Nilpeter

For minimum day-to-day operation and clean-up hassles, follow these five steps to long-term letterpress maintenance. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor 1. The line-up The path to relatively painless letterpress printing begins before the operator even reports for duty. How the press's daily "To Do" list is constructed plays a major part in the number of cleaning and changing procedures required, and therefore serves as a great opportunity to conserve print "energy." Ko-Pack Service Engineer Pat Bowdy counts job planning as the printer's first shot at the shortest downtime possible. He recommends configuring job sequence to minimize color changes, as well as planning ahead

McCoy Packaging's "Kuleto Villa" wine label poured on enough printing charm to ace two categories and capture Best of Show honors in packagePRINTING's 15th annual Excellence Awards. by Susan Friedman, Editor If McCoy Packaging's Best of Show-winning strategy was to forge an indelible impression in the judge's minds, it succeeded, hands down. McCoy's "Kuleto Villa" wine label repeatedly stood up to its competitors in packagePRINTING's 2001 Excellence Awards, initially nabbing first place in the Labels—Flexo (Process) category, where judges singled it out as a difficult printing, diecutting, and embossing job well executed. "[This label] holds beautiful register at 175 line screen," commented judge Roy

Digital print's short-run suitability presents a sizeable learning curve to converters' in-line finishing. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor THOUGH COMMON WISDOM claims otherwise, sometimes you can have things both ways. That need has been, and will continue to be, the mother of invention regarding digital print finishing. The paradox: How do you pair in-line converting with a print process engineered for short-run jobs? The stops and starts of in-line have thus far greatly restricted much integration with on-demand techniques, but press manufacturers' discovery process has only just begun. Cost concerns Thoro Packaging's hesitation to embrace digital technology in its folding carton facility is

By partnering with other processes, web offset reaches its maximum productivity value. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor THE QUALITY OF web offset printing has never been in question; its economy, however, has had its naysayers. But the new generation of web offset looks to be fueled by interdependence: using offset in conjunction with other processes to provide high quality while rationing costs. Given its in-line capabilities and speed advantage, web offset's doors may soon open to many more printers. The move to multi-process was certainly witnessed by last year's Labelexpo attendees. RDP Marathon, for example, highlighted its LF-series of variable repeat web presses, which

packagePRINTING congratulates the winners of the 2000 TLMI Awards Competition, offering a special toast to Adams Label & Tag for its Best of Show-winning wine label. By Susan Friedman, Editor The 267 North American and International entries in the 2000 TLMI Awards Competition bested last year's entry draw by 33 percent—making victory even sweeter for this year's honorees. "We were glad to see the increased amount of entries," says RotoMetrics' Steve Lee, chair of the Awards Competition Committee. Quantity was up, but so was overall quality, illustrated in part by the definitive rise in multi-process label entries. "There was lots of good competition," states

Despite the many benefits of UV flexo technology, industry insiders are hesitant to treat it as the package printing cure-all. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor THE BIG BUZZ surrounding UV flexo printing has abated slightly over the last year or two. The process' benefits —improved print resolution, less makeready time and waste, better adhesion to film substrates—have been well publicized. But with developments in water-based flexo, suppliers and converters alike have begun to wonder exactly what share of the package print pie UV flexo merits. So what to make of UV flexo's mantra of rivaling offset? From its first appearance on the industry scene,

Labels—Flexo (Line) First Place LSK Label Co. El Dorado Hills, CA M.G. Vallejo 750 ml Press: Gallus/Arsoma EM-280 Plates: DuPont Cyrel Anilox Rolls: Harper Dies: CompuDie Substrate: Technicote Ink: Akzo Nobel Judges' Comments: Nice combination of flexo printing with foil stamping/embossing. The sharpness of this entry's line work stood out. Second Place MPI Label Systems Stockton, CA Island Essentials Sunblock Press: Mark Andy 2200 Plates: DuPont Anilox Rolls: Harper Dies: Avis RotoDie Substrate: Fasson Ink: INX International Third Place Tape & Label Engineering St. Petersburg, FL Spring Valley Brewer's Yeast Press: Mark Andy 4150 Plates: DuPont Cyrel Dies: RotoMetrics Substrate: Green Bay Ink: Water

Combination presses continue to gain popularity. See what the experts say is the right combo for your shop. By Chris Bauer PACKAGERS can be on top of their market's mountaintop one day, just to find themselves outdated the next, with newcomers climbing up quickly. Competition for niche markets can be fierce, and you must have the equipment to win the battles for survival. This fight goes on in the package printing industry, as new packages demand new production methods. According to Mark Herrmann, president and CEO of Comco, "We are part of an industry in transition. Today's printer is being asked to create more

Letterpress printers should stay sharp on options in combination process, web widths, and overall press design. By Susan Friedman Package printers who have grown sleepy at the helm of traditional letterpress operations should perk up: developments in various combination platforms, wider webs, and in-line designs could offer new business opportunities. The potential for specific printing processes to partner with letterpress appears intriguingly open-ended. According to John Little, president of Nilpeter, UV screen and hot stamping are its most common complements, with UV screen typically used to lay down a solid white background or solid borders. John Warwick, sales director at Ko-Pack, reports his company's

Will web offset ultimately gain greater quality or efficiency momentum? By Susan Friedman You've got to hand it to offset for being such a well-rounded printing process—the printing equivalent of a person who's attractive and athletic, with a good personality to boot. Web offset, of late, has brought many positives to many package printers. Eric Short, president of RDP Marathon, confirms web offset's continuing ability to satisfy on multiple counts with his prediction that this process will be strongest in both high-volume and high-quality package printing applications in the coming year. Several recently introduced presses appear poised to make this prediction come true, but