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UPM Raflatac has set up a new slitting facility in Korea

UPM Raflatac has set up a new slitting facility in Korea that will supply label materials to local customers in the country. This is a part of UPM Raflatac's expansion program in Asia Pacific, targeting to increase production capacity and expand the service network in the market. The facility was opened on June 22, 2018. Sean Heng, vice president for UPM Raflatac Asia Pacific, said, "UPM Raflatac is labeling a smarter future with sustainable and innovative products combined with world-class

Comexi has opened a new office in Moscow

Comexi has opened a new office in Moscow, Russia, to enhance the support provided to customers in this region and in all CIS countries. Company has also appointed new business director in this region, Alexander Rabassa, who will work next to Ramon Xifra, Comexi’s vice president. "By opening an office in this country, we will be closer to our customers and able to provide them with an even higher standard of service," said Xifra. The new office in Russia will cover all CIS markets, Lithuania and

Sun Chemical has increased the prices of all UV and EB inks

Sun Chemical has increased the prices of all ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) inks in Europe by 4-6 percent, effective July 1. As announced previously, governmental initiatives and regulations geared toward environmental protection have caused many suppliers of photoinitiators to either cease or reduce production for limited periods of time. Additionally, as outlined by the European Printing Ink Association, photoinitiator supply has also been impacted by major incidents, including a

Toyo Ink SC Holdings plans to enter the market in Myanmar

Toyo Ink SC Holdings plans to enter the market in Myanmar with the establishment of a production base in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangon. The company plans to set up a wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiary, Toyo Ink Myanmar, in July 2018, with an initial paid-in capital of US$6.5 million. The new factory is scheduled to break ground in November 2018 with commercial operation expected to begin in November 2019. Initially, the new subsidiary will be engaged in the production of liquid

Canon enters digital label printing with LabelStream

Canon has entered the digital label printing market with the launch of the Océ LabelStream 4000.
Océ LabelStream 4000 is a roll-to-roll industrial-scale UV inkjet press, offering CMYK+W printing and available in a number of configurations to suit different needs in self-adhesive labels and flexible packaging. The white printing station is positioned ahead of the CMYK units, with two types of white ink available, providing opacity from 67% (True white) to 80% (Alpine white), depending on

Fujifilm unveils food-safe ink for Jet Press 720S

Fujifilm Europe has revealed it is to launch a new food-safe ink for its Jet Press 720S that it claims will make the machine the first B2 digital printer approved for primary food packaging production.
The low-migration aqueous ink, which will go into mass production later this year, complies with stringent primary food contact regulations, including Swiss Ordinance 817.023.21 and European Commission Regulation 1935/2004.
The ink has been specially formulated to work with inline (via a bridge)

Think Out of the Box solutions by Heidelberg

In the middle of May, more than 400 guests from all over the world attended the Packaging Day hosted by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) at the Wiesloch-Walldorf site.
Under the slogan “Think out of the Box”, they witnessed the premiere of the Primefire 106 – what up until then was only available to see in customers’ print shops and in the laboratory environment is now also installed in the Print Media Center Packaging, and thus completes the extensive demo range in the world’s

H.B. Fuller gives green light to UV light fluorescing adhesives

H.B. Fuller confirms it is helping converters achieve zero-defects production with its expanded range of UV light fluorescing adhesives. Designed to perform with some of the most challenging packaging substrates, these innovative adhesive solutions offer the additional reassurance of fulfilling food safety requirements.
Recent expansion of H.B. Fuller’s range of water-based adhesives is set to significantly strengthen its role in helping deliver production line efficiencies for customers. The

Memjet’s new solution

Memjet has announced that its OEM partner, Rigoli s.r.l., has launched the Rigoli MVZ: the first roll-to-roll, wide format, inkjet printer powered by Memjet and designed for flexible packaging applications.
According to the company spokesperson, “This new, low-cost solution enables users to produce the colourful, low- to middle-run lengths of customized flexible packaging that are in demand in today’s market. Rigoli was demonstrated at the IPACK-IMA 2018, Milan, Italy.
“As brands bring an

Siegwerk gets EGP certificate

Marvaco has awarded Siegwerk Group an expanded gamut printing (EGP) partnership certificate in recognition of introducing new ways to use offset and flexo inks on packaging cartons, fiber and plastic materials, among others.
EGP is a colour separation method where prints are implemented with digitally assisted ink blending in a more predictable, precise and cleaner manner. The CMYK colour gamut is enriched with OGV (orange, green, violet) process inks, which more than doubles the number of

Converter challenges slated to be addressed at FINAT Label Forum

The challenges being faced by converters and the emerging technical trends that are impacting their businesses are among the key topics that will be addressed at the 4th FINAT European Label Forum, Dublin, from 6-8 June. This important event will provide attendees with insight and guidance, as they think about the future of their businesses in a rapidly evolving environment.
The forum has been developed as a platform for owners, CEOs, and sales and marketing managers to help them better address

Fujifilm’s new Superia LH-S2 low-chemistry plate out

Fujifilm has launched a new low-chemistry plate that only requires a one-stage gum clean out, rather than traditional processing chemistry.
The Superia LH-S2 plate, which is additional to the company’s existing plate portfolio, is commercially available with immediate effect.
It uses the advanced multi-layer technologies also used in Fujifilm’s existing processless plates to develop a new plate that provides a step to processless.
Said to deliver “outstanding performance, less waste, and easier

Smurfit Kappa’s MB12 Carton

Smurfit Kappa’s MB12 carton is now available for primary packaging. The food-safe MB12 packaging helps customers to eliminate mineral oil migration with a sustainable solution.
According to the company spokesperson, “The Smurfit Kappa MB12 technology is designed to prevent the migration of mineral oil into packaged food. MB12’s efficiency has been verified by Eurofins to give customers full confidence that the primary packaging acts as a barrier to provide robust protection against outside

Tetra Pak to develop paper straws for carton

Tetra Pak aims to launch a paper straw, which is suitable for its portion-sized carton packages before the end of the year, as part of a broader programme to help address the issue of plastic straw waste.
Straws play an integral functional role on portion packages, but if not properly disposed of, they then become part of the plastics waste problem. The company has been working to encourage consumers to push straws “back in the pack” once empty, so they can be collected along with the rest of

Huhtamaki acquires packaging distributor

Huhtamaki has acquired the majority of Tailored Packaging, an Australian foodservice packaging distribution and wholesale group. With the acquisition, Huhtamaki gains access to a national network of distribution centers across Australia, allowing it to serve its customers even better and with more agility.
Tailored Packaging is a national foodservice packaging distribution and wholesale group, founded in Sydney in 2001 and having sales offices and distribution centers in each state of Australia

Primera unveils LX910 printer

Primera Technology has launched LX910, its desktop colour label printer.
According to the company, “LX910 can handle labels as wide as 8in and as small as 0.75in. It can print a 4 x 3in label with 50 percent coverage in less than six seconds. In addition, ink costs are the lowest ever from Primera. This is due to a new, ultra-high capacity ink cartridge. On the same 4 x 3in label, cost per label is around $0.03.”
Typical applications include product labels for coffee, wine, water, bakery

Sun Chemical warns of potential photoinitiator shortage

Sun Chemical warns of potential photoinitiator shortage. Due to a potential shortage of photoinitiators as reported recently by the European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA), Sun Chemical customers that receive energy curable inks could experience product delivery delays in the future. "Sun Chemical is working hard to safeguard supply and mitigate the potential shortage of photoinitiators by qualifying new grades and developing new sources," said Felipe Mellado, chief marketing officer and

MacTac partners with Armor

MacTac is partnering with Armor, a manufacturer of thermal transfer ribbons, to enhance Mactac’s existing portfolio of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved durable films with thermal transfer ribbons. The partnership includes the addition of Armor’s AXR 7+ thermal transfer ribbon to Mactac’s MH26726 UL file for printing materials in the United States (PGJI2) and Canada (PGJI8). "We are excited to partner with ARMOR to deliver our customers an extensive portfolio of recognized film/thermal

Ricoh's eco packaging for copier products

Ricoh announced that the new returnable eco packaging designed for copier products developed by Ricoh Technologies Co., Ltd. received the 2018 WorldStar Award from the World Packaging Organization. The awards ceremony was held in Queensland, Australia, on 2nd May, 2018. This international contest aims to promote selected products to the packaging industry that have already received recognition from packaging organizations all over the world. This year, 200 winners were awarded the WorldStar

Creative Edge Software adds real-time ray tracing for iC3D

Creative Edge Software adds real-time ray tracing for iC3D. Creative Edge Software was one of the first companies to deliver full ray tracing capabilities to all levels of packaging creatives with the launch of iC3D v4.0 in May 2016. By integrating ray tracing technology into the iC3D all-in-one package, creatives and brand owners were able to achieve photorealistic design mockups at any stage without the need for specialist programs or third-party services. With the development of the iC3D

Uflex transforms the Packaging for Rasna fruit powder concentrate

One of India’s largest manufacturers and exporters of beverages - Rasna International wanted an absolutely alluring packaging for its fruit powder concentrate. With this straight-forward brief, Rasna tasked Uflex – a company with whom it has had an association for over two decades, to come up with a unique packaging solution.

What Uflex in turn came up with is all set to take the brand to the next level of customer delight. An all new spouted profile stand-up pouch with side handle carrying

OMET to present the new XJet hybrid solution at Print4All

OMET will be among the protagonists at the Print4All exposition in Milan, with an innovative integrated hybrid press. This brand new event organized in Italy is dedicated to the world of printing and converting. It aims at becoming the point of reference of the entire industry on an international level. It will be held from May 29th to the June 1st, at the exposition center of Rho where OMET will count on a booth of 160 sqm (E16-F15, Hall 18).
Talking about Middle East availability and features

Tetra Pak unveils new packaging effects

Tetra Pak has launched a suite of new packaging material effects, known as Tetra Pak Artistry, to help food and beverage producers revitalise the look and feel of their products.
Charles Brand, executive VP, product management and commercial operations at Tetra Pak said, “In a world where almost everything needs to be ‘personalisable’, we want to provide customers with something unique to help their brands rise above the noise and reach the shopper. The new suite of effects and expressions will

Sappi unveils flexible packaging paper with sealing functionality

Sappi has developed Seal, its latest product featuring integrated sealing functionality.
It is well known that in 2016, Sappi launched the first packaging paper with integrated sealing functionality. Sappi Seal is the second generation of this flexible packaging product with improved sealing properties. It is also recyclable.
Sappi Seal is designed to replace hot seal laminates made from plastic with materials containing a high proportion of renewable raw materials. Sappi Seal is single-side

Futec’s new learning system

Futec has developed machine learning capabilities for fault detection, said to represent the next generation of quality control specifically for flexo printing. Futec software enables patterns to be identified in real-time, and the system is able to quickly and clearly distinguish between a printing defect and a machine defect.
Silvio Neumann, Futec general manager, EMEA, commented: “This exciting news comes at the same time as important breakthroughs we have made with machine learning in the

BOBST launches new 20SEVEN CI flexo press

BOBST has launched the new 20SEVEN CI flexo press to deliver extended colour gamut (ECG) solutions for a variety of printing technologies and applications.
BOBST Business Unit Web-fed strategic products marketing director Federico d’Annunzio said: “BOBST has been an advocate of the ECG concept since 2013 with the now well-established REVO 7-colour digital flexo technology developed with leading industry suppliers for narrow and mid-web inline flexo presses.
“In 2017, BOBST introduced the THQ

UPM Raflatac adds clear-on-clear and solid white label materials

UPM Raflatac has further expanded its PP Lite range of labeling options for the European market with the introduction of two new products, PP Clear FTC Lite and PP Solid White FTC Lite.
PP Solid White FTC Lite is a non-pearlescent, solid white PP film that offers a bright white base colour with ‘dependable performance’. PP Clear FTC Lite is a clear PP film that can be combined with R704 adhesive and PET Lite liner to offer a ‘no-label look’, as well as clean performance in converting and

HP unveils the new Latex Rigid Technology to enhance quality

HP is set to launch the HP Latex R Series, which will enable its water-based Latex technology to be used for rigid printing.
The announcement of the new technology was made in March this year at the ISA Sign Expo in Orlando, Florida. The manufacturer said the new product family will mark the first, true hybrid Latex technology that merges HP’s flexible printing capabilities into rigid printing.
HP said the series will bring “unparalleled speed and quality” to a wide range of rigid materials

Constantia’s new acquisition

Constantia Flexibles has completed its acquisition of Creative Polypack, elevating it to the third largest flexible packaging company in India.
Creative Polypack was founded in 1986 and currently has eight production sites in Baddi, Kanpur, Kolkata, Assam and Puducherry in northern, eastern and southern India. It manufactures film-based flexible packaging for the food, and home and personal care (HPC) industries, as well as paper-based soap wrappers.
Constantia Flexibles is the world’s fourth

Kodak appoints John O’Grady

John O’Grady has been named as the new president of the Print Systems division at Eastman Kodak, effective April 24, 2018. Previously, he was president of the Consumer and Film division and former general manager of worldwide sales for Print Systems. O’Grady has replaced Brad Kruchten who is retiring after 36 years with Kodak.
Jeff Clarke, CEO at Kodak, said: ‘Kruchten has been an important part of our company for many years, and I thank him for his tremendous commitment to Kodak and outstanding