October 1999 Issue
1999 TLMI Awards Winners
North American First Place Awards 1. Flexo, Line/Prime Northwest Flexo Specialties, Lynnwood, WA Columbia Wine Labels 8 waterbase and matte UV spot varnish colors. 380-440 lpi laser-engraved anilox. 55# metallized silver paper foil. 130 fpm for 6 hours. Double bump red & black for opacity. Passed 2,000 rubs on a Sutherland rub tester Mark Andy 7" 2200; Cyrel .067 plates; RotoMetrics dies/cylinders; AKZO Nobel inks; Fasson substrate; Praxair anilox 2. Flexo, Line & Screen, Tone/Prime Adams Label & Tag, Surrey, BC Kiona, 1997 Cabernet Merlot Varnished on a second pass. 175 line screens; 125 fpm; 3 colors plus gold foil stamp & UV varnish
1999 TLMI Converter of the Year
Bruce Bell's dedication to cultivating new talent has shaped TLMI's future vision of what it wants to be. by Jessica Millward As founder and president of Belmark Inc., Bruce Bell has achieved success in the tag and label industry by nurturing individual talent. From day one, Belmark's reputation and performance have been a direct result of its investing in employees and challenging their abilities. At Belmark, the whole is exactly equal to the sum of its parts. That conviction has determined the nature of Bell's personal contribution back to the industry. His considerable work for the future of his own business and the
Competitive Edges
Digital's descent on web guiding continues, but converters also see value in tried-and-true approaches. by Susan Friedman Digital this and digital that. In package printing equipment, it's nearly impossible to avoid. Web guiding technology is no exception, though many converters are just now beginning to buy into their digital story—one that has been told for several years. BST PRO MARK has produced digital signal controllers, complete with internal networking capabilities and a flexible module bus system, for more than 10 years. The company's web guide expertise also includes ultrasonics, infrared, and CCD camera sensors, as well as pneumatic edge and servo-controlled sensor positioning. From
Digital Digest
Package printers have platefuls of digital printing options to plow through. by Susan Friedman Heads up! Digital printing developments are hurtling past from all angles...aiming for the heart of package printing needs. The quickest way to the heart may be through the stomach, but what mix of ingredients will tempt converters to pick up their forks and truly dig into digital printing with gusto? Here's a look at what's bubbling on the stove in suppliers' test kitchens...as well as what's already served and steaming on packaging's table. Nilpeter's DL 3300, which runs on Xeikon's electrophotographic simplex print engine, has doubled its speed to run
Surface Buzz
Flexibility—via stretches in compatibility and power—is the most sought-after surface treatment. by Susan Friedman How physically fit is surface treating technology? Package printers continue to find out, as suppliers heed the push to achieve higher power, higher treatment levels, and increased configuration flexibility. Jeff Opad, V.P. of sales and marketing at Pillar Technologies, confirms converters' demand for a flexible corona treating approach—particularly in the form of "convertible" or "universal" systems—solidly outweighs extruders' demand. Marc Nolan, sales manager at Sherman Treaters, views the convertible unit—one that affords transitioning between a bare roll and a covered roll system—as a practical system for converters having to deal
The Format of Things to Come
Package printers are just now beginning to see the light at the end of a long tunnel of confusing, and often ill-fitting file formats. by Terri McConnell Even dynamite could not have changed the face manufacturing infrastructure of the printing industry more than the advent of desktop publishing and the subsequent adoption of PostScript. Up to that point, prepress automation was directed by a handful of highly-specialized equipment suppliers who built color electronic prepress systems (CEPS) around laser-powered film output devices. CEPS were, for the most part, closed, proprietary environments—not a big problem as long as the origin and form of printing content were
