Zero-fault packaging – Myth or Reality?

Quality is one of the biggest differentiators in the packaging industry. Other factors matter too of course – cost efficiency, sustainability, lead times – but ultimately if packaging fails the quality test, it can jeopardize a whole run, and a customer relationship with it. In some sectors – pharmaceuticals for example – packaging faults can have even more significant consequences. 

But how can manufacturers maintain quality control in an increasingly competitive environment where margins are being squeezed and short runs with short lead times are becoming more common? In this environment, most companies cannot afford the luxury of Quality Control personnel carefully checking their packing process. The onus is now on the manufacturer to provide completely fault-free packaging in short lead times.

XAAR CELEBRATES 30 YEARS AS AN INDUSTRIAL INKJET INNOVATOR

Cambridge, UK-based inkjet printhead specialist celebrates its 30th birthday and its role in pioneering the use of industrial inkjet technologies.

‘30 years is a significant milestone for any business, and we were all extremely keen to mark the occasion and celebrate our accomplishments as a team – despite many of us still working in separate locations,’ said John Mills, CEO of Xaar. ‘It has been a real joy reviewing the many achievements from over the last 30 years and through this, acknowledging the unique heritage, we have in the development and use of inkjet technology worldwide.’

Aztec Label invests in sustainable Toyobo water wash flexo plates

UK-based Aztec Label has invested in Toyobo water wash plate technology to further boost its sustainability strategy, increase performance, quality and minimize downtime.

‘Our latest investment in Toyobo water washable plate technology has had a significant impact on the business. It’s a major improvement on the material we were using previously, with better all-round performance and plate quality,’ commented Colin Le Gresley, managing director of Aztec Label. ‘The plates are easy to process and use delivering a huge reduction in downtime for us due to the much cleaner wastewater effluent. This has resulted in a substantial time saving in processor cleaning, which in turn has lowered our costs. It’s great when a solution meets the needs of our business, customers and the environment.’

Toyobo, a Japanese platemaking specialist, commercialized Cosmolight technology, to produce water washable plates that are resistant to solvent, UV and water-based inks. With an integrated flat top dot, Cosmolight keeps stable small dots on the plate with near 1:1 reproduction, low dot-gain and prints fine screens and smooth vignettes. Efficient ink transfer enabled Aztec Label to achieve great solid area densities, as well as deliver an improvement to the operators’ working environment with no solvent emissions from the washout process. Additionally, the water washable flexo plate can be made press ready in 45 minutes.

Master Label installs largest Nilpeter press in Indonesia

Master Label has acquired a 22in Nilpeter FA-Line with 12 UV-flexo printing units, gravure, and cold foil making it the largest flexo press installation in Indonesia for the Danish manufacturer.

A Trusted Label Consultant

Like Nilpeter, Master Label is a family-owned company with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. A trusted label consultant to numerous local and international premium brands and promising start-ups, Master Label supplies Health & Beauty labels for all high-end brand owners in the region, in addition to labels and flexible packaging products in Food & Beverage, Household Care, Pharmaceuticals, Special Chemicals, Specialty and Smart Packaging. To remain Indonesia’s leading label supplier, by providing high quality value-adding solutions to their customers, Master Label has established working relationships with a variety of qualified suppliers and market leaders in the industry, both locally and internationally.

ASPA & GS1 India Signs MoU To Strengthen Anti-Counterfeiting Eco-Systems

Counterfeit products across various sectors in India are causing losses of over 1 trillion INR every year to the government and the number of counterfeit cases has increased by nearly 24 percent in 2019 as compared to 2018. This causes business to lose brand equity and revenues, besides putting consumer safety at risk.

Realising the magnitude of damage caused by counterfeiting to the Indian economy, brands and consumers, Authentication Solutions Providers’ Association (ASPA) and GS1 India have joined hands to take the fight against counterfeiting to the next level in India.

UFlex beats market woes with several ground breaking innovations

India’s largest multinational flexible packaging company and a global player in polymer sciences, today declared its earnings for Q4 (January-March) and FY2019-20. The company has had a strong quarter with a surge in consolidated Net Profit by 43.5% YoY to 100.6 cr for Q4 FY19-20; whereas it’s consolidated EBITDA rose by 6.3% YoY to 276.4 cr and EBITDA margin improved to 15.6% from 12.6% last year.

Ashok Chaturvedi, Chairman & Managing Director, UFlex Limited stated, “The year that went by brought its own set of challenges starting with slowdown in the economy to rising debate on plastic waste management and lastly the unexpected disruptions caused by COVID 19 pandemic. As a focused group, these challenges have formed to be a flagpole to our innovation for tomorrow. Even during this crisis, we continued our operations such that supply chain of essential commodities like food and pharma wasn’t completely interrupted and these packaged goods reached public at large.”

Paper not film: KHS launches ecofriendly can packaging system

The KHS Group has added a further environmentally-friendly system to its portfolio. With its tried-and-tested Innopack Kisters tray packers the systems supplier now enables cans of food and beverage to be wrapped in paper. The new technology provides an alternative to shrink film or wrap-around cartons. Regarding stability the results are the same yet compared to cardboard costs are lower as less energy and fewer materials are used. With a few minor adjustments existing machines can also be converted to the new setup.

The idea of using paper as a secondary packaging is not new; KHS first experimented with this around 20 years ago. “Back then, this technology didn’t catch on, however, as paper was a cost-intensive raw material and wrapping containers in film yielded better results regarding stability,” says Karl-Heinz Klumpe, packaging product manager at KHS. The beverage industry thus opted for different systems and solutions. 

Birografika MB purchases and installs their first MPS flexo press

Birografika MB in Serbia purchased and installed their first MPS flexo press, an 8-colour EFS 430 multi-substrate press. The deal was signed at Labelexpo Europe 2019. The newly installed MPS EFS 430 flexo press was chosen as an extension of Birografika’s current capacity, with a primary purpose for longer runs of high quality films, such as wrap-around labels and shrink sleeves. The printer is located in Subotica, Serbia.  Founded in 1920 as Birografika Subotica, the printing house transformed into Birografika MB in 2006 as a trading company to successfully secure the well-known brand and employees, which led to their success as a leading printer today.

The company’s main activity is the production of printed materials (flexible packaging and labels) with comprehensive services and equipment in flexo, digital and offset printing. Birografika takes pride in supplying large print orders, customization to meet customer needs, and boasts a number of reputable references in all sectors.

QLM Label Makers opens new facility in Brisbane

QLM Label Makers has opened a new head office and manufacturing facility in Berrinba, Brisbane. Its new corporate head office in Brisbane focuses on flexographic printing, while its hub in Melbourne houses its HP Indigo technology, focusing on digital. At a virtual opening, QLM Label Makers general manager Andrew Siwicki said the purpose-built premises is three times the size of its previous facility and houses the latest innovations in labelling and packaging, including Mark Andy flexo presses.

“QLM is a passionate company and we are so excited to finally open our virtual doors to our world-class operations,” he said. “We have a vision to be market leaders in our industry and fast-forward to today, we have some of the most advanced label manufacturing technology in Australia. Each and every one of our staff plays a key role in the success of what we do and our clients’ brands.