Matik North America

What do you do when you have established tried-and-true converting methods and along comes a new innovation? You react and adapt. Some suppliers of folding and gluing equipment have already done so with their product offerings. In light of new European standards requiring Braille application on every pharmaceutical carton, companies like Bobst Group North America and American International Machinery (A.I.M.) have incorporated this technology in their product offerings. “A.I.M. is expecting this European trend to move here to the U.S. very soon, and has uncovered a low-cost, high-speed process that will apply Braille to the product as it is being produced on the folder-gluer,”

The use of combination printing/processing is not a rarity in package printing—not by a long shot. A printer that has the need could combine any of the printing processes, in addition to converting operations such as foil stamping and embossing. The value provided by combination printing is that each printing process can bring its own specific attributes to the party, says Andy Colletta, president/CEO of Nilpeter USA. “Flexography and offset printing provide the lion’s share of the coverage on a signature, including the text and four-color images,” he explains. “Rotary screen is often used to provide an opaque background prior to printing, while

The use of combination printing/processing is not a rarity in package printing—not by a long shot. A printer that has the need could combine any of the printing processes, in addition to converting operations such as foil stamping and embossing. The value provided by combination printing is that each printing process can bring its own specific attributes to the party, says Andy Colletta, president/CEO of Nilpeter USA. “Flexography and offset printing provide the lion’s share of the coverage on a signature, including the text and four-color images,” he explains. “Rotary screen is often used to provide an opaque background prior to printing, while

GOSSAU, Switzerland—Gietz AG has appointed Matik North America, West Hartford, Conn. as the exclusive distributor in North America for its Swiss-made line of sheet and web foil stamping machines. Matik North America is the premier provider of sales and service for European-made printing, converting, and finishing machinery for the commercial printing, folding carton, and packaging industries.

Shorter print runs, green technology, the emergence of flexible packaging and UV inks, shorter makeready times, globalization—we’ve heard them all of late. Talk to almost any converter or print industry manufacturer and these buzz terms are likely to come up. Whether you’re a high- or low-volume converter, these issues impact the packaging industry in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most important result is that they push press manufacturers to continually evolve their products to keep up with the rapidly changing package-printing market. The challenges are the same for narrow- or wide-web press users. Shorter print runs are converters’ new realities, making shorter makeready

Shorter runs—they are the reality for many package printers today. This reality can impact your slitters/rewinders by way of greater wear and tear, more frequent tool changes, and so on, but these are not the only packaging trends that affect the slitters/rewinders market. The myriad substrates available to converters alone impacts slitter/rewinder performance and construction. Thank the emergence of flexible packaging for the increased substrate requirements. All these factors will impact your business in terms of what equipment you buy—a typical rewinder versus a turret rewinder, for example—what you will do to increase the lifespan of such equipment, as well as what other types

GOSSAU, Switzerland—Gietz AG, Gossau, Switzerland has appointed Matik North America, West Hartford, CT as the exclusive distributor in North America for its Swiss-made line of sheet and web foil stamping machines. Matik North America is the premier provider of sales and service for European-made printing, converting and finishing machinery for the commercial printing, folding carton and packaging industries. The cooperation between Gietz and Matik reflects the great importance of the North American market for the world renown Gietz equipment and the support offered through American based parts and service availability. For information please contact Frank La Croix, Vice President of Matik North America at

Companies that design and build folders/gluers are working hard to help their customers maintain a competitive edge. packagePRINTING talked to a number of companies that produce high-performance folder/gluers to get their view on what their customers need. Alan Thompson, product manager, Bobst Group USA—Today’s customers are seeking the best “price-to-performance” that money can buy. Many base their decision based upon the amount of work which is being farmed out. Bringing this work in-house not only ensures better cost control, but better quality control of the finished product. Secondly, potential savings in makeready time and improved run speeds are also evaluated by customers with

As always, companies exhibiting at CMM International 2005 put on a display of impressive new products and technologies for converters and package printers. A SUCCESSFUL TRADE show is always measured on an individual basis—foot traffic, promising leads, or signed contracts. While attendees weren't exactly carried down the aisles in a swell of people, CMM International 2005 still offered a wide array of new products and technologies from the exhibiting companies. The following is a small sampling of what CMM International had to offer. Company news Enercon and Ciba Specialty Chemicals announced a joint development agreement which will combine Enercon's surface modification Plasma3™ technology

ADI International In-line folder/gluer integrates with any printer/slotter for cost-efficient production. Write 812, www.arcdoyle.com American Int'l Mach. Supplier of the Signature™ brand of folder/gluers with 24 models in sizes from 24˝ to 57˝. Write 813, Visit www.aim-inc.net B. Bunch Company Offers a wide range of equipment for in-line use with label, tag, and forms presses. Write 814, Visit www.bbunch.com BOBST GROUP Extensive range of folder/gluers produce a great variety of boxes in a wide range of sizes at high production speeds. Write 815, Visit www.bobstgroup.com Brandtjen & Kluge Complete line of automatic folding and gluing equipment