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.

New blank linerless DT labels eliminate liner waste and improve productivity for converters and end users 

 Mentor, OH – Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials today introduced a new direct thermal (DT) linerless label platform for variable information labels used in e-commerce, food delivery and pickup, quick serve restaurants, weigh scale, and transportation and logistics applications. By providing a DT linerless solution for these growing, technology-enabled applications, the company has eliminated the liner waste associated with label printing while offering converters a DT labeling solution that reduces matrix waste and improves process efficiency and productivity.  

The new platform uses emulsion adhesives to support semi-permanent and removable applications and ensures consistent adhesive and silicone coating. Plus, it’s 32% thinner than linered labels, and features up to 50% more labels per roll. Available through a flexible service model with roll widths from 4 to 60 inches, the platform reduces the number of SKUs converters must stock and eliminates die cuts by offering one roll for every label length. With more labels per roll, converters also benefit from fewer changeovers and higher productivity.

“The move to linerless labels is essential to reducing waste in the labeling industry and this new platform expands the use of these labels to a wide range of applications while offering multiple benefits to converters and end users,” said Kelli Messer, senior marketing director at Avery Dennison. “By eliminating the liner, our self-wound rolls of direct thermal labels deliver up to 50% more labels per roll, resulting in fewer roll changes, faster operations, and more efficient storage and transportation.” 

To learn more about Avery Dennison’s new DT linerless label platform, visit the Avery Dennison web site. 

About Avery Dennison
Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) is a global materials science and manufacturing company specializing in the design and manufacture of a wide variety of labeling and functional materials. The company’s products, which are used in nearly every major industry, include pressure-sensitive materials for labels and graphic applications; tapes and other bonding solutions for industrial, medical and retail applications; tags, labels and embellishments for apparel; and radio-frequency identification (RFID) solutions serving retail apparel and other markets. Headquartered in Glendale, California, the company employs approximately 32,000 employees in more than 50 countries. Reported sales in 2020 were $7 billion.

Elk Grove Village, IL — SCREEN Americas announces a new high-opacity white mode as an option for its Truepress Jet L350UV SAI S. The new printing mode allows for reduced transparency when applying white ink on clear substrates. The upgrade provides additional value for label manufacturers, particularly those in the beverage industry whose labels are printed on transparent substrates intended for green and brown bottles.

Since color accuracy is imperative for a brand’s image, the new high-opacity white ink printing mode is expected to give owners of the Truepress Jet L350UV SAI S an edge on their competition. “It’s important that the colors in a brand’s logo are not altered due to the label being placed on a bottle, box, or other material that is already colored,” said Mark Schlimme, vice president of marketing for SCREEN Americas. “Furthermore, the overall quality of the image on a package or bottle can have an impact on whether or not someone decides to purchase that particular product.”

The ink configuration of the Truepress Jet L350UV SAI S is CMYK plus white. Owners of the press have the option to add orange and blue to the arrangement. The standard speed using the CMYK+W configuration is 98.5 feet per minute with the option to upgrade to 165 feet per minute.

For printers who did not have the opportunity to see the Truepress Jet L350UV SAI series in action at Labelexpo Americas in Rosemont, Illinois, they can see it in booth number N1625 at PRINTING United Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, from October 19 to October 21, 2022. Additionally, registrants of the SCREEN User’s Group will have a private, advance opportunity to experience the Truepress Jet L350UV SAI series during the PRINTING United UX event which is scheduled to be held just prior to the convention’s opening hours.  

About SCREEN Americas
SCREEN Americas, a SCREEN Graphic Solutions group company established in 1967, is a leading provider of digital inkjet technology serving the commercial, publishing, direct mail, transactional, packaging, and label industries. In 2021, SCREEN Americas relocated its headquarters to Elk Grove Village, Illinois, with an upgrade that included a 14,000-plus square-foot Inkjet Innovation Center.

Diversified Labeling Solutions (DLS) announced today that Jim Kersten, Chief Executive Officer, will retire at the end of 2022 following nearly 12 years of service to the company and a 44-year career in the print industry. As part of an orderly and planned leadership succession process, current Chief Operating Officer, Bill Johnstone, will succeed Kersten as CEO, effective January 1.

Kersten will continue to lead the company until his retirement. He will work closely with Johnstone and the DLS senior leadership team to support a smooth and organized transition that builds upon the company’s momentum in areas of customer solutions, production capacity, and operational excellence.

“Jim has shaped DLS’s purpose, culture and transformation with a relentless focus on creating long-term, sustainable value for customers and employees.” said James Cirigliano, DLS VP of Marketing. “He has built and led an experienced team that has consistently executed a successful business strategy with solid underlying fundamentals. He has helped build a world-class label converting organization with a robust customer base, strong financial position, excellent customer and supplier partnerships, and a talented diverse workforce. Jim has strengthened the business and positioned DLS well for the future.”

While Jim will continue to serve DLS for a few more months, the entire executive team expresses its deep gratitude for his years of dedication, service, and values-driven leadership. “Having worked closely alongside Jim for many years building DLS’s vision for the future, I have seen firsthand his strategic leadership, in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the business, and astute financial acumen. The future for labels is bright and there are significant opportunities ahead.” Cirigliano concluded.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better team of professionals to be part of,” says Kersten. “I am so proud of everyone and all that we’ve accomplished together. When I brought Bill Johnstone on board in 2021 to prepare for this transition, I knew I had the right person to lead DLS to the next levels of success. We pride ourselves on taking care of customers, being efficient, and finding creative ways to grow our business. I am confident that Bill will carry the torch and continue serving all DLS stakeholders well by creating sustainable value both today and for future generations.”

Jim Kersten joined DLS as CEO in January of 2011. He guided the company from $36MM in annual sales to being on track to achieve over $100MM in annual sales in 2022. He played an integral part in building a strong management team, adding automated production capacity, migrating to a new ERP system, expanding the company’s geographic footprint, and building new customer relationships. Jim also brought a strong marketing effort to DLS by hiring talented people and helping cultivate a marketing team that now has best-in-class marketing tools to provide to the company’s distributor base.

Jim is looking forward to new adventures, both personally and professionally. The entire Diversified team thanks him for his leadership, guidance, mentoring, and never-ending support – wishing him all the best in the future. He will be greatly missed.

With decades of combined leadership experience, DLS’s senior leadership team has the breadth and depth to continue to lead the company forward under incoming CEO, Bill Johnstone’s stewardship.

About DLS:
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.

Midlothian, TX – Ennis, Inc. (NYSE: EBF), announced today that Mr. Wade Brewer has been appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer and Mr. Terry Pennington has been appointed as Chief Revenue Officer. Mr. Brewer and Mr. Pennington will continue reporting to Keith Walters, Chairman, President and CEO of Ennis.

Mr. Brewer brings a total of 38 years of print industry experience to the Chief Operating Officer position. He has served as Ennis’ Director of Manufacturing since 2021 and before that, held the title of Business Unit Director for nine years, helping manage all of the company’s 50+ production facilities. Mr. Brewer started his printing career in 1984 at Transkirt as a Senior Product Manager and played an integral part in developing their pressure seal products. Mr. Brewer has also previously held management positions at Ward Kraft, Cenveo, and PrintXcel. During his time with Cenveo, he held the title of Director of Manufacturing and Vice President of Operation – Documents division, where he oversaw 11 different plants, all of which are a part of Ennis today.

Mr. Pennington served in various senior and executive management roles in the printing sector for 26 years before joining Ennis, Inc. in 2006. Mr. Pennington was initially responsible for 15 Ennis printing facilities until 2010 when he assumed Vice President of Sales.  As V.P. of Sales, he was responsible for managing the company’s Regional Sales Managers and supporting the sales efforts of Ennis’ 35,000 independent distributors. Mr. Pennington is a part of the acquisition team that has helped the company diversify the company’s product offerings including envelope manufacturing over 10 years ago. He has played a role in expanding the company’s sales of labels, tags, and commercial print during his tenure by acquisition or new product offerings.

Keith S. Walters, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer noted, “Both Mr. Brewer and Mr. Pennington have proven themselves to be of tremendous value to the company within their respective roles. We are pleased to have these two new officers with such deep industry experience and knowledge helping lead our company.”

About Ennis
Founded in 1909, the Company is one of the largest private-label printed business product suppliers in the United States.  Headquartered in Midlothian, Texas, Ennis has production and distribution facilities strategically located throughout the USA to serve the Company’s national network of distributors.  Ennis manufactures and sells business forms, other printed business products, printed and electronic media, integrated forms and labels, presentation products, flex-o-graphic printing, advertising specialties and Post-it® Notes, internal bank forms, plastic cards, secure and negotiable documents, specialty packaging, direct mail, envelopes, tags and labels and other custom products.

For more information, visit www.ennis.com.

Wisconsin-based Inland Packaging has installed a new Nilpeter FA-17 to increase capacity and expand product lines in label and flexible packaging production for a variety of markets, including household, food, beverage, health and wellness, and others.

Built around the modern printing operator, with an intuitive user-interface and fully mobile print controls, the Nilpeter FA-17 provides a maximum level of stability, the tightest register tolerance, and excellent printing results on multiple substrates: All normal self-adhesive materials, including flexible packaging films, polymer films, metallic films, and paper.

Pushing The Limits
“We had an excellent factory acceptance test with Nilpeter’s demo team. The press held register very accurately, and we were able to push the limits on speed. This is transferring well to the production floor,” says Chad Nellis, Process & Technology Manager, Inland Packaging.

More Operator-Friendly
“We appreciate the partnership and Nilpeter’s ability to continue to make their equipment more operator-friendly in today’s tight market,” Mike Skroch, Vice President Operations, adds.

Looking Forward To A Bright Future
“When Inland Packaging started investigating new equipment to optimize their production demands, the focus was to achieve maximum efficiency and machine uptime. The automation and quick-change features built into every Nilpeter FA-Line provided the foundation to meet all the Inland Packaging objectives. We look forward to a bright future with Inland Packaging as our printing partner,” says Walt Mesik, Senior Sales Consultant, Nilpeter USA.

About Inland Packaging
Inland Packaging is a leading label manufacturer with an impressive track record. Over 75 years, and through three generations of family ownership, the company has sustained its focus on creating value for a variety of markets including household, food, beverage, beer, health and wellness, and others. A combination of high customer satisfaction, a vision of growth with investments in new equipment and facilities, not to mention great employees have expanded Inland Packaging’s capabilities as a label manufacturer and allowed the family-owned company to become the global partner it is today.

www.nilpeter.com