Glendale Heights, IL – All Printing Resources (APR) announced today that it has promoted three employees to Vice President positions.

• Catherine Haynes to VP of Growth and Development

• Brian Stewart to VP of Operations

• Tim Reece to VP of Technical Services

All three have been with APR for 20+ years and have shown dedication to continuous improvement, APR’s culture fundamentals, and delivering excellent customer value, making these promotions very well deserved.

Haynes, Steward, and Reece will become integral members of APR’s executive leadership team, and will have significant input on the direction of the organization, ensuring long term success and continuing to make APR a great place to work.

According to Dave Nieman, President and CEO, APR, “We are extremely proud of these three individuals and their contributions to APR to date. We are confident that they will use their new roles to continue to drive the strategic direction and success of APR well into the future.”

About All Printing Resources, Inc. (APR)
All Printing Resources, Inc. (APR) is a proven resource for solutions, trusted service, and support to the flexographic printing industry. APR delivers measurable performance enhancements and total cost reductions, including the after sale attention needed to see optimal results. APR represents some of the most innovative product lines worldwide and takes a “team” approach to deliver process improvement and innovative solutions.

www.teamflexo.com

Graham, NC – Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives, part of The Fedrigoni Group, a global leader in the production of high value-added special papers for packaging, publishing, and graphics, as well as premium labels and self-adhesive materials, will be attending Labelexpo Americas for the first time September 13-15 in Rosemont, Illinois. The company will feature new products and services in four areas: Wine and Spirits, Home and Personal Care, Food and Beverage and Smart Labeling.

According to Melissa Harton, Marketing Manager, North America, “We are thrilled to be participating at Labelexpo Americas for the first time under the banner of Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives. We’ll be featuring new products and services which are a direct result of the acquisitions over the past two years and the synergies of Acucote, Arconvert, Manter, Ritrama, IP Venus and Tageos. ”

Fedrigoni’s “Art of Luxury” portfolio will be featured in the wine portion of the booth. Comprised primarily of FSCⓇ approved papers, these materials are available in elegant textures, diverse colors and provide high quality performance against wet, cold, ice bucket and humid environments. Coordinating neck labels can elevate the brands of wine and spirits bottles. Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives is introducing a range of prime self-adhesive materials for neck labels which are low grammage and made from FSCⓇ approved papers. Visitors will also discover alternate fibers and recycled content in the wine and spirits section of the booth. For more information on the Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives wine portfolio, visit https://pages.fedrigoni.com/sustainablewinespirits

A highlight of the home and personal care portion of the booth will be Open and Close Wet Wipes – monomaterial self-adhesive solutions that facilitate the recycling process – specifically designed for soft and semi-rigid labels for hand, baby, cosmetic, household and pet wipes. Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives provides a patent which enables semi-rigid Open and Close labels to behave similarly to rigid plastic lids while being more sustainable. Also featured in home and personal care are recycled content films and coupon solutions.

Featured in Food & Beverage is WOff, a Wash Off Adhesive. With APR (Association of Plastic Recyclers) certification expected in mid-July, this water-based formula provides debonding of non-recyclable label materials from PET and glass containers – making them recoverable. Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives will also include dissolvable facestocks and coupon solutions for Food & Beverage in this portion of the booth.

Lastly, for Smart Labeling requirements, Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives will introduce Tageos – a comprehensive portfolio of high-performance, premium-quality RFID inlays and tags in UHG (RAIN RFID) and HF (NFC) frequency bands, as well as battery-free RAIN RFID sensor inlays and tags.

Visit Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives at Booth #3101 to view these new products and to discuss customized solutions with their Application Development Team. The Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives team invites Labelexpo attendees to attend a reception in their booth on Tuesday and Wednesday at the conclusion of the show.

Fedrigoni
Since 1888 Fedrigoni has stood for excellence in the manufacture of specialty papers. It is one of Europe’s largest players in the production and sale of various types of high value-added paper for packaging and graphics, premium labelling products, and other self-adhesive materials. With more than 4,000 employees in Italy and abroad and 25,000 products, the Group sells and distributes in more than 130 countries and has become the third global player in the self-adhesive materials sector also thanks to recent acquisitions. The Paper business unit includes the Cordenons Group and the historic Fabriano brand, and the Self-Adhesives business unit includes Arconvert, Manter, Ritrama (since February 2020), IP Venus (since December 2020), Acucote and Ri-Mark (since June 2021), Tageos (March 2022). The American distributor GPA is also part of the Group.

For more information: www.fedrigoni.com

Drawing more than 280 Attendees from across the Labeling Supply Chain

TLMI announces the resounding success of a recent webinar the association co-hosted with the Association of Plastic Recyclers and the U.S. Plastics Pact. The webinar, Label Design to Meet 2025 Sustainability Goals, was attended by nearly 300 converters, suppliers and brands across the industry. TLMI VP of Sustainability, Rosalyn Bandy, was one of the primary facilitators of the event and the roster of presenters were all association members including Yerecic Label, Siegwerk and UPM Raflatac.

As brands and printed packaging buyers increasingly prioritize product design and the impact a label has on the quality of post-consumer content (PCR), converters and suppliers are seeking resources and tools to help them define recyclability requirements and avoid label constructions that could prove problematic to the recycling process. Webinar presenters discussed the ways that certain label design choices can work with plastics recycling and gave specific examples of what to do along each step of the label design and production process. Some of the brands that took part in the webinar include Kraft Heinz, Estee Lauder, ConAgra, Aldi, Colgate Palmolive, Clorox, Land O Lakes, Costco, Coca Cola, Nestle, Danone and Starbucks.

Rosalyn Bandy, VP of Sustainability for TLMI, comments, “The information presented to label converters, industry suppliers and printed packaging buyers was invaluable. There were so many excellent questions that we extended the length of the webinar by an extra 15 minutes while participants patiently waited for their questions to be answered by the experts. TLMI is proud to partner with such an impressive panel of thought leaders who are able to help the printers and buyers of labels reduce the negative impacts of their products.”

A full recording of the session is now available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IhODX_q33U

Innovia Films is launching RayoWrap™ CMS, a clear BOPP film for shrink, wraparound label applications. Produced at our UK production facility, CMS30 provides high shrinkage, but only in the machine direction, making it the perfect film for labelling contoured drinkable dairy and beverage containers. CMS30 is highly printable and designed to give outstanding 360° graphics around the whole label. 

This film is perfect for use on small PP or PE bottles, as it can be easily removed to aid recycling of the bottle, or the whole labelled container can be recycled in a polyolefin stream. This helps the final pack be fully recyclable, and therefore meeting the Plastic Recyclers Europe packaging design recommendations.

Alasdair McEwen, Product Manager, Labels explains “the technical performance of CMS30, means it performs at every stage of the value chain, from ease of printing, through high-speed roll fed wraparound labelling, and then on to the all-important end-of-life and recycling of the packaging.  Being only 30 microns, the film also has a high yield, and so it is a cost-effective way to get all round decoration of the container.

McEwen adds “CMS30 is the perfect addition to our RayoWrapTM range of films, meaning we can now offer outstanding technical solutions for all roll-fed wraparound applications ”.

To find out more contact your local Innovia Films Sales Manager or email labels@innoviafilms.com

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/InnoviaFilms
Watch our Videos on You Tube: www.youtube.com/innoviafilms

Innovia Films is a major producer of highly differentiated specialty Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) films using proprietary ‘Bubble’, Stenter Technology and Cast manufacturing processes. 

The company holds a leading global position in the markets for high performance coated films, tobacco overwrap, labels and security films.  Innovia employs >1400 people worldwide and has production sites in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Poland and the UK.  The company is focused on high-quality value-added products, strong customer relationship, R&D and excellent service.

www.innoviafilms.com

Mills River, NC – UPM Raflatac, a global supplier of innovative and sustainable labeling materials, is strengthening its position and service capabilities in the Americas market with a new state-of-the-art two-meter slitter and increased production automation in its Mills River factory over the next two years.

“We are excited about the ability to provide better service to our customers through improved capacity, capabilities and productivity. We are continually advancing our production sites to increase our output in the Americas and exceed quality benchmarks,” stated Tim Kirchen, Senior Vice President, UPM Raflatac, Americas.

These advancements worth $10 million will add to the robust production capabilities of UPM Raflatac’s three U.S.-based factories and eight slitting and distribution centers across the Americas. It will enhance the quality of the company’s filmic products, while also reducing the need for manual handling.

“We are committed to supporting our customers as our industry continues to face unprecedented growth,” states Gabrielle Whittaker, Director, Films and Specials business, UPM Raflatac, Americas. “As well, we recognize that when we excel in quality, we enable our customers to meet the quality and performance expectations of brands and end-users.”

UPM Raflatac continually invests in technology, equipment, and its people to increase capacity and advance the output capabilities of its global network of 10 factories and 27 terminals. UPM Raflatac is celebrating 20 years of operations in Mills River. Located in North Carolina, the factory today employs over 200 people.

UPM Raflatac
UPM Raflatac is leading in sustainable labeling through our innovative self-adhesive label materials and services. We offer high-quality paper and film label stock for branding and promotion, informational labels, and labels with functionality. We operate a global network of factories, distribution terminals and sales offices. Our company employs around 3,000 people and made sales of EUR 1.7 billion (USD 1.9 billion) in 2021. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM. Find out how we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils at www.upmraflatac.com.

Follow UPM Raflatac on Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram

CX 300 to add speed and productivity for short to medium runs

Itasca, IL – Xeikon has announced that Downers Grove, Illinois-based converter, White Graphics, Inc, has purchased a Xeikon CX300 dry toner-based digital press. White Graphics specializes in short run packaging with a focus on mockups and sales samples including shrink sleeves, folding cartons, standup pouches, corrugated displays and pressure-sensitive labels in ultra low volumes.

The Xeikon CX300 will be placed in White Graphics’ new 20,000 square foot facility in Naperville, IL, which will be fully operational by early fall 2022. According to Andrew White, President, White Graphics, “The new facility will enable all of White Graphics to be under one roof – which will increase our workflow and productivity as we can place complementary equipment in one area, rather than separated into three areas as we are now. Printing and finishing will be in one line. And our new Xeikon CX300 will really enhance the overall productivity of our operation.”

White Graphics installed a Xeikon 3030 in early March, 2020. Pandemic-related issues impacted the launch of the new press, however due to their innovation-based short runs and fast lead times they began to see run lengths increase and realized the need for a press capable of accommodating the longer runs.

White adds, “Our decision to upgrade to a Xeikon CX300 was really based on speed and productivity. The unwinder can handle much larger rolls and the press runs three times faster. Now we’ll be able to profitably do small to medium size runs in the 10-15,000 foot sweet spot. This is a very robust press for variable data which provides us with new opportunities and entry points into a hyper-competitive marketplace. And lastly, we didn’t want to disassemble the current press and reassemble it in the new plant. With the Xeikon CX300, we’ll get exactly what we want when we move into the new facility.”

The enhancement of metallic toners in the Xeikon CX300 will also be a great benefit to White Graphics, as a significant amount of their short runs are for personal care labels which heavily utilize metallic designs.

Donna Covannon, Director, Marketing, Xeikon America, shares, “The range of applications White Graphics provides to its customers is a perfect fit for the Xeikon CX300 dry toner press. Serving brands with quality and color consistency enables White Graphics to excel. Xeikon appreciates the continued trust and partnership with Andrew and his team.”

ABOUT XEIKON
Xeikon, a division of Flint Group, is a long-standing leader and innovator in digital printing technology. Grounded in the principles of quality, flexibility and sustainability, Xeikon designs, develops and delivers web-fed digital color presses for label and packaging applications, document printing, and commercial printing. These printing machines work with different imaging technologies, open workflow software and application-specific consumables.

In 2015, Xeikon joined Flint Group to create a new “Digital Printing Solutions” division for the leading global print consumables and solution provider to the packaging and print media industries. Flint Group develops and manufactures an extensive portfolio of consumables for the printing industry. These include a vast range of conventional and energy-curable inks and coatings, press room chemicals, printing plates and equipment, printing blankets and sleeves, and pigments and additives for use in inks and other colorant applications. The Flint Group is based in Luxembourg and employs around 7900 people. On a worldwide basis, the company is the number one or number two supplier in every major market segment it serves.

For more information about Xeikon, visit www.xeikon.com and for Flint Group, visit www.flintgrp.com

Follow Xeikon on:
Twitter.com/Xeikon | Linkedin.com/Xeikon | Youtube.com/Xeikon | Facebook.com/XeikonInternational

One-day conference events in Cincinnati, Orange County and Toronto will preview Labelexpo Americas 2022 and discuss key market trends.

A series of free roadshows in selected cities across North America, organized by Labelexpo Global Series, will give label, packaging and commercial printers a ‘sneak peek’ into the technology on show at Labelexpo Americas 2022 later this year. 
The roadshows will take place in Cincinnati, Orange County and Toronto and are only open to printers, end users and trade press. The roadshows are supported by Gold sponsors HP, Epson and ABG and Silver sponsor Xeikon.

Labelexpo Americas 2022 show director Tasha Ventimiglia commented, ‘We will be working with the TLMI, key local printing associations and sponsors to bring an educational insight into the world of labels and package printing and all the opportunities available within this dynamic industry.’

The roadshow kicks off in Orange County on 20th July, hosted by Fullerton College. 
Fullerton College offers hands-on training on modern high-speed equipment, with specialist streams in print. Working closely with the Printing Industries Association of Southern California (PIASC), this roadshow will provide unique insights on the workforce issues surrounding the labels and package print industries. Printers will also hear about trends and case studies throughout the one-day conference program. 

The Cincinnati leg of the roadshow takes place on 28th July and will be hosted by Haney Packaging. Haney Packaging describes itself as a ‘packaging micro-factory’, providing a one-stop shop from pack development to prototype, test marketing, and everything in between. Micro factory customers have access to what Haney describes as ‘the industry’s largest library of recyclable and compostable packaging solutions.’ The roadshow will include a tour of Haney’s impressive facility, while supplier partners will cover industry trends, end-user case studies and specialist technical subjects in the one day conference program.

The final leg of the roadshow takes place in Toronto on 3rd August at the High Park Brewery. High Park Brewery describes itself as Toronto’s first ‘collaborative’ brewery, a Certified Benefit Corporation which forms part of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Roadshow delegates will hear about their partnership with a local designer and printer to develop a new identity for the brewery which includes their community links and commitment to  sustainability. This will complement a core program focusing on trends and key technology advances in label printing today.

Lisa Milburn, managing director of Labelexpo Global Series, commented, ‘At Labelexpo Americas 2022 the labels and package print industry will finally reunite under the Labelexpo banner for the first time since the pandemic began. These roadshows will give printers a unique insight into the vast range of exciting new technology which will be launched at the show and will deliver critical market trends information to help guide converters’ future investment decisions.’ 

To register for the North America roadshows, follow this link: https://go.brandprint-expo.com/e/707733/labelexpo-roadshows/7ktgx4/1378376802?h=ZfnUGA2DcXCvnppd14YpeDFul43hNWTljufzqTMnnTU 

Shorewood, IL – IST America proudly announces 30 years of providing exceptional UV curing solutions to the North American marketplace. As one of the earliest daughter companies formed by Germany-based IST Metz in 1992, IST America initially established a sales and service organization strategically based in Chicago to target OEM press manufacturers and end-use customers in the rapidly growing North American marketplace.

Throughout the 1990s IST America’s influence grew quickly, encompassing both the sheetfed and roll-fed markets. Over the course of that decade, UV delivered an advanced application platform to sheetfed printers, providing a more flexible and productive solution with the ability to print on the widest range of substrates while offering the ability to dry trap or semi-dry trap between print units. Around this same time, the narrow web market was witnessing the rapid increase of press installations that included multiple print formats like letterpress, UV flexo and rotary screen on a single press. Printed packaging buyers were demanding greater opacity, higher color integrity and finer vignettes and gradations with their printed products – specifications that were beyond the scope of conventional printing and drying methods.

IST America President, Bill Bonallo, comments, “If we have a secret, it’s the quality of the products we represent together with the team we have created. They are skilled, driven, loyal and truly understand the sense of urgency our customers demand and deserve. In the U.S., the industries we serve run fifty-two weeks a year, seven days a week and normally twenty-four hours a day. Companies do not have a lot of patience when it comes to the need for support, no matter what time of day, or day of the week. IST America has the largest parts inventory of any IST subsidiary in the world. With tens of thousands of systems in the field our installation base is massive, and we proudly populate the vast majority of the best-known printing and packaging companies around the globe. We take IST’s ultra-high performance and highly reliable equipment and provide our customers with the same level of attention and service that their customers expect from them, every UV curing day. That is our formula for success.”

Today, IST America is still headquartered in the Chicago area with sales and service personnel in strategic locations across the U.S. The company’s in-house team handles parts operations, service operations, financial management, logistics, and technical support. IST remains a leader in influencing the way that the printing, packaging and industrial markets optimize print quality, sustainability, energy efficiency and performance.

www.ist-uv.com/en-us

Kennesaw, GA – Earlier this year, Berry Global, headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, earned “Best of Show” at the 2022 FTA Flexography Awards in the narrow web category for its Jergens Body Butter Sandalwood Tube. The award-winning tube, along with Berry’s two previous “Best in Show” prints, was produced exclusively on the Gallus RCS narrow web press from Heidelberg.

As the longest running and most prestigious annual print competition, the FTA Flexography Awards are trusted by flexographers in the package and label industry around the world; their mission is to honor outstanding companies who have created exceptionally printed pieces. The Jergens Body Butter Sandalwood Tube stood out amongst other applicants due to its consistent registration, multiple special effects, and watermark finish. According to one FTA judge, “How do you know when you’re looking at a Best of Show? When the judges ask each other ‘What don’t you like about this print?’ and nobody can come up with anything to say! A spectacular job by this printer.”

Using a combination of process inks and spot colors with gold cold foil and soft-touch coating, the tube was printed completely inline on the Gallus RCS thanks to the machine’s modular capabilities. “Having various print and finishing capabilities all inline,” said Megan Burns, Creative Services Specialist for Berry, “eliminates issues that we see with some of our other print technologies, where we have to take items off one machine and put them back on a different press.”

In addition to its modular design, the Gallus RCS achieves the highest quality print results possible thanks to its high degree of automation, robust design, state-of-the-art servo drive technology and intelligent user interface. The machine’s advanced technology helped Berry achieve tight registration – even at top production speeds – on a difficult pearlescent multilayer polyethylene substrate. “We tend to see registration issues because of the stretch of the material,” said Kirk Birchler, Color and Technical Director for Berry Global, “but the press does a good job of keeping that to a minimum.” The RCS also helped Berry achieve color consistency throughout production, which was imperative for the design’s nature-based image with a range of light and dark tones.

Focused on the beauty and personal care markets, Berry Global chooses the Gallus RCS and high-quality Screeny products due to their ability to create a premium product for their clients. According to Burns, who provides production feedback for Berry’s clients at preliminary design stages, “We’re not limited to only being able to cold foil in this station and only silkscreen in that station. We have a lot of flexibility to meet our customers’ design needs and expectations.”

About Berry Global
Berry creates innovative packaging and engineered products that make life better for people and the planet by leveraging its unmatched global capabilities, sustainability leadership, and deep innovation expertise to serve customers of all sizes around the world. Harnessing the strength in the company’s diversity and industry leading talent of 47,000 global employees across more than 295 locations, Berry partners with customers to develop, design, and manufacture innovative products with an eye toward the circular economy. Through the challenges the company solves and the innovations it pioneers, Berry’s customers benefit at every stage of their journey.