September 2005 Issue
Cores, Shafts, and Chucks in a Digital World
Package printing is moving in the direction of digital, but what impact will digital printing and functions have on the building blocks of material control? Industry insiders offer their opinions. THE WORD "DIGITAL" is fast becoming commonplace in the package-printing industry. From fully digital presses to digitalized finishing processes and prepress functions, there's something digital about nearly every part of package printing. Within this digital realm, some elements of the printing process haven't gone hi-tech, including cores, shafts, and chucks, right? It's not a cut-and-dry issue, according to experts. Some industry insiders, like Larry Taitel, owner of Convertech, don't think cores, shafts, and chucks
Digital and Dynamic
As Fort Dearborn transitions to a new level of business performance, it is using digital printing as a key tool to maintain customer intimacy. NEW PRINTING PROCESSES don't come along too often. It took more than six hundred years for the four major printing processes (letterpress, gravure, lithography, and flexography) to come into being. Now, however, our generation has a unique opportunity to see first hand the practical evolution of a new printing process—digital printing. Digital printing in one form or another has been around for more than 50 years, but its real impact on commercial and package printing has been
Focus on Folding Carton Innovation
A new Gallus folding carton production system has helped Cadmus Whitehall Group focus on helping its customers face increasing competitive pressures. THE CADMUS WHITEHALL Group has roots dating back to 1902, close to one hundred years before it moved into its current flagship facility in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1997. This building covers more than 300,000 square feet with more than 300 associates, a big step from the business in the early 1900s. Jerry Lux, president, Whitehall Group, attributes this growth to the company's "commitment to customer service and a focus on each customer. It is innovation and technology that really separates our business
Foiled by Foil
Foil is a popular addition to packaging, but it has a few converting/printing quirks. To help solve common foil woes, pP recently went to foil suppliers seeking solutions. FOIL STAMPING HAS become a necessary capability for printers and converters to have. The substrate graces packaging in every market, and more and more consumer product companies are redesigning their packaging to include foil. Nowadays, if printers and converters don't have foil stamping equipment, they are positioning themselves to lose new and old customers. "With more and more customers using foils for their labels it is more important than ever that a printer is able to
KBA North America Offers Assistance to Gulf State Flood Victims
WILLISTON, Vt.—In response to one of the worst natural disasters in our nation's history, KBA North America, a leading supplier of sheetfed offset and digital presses is expressing it sorrow and sympathy to flood victims ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf States. "We are tremendously moved and saddened by the plight of the victims in this area," says Ralf Sammeck, president and CEO of KBA North America. "Our hearts go out to all the residents and their families. We would like to reach out especially to those who are involved in the printing industry. That is why we have created an initiative to
Online Proofing - Make Mine Soft-Serve
Soft proofing technology can do the job, but its success depends largely on good discipline and the printer-client relationship. "SOFT" PROOFING GOES by several names—monitor, virtual, online—and comes in an array of "flavors." No matter what you call it, however, the ultimate goal is as straightforward as it is universal: shrink production cycles, eliminate rework, reduce costs, and move everything faster. Unlike traditional hardcopy proofing, in which handling and transmission of the physical proof increases both cycle time and the potential for error, soft proofing depends on workflows in which color-accurate proofs can be viewed on calibrated computer monitors under controlled lighting conditions.
SGIA '05 Cancelled
FAIRFAX, Va.—SGIA has cancelled SGIA '05, scheduled for New Orleans September 28-October 1. The decision follows conversations with representatives from New Orleans and Atlanta as well as SGIA '05 exhibitors. Discussions in the last 24 hours had centered around relocating the convention to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, said SGIA President/CEO Michael Robertson. "SGIA '05 in New Orleans was well on its way to being the best SGIA Convention in recent memory. The quality and quantity of exhibitors and attendees was staggering. In moving to Atlanta, as we discussed, we faced the challenge of delivering the same level of value to attendees
The Emergence of Laser Diecutting
The hi-tech technology is beginning to make headway in the diecutting industry, but it won't replace mechanical cutting methods altogether. THE DIECUTTING PROCESS is centuries old. While the equipment has progressed through the years, the basic method has remained the same—until now. Laser diecutting has made a splash at many trade shows around the world in recent years, as companies such as AB Graphic International and LasX Industries, Inc. market new laser diecutters, and HP and Mark Andy add the technology to their presses. Traditional mechanical methods of diecutting will never die out due to laser cutting's growth, but the newest equipment offers a
