Blogs

This is an article published by Print Innovation Asia.

PIA sat down with Atze Bosma, CEO of MPS Systems, to discuss the company’s ‘Beyond the Machine’ concept and what this means to the label industry. By Sha Jumari.

Wine and spirit labels are among the highest quality labels printed.

Their designs, embellishments and complex shapes make them a great technical challenge. With all this and more to consider it can be very challenging and sometimes stressful for the printer. But also very rewarding when the labels r...

The rotogravure printing process (gravure for short) was first patented in 1860 as a collaboration between Klic and Fawcett in Lancaster.

Gravure is mainly used for high detail printing and larger runs such as packaging, magazines and catalogues, thermal coating of paper, receipt rolls, semi-conduct...

Connectivity and data flow can revolutionize the whole supply chain

This is an article by Mike Fairly, published by Labels & Labelling.

The organization, administration, production, performance and efficiency of a label plant has improved dramatically over the past 40 years as advances in computer...

In the printing industry, as in any industry, it’s important for employees to get along, bond or even establish friendships with co-workers.

This does not mean we need to have regular BBQ’s or go out together every weekend, but it’s important for us to get to know, help, and share ideas with each ot...

The offset lithographic printing process, commonly known as offset, has been around since 1796 and invented by a German author and actor, Alois Senefelder, as a cheap method of producing theatrical artwork. It was originally done on a flat stone or metal surface.

Today, there are different types of ...

In 1890, the first flexographic printing press was patented by Bibby, Baron and Sons out of Liverpool England.

Around 1990 is when big advancements in flexography began, as more companies started shifting to this printing process for flexibility and access to a wider variety of jobs and customers.

Th...

The process and idea of punching seems simple, but it requires precision in the set-up.

Tooling tolerances and specifications are quite complicated, precise, and can be expensive. Therefore, the correct training and set-up of the punching units is critical to the life span of the tooling and punchin...

If you’re in the printing industry, you know there are thousands of variables that can affect the machine running smoothly and ultimately the print quality.

In this snippet, I’ll go through one issue that can affect the smooth operation of a printing press and some possible causes and fixes: web bre...

In label printing, plate mounting plays a critical role to ensure smooth operation in make ready and running the job.

Flexographic plates are a photopolymer plate that has a raised image for the printing surface. As with all types of printing, the plate fit effects registration. If the plate is not ...

Flexible packaging is one of the biggest sectors in the printing industry.

Printing is commonly done on wide web printing presses due to large volume jobs, but it’s becoming more popular on narrow or medium web presses offering more variety and shorter runs.

Scan the shelves at any supermarket to see...

"The future cannot be predicted, but futures can be invented," is a quote from Dennis Gabor, known for inventing holography in 1949, for which he received the Nobel Prize.

In our industry, I believe it’s possible to make a fair and educated guess about what the future holds by comparing the...

Correctly setting up the print units and colour sequence is important and influences the final print’s outcome.

The rule of thumb is from lightest to darkest colour, though this can also depend on whether it’s line work with no overlapping colours or transparency of UV inks; or if it’s tight registe...

Die cutting is a process that cuts the required shape, whether it’s a simple circle, square or a more complex design - the possibilities are endless.

The process can include cutting through the substrate and leaving behind a shape for labels, cartons, and cups, or just cutting the top layer and not ...

Faster production, shorter changeovers, less waste and measurable savings – multi-system, multi-device connectivity and data exchange is the way forward. Piotr Wnuk reports. This is an article published by Labels & Labeling

Technology and connectivity continue to develop rapidly, with their imple...

In addition to an eye-catching design, the type of substrate used to print a label or flexible packaging also plays an important role.

There are many types of substrates for printing and converting requirements: from different types of poly to self-adhesive, paper, foils, nylon, cellophane and more.

I...

Embossing is one of many embellishment processes used in printing that gives labels a unique and appealing look with a raised image or pattern. There’s also the process of debossing that gives an opposite, relief effect.

Both applications can be done by rotary, semi-rotary and flatbed processes, with...

For over 50 years, ASL Print FX has been trusted to bring their customer’s brand vision to shelf.

A recognized leader in the label and packaging industry, ASL Print FX is based in Vaughan, Ontario Canada, with operations in Winston-Salem (North Carolina, USA) and Napa (California, USA).

With their loc...

COVID-19 is significantly impacting all industries around the world.

Many companies are switching more of their business from offline to online. Before COVID, we never expected exhibitions could be organized virtually. And now, virtual exhibitions are the common alternative until we can meet again ph...

Skilful makeready and job preparation helps reduce machine changeover time and allows you to start the next print job as quickly and efficiently as possible. This increases productivity and generates more income for the company.

There’s no set order to getting things ready for the next job. While the...