hubergroup launches globally compliant folding carton food packaging printing ink

Hubergroup has reinvented its MGA Natura series with a single ink that complies with all FDA standards and EC regulations for folding carton food packaging in one formula.

This results in reduced approval cycles and increasing production flexibility for brand owners, while printers and converters no longer need to maintain large stocks of a variety of ink types and undertake costly, time-consuming press wash-ups when packaging is destined for different global regions.

With increasingly strict

Staff Writer, 17 February 2019

Kodak and Uteco sell second Sapphire Evo

Kodak and technology partner Uteco Group have sold a second Sapphire Evo hybrid press, this time to a Japanese printing business, Kinyosha.

The deal was agreed recently, according to Uteco president and chief executive Aldo Peretti, and installation is scheduled for dispatch in autumn and is expected to be up and running in October. The Kinyosha site will become a technology centre for Asia.

The first commercial customer is Italian packaging printer and convertor Nuova Erreplast (NE), based

Staff Writer, 14 February 2019

Xerox unveils new packaging and 3D print tech

Xerox has revealed a new digital printing technology and plans to aggressively enter the 3D printing market, including the acquisition of start-up Vader Systems.

Chief technology officer Steve Hoover made the announcement on Friday 8 February at an investor day when the firm provided more details on Project Own It, its plans to improve efficiency and return to growth.

The new digital printing technology, which is aimed at the packaging market, is claimed to dramatically cut costs and widen

Staff Writer, 13 February 2019

Huhtamaki launches sustainable paper straws

Straws are used by millions of people every day when enjoying drinks on-the-go. Huhtamaki now offers customers the opportunity to switch to paper straws for consuming cold drinks. Paper straws are a sustainable choice and an excellent alternative to plastic straws. 
Huhtamaki is a pioneer in the use of sustainable materials for making food packaging products. Our new paper straws are made of fiber coming from sustainably managed forests and 100% of the paper used in the straws and in their

Staff Writer, 12 February 2019

Smurfit Kappa opens new carton factory

Paper and packaging manufacturer Smurfit Kappa has opened a new plant in Mexico, strengthening its presence in the region.

The plant, based in Tijuana, produces flat and pre-glued boxes, trays and other packaging solutions. It is the third plant of this type in Mexico, where Smurfit Kappa has been operating for more than 40 years.

“The inauguration of this important operation reflects the Smurfit Kappa Group’s long-term commitment to Mexico and its confidence in the growth of the country’s

Staff Writer, 11 February 2019

Kodak introduces KODAK PROSPER Plus imprinting solutions for packaging industry

Staff Writer, 11 February 2019

Avery Dennison launches three collections, five facestocks

Avery Dennison is adding three new collections and five new facestocks to its wine and spirits portfolio. The company will launch these as the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California, later this month.

"Labeling technology today needs to work harder than ever for the winemaker and retailer, and these new Avery Dennison collections go beyond helping a bottle stand out on the shelf," said Vanita Marzette, senior product manager - wine and spirits, Avery Dennison. "Whether

Staff Writer, 28 January 2019

FPE develops toolkit to advocate sustainability of flexible packaging

Flexible Packaging Europe (FPE) has introduced an online toolkit looking at the sustainability of flexible packaging.

FPE has put together and created visual formats to explain flexible packaging and sustainability. The toolkit is available free of charge to anyone interested in the subject, from the association’s website. The main target group for the toolkit is people working in the fields of flexible packaging and products packed in flexible packaging, as well as the general public.

The

Staff Writer, 28 January 2019

Gallus makes Smartfire available worldwide

Gallus has confirmed worldwide availability the Smartfire entry-level digital label press.

Introduced last year in Europe (Gallus Innovation Days) and the Americas (Labelexpo Americas 2018), Gallus Smartfire is a four-color inkjet label printing machine powered by Memjet. It prints with water-based inks and a native resolution of 1600 dpi. An integrated in-line converting module includes lamination, cutting plotter for individual die-cutting contours, and a semi rotary die-cutting

Staff Writer, 28 January 2019

Lombardi to introduce ‘completely new project’ at Labelexpo Europe

At Labelexpo Europe 2019, Lombardi Converting Machinery is promising to introduce a completely new project that ‘people will talk about.’
While the show is still eight months away, Lombardi has made the declaration as it names Giovanni Perego as its new international sales manager.
Lombardi expects to make an additional appointment in Brussels to coincide with Labelexpo Europe 2019, which will run September 24-27.
Of the anticipated hardware development, Massimo Lombardi, director of international

Staff Writer, 28 January 2019

DS Smith Europac deal set to complete

DS Smith’s proposed acquisition of Spanish corrugated packaging and paper manufacturer Europac is expected to be completed later this week.
The London-headquartered packaging giant announced its proposed purchase of the company, in a deal worth £1.45bn, in June 2018.
On 17th January, the board of the Spanish Securities Market Commission (CNMV) announced to Europac’s shareholders the result of the tender offer launched by DS Smith on 3 December.
Acceptances representing 98.8% of the total share

Staff Writer, 22 January 2019

Tetra Pak to pioneer digital colour carton production

Tetra Pak has claimed it is to become the first carton manufacturer to introduce full-colour digital printing capabilities, in a collaboration with Koenig & Bauer (K&B).
The company said it will be the first in its sector to install a RotaJet 168 digital printer, currently being built by K&B, after monitoring digital print technology for the past 20 years.
It will be installed at Tetra Pak’s 6,830sqm converting plant in Denton, Texas, US, and is expected to begin field testing to

Staff Writer, 22 January 2019

New alliance formed to tackle plastic waste

A global alliance of nearly 30 companies has been formed to advance products and technologies that reduce and eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially in the ocean.

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) has committed over $1 billion USD with the goal of investing $1.5 billion USD over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment. New technologies and products will be developed and brought to scale that will minimize and manage plastic waste. This also

Staff Writer, 21 January 2019

OMET announces an open house for label market

The “OMET Hybrid Experience” open house will focus on the opportunities offered by hybrid digital printing technology in the label market and is expected to be a “must attend” event for the leading label printers of the world. It will be held in the new OMET Drome located in Molteno (Lecco – Italy) where guests will have the opportunity to see the hybrid printing performances of new OMET XJet powered by Durst and to attend special live demonstration on the iFLEX, set up in a hybrid curing

Staff Writer, 31 December 2018

Cosmo Films launches sterilizable conduction sealing film

Cosmo Films, one of the global leader in speciality films for flexible packaging, lamination and labeling applications as well as synthetic paper recently launched sterilisable conduction sealing film for wad and lidding applications for PP and PE containers. This film can withstand high temperatures during sterilization process, which is used to increase the shelf-life of the product.
The newly developed sealing film is a clear, one side corona treated and other side heat sealable film. The

Staff Writer, 31 December 2018

International Paper to acquire Envases Grau

International Paper recently announced that the company signed an agreement to acquire Envases Grau, a family-owned packaging business in Spain, for an undisclosed amount. This acquisition is part of company strategy to achieve advantageous positions in attractive markets. The price of the transaction will be released later this year.
Corrugated Packaging is a core business for International Paper and the acquisition of Envases Grau is aligned with the Company’s strategy to build advantaged

Staff Writer, 27 December 2018

Xeikon Café Europe announces 2019 program

Xeikon Café Europe, a multi-vendor educational & networking event scheduled for 26 to 28 March in Antwerp, Belgium, is shaping up to be the label and packaging industry event of the year. It will feature a Conference program during the mornings of each of the three days followed by an Academy program each afternoon. Visitors can also meet up with preeminent industry suppliers in the Exhibition area where live production of creative label and packaging applications are scheduled to run

Press Release, 26 December 2018

Flint increase prices across all packaging ink products

Flint Group Packaging Inks is implementing a price increase for all products sold within Europe.

Citing the ‘progressively challenging global trading environment’, Flint Group stated that it has had to implement difficult decisions for the security and sustainability of supply. Furthermore, significant cost headwinds have been witnessed in pigments, solvents, resins and freight, placing uninterrupted cost pressure on the Packaging Inks’ business. The price increase will vary depending on each

Staff Writer, 24 December 2018

Uflex launches new products for pharma packaging

Uflex has launched a portfolio of new products in pharmaceutical packaging that includes fast tear strip foil, PET based cold form blister, child resistant and senior friendly foil, and branding products.

Fast tear strip foil is produced in-house to impart easy tearability of the laminate. Uflex has developed a 20 micron pinhole free soft tempered foil that offers high quality printing on a matte finish and multi-color reverse printing designs on PET film in a special PET, foil and PE

Staff Writer, 24 December 2018

Koehler to develop functional surfaces

Koehler Paper Group and Technische Universität Darmstadt have formed a research partnership aimed at developing functional surfaces from sustainable raw materials.

The Green Coating Collaboration, to launch in January 2019, has the objective to replace plastic with sustainable paper options wherever possible and practical.

Within the framework of this collaboration, both Koehler employees, and employees and students from TU Darmstadt will carry out joint research at the university to develop

Staff Writer, 24 December 2018

Esko expands software platform

Esko has unveiled the latest update to the Esko software platform. This newest release delivers a host of platform-wide updates.

"In a fast-moving market, we need to ensure our solutions are ahead of the game," said Geert De Proost, director solutions marketing of Esko. "With that in mind, we are constantly looking to make improvements to all aspects of our software solutions. They may be large or small, but the aim is the same: we want to make sure that our customers receive the utmost in

Staff Writer, 20 December 2018

Comexi hosts flexible packaging seminar in São Paulo

Comexi recently held a seminar in São Paulo attended by nearly 100 professionals from 32 companies in the flexible packaging sector. The event was led by Comexi and the Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center (CTec).

Comexi selected Brazil as the venue for the fifth 2018 technical seminar, confirming the confidence of the company’s owners in the economic recovery of the country. The first four seminars were held in Peru, Mexico, South Korea and Japan respectively. The conference took place at the

Staff Writer, 20 December 2018

Siegwerk to increase price of packaging inks and varnishes in EMEA

Siegwerk will increase prices for all packaging inks and varnishes in the EMEA region, effective starting February 1, 2019.
The company noted how costs for raw material categories, such as photoinitiators, UV monomers, acrylic resins, pigments, isocyanates and specialty additives have continued to rise throughout the year, with further increases experienced in the last quarter of 2018. In addition colored pigments and photoinitiators are expected to remain highly affected by drastic supply

Staff Writer, 20 December 2018

Labelexpo India 2018 reports highest ever visitor number

The organizer of Labelexpo India reported that its 6th edition of Labelexpo India, which took place at India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida from 22 to 25 November 2018, was its largest show to date in the region. A total of 9,851 visitors from 55 countries passed through its doors over the four days of the show, 22.7% more than in its last edition in 2016 and the biggest visitor increase to date.

Lisa Milburn, managing director for Labelexpo Global Series, said, “We are absolutely

Press Release, 05 December 2018

Esko and Amtech join forces to bring increased efficiencies to corrugated converters

Esko announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Amtech Software to bring increased efficiencies to its joint customers in the corrugated market. The companies are developing an integration between Esko’s ArtiosCAD, Automation Engine, WebCenter QuickStart for Corrugated solution, and Amtech’s Encore ERP solution to create bi-directional communication that eliminates double data entry and enables further downstream automation of the workflow for corrugated converters.

In an

Press Release, 04 December 2018

Duran Machinery to become Koenig & Bauer Duran in Istanbul

Koenig & Bauer has agreed with Duran Machinery in Istanbul to take over 80% of its folder/gluer business and integrate it into the Group under the name Koenig & Bauer Duran.
With this latest acquisition, the world’s oldest printing press manufacturer is once again strengthening its activities in the growth segment of machines and systems for packaging production. Together with the Rapida sheetfed presses from Koenig & Bauer Sheetfed, flatbed diecutters from Koenig & Bauer Iberica

Staff Writer, 04 December 2018

Domino and Multitec seal hybrid press partnership

Inkjet integration specialist Domino and Indian flexo press manufacturer Multitec have announced the joint development of a hybrid UV inkjet-flexo press.

Commented Ajay RaoRane, assistant vice president, Digital Printing Solutions, Domino, "We chose to work with Multitec because they have a good technology know-how, a good penetration in the Indian market with excellent relationships with customers, and a hunger to do more. We complement each other."

Amit Ahuja, director of Multitec, added

Staff Writer, 29 November 2018

Avery Dennison and Smag partners to drive RFID adoption

Avery Dennison and French converting equipment manufacturer Smag Graphique have partnered to facilitate easier market access for label converters looking to offer RFID conversion options.
As part of this partnership, Avery Dennison’s customers can visit Smag Graphique’s showroom in Savigny sur Orge, France, where the machine manufacturer showcases its dedicated RFID inserting machines for roll-to-roll RFID insertion and encoding.
Label converters who are new to conversion of RFID labels can

Staff Writer, 29 November 2018

Labelexpo India opens sixth edition

The sixth edition of Labelexpo India opened its doors today at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR.

Of the current edition, Lisa Milburn, managing director, Labels Group, said, "I am delighted to be back at India Expo Centre in Greater Noida to open our sixth edition of Labelexpo India. This is our second time here, and our biggest event yet in the region. With 250 exhibitors, this year's show is 28 percent bigger than our last edition in 2016."

"This increase is in part down to the

Staff Writer, 22 November 2018

Lombardi announces two press sales at Labelexpo India

Vinsak, the exclusive distributor of Lombardi Synchroline presses in the Indian sub-continent, has announced the sale of two presses on the first day of Labelexpo India 2018.

While Delhi-based Polylam Printers has opted for an 8-color Lombardi Synchroline 430 flexo label printing press, Ahmedabad-based Prakash Printers has invested in an 8-color Lombardi Synchroline 530 press. Both presses are on display at the show floor from November 22-25.

The Lombardi Synchroline 430 press is equipped

Staff Writer, 22 November 2018