Bobst Group North America

Folding and gluing equipment manufacturers don't run the loudest marketing campaigns for their products, but there's plenty of innovation in the marketplace to shout about. FOLDER/GLUERS DON'T attract the attention that new presses and prepress software do. But that's not to say manufacturers of this finishing equipment don't have a reason to brag. According to Craig Jasper, sales director for converting equipment and product packaging at Roberts PolyPro, in the past five years, significant advancements have been made in the safety, quality, and value-added areas of folding and gluing equipment. With safety a top priority for every converter, some companies have taken such measures

Package printers are reaping the benefits from productivity enhancements that are built into today's wide-web flexo presses. BIGGER IS BETTER! That's a motto that suppliers of wide-web flexo presses wish all package printers would adopt. But bigger also conveys images of heavier, more cumbersome, and slower—all qualities that today's nimble, agile manufacturers can't afford to be. And they don't have to be—because today's wide-web flexo presses are getting better and better in many ways that make them "lighter on their feet." Steven F. Lekan, director of business development for Comexi America, gives credit to flexo printers for helping drive the positive

Q.C. Packaging Systems takes Best of Show in packagePRINTING's 18th Annual Excellence Awards competition. Q. C. PACKAGING SYSTEMS (Mississauga, Ontario) will take home this year's Best of Show honors for the intricate printing and packaging of its "Buick Rainier" compact disk case. This entry was the first place winner in the Folding Cartons—Flexo (Process) category. The consistent color, the diecut registration, the UV inks with water-based coating, and the quality of the flexo printing job made this year's judges of packagePRINTING's 18th annual competition look twice at the CD case. Commenting on the print quality, Clemson University Instructor Dean Gilbert said, "This piece could

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