Telstar Engineering

Will combination presses boldly go where relatively few have gone before? by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor THOUGH COMBINATION PROCESS is now and will continue to be a strong contender in the package print market, that strength, at present, is concentrated in narrow-web applications, and configurations most commonly involving flexo/screen pairings. While machines outside this perimeter have been built, they are relatively rare. Here, suppliers summarize combo print possibilities for not-so-fully explored worlds. New World: Wider webs/CI formats Today's platform combo presses afford printers a considerable luxury: choice. The combo press's ability to print using different methods, in whatever order necessary, means the printer can

Demand for screen retrofits multiplies as printers look to satisfy process-savvy manufacturers. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor WHILE THERE IS no easy-out clause when adopting a new print method, screen retrofits allow printers to make a significantly smaller leap of faith (and finance). And with manufacturers gaining awareness of its unique benefits, job-specific or brand-specific requests for screen will make the retrofit an even more appealing option. Path of less resistance Screen printing, in its nature, is a more niche-oriented process. As Gary Teeter, after market applications engineer for Mark Andy explains, "Printers likely to retrofit…are typically looking to expand production capabilities in

Adheso Graphics Manufactures and distributes pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes—sticky back, transfer, and D/C—to the printing industry. Visit www.adheso-graphics.com Alliance Knife Straight and circular machine knives for paper converting, graphic arts, business forms, pulp and paper, plastic, rubber, metalworking, and woodworking. Autogrind Complete range of grinders for in-house sharpening of all types of circular knives and perf wheels. Automatän The Automatän Inkontrol (TM) systems automatically check, monitor, and adjust flexo ink pH and viscosity through print runs to ensure that correct pH and viscosity are being maintained. Windows-based for maximum versatility. Visit www.automatan.com AWS Div., Grafix North America Supplies process cooling and temperature

Narrow-web letterpress, screen, and gravure pressmakers and printers show off their specialties and gauge the competition. by Susan Friedman Letterpress: quality still rules Letterpress hasn't lost its high-end lustre, but its marketshare may be vulnerable to claims of improved quality at less cost by other processes—particularly flexo. "For years we've been rotary letterpress, and flexo has been 10 paces behind," says George Noah, V.P. at Lewis Label Products. "Now flexo is one pace behind, and nine out of 10 buyers can't tell the difference." Noah estimates Lewis Label now prints 50 percent of its work with rotary letterpress—a level that was formerly as high