Industry experts welcome food waste report but point to omissions

The cross party Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) has issued its report into food waste in England. The report said the government should establish a national food waste reduction target to drive efforts to reduce the food waste costing the average person in the UK £200 per year.
EFRA also said that supermarkets should publicly report data on the amount of food they bin and relax rules that prevent the sale of ‘wonky vegetables’ to combat food waste.
Committee chair Neil Parish

Staff Writer, 16 May 2017

UPM’s initiative gets sustainability award

UPM’s Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative received the Gold Award in the Midwest Region Sustainability competition challenged by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Chicago.
UPM’s Zero Solid Waste to Landfill initiative, launched in 2016, is one of the ways in which UPM contributes to the United Nations sustainable development goals for the year 2030.
The initiative focuses on five production side streams to recycle, starting in UPM’s home country, Finland. The waste fractions are ash

Staff Writer, 16 May 2017

Fashion fabrics present boom opportunity: Smithers Pira

Leveraging inkjet technology into the textile industry is presenting an increasingly compelling opportunity for mainstream print equipment and consumable suppliers, according to the latest research from Smithers Pira.
As this happens it is creating new value-adding business opportunities for fabric printers and material suppliers, as the capabilities of the latest generation of digital textile presses dovetails with evolving priorities for end users, like fashion designers.
Exclusive data from

Staff Writer, 20 April 2017

Intec launches updated ColorFlare to save turnaround times

Intec has launched its updated ColorFlare CF1000LX foiler and laminator, an upgrade on the CF1000, with an additional arm and roller station to save on turnaround times.
The new machine can foil, laminate (matt, gloss and soft-touch) and produce holographic special effects. It is intended for short runs of products such as greetings cards, wedding stationery, business cards and packaging. It also has an easily installable premium finish flaring assembly, which Intec said has a mirror finish

Staff Writer, 20 April 2017

Metsä introduces one piece paper cup Lidloc

Metsä Board introduced a new paperboard cup design concept called ‘Lidloc’ at the Packaging Innovations Exhibition held in UK.  
According to Metsä Board, the Lidloc patented design is based upon an extension to a standard cup structure that folds and locks into an integrated lid. This innovative design completely removes the need for a separate plastic lid and will re-invent how paperboard cups are produced, consumed and recycled. The lid also contains an integrated ‘sip’ mechanism for hot

News Editor, 20 April 2017

Caraustar to up uncoated price

Caraustar Industries announced a price increase of $75 per ton on all uncoated recycled paperboard (URB) grades effective starting with shipments on April 3. Also, there is a price increase of 10% on its paper tube and core, header and protective packaging product lines. This announcement comes on the heels of a $60 hike for URB that Caraustar put into effect with shipments on Feb. 10.
In a press release, the company said, “The increase is in response to the additional increased raw materials

Staff Writer, 20 April 2017

MagnaColours’ sustainability standard for textile industry

Ink manufacturer MagnaColours has launched a new eco-friendly standard for water-based inks used in textile printing that is expected to become the global standard within 12 months.
MagnaColours, a specialist in water-based ink manufacturing, has developed the GNA mark for use by all compliant manufacturers, printers and retailers in order to push for more sustainable production methods.
The mark is also designed to reassure consumers who buy printed textiles and apparel that no harmful products

Staff Writer, 15 March 2017

Suzano infuses funds to diversify products and improve efficiency

Suzano Pulp and Paper said that it will invest around R$720 million by year-end in a set of projects intended to diversify its operations in Brazil through higher-value products, boost structural competitiveness, cut costs and enhance environmental initiatives.
In a press release Suzano said, “These projects are included in our investment plan for 2017, which is estimated at R$1.83 billion and also includes R$1.11 billion in maintenance initiatives, including in the forestry and industrial

Staff Writer, 15 March 2017

Lecta unveils Metalvac A HG paper for labels

Lecta has launched its new Metalvac A HG paper, designed for self-adhesive labels. The metallized face stock is produced on the new coating and lacquering line installed in 2016 in the Leitza plant, as part of the Company’s investment plan to increase production capacity of its Metalvac metallized papers.   
Metalvac A HG is a high gloss metallized paper with a new improved surface and appearance for optimum metallic gloss look and is suitable for self-adhesive labels for beverages and personal

Staff Writer, 15 March 2017

Esko lauched new solutions

Esko has launched new solutions to comply with new regulations on nutritional labeling by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  Regulators in other countries are taking a similar approach, with new guidelines on communicating nutritional information on packaging.
   “We are seeing a wave of new legislation being introduced as governments all over the world seek to educate consumers via product packaging,” said Philippe Adam, vice president of global marketing at Esko. “For the food and

Staff Writer, 15 March 2017

Sun Chemical launches water-based pigment inks for textile

Sun Chemical is presenting its portfolio of SunTex textile inkjet inks to the interior decoration and home furnishings markets at Heimtextil 2017.
SunTex Encore is a multi-colour ink set that combines CMYK, red, green, blue and grey which is suitable for pigmented textile inkjet inks. According to the manufacturers, SunTex Encore also delivers very good adhesion to a range of substrates including natural and synthetic textile fabrics such as cotton, viscose, silk and poly-cottons. In addition

Staff Writer, 16 February 2017

Lecta ups production capacity of recyclable metallized papers

In accordance with Lecta’s plan, a new coating and lacquering line made by the Swiss manufacturer Polytype was recently put into operation at the Leitza mill (Spain).
The new machine has a width of 2,450 mm and a speed of 800 m/min. This will allow for increasing the production capacity of metallized papers at the Leitza mill from 25,000 to 40,000 tons as well as expanding the current range due to the technical advances that the machine embodies.
Its implementation has been accompanied by other

Staff Writer, 16 February 2017

Avery Dennison prints catalogue on FSC paper

Avery Dennison highlights emerging opportunities with its latest Select Solutions catalogue, that was printed on recycled paper, made from 100% FSC- certified paper, including release liner waste.
  The catalogue reveals market trends as well as developments and solutions across many different market segments. The catalogue’s key feature story focuses on Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) and Near Field Communication (NFC) – technologies that are already common in the apparel segment and

Staff Writer, 16 February 2017

SGP sets goals for industry

The Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP), one of the authority in sustainable printing certifications for print manufacturers, has elected a new board of directors and hired Brittany Sutphin as Executive Director to help the organization achieve an ambitious set of objectives for 2017. SGP anticipates certifying more than 50 new facilities this year, doubling the number of certified sustainable printers in the United States and Canada and continuing the Partnership’s drive toward a

Staff Writer, 16 February 2017

GPA has added new specialty papers to dry toner segment

GPA has announced that it has expanded its range to add new collection of specialty papers engineered specifically for dry toner presses.
GPA’s new specialty papers offer a range of textures, shimmers, recycled and translucent options suitable for photo books and photo prints, direct mail, corporate communications, stationery and marketing collateral.
These premium papers are FSC certified, recyclable, biodegradable, acid-free and elemental chlorine free announced GPA in a statement released to

Staff Writer, 16 January 2017

Swanline, Oppboga Bruk launch water resistant outdoor substrate

Swanline Paper and Board (SPB) has collaborated with Swedish paper mill Oppboga Bruk to launch a water-resistant outdoor display board that does not use a polyethylene (PE) coating to achieve its impermeable properties.
The product contains up to 60% recycled fibre, is FSC certified and is 100% recyclable. Its 100% paper fibre composition is said to enable high resistance to moisture, even compared with less ecologically sound PE-coated alternatives.
The substrate is suitable for outdoor signage

Staff Writer, 16 January 2017

Avery Dennison signs PPA to offset emissions

Labeling and packaging materials manufacturer Avery Dennison Corporation  has signed a wind power purchase agreement (PPA) with Apex Clean Energy to offset 50 percent of the company’s  greenhouse gas emissions derived from electricity consumption.  The PPA is a key component of Avery Dennison’s 2025 sustainability goal to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by at least 3% annually, and by at least 26% overall between 2015 and 2025. The agreement demonstrates Avery’s

Staff Writer, 16 January 2017

Environmental friendly printer

Packaging printer achieves high environmental efficiency and saves costs with technology from Heidelberg.
The ceremony for the “100 Betriebe für Ressource-neffizienz” (100 Companies for Resource Efficiency) took place in October of this year under the auspices of Minister President Winfried Kretschmann. Among the companies were packaging manufacturer August Faller GmbH & Co. KG. based in Waldkirch and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, which together developed an environmentally friendly offset

Staff Writer, 16 January 2017

MagnaColours launches ‘non-drying’ textile screen ink

The ink, which is designed for screen printing, has been developed to print vibrant colours onto high mesh-count textiles. MagnaColours said this will help brands achieve a unique and eye-catching finish.
The manufacturer added the product achieves “great results” without the harmful environmental side-effects of PVC and formaldehyde.
The ink, which has a shelf life of 12 months, is said to be more economical than any PVC alternative. Its quality and technical performance has been designed to

Staff Writer, 22 December 2016

Digital textile print market set for double-digit growth

The digital textile printing industry will double its year-on-year global growth for the next five years, new research suggests.
In a wide-ranging report from Smithers Pira, The Future of Digital Textile Printing to 2021, the print market researcher forecasted annual average growth for the next five years to be 12.3%, which will see the market more than double, from sales of €1.2bn to €2.4bn.
Smithers’ analysis predicts volumes of fabric being printed with inkjet equipment will increase at an

Staff Writer, 22 December 2016

BBC Earth launches in print

BBC Worldwide has launched BBC Earth magazine, a new monthly title, which transforms one of its core brands into a printed product.
River Group will publish the magazine. Sharon Kirby from River group said the magazine would be “packed full of unmissable photography and inspiring features across nature, science, people and space”.
The printers said that the text pages of the  magazine will be printed  a 10-colour Manroland Rotoman twin-web on 70gsm UPM Star Gloss and the cover was printed on its

Staff Writer, 22 December 2016

Prize Awarded to Huber

Environmental Minister Franz Untersteller awarded the ‘Environmental Prize for Companies 2016’ on 17 Nov. 2016 in Stuttgart. Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau AG from Offenburg received the award in the category of manufacturing companies. Huber is a pioneer in the development of environmentally friendly chillers and temperature control devices.
At the official event in Stuttgart, Environmental Minister Untersteller noted: “We distinguish firms which are courageous and exemplary on company

Staff Writer, 22 December 2016

ISO task force to produce PDF workflow standard

A new ISO task force has set to work on producing a PDF standard to guide production workflow decisions. The task force has been set up in response to requests from transactional printers, who have found they are limited by the current PDF/VT standard, to be able to include media selections and simplex/duplex controls in a PDF file.   The new standard, which is expected to be published in early 2018, will make it possible to describe what a final printed piece is supposed to look like.
“When

Staff Writer, 14 November 2016

Bobst to launch two new barrier solutions for transparent films

Bobst used its October vacuum metalizing open house to launch two new protective topcoats for its Alox polyester transparent films.
The two new topcoats help reduce barrier performance loss when the films are put through the conversion process. One acts simply as a protective coat and the other is a barrier-enhancing coat.
Alox transparent films are mainly used for packaging end-user products, such as baked goods and microwaveable products. They have a vacuum-coated clear barrier coating

Staff Writer, 14 November 2016

UPM acknowledged for its eco initiatives

UPM has been included in the CDP Climate A List. UPM is featured in the CDP’s climate change program for the eight years in a row for its climate actions and transparent climate reporting.
    “Apart from actions, also the quality of reporting matters. Investors and other important stakeholders use our public data to evaluate how well we tackle global climate challenges and changes in market conditions and comply with related regulations”, says Sami Lundgren, vice president, Environment &

Staff Writer, 14 November 2016

Enviro Wipes acquired

Print cleaning products supplier Enviro Wipes has been acquired by global workwear provider Lindström, for a seven-figure sum.
   Lindström UK managing director Soresh Meeda said: “Joining forces with Enviro Wipes provides a great opportunity for us to start with a totally new service in the textile market. Our new partner has a solid foundation, great products and fantastic customers.”
Founded in 1992, £3.1m-turnover Enviro Wipes mainly supplies recyclable industrial wipes to the printing

Staff Writer, 14 November 2016

Bobst will launch ‘highest productivity metallizer’

Bobst will use its October open house at its innovation centre  to launch what it says is the world’s highest productivity vacuum metallizer.
The Bobst K5 Expert runs at speeds of 1,200m/min and is an update on the current K5000 model.
Bobst global head of sales and marketing Juan Cano said: “This is a product we have been working on for the last three years. Our R&D engineering team were at work to not just improve the existing metallizer but come out with a new machine that will be the

Staff Writer, 16 October 2016

Sun Chemical to launch regulatory compliant pad printing ink

Sun Chemical is set to launch its latest environmentally friendly ink for pad printing.  The TP 400 regulatory compliant ink is free from a number of raw materials including BPA, cyclohexanone, butyl glycolate and aromatic hydrocarbons.
It is compliant with RoHS, REACH and EuPIA standards and meets the EU Toy Safety Directive DIN EN ISO 71-3:2013 as well as USP Class VI - Certificate for medical applications.
The manufacturer said the ink is safe to use for food, drink and medical applications

Staff Writer, 16 October 2016

FFEI has launched new Graphium features

Digital imaging specialist FFEI has launched several new media handling and digital finishing enhancements for its Graphium hybrid digital inkjet label press.
The manufacturer has also added a new orange ink for the device, its third-generation digital UV inkjet press for labels, packaging and speciality print.
The immediately available new features, which FFEI managing director Andy Cook said are entirely user-driven and build on existing strengths, can be retrofitted to existing presses and

Staff Writer, 16 October 2016

Toray Plastics new metal film

Toray Plastics Inc. introduces an exciting new, environment-friendly, advanced metal-transfer film that creates a brilliant reflective surface for premium decorative packaging, point-of-purchase displays, and specialty printing applications. Lumirror® MR20 polyester metal-transfer film allows vacuum-deposited aluminium on the film surface to be transferred with adhesive to paper and paperboard for superior brightness. Lumirror MR20 is manufactured in-house using Toray’s proprietary film

Staff Writer, 16 October 2016