • Jim Doerr, president and CEO, TruColor Vision Systems: Currently, the market is filled with inspection options. Features, advantages, and system benefits can be as
Label printers are under constant pressure to produce flawless, value-added labels at a low cost. Pamco Label Co. knows the feeling well. The Des Plaines, Ill. custom label printer has thrived for more than 50 years in a competitive tag and label market, in spite of the increasing quality and performance demands it’s faced. Pamco currently resides in a 55,000 sq. ft. facility which houses 13 printing presses and 120 employees. The company has prospered under a simple operating philosophy with a customer-focused perspective: “One hundred percent customer satisfaction,” said Alan Berkowitz, Pamco executive VP. “Our answer is always ‘yes,’ and then we ask,
