UPM Raflatac, a global supplier of innovative and sustainable labeling materials, is solving bottlenecks for designers with their recently published dynamic digital label material swatchbook for wine, sprits and beverage (WSB). This new tool allows designers to bring the designs to life by downloading high-definition images and utilizing the selected label material in their preferred design software.

“The digital swatchbook was created with designers in mind. There are plenty of label materials available for wine, spirits and beverage, but the challenge is to find the right match to the packaging and to find it easy and fast. As we now live in a world with less face-to-face meetings, it is essential to have an efficient, user-friendly, and innovative digital tool that can change the landscape of label and packaging design,” says Stefano Pistoni, Senior Manager, Business Development, Wine, Spirits and Beverage, UPM Raflatac.

“For us at Advision, the UPM Raflatac Digital Swatchbook is a new incredible tool to support our creative and design workflow. We have already tried the high-resolution textures download and just in a few minutes we created mockups and realistic renderings. This new tool has two strengths: it greatly simplifies our work and helps us to convey our idea of the final result to clients in a realistic way,” stated Matteo Zantedeschi, Art Director, Advision.

The digital swatchbook allows users to search by visual appearance of face material or by features and functionalities of the material. As a global tool, the swatchbook is segmented by region to provide a highly customized user experience.

Click here to test this innovative new tool.

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.

Market leading surface treatment manufacturer Vetaphone will be supporting its agent Weldon Celloplast at Labelexpo India 2022 in Delhi on 10th- 13th November.  The Danish company, which invented and continues to pioneer surface treatment technology will have a number of its corona units on working demonstration at the expo.

On stand F15/17/19 in Hall 3 India-based UV Graphics Technologies will be showing two Vetaphone VE-A 520 models on its narrow web Ultraflex flexo line, and two VE-A 460 models on its Ultraflex hybrid line, where the digital element is powered by Domino. 

All Vetaphone corona treaters at Labelexpo India have the intelligent 2KW Vetaphone iCorona generators and are fitted with four ceramic electrodes in each unit.

With a market share exceeding 80% in the narrow web sector, Vetaphone surface treatment technology leads the way in performance, reliability, and durability.  The company’s global sales and service network ensures that users are never far from after sales service and technical support, with a ready supply of spare parts.

Together with Weldon Celloplast, Vetaphone looks forward to welcoming visitors to the exhibition and showing them the benefits of a class-leading corona system.

www.vetaphone.com

The Americas’ label converting industry in robust health as over 13,000 visitors attend. 

Labelexpo Americas 2022 was hailed an outstanding success as over 13,000 attendees flocked to the Donald E Stevens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

In total Labelexpo Americas 2022 attracted 13,569 attendees from 77 countries. It was notable that attendees stayed at the show longer than in previous years, up from an average of 1.8 days in 2018 to 2.0 days this year, and that it welcomed large numbers of first-time attendees, particularly from Latin American countries. 

The key theme at Labelexpo Americas 2022 was the digital transformation of the labels industry. The focus was squarely on the latest developments in digital printing and digital embellishment, along with sustainability and workflow automation. 

There were many global digital press debuts at the show, including HP Indigo’s V12 digital press, the Durst 20in Tau RSCi and Dantex Pico 1200e. On the converting side, automation and digital replacement of analog processes were key themes, with new machine lines from a range of companies.

Sustainability was demonstrated across the show floor, with TLMI holding a series of presentations on its Eco Stage and arranging the recycling of printed rolls into fuel pellets. Labelexpo Americas 2022 featured a packed education program including conference sessions and master classes. The Digital Embellishment Trail allowed visitors to assess printed examples of tactile finishes and digital metalization. 

Reviewing the show, Haim Levit, SVP and general manager of HP’s Industrial Print Business, said,  ‘HP Indigo’s vast portfolio of solutions for label production are allowing more and more converters to capitalize on the growing advantages of digital printing. And it was clear from the event that more and more industry professionals are looking to do just that. In fact, over the course of the show, sixteen letters of intent for the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press were signed by customers around the world, eleven of which are based in North America, and five in Europe.

Matt Burton, global sales director, A B Graphic International, said: ‘Labelexpo Americas was an overwhelming success for ABG. The level of interest we received across a whole range of finishing lines was really gratifying after a few years of no exhibitions. On a personal level, it was great to be back at Labelexpo meeting customers and partners in person. It’s these moments that make the label industry a great place to work.’

Steve Lynn, director labels and packaging, Durst North America added, ‘Labelexpo 2022 was an excellent event, everything the Durst team had hoped for after not being able to showcase our company and technology for several years.’

Stated Victor Gomez, director, industrial labels, Epson America, Inc, ‘It was the most successful Labelexpo Americas at which I’ve exhibited. Labelexpo Americas continues to be the most important trade event for the narrow web industry in North America, as well as Latin America. Customers at our booth seemed to be jostling to have a close look at our SurePress digital UV label presses. More importantly, they seemed to have come with investing in mind. We came away from the show with units sold, and with many solid prospects with whom we expect to conclude business shortly.’

Linnea Keen, president of TLMI, commented, ‘Labelexpo Americas 2022 was a fantastic event for our association and our members. The energy was infectious. Visitors were eager to learn, reconnect, engage, and conduct business. After four long years of conducting business virtually, it’s clear that exhibitions like Labelexpo are vital to the health of our dynamic industry. TLMI couldn’t be prouder to partner with Tarsus Group and Labelexpo on its much anticipated, and successful return. It was the reunion we all needed!’

Tasha Ventimiglia, Labelexpo Americas show director, commented, ‘It was wonderful to finally welcome the label industry back to Rosemont. The show floor was buzzing with excitement during the three days of the show, multiple deals were done, and visitors got the chance to see close up the new presses, materials and converting equipment developed by suppliers over the four years. We look forward to welcoming exhibitors and visitors back to Labelexpo Americas 2024!’

The HP Indigo V12 Digital Press was the star of the show

Last week at Labelexpo Americas 2022, HP showcased the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press to the labels and packaging industry for the first time alongside the HP Indigo 6K Digital Press and a wide range of solutions for sustainable packaging, automation and applications propelling new business opportunities.

Many HP customers and partners, both longstanding and new, visited the HP booth. In total, 74 demonstrations of the HP Indigo V12 and 34 demonstrations of the HP Indigo 6K took place, giving attendees the chance to experience the capabilities of each press up close, and learn more about new business opportunities, including brand protection, smart packaging, sustainable packaging and diversification to flexible packaging.

Undoubtedly the main highlight from the show floor was the first public appearance of the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press, which is built upon years of experience and will redefine how the printing industry characterizes label production.

The narrow web label press is the world’s first press to utilize the new industry altering LEPx technology and has the power to print at 120 linear meters per minutes, with all the capabilities of HP Indigo’s technology for label production.

Attendees were also able to hear from Massimiliano Martino, CTO, All4Labels, one of the HP Indigo V12 digital press’ first beta customers, who shared insights into why the company has chosen to partner with HP and how HP Indigo products are helping to drive their business forward and meet sustainability goals.

Following the show, the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press presented at Labelexpo Americas is set to proceed onwards to its first, North America-based beta customer.

HP Indigo’s vast portfolio of solutions for label production are allowing more and more converters to capitalize on the growing advantages of digital printing. And it was clear from the event that more and more industry professionals are looking to do just that. In fact, over the course of the show, 16 letters of intent for the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press were signed by customers around the world, 11 of which are based in North America, and 5 in Europe.

“The successful industry reception of The HP Indigo V12 is showing us a true analog to digital transformation, said Haim Levit, SVP and General Manager of HP’s Industrial Print Business. The Indigo V12 is redefining how the print industry thinks about label production and the overwhelming interest from our customers into digital solutions as they look to expand their operations demonstrates that our portfolio is moving the needle on the digital share of the market and driving forward the digital transformation.”

It is clear from Labelexpo Americas that digital is already taking centre stage, as for the first time ever there were no flexo presses at an industry show like this one. It was a digital press-only show floor and the HP Indigo V12 and 6K presses were the stars, capturing most of the attention. HP is proud to be leading the charge in transforming the printing industry. Bring on Drupa 2024!

About HP
HP Inc. is a technology company that believes one thoughtful idea has the power to change the world. Its product and service portfolio of personal systems, printers, and 3D printing solutions helps bring these ideas to life. Visit http://www.hp.com.

CRG’s Maraliner, WI Release Liner Facility is now ISO 9001:2015 Certified

Chicago, IL – Channeled Resources Group (CRG), a manufacturer of blank shipping labels, release liner, and the world’s largest supplier of value-priced laminated papers and films, announced that their Maraliner, WI facility; the division focused on the production of silicone release liner, has achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification. This standard and certification was selected specifically to strengthen CRG’s ability to exceed customer quality expectations, and requirements and to foster organizational growth with supporting systems.

ISO 9001:2015 is a globally recognized quality management standard developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The certification provides a model for companies of all types and sizes to use in building an effective quality management system. The standard is based on several quality management principles, including having a strong customer focus, involvement of high-level company management, an outlined process-based approach, and ongoing improvement.

The path to certification began for CRG in early 2022, led by Quality Manager – Maraliner, Chad Rhode. CRG recognized the need to formalize its processes, and documentation, to support its organizational goals of continuing to provide high-quality products to its customers. According to Rhode, “CRG had many of the items necessary for ISO certification already in place, obtaining certification was a way to formalize our processes and documentation.”

ISO 9001:2015 certification is a 3-year certification, with annual observation audits to ensure certified companies are continuing to follow their established processes.

About Channeled Resources
Channeled Resources Group (CRG) was founded in 1978 in order to purchase and process secondary fibers for the paper industry. With facilities in Chicago, Wisconsin, Indianapolis, and Ontario Channeled Resources Group (CRG) manufactures release liner and blank shipping/warehouse labels and has become one of the world’s largest suppliers of value priced pressure-sensitive label stock.

To learn more about CRG visit www.channeledresources.com

Leading Midwest Label and Tag Manufacturer Chooses Epson UV Digital Label Printing Equipment to Impress Customers and Cater to New Markets

Los Alamitos, CA – Epson has announced Palco Industrial Marking and Labeling Inc., a leading Midwest manufacturer of pressure-sensitive labels and tags, has installed its second SurePress® digital label press. Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, Palco chose the SurePress aqueous inkjet label press as its first digital printing solution in 2019 and recently onboarded the SurePress L-6534VW UV press to support the surge in client demand.

“We originally chose Epson because it was a great prime label solution for entry into digital. It’s economical, high-quality and was able to help speed up some of our jobs by taking pressure off our flexo equipment,” said Tony Lasauskas, president of Palco. “The surge in business required us to meet faster delivery times while still providing customers with exceptional quality prints so we turned to what we trusted.”

Palco serves clients in many industries, including food and beverage, pharmaceutical, wine, spirits and craft, industrial manufacturing, and pet and animal products, with print jobs ranging from 200 to 30,000 labels per job. “We’ve had some big wins because of our digital capabilities – especially with our customers who require high-quality and consistency,” said Lasauskas. “These clients depend on repeatability and need the same label to be precise with every print; it must be the same color, font and quality today that it is six months from now.”

Lasauskas noted Palco has been able to enter new markets because the labels produced by the SurePress L-6534VW production label press have outstanding durability and can withstand certain environments with harsh conditions. “With the Digital Varnish capabilities of the SurePress L-6534VW, we have been able to expand our business in the wine, spirits and craft space. Craft customers love that we can enhance their labels with textures and sophisticated effects.”

“Epson’s production label presses are tailored to support big businesses with large print volumes,” said Mike Pruitt, senior product manager, Epson America, Inc. “We are proud to see the SurePress deliver the technology features, reliability and capabilities to help usher new opportunities for growth and profit, as they have proven to do so for Palco.”

“Our customers are happy, which is the key to success,” concluded Lasauskas.

The SurePress L-6534VW is available with Digital Varnish or Orange Ink. The print heads, inks, LED pinning and curing lamp units, media feeding, and control system are all developed, serviced and manufactured by Epson. For additional information, visit www.epson.com/surepress. For inquiries in North America, contact:

– Western Region: Mark Elsbernd, 818-620-2730 or mark.elsbernd@ea.epson.com

– Central Region: Bob Ochalla, 630-710-6005 or bob.ochalla@ea.epson.com

– Eastern Region and Canada: Frank Connelly, 615-585-9058 or frank.connelly@ea.epson.com

About Epson
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to co-creating sustainability and enriching communities by leveraging its efficient, compact, and precision technologies and digital technologies to connect people, things, and information. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson’s goal is to become carbon negative and eliminate use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of around JPY 1 trillion. global.epson.com/

Epson America, Inc., based in Los Alamitos, Calif., is Epson’s regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/epsonamerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica).

EPSON and SurePress are registered trademarks and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2022 Epson America, In

Diversified Labeling Solutions (DLS), a national converter of pressure-sensitive labels, is happy to announce that it has added an HP Indigo label quoting tool to the DLS Label Portal™. This new tool is an expansion of DLS’ QuoteNow™. It allows DLS distributors to receive immediate quotes for HP Indigo label print jobs, in addition to the existing flexographic quoting options. This provides immediate pricing for small to medium-sized label jobs that require high-quality print.

DLS released Label Portal™ earlier this year to provide a centralized hub for distributors to access label information and sales tools. The portal is being developed in several stages and the addition of the HP Indigo quoting tool is the second phase of development. The customer portal is available to all DLS distributors and now provides:

• Immediate quotes for HP Indigo and flexographic print jobs with DLS’ QuoteNow™

• Personalized access to custom-branded marketing materials

• Instant access to our most up-to-date Stock Catalog

• Material spec sheets to help choose the right product

• Purchase Order submittal

• Artwork submittal

Future releases will be available in the coming months and will continue to add features such as additional digital printing quotes, order tracking information and online stock label purchasing options.

Available to all DLS distributors, the new portal is designed as a centralized hub where customers can access the most-requested label information and sales tools.

“Our primary goal with the addition of the HP quoting tool is to give our distributors easy access to pricing for small to medium size label runs that require high-quality print,” noted DLS VP of Marketing, James Cirigliano. He continued, “Development has been a collaborative process, with input from customers as well as our customer service, sales, marketing and technical teams. The result is an easy-to-use quoting tool that is available 24/7. The tool will allow DLS distributors to get pricing in real time, and then easily submit their quote to place an order.”

Current DLS distributors can request their personalized portal at https://teamdls.com/Customer-Portal.htm or by contacting marketing@teamdls.com. Interested label suppliers can learn more about the portal and other benefits of partnering with DLS at https://teamdls.com/Tools-Support/Customer-Portal.htm.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of TSC Auto ID Technology Co. Ltd., DLS has been a preferred B2B supplier of high-quality, custom-printed pressure sensitive labels since 1985. All products, from blank labels to full color high-definition labels, are produced utilizing the latest in flexographic and digital printing technologies. Exemplar of their motto “We only succeed when you do,” DLS’s dedicated team is passionate about labels and is willing to share their expertise with partnered distributors to help them grow their business. With locations in five states and headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, DLS is well-situated to offer products to distributor customers nationwide. To learn more about the dedicated team at DLS, its exceptional offerings and services, or to receive a quote, please visit https://teamdls.com or call 800.397.3013.

UK-based UV curing specialist GEW has reported that the company’s recent return to Labelexpo Americas has been a resounding success. After a four-year break, the mid-September event was similarly busy to the 2018 show with over 13,000 visitors.

GEW’s new air-cooled UV LED curing system, AeroLED, was of particular interest to many visitors and contributed to GEW’s stand being a hub of activity throughout the three days of the show. Robert Rae, Managing Director of Sales at GEW, explains: “With energy costs soaring globally and showing no signs of easing, we have found a dramatic increase in the level of enquiries about our LED systems and the energy savings they bring when compared to conventional UV.” He adds: “Our LeoLED water-cooled LED system has already been delivering huge savings for many of our customers since its launch in 2019, and now the even lower power consumption of AeroLED is taking these savings to another level. AeroLED has more than enough power for most narrow web applications and the lampheads are now ArcLED compatible, which means they are easily interchangeable with GEW’s conventional E2C lamps. In a nutshell, an AeroLED upgrade can be achieved in less than one day and offers the fastest, most affordable route to LED printing.”

The company also reported that a significant number of its UV curing systems were in operation at the show, with GEW lampheads running on the majority of the leading manufacturers’ presses. Marcus Greenbrook, Director of International Sales at GEW, comments: “Bearing in mind the lower-than-usual number of working presses at this year’s event, we were delighted to see an impressive range of GEW lampheads at work. In all we had 19 full UV systems in operation, across nine different press manufacturers. This represents by far the highest number of UV systems on show by any supplier, and is testament to the quality and dependability of our equipment.”

He concludes: “It was great to be back meeting customers and industry friends again after four years. We didn’t know what to expect with this being the first Labelexpo for some time, but for us, this was a great show and our new AeroLED product launch was warmly received with great interest. It’s good to be back!”

About GEW
GEW is the market-leading manufacturer of both UV Arc and LED systems for the labelling, narrow web and sheetfed printing industries. The company has world-class production facilities at its UK headquarters, subsidiaries in the USA & Germany, and an extensive network of worldwide distributors.

GEW specialises in the design and installation of UV LED systems, having introduced its latest UV LED product, AeroLED, in early 2022. Representing the next generation for UV LED curing, AeroLED eliminates the need for a chiller by air-cooling from a single remote fan to bring UV LED within affordable reach for all. LeoLED, released in 2019, is GEW’s water-cooled solution, delivering maximum power and UV dose for more demanding applications. LeoLED and AeroLED are compatible with GEW’s renowned ArcLED hybrid system.

www.gewuv.com

The label manufacturer UPM Raflatac and the industrial labeling and identification solutions provider Logopak have agreed on a collaboration, which provides their customers the first robust linerless solution in print and apply labeling. With linerless labeling, omitting the label liner significantly increases the running length and capacity of the label rolls, saves costs, and benefits the environment by reducing the CO2 footprint in production and logistics. As a first step the collaboration will improve especially the automatic labeling of secondary packaging.

The benefits of the collaboration for customers are realized through the excellent compatibility between Logopak’s linerless labeling technology and UPM Raflatac’s Linerless Opticut™ label material. Logopak has tested the functionality of the linerless printing with more than one million cuts with UPM Raflatac’s OptiCut material without any significant pollution or major abrasion of the cutter. This remarkable result is proof that together Logopak and UPM Raflatac can provide a labeling solution that takes automatic linerless labeling to unprecedented level of speed, accuracy and reliability tackling the challenges linerless labeling has conventionally faced.

The Logopak’s fully automated Logomatic 410 Linerless labeling system provides sustainable, flexible, and budget-friendly labeling of secondary packaging and shipping cartons. The Logomatic enables cutting the labels, which are coated with active adhesives, to individual sizes, which optimizes both the material input and economically efficient use of Logopak’s innovative eco labeller.

UPM Raflatac’s Linerless Opticut is a labeling material that prevents paper jamming and provides excellent adhesion with minimal adhesive build-up. The solution minimizes service time and offers customers maximum uptime of the labeling system with reduced need for roll changes, lower material costs and improved sustainability with FSC certified (FSC-C012530) raw materials and requires less raw materials than standard pressure-sensitive label materials. UPM Raflatac’s linerless range is also certified as a CarbonNeutral® product against the CarbonNeutral® Protocol by Climate Impact Partners.

“We have been determined to develop linerless labeling to new heights to drive both sustainability and efficiency. By joining the forces with Logopak we can accelerate these advancements and offer first class solutions also in the field of automated labeling,” says Ville Pollari, Business Segment Director, Paper Laminates EMEIA, UPM Raflatac.

“Our vision is to make industrial labeling consistently sustainable in order to improve the eco-balance in an efficient way. By close cooperation with UPM Raflatac, we achieve a perfect interaction in the field of linerless labeling technology which enables us to offer complete solutions for our customers, from machinery and software until consumables. This underlines our mission to make business “Faster. Safer. Greener.“, says Patrick Petersen-Lund, Product Manager, Logopak Systeme.

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.