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July 2009

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Volume 2 No. 5

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Contents

FlexoGlobal an Award Winner! ............................................. 6

Laura Wayland-Smith Hatch, FlexoGlobal

Summer has arrived, marking the one-year anniversary of the launching of e-FlexoGlobal and our delivering top-quality industry news, business articles and technical content to flexographic industry readers around the world.

Printability of Biodegradable Substrates ........................................8

Jessica Jacobson, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

During the past decade, polylactide acid (PLA) polymer has been the subject of numerous studies aimed at comparing it with traditional petroleum based polymers for many packaging applications. PLA is biodegradable and derived from agricultural by-products such as cornstarch or other starch-rich substances like maize, sugar or wheat. While PLA is currently being used in many packag-ing applications with well-documented performance, little work has been done comparing printing processes and performance.

Halftones & Gray Levels .................................................... 18

Gordon Pritchard

A halftone dot is formed inside a halftone “cell.” The cell is a grid of pixels that are turned on to form the dot. The cell begins with no pixels turned on (0% tone), and as pixels are turned on the dot grows until all the pixels within the cell are turned on and the cell is filled (i.e., 100% tone).

How Green is RFID? ......................................................... 22

By Raghu Das, IDTechE

For the recent ID09 conference in Leeds, England, IDTechEx was asked to present on the subject of how RFID can contribute (or otherwise) to building a greener world and reducing environmental damage. Here are the highlights from that talk, using case studies from IDTechEx’s Knowledgebase of over 3,700 examples of RFID in action.

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Contents

Sponsor News MDC-USA NAMES NEW PRESIDENT ............................................................................. 32

New AniCAM Set to Optimise Press Up-Time ............................................................ 32

Where in the Flexo World is Dr John Issue 1 - Colombia .................................................................................................................. 35

Inci.Flex boosts quality and productivity with EskoArtwork’s newest digital flexo technology......................................................................................................................... 36

Kodak and Arden Software Alliance Adds New Dimension to the Packaging Market ........................................................................................................................................... 37

HARPER PRESENTS AT SEMINARIO PERU CONVERSION SIGLO XXI ............ 39

CANFLEXOGRAPHICS LTD. PRESENTS QUEBEC INSTITUTE OF GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH HARPER CORPORATION ANILOX ROLL DONATION .................................................................................................... 39

Kodak Offers Integrated Solutions for Print Professionals at PRINT 09 ...... 40

Kodak CMO Jeff Hayzlett Wins Crain Award for Business Marketing Excellence .................................................................................................................................... 44

Introducing Ink-Eater: The First Flexo Ink Spot Cleaner that Attacks Ink and Melts It Away Fast ................................................................................................................... 45

Kodak Unveils New Worldwide Sustainability Goals ................................................ 46

POULSON PRESENTS AT INFO*FLEX ............................................................................ 48

Kodak Graphic Users’ Association Generates Energy for Business Transformation ......................................................................................................................... 49

Fox Valley Technical College - Knowledge That Works ............ 52

Founding Sponsors:FLXON, Inc. ......................................................................................................................................3

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Editorial

Laura Wayland-Smith HatchPublisher & Editor-in-Chief

Summer has arrived, marking the one-year anniversary of the launching of e-FlexoGlobal and our delivering top-

quality industry news, business articles and technical con-tent to flexographic industry readers around the world.

It is with amazement that I look back over the accomplish-ments of the past year at FlexoGlobal. At the top of the list is the winning of our first APEX Award for Publication Ex-cellence in the electronic publication category for the Janu-ary 2009 issue of e-FlexoGlobal. APEX Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content, and the

success of the entry in achieving overall communications ef-fectiveness and excellence. Not too shabby for the fifth issue of a new venture that was still testing the waters and learn-ing the ropes of online content delivery for the flexographic industry.

Second on the list is the growing number of visitors to FlexoGlobal. In just one year, we have had almost 60,000 downloads of e-FlexoGlobal and almost 400,000 visitors viewing press releases, reading e-FlexoGlobal content on-line, and using our online glossary to answer questions they may have.

Third on my amazement list is the growing number of new subscribers to FlexoGlobal. Today, over 7,300 individuals are subscribed to FlexoGlobal, and almost every very week, new names appear that were not on the original mailing list—names that come from not just the United States, but India, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, etc.

We hope that you like what FlexoGlobal is providing the industry, and, if you don’t, please let us know what we can do to improve and to fill your needs. I can be reached at [email protected].

Thanks to all of you for making us such a tremendous suc-cess!

FlexoGlobal an Award Winner






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Technology

Printability of Biodegradable Substrates

By Jessica Jacobson, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo




ABSTRACT

During the past decade, polylactide acid (PLA) poly-mer has been the subject of numerous studies aimed

at comparing it with traditional petroleum based polymers for many packaging applications. PLA is biodegradable and derived from agricultural by-products such as cornstarch or other starch-rich substances like maize, sugar or wheat. While PLA is currently being used in many packaging ap-plications with well-documented performance, little work has been done comparing printing processes and perfor-mance. This study presents PLA printing performance and sustainability findings using the flexographic printing pro-cess, a common method for printing films and foils. Various analytical methods were used to evaluate performance and provide recommendations for optimized printing on PLA as compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), oriented polypropylene (PP) and oriented polystyrene (PS). Results of this study found that PLA films were comparable in printability and runnability to standard petroleum-based flexible packaging films.

INTRODUCTIONSince 1960, the annual generation of municipal solid waste (MSW) has increased more than 63 percent to 236 million tons in 2003.1 By 2003 material recovery of MSW through recycling and composting accounted for over 30 percent of all waste generated, an increase of nearly 80 percent since 1960.1 Containers and packaging accounted for nearly 32 percent of all products generated in the MSW in 2003. Plastics, which ranked fourth after paper (35.2%), yard trimmings (12.1%), and food scraps (11.7%), accounted for 11.3 percent of the 236 million tons of MSW gener-ated in 2003.1 Nearly 9 percent of all plastic containers and packaging, comprised of soft drink, milk and water bottles, were recycled with milk bottles accounting for 32 percent of all bottles.1 These statistics are the main reason for an ever-increasing demand for biodegradable plastics that are manufactured from renewable resources.

Due to the increasing environmental consciousness of con-sumers and corporations over the past decade, biodegrad-able polymers have received increasing attention. Among commercially available biodegradable polymers are Nature-Works™ Polylactide (PLA), Nodax, Eastar Bio, and Biomax. Biodegradable polymers provide a potential solution to a wide range of environmental concerns typically associated

with conventional polymers such as greenhouse gas emis-sions and sustainability. PLA is derived from lactic acid and has been received well by the medical and packaging indus-try in recent years. PLA is manufactured from a renewable source, corn, and is recyclable and compostable.

PLA has been researched internationally for its adaptabil-ity to practical applications such as in medical devices and packaging in comparison to traditional petroleum-based polymers. Due to its ability to be hydrolyzed, PLA has been studied for use in bioabsorbable medical devices. In de Braekt et al. studied its application for suturing materi-al,2 Bos et al., Laitinen et al., and Matsusue et al. researched its application for surgical implants18 and Bodmeier et al., Conti et al., Omelczuh and McGinity, and Suzuki and Price19 studied its promise in the drug-delivery systems ap-plication.

Auras et al. provided an overview of PLA for packaging materials by discussing its physical, optical, rheological, processing, mechanical, solubility, barrier, and degrada-tion properties.10 Sinclair et al. provided a similar report in their paper on polylactic acid as a commodity packag-ing plastic.11 Auras et al. compared food service containers made with oriented PLA to those manufactured using PET and OPS by quantifying their physical, mechanical, bar-rier and compatibility properties.20 Martino et al. in their research on processing and mechanical characterization of plasticized films for food packaging reported mechanical properties of PLA films for different plasticizer concentra-tions and preparation conditions.14 Results of a study in-volving characterization of L-polylactide and L-polylactide-polycarprolactone co-polymers for use in cheese packaging applications were reported by Plackett et al.15

The purpose of this study was to research the runnability and printability of PLA and to discover some key consid-erations when printing on PLA with the flexographic pro-cess. Little published research exists on PLA – especially on printability. Green Bay Packaging (Green Bay, Wis.) has been working with printability of PLA for more than five years and has performed numerous tests regarding the surface energy, runnability, and printability of PLA.16 In recent testing Green Bay Packaging used their soon-to-be patented treated PLA with film surface conditions of no lower than 52 dynes/cm.16 This allows the polymer to se-




Technology

curely anchor any ink process. Green Bay ensures that the surface energy of the film is high enough so that any print engine and most inks will not have problems printing. The company has found during these tests that the key to good ink adhesion to PLA is high surface energy of the film. Green Bay Packaging has not experienced problems with the runnability of PLA. According to a company represen-tative, PLA has good stiffness and should run well on any press – the rigidity helps with register, trapping, and ten-sion on line.16

EXPERIMENTS1. Ink adhesionAn ink adhesion test was preformed prior to running inks and polymer films on press. The surface energy of PLA was tested using the Accudyne test solution swabs to sample the film. A large difference between the dyne level of surface energy of a material and the surface tension in ink results in better print quality. Ink adhesion improves when the dyne level difference is greater than three, with the substrate hav-ing greater surface energy than the ink’s surface tension. The surface energy of the film should be higher than the surface tension of ink because it is more practical and economical for a printer to change the surface tension of a material than to change the inks on their press. Most waterbased inks have a surface tension of about 36 dynes. The water-based inks used in this experiment where designed for PET and PP plastic films and therefore have good ink adhesion for those particular films. Inks formulated specifically for PLA were unavailable. A draw-down test with the hand proofer was used to test ink adhesion to the film. Once the ink film is dried, a crinkle test determined that the adhesion was strong enough to print on press.

2. Test form and plat Prior to running the film on the press, a test form was cre-ated and is shown in Figure 1. The image contained half-tone images for determining the tone reproduction. A solid patch, tick marks an eighth inch apart along the lateral edge to determine if stretch occurred during printing. Slur tar-gets, multiple point type sizes, regular and reverse print, one through 100 percent dots, and some gradient strips are also included. A digital plate was created through Esko’s Scope workflow with no dot-gain compensation or bump curve applied and output on a Cyrel Digital Imager (CDI) Spark using DuPont DFM digital plates. The plate was made to a 12” repeat with a distortion factor of 96.751 percent. The

system was calibrated and the plate was made at 150 line screen ruling, 68 degree angle, and black only, using a cir-cular dot shape. The finished plate was then prepared and ready for press after being mounted on a 12-inch cylinder with 1/8” CP gearing using the Mark Andy Conversource PM-160.

Figure 1: Test Target Used to Produce a Plate

3. Press setup and RunnabilityConventional methods were performed to setup the press. Some flexo variables are hard to control because they are almost all manual settings, which makes them more error-prone. The constants include: viscosity, pH, anilox roll, speed, dryer, and tension. Environmental Inks and Coat-ings Film Ink III system was shipped at a viscosity of 25-30 seconds on a #3 Zahn cup with a pH of 9.0-9.3. Prior to running the ink on press, a #3 Zahn cup was used to mea-sure the viscosity of the ink. It measured at 50.9 seconds, which is higher than anticipated. Too low pH levels usu-ally result in an ink-transferring problem. The uncut ink



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Technology

measured at a pH level of 9.44. The desired level is between 9-9.3 for the Film III Ink System on a flexographic press. However, the average range for water-based inks is between 8-9.5, therefore the pH was within the tolerance level.

Water-based inks are more difficult to control on the press. Their viscosity and pH levels change with time on the press. As the press continues to run, the amine starts to evapo-rate and the pH level decreases and the viscosity increases. Environmental Inks recommended an addition of under 10 percent of an ammonia substitute every half hour. The press only ran an hour for about 700 feet of film. The run was short enough to assume that the viscosity and pH remained had no significant changes throughout the pressrun.

The impression was controlled using check gauges that had the same diameter of the pitch circumference being used. After check gauges were used to calibrate the print deck, impression was set by hand and was adjusted only to com-pensate for polymer thickness and surface characteristics. The anilox roll was also constant. A 2.48 BCM volume, 600 line count, 60 degree, Harper anilox roll was chosen for the Mark Andy 2200 seven inch flexographic press. The fixed speed was set at 50 feet per minute, and the dryer was positioned at stage 3, which resulted in a dryer temperature of about 167° F. The speed and dryer settings were chosen because there were problems with the inks drying on the plastic film with lower heats and faster speeds. Lastly, the tension was set at 20 psi.

Five films were run on the Mark Andy press using water-based inks. While central impression presses are more typi-cal for flexible packaging applications, the Mark Andy in-line press was the only press available to the researchers at Cal Poly. The order in which the films were printed were: white PLA, clear PLA, PET, OPP, and OPS. A little over a hundred feet of each material were used. Some of the visual potential runnability problems that occurred on press in-cluded problems running the OPS and having dirty print. The OPS was very brittle and broke easily on the press. There were two web breaks when running OPS. Additionally, the print became increasingly dirty throughout the press run, likely a result of hot air hitting the printing deck and drying the ink on the plate. There are other possible causes to the dirty print issue need to be investigated further.

4. PrintabilityThe tests conducted to determine printability were: Tone Value Increase (dot gain), tone reproduction, optical/re-flective density, specular gloss, dot shape, visual tests, rub resistance, adhesion, and tensile strength. The Tone Value Increase and tone reproduction curves of the printed mate-rial were determined with a BetaFlex334 system. The densi-ty patches on each film were measured in increments of five, from one to a hundred. The X-rite Spectrodensitometer 528 was used to measure the densities of a solid black area on each film. The Novo-glass Statistical Glossmeter (Rhopoint 60 degree angle model) determined the specular gloss of each film. Horizontal and vertical readings were taken. The ImageXpert system was used to determine the roundness of the five percent dots on each film. The dot roundness was defined by the ratio of the circumference of a circle with the same average radius to the perimeter length of the dot. A digital image was captured of the five percent dots using a SonyXCD-X710 video camera and the roundness was cal-culated by ImageXpert system. Some other digital images were captured for visual comparisons, using the same video camera system. They include samples of dirty prints at five percent dot and samples of font type quality.

The TMI Ink Rub Tester determined the rub resistance of each material. The two- by four-inch and two-and-a-half by six-inch strips were cut and taped onto the base and test block. The four-pound test block was placed on top of the base. The settings were adjusted to 100 cycles at 42 cycles per minute. Scotch 3M Premuim Grade Transparent Cel-lophane 610 Tape was used to perform the adhesion test. A small two-inch piece of tape was placed in approximately the same spot on every film and immediately pulled off after slightly patting it down. Lastly, the Testometric CX M350-5KN system measured the elasticity, force, and breaking point of each film. An ASTM slitter cut one- by eleven-inch strips prior to being placed into the machine.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS1. Tone Value Increase (Dot Gain)There was no substantial difference in the trend of Tone Value Increase (TVI) or dot gain in the curve across the dif-ferent films. The largest TVI occurred between 35 percent and 55 percent for all of the films. The white PLA film had a 29.3 percent TVI at the 40 percent dot. The clear PLA film had a 24.7 percent TVI at the 40 percent dot. The PET




film had a 31.1 percent TVI at the 40 percent dot. The OPP film had a 28.9 percent TVI at the 40 percent dot. The OPS film had a 27.9 percent TVI at the 40 percent dot. The plastic film with the highest TVI was PET with 31.1 percent at 40 percent dot. Figure 2 below shows the Tone Value Increase results. The dot area of the printed material was determined with the BetaFlex334 system. The density patches on each film were measured in increments of five, from one to a hundred.

2. Tone ReproductionThere was no substantial difference in the trend of the tone reproduction curves across the different films. However, all of the clear films experienced difficulties while being read by the instrument, as shown by the jagged lines in Figure 3. Therefore, it was hard to compare which plastic film had the best tone reproduction. The white PLA appears to have the smoothest curve, which may make it bit easier to prepare and apply dot gain compensation in prepress. The tests showed that the untreated dyne level of clear PLA is about 38 and the white PLA had a dyne level of about 36. The other films had similar dynes levels: PET had about 39 dynes, OPP had about 37 dynes, and OPS had about 37 dynes.

3. Type Quality

Figure 2: Tone Value Increase

The visual comparison results for type quality were in the following order from best to worst: white PLA, PET, OPP, clear PLA and OPS films. The results are correlated to the results shown in tone reproduction section, in which white PLA has the smoothest tone curve.

Figure 3: The tone reproduction of the printed material was determined with the BetaFlex334 system. The density patches on each film were measured in increments of five,

from one to 100.

4. Dot RoundnessThe ImageXpert system was used to determine the round-ness of the five percent dots on each film. The five percent dot was chosen to compare the roundness. The PET film has the highest roundness among five films. Clearly, white and clear PLA films also has better dot roundness then OPP and OPS film.

White PLA

Clear PLA

PET OPP OPS

0.62 0.62 0.82 0.57 0.53

Table 2: Dot Roundness Results

Figure 4: of the Five Percent Dots

5. Specular GlossThe Novo-glass Statistical Glossmeter (Rhopoint 60 degree angle model) determined the specular gloss of each film us-ing the same solid black area. Horizontal and vertical read-ings were taken as shown in table 3 below. With no lami-nation, high gloss is more desired to achieve a better print appearance. The clear PLA had the highest gloss compared to all of the films, and had the highest gloss compared to the other clear film. The white PLA had the highest gloss compared to the other white films.

Dot Area

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Input

Ou

tpu

t

PLATE

White PLA

Clear PLA

PET

OPP

OPS

Figure 3: The tone reproduction of the printed material was determined with the BetaFlex334 system. The density

Dot Area

0

10

20

30

40

50

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White PLA

Clear PLA

PET

OPP

OPS

Figure 3: The tone reproduction of the printed material was determined with the BetaFlex334 system. The density




Technology

Gloss White PLA

Clear PLA

PET OPP OPS

Horizontal 57.65 65.70 58.60 46.88 56.80

Vertical 62.60 75.38 46.38 48.18 62.18

Average 60.13 70.54 52.49 47.53 59.49

Table 3: Specular Gloss Results

6. Rub ResistanceBased on ASTM test method,17 the degree of degradation was visually evaluated. The clear PLA film had the poorest rub resistance in terms of the number of scratches, closely followed by the white PLA film. The OPS film had the next worse rub resistance. The OPP and PET films had the best rub resistance.

7. Ink AdhesionA crinkle test was performed on the ink adhesion samples. The white PLA film had the poorest ink adhesion, closely followed by the clear PLA film. The OPS film had the next worst ink adhesion. The OPP film had the best adhesion.

8. Tensile StrengthTensile strength measures the force required to pull a sub-strate to the point of when it breaks. The Testometric CX M350-5KN system measured the elasticity, force, and breaking point of each film. An ASTM sample cutter cut one- by eleven-inch strips prior to being placed into the machine. The speed of the machine was 100 mm/min. The OPS used the least force to break, which indicates that this film has the worse tensile strength. This was observed on press with the two web breaks. Except OPS film, the clear PLA has the smallest elongation and the highest force peak which indicate that the clear PLA film is least likely to stretch and distort on press.

Force @ Peak (N)

Elongation @ Break

(mm)

Time (sec)

White PLA 151.01 50.06 0.50

Clear PLA 173.70 41.38 0.41

PET 106.86 207.92 2.08

OPP 106.12 122.69 1.23

OPS 105.56 5.65 0.06

Table 4: Tensile Strength Results

CONCLUSIONSAccording to the summary of findings chart below (table 5), it seems that the white and clear PLA films are most comparable to the PET film. Even though the ink was formulated for PP and PET, the white and clear PLA out-performed OPP in the majority of the printability and runnability tests. The OPS film performed the worst com-pared to the other plastic films. The white PLA film outper-formed the PET film, which was also white. The clear PLA film performed equally as well as the PET film. If the PLA films used custom formulated ink, they would have likely outperformed all of the films. NatureWorks recommends using Akzo Nobel’s Hydrokett3000 or Hydrofilm 4000 water-base inks for good ink adhesion.

Given some time, PLA may replace some of the most com-mon plastic films used in the food industry. It is difficult for a new film to break into a market that has twenty years of established film lines. Advancements are continuously be-ing made to the structure of PLA to enable the plastic to be used in more applications. The PLA films are already ideal for many of the same applications other petroleum-derived films are used for today.

White PLA

Clear PLA

PET OPP OPS

Dyne 4 2 1 3 3

Dot Gain 4 1 5 3 2

Tone Re-production

1 4 3 2 5

Density 1 2 5 3 4

Type Qual-ity

1 4 2 3 5

Dot Shape 2 2 1 3 4

Specular Gloss

2 1 4 5 3

Rub Resis-tance

4 5 1 2 3

Ink Adhe-sion

4 5 1 2 3

Tensile Strength

2 1 3 4 5

Dirty Print 1 2 3 4 5

Average Score

2.36 2.64 2.64 3.09 3.82

Table 5: Summary of Findings. (1= best/highest to 5=worst/least)




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They can be used for pressure sensitive labels, shrink sleeves, cut and stack labels, laminates, and more. PLA can be pro-duced as both mono-layer or co-extrusion films; cast or blown film extrusion methods are currently being pro-duced. The popularity of sustainable films will continue to increase as companies understand the savings of using an-nually renewable resources. There is an obvious momentum in the use of PLA, and it will continue to become increas-ingly competitive with traditional petroleum-based films in the future.

References1. EPA, “Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling,

and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2003,” Environmental Protection Agency: Wash-ington, DC, 2003, p.12.

2. In de Braekt, M.M., van Alphen, F.A., Kuijpers-Jag-tman, A.M. and Maltha, J.C., 1992. Wound healing and wound contraction after palatal surgery and im-plantation of poly-(-lactic) acid membranes in beagle

dogs. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 50, pp. 359–366.

3. Bos, R.R., Rozema, F.R., Boering, G., Nijenhuis, A.J., Pennings, A.J., Verwey, A.B., Nieuwenhuis, P. and Jansen, H.W., 1991. Degradation of and tissue reac-tion to biodegradable poly (-lactide) for use as internal fixation of fractures: a study in rats. Biomaterials 12, pp. 32–36.

4. Laitinen, O., Tormala, P., Taurio, R., Skutnabb, K., Saarelainen, K., Iivonen, T. and Vainionpaa, S., 1992. Mechanical properties of biodegradable ligament aug-mentation device of poly(-lactide) in vitro and in vivo. Biomaterials 13, pp. 1012–1016.

5. Matsusue, Y., Yamamuro, T., Oka, M., Shikinami, Y., Hyon, S.H. and Ikada, Y., 1992. In vitro and in vivo studies on bioabsorbable ultra-strength poly(-lactide) rods. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research 26, pp. 1553– 1567.




Technology

6. Bodmeier, R., Oh, K.H. and Chen, H., 1989. Effect of the addition of low molecular weight poly (d,l-lactide) on drug release from biodegradable poly (d,l-lactide) drug delivery systems. International Journal of Phar-maceutics 51, pp. 1–8.

7. Conti, B., Pavanetto, F. and Genta, I., 1992. Use of polylactic acid for the preparation of microparticulate drug delivery systems. Journal of Microencapsulation 9, pp. 153–166.

8. Omelczuh, M.O. and McGinity, J.W., 1992. Influence of polymer glass transition temperature and molecular weight on drug release from tablets containing poly-(-lactic acid). Pharmaceutical Research 9, pp. 26–32.

9. Suzuki, K. and Price, J.C., 1985. Microencapsulation and dissolution properties of a neuroleptic in a bio-degradable polymer poly-racemic lactide. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 74, pp. 21–24.

10. Auras, R., Harte, B. and Selke, S., 2004. An overview of polylactides as packaging materials. Macromolecu-lar Bioscience Journal 4, 835-864

11. Sinclair R.G., Jane, J. and Huang S. J., 1996. The case of polylactic acid as a commodity packaging plastic. ACS Symposium, Anaheim, California, ETATS-UNIS (02/04/1995), vol. 33, no 5 (22 ref.), pp. 585-598

12. Auras, R., Singh, S. P. And Singh, J., 2005. Evaluation of oriented poly(lactide) polymers vs. existing PET and oriented PS for fresh food service containers. Packaging Technology and Science 18, 207-216

13. Auras, R., Singh, S. P. And Singh, J., 2006. Perfor-mance evaluation of PLA against existing PET and PS containers. Journal of Testing and Evaluation, Vol. 34, No.6

14. Martino, V. P., Ruseckaite, R. A. And Jimenez, A., 2005. Processing and mechanical characterization of plasticized poly (lactic acid) films for food packaging. 8th Polymers for Advanced Technologies Internation-al Symposium, Budapest, Hungary, 13-16 September 2005

15. Plackett, D. V., Holm, V. K., Johansen, P., Ndoni, S., Nielsen, P. V., Sipilainen-Malm, T., Sodergard, A. and Verstichel, S., 2005. Characterization of l-polylactide and l-polylactide-polycaprolactone co-polymer films for use in cheese-packaging applications. Packaging Technology and Science, Vol. 19, Issue 1, pp 1-24.

16. Anonymous, 2004. Natureworks PLA to compete in the no-look label market. http://www.labelsandlabel-ing.com/scripts/publish/headlines.asp? code=cnw&key=846&language=en&PageNo=5&pressYr=2004, accessed 24 July, 2006

17. ASTM D5264-98 Standard practice for abrasion resis-tance of printed materials by the Surland Rub Tester

18. See references 3, 4, 5.

19. See references 6, 7, 8, 9. 20. See references 12, 13.

About the Author:Jessica Jacobson graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Communi-cation. She double concentrated in Design Reproduction Technology and Printing & Imaging Management, and received a minor in Packaging.

Jessica currently works in South San Francisco as a Project Manager and Production Scheduler at Lithotype Co. Lithotype is a market leader in manufacturing and supply-ing high quality flexible packaging materials.



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Technology

Halftones & Gray Levels

By Gordon Pritchard

Editor’s Foreword: This article is a consolidation of two sequential blogs, each building on feedback and questions from readers. The original readership for the blogs at http://qualityinprint.

blogspot.com are mainly in the commercial printing industry, and so some of the examples focus there, but the information and methodology explained are equally applicable to other print

processes such as flexography.



http://qualityinprint.blogspot.com

http://qualityinprint.blogspot.com


Some principles of halftones and the myth of gray level capability. This information is basically true for all ven-

dor’s offerings.

A halftone dot is formed inside a halftone “cell.” The cell is a grid of pixels that are turned on to form the dot. The cell begins with no pixels turned on (0% tone), and as pixels are turned on the dot grows until all the pixels within the cell are turned on and the cell is filled (i.e., 100% tone).

For example, if the cell size is 2 pixels wide by 2 pixels deep the halftone cell will contain a total of 4 pixels. As a result the following halftone dot tone values can be created:

0% = all pixels off25% = 1 pixel turned on50% = 2 pixels turned on75% = 3 pixels turned on100% = 4 pixels turned on.

So, with a 2x2 pixel halftone cell, it is only possible to have 5 tone levels (gray levels)—i..e., the total number of tones possible equals the total number pixels available plus one. In this case 2x2=4, 4+1 = 5.

If the number of pixels is increased within the cell by mak-ing them smaller—i.e., cell size remains the same but the pixels are smaller—then the number of possible gray levels goes up.

Figure 1

For example:

For a 3x3 cell the number of possible gray levels is 10 (3x3=9, 9+1=10

F or a 10x10 cell the number of possible gray levels is 101 (10x10=100, 100+1=101

For a 16x16 cell the number of possible gray levels is 257 (16x16=256, 257+1=257)

In a basic AM screen, the dot is formed by turning on pixels starting from the center of the cell. For a basic FM screen, the pixels within the cell are turned on pseudo-randomly.

So, as resolution (the “dpi” of the recording device) increas-es, gray levels increase. As resolution decreases, gray levels decrease.

If the resolution (dpi) is fixed but the number of adjacent cells is increased (lpi, i.e., going from 100 lpi to 175 lpi), then the number of pixels available for each dot decreases and, therefore, the number of gray levels decreases.

This principle is captured by the classic formula:

(dpi/lpi) squared + 1 = number of gray levels

So for a 2400 dpi output device:

At 100 lpi:

2400 dpi/100 lpi = 24 squared = 576 plus one = 577 tones possible. No problem - more than enough gray levels.

But at 175 lpi:

2400 dpi/175 lpi = 13.7 squared = 188 plus one = only 189 tones possible.

A big problem because when the ratio of dpi to lpi drops below 16, the number of available gray levels drops to below 256. This can result in tonal reproduction that is inaccurate and uneven, causing visible shade stepping (a.k.a. banding or contouring) in gradients. Color steps abruptly from one tone to the next without a smooth transition.




Technology

In 1984, the screening technology described in the first part of this blog was the state of art for halftone screening with Postscript devices. The only way to recoup the lack of tones as one went to higher lpis was to increase the device dpi—i.e., go from 2400 dpi to 3200 dpi or higher. The pen-alty was slower imaging times and increased process control required in the film workflows of the day.

However, the formula is only true for the tone represented by a single, isolated halftone dot based on an individual halftone dot cell—something that never occurs in real pro-duction environments. So, around 1989, a new approach began to be adopted. The approach is based on the fact that we don’t care about individual halftone dots. What is im-portant is the tone represented in an area.

For example, let’s say that we want to see a 17% tone patch value in the presswork. However, if we cannot represent that area with individual 17% dots—because of that clas-sic formula limitation—we can still create the 17% value by alternating 16% dots and 18% dots (this is called “dither-ing”). The eye (and instruments) integrate the alternating 16% and 18% dots and the result is the average value—in this example 17%—our desired tone value.

Another way to look at it is: if we constrain our halftone cell to a pixel matrix of 16 x 16 pixels, then we will always have 257 levels of gray in an area irrespective of how the dots within the cell are organized. However, if we build a tone area based on multiple halftone cells—a “supercell”—we can get around the gray level limitations the formula would suggest.

As one example, the highest lpi on a 2400 dpi device that I’m aware of was 1694 lpi on a poster printed with plates imaged on a Creo CtP device in 2000 by Metropolitan Fine Printers in Vancouver, Canada. It won a “They said it can’t be done” award at GrapExpo in Chicago.

Supercell screening gets around the gray level limitations of the classic formula by looking at a tone area (the impor-tant criteria) rather than an individual dot. As a result, since about 1995 all AM screens from all vendors adopted vari-ants of supercell screening technology:

Agfa - ABS - Agfa Balanced Screening•Heidelberg - HDS - High Definition Screening, •and later IS screeningHarlequin - HDS•Creo/Kodak - Creosettes/Maxtone•Fuji - just since 2004 CoRes screening•etc.•

As a result, 2400 dpi has become the de facto standard for imaging resolution in the commercial print industry. High-er resolutions, as far as halftone screening and gray levels is concerned, provides no additional value while imposing a penalty on imaging time.

Where the various vendors distinguish themselves with their individual implementation of supercell screening is how they deal with issues such as rosette drift - the gradual shift from clear centered rosette to dot centered rosette - over the width of the plate, single channel moiré, miniscus effects as dots first touch, e.g. at the 50% point, and other nuances of halftone screening.

Once you’ve passed the 200 lpi frequency, the human eye can no longer resolve the halftone structure at normal view-ing distances. Beyond 200 lpi, the argument can be made that there is no need to be constrained to the AM halftone structure. You might as well use an FM type screen. The lithographic issues will be the same since the imaging and press issues result from the size of halftone dots - not how they are organized.




About Gordon Pritchard (a.k.a. Gordo)Gordon Pritchard was formerly Print Qual-ity Marketing Manager for eleven years at Creo/Kodak. He presented at print tech-nical conferences and trained printers and

buyers regarding print quality issues in Europe, North America, and Southeast. Asia.

Gordo has articles published in trade journals, co-authored TAGA paper on halftone screening, and authored BRIDG's guide to halftone screening. Previously, he was Technical Director of Western Canada's largest commercial sheet-fed shop.

For several years, Gordo was Professor of Digital Graphic Design at Emily Carr University. He was formerly Creative Director at McCann Ericksson Vancouver. and is currently a Freelance Graphic Designer, Photographer, Illustrator, Consultant.

Gordo can be contacted at: [email protected].

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Technology

How Green is RFID?

By Raghu Das, IDTechEx

In these days of environmental consciousness, what are RFID’s green credentials? Is RFID a net positive or negative contributor

to the campaign to help the planet?




For the recent ID09 conference in Leeds, England, IDTe-chEx was asked to present on the subject of how RFID

can contribute (or otherwise) to building a greener world and reducing environmental damage. Here are the high-lights from that talk, using case studies from IDTechEx’s Knowledgebase of over 3,700 examples of RFID in action.

Reducing Carbon EmissionsCharles de Gaulle Airport, ParisCharles de Gaulle Airport in Paris has installed an RFID-based queuing system for taxis. Taxis that have permission to pick up at the airport are equipped with semi-passive RFID badges inside their overhead taxi signs. They arrive in a special zone away from the airport and, importantly, turn off their engines. As flights arrive and they are required for passengers, they are called to the terminal. The airport is able to predict customer demand and facilitate timely dispatch of taxis via handheld devices used by taxi man-agement agents at the feeder park and terminal ranks. The scheme has reduced air pollution at the airport and has had the added benefit of eliminating pirate taxis without official licenses. The scheme was installed in 2004 by European IT services provider Steria. The RFID elements were supplied by Dutch supplier Nedap. It is considered a success, and a similar scheme has now been taken up at London’s Heath-row.

Wal-MartEveryone in the RFID industry is aware of Wal-Mart’s drive to use RFID to improve the efficiency of its supply chain. However, Wal-Mart also sees an environmental dimension to this effort. The company predicts that in helping to track inventory more accurately, RFID will improve sustainability by reducing unnecessary truck deliveries, as well as reducing customers’ trips to the store for items that were out of stock during their initial visit. “Twenty-four million people shop our stores every day. If only 100,000 extra trips are saved by having stock there,” said Rollin Ford, Wal-Mart’s CIO, “ex-haust emissions would drop, benefiting the environment.”

Monitoring Threatened WildlifeBonneville Power Administration, USABonneville Power Administration (BPA) is a federal agency under the US Department of Energy. The Portland, Ore-gon-based BPA runs the federal Columbia and Snake River hydroelectric projects. In these rivers, salmon are a vital re-

source for the local community, but according to reports the presence of an elaborate network of dams and contribu-tories has depleted their numbers significantly by making it more difficult to reach their spawning grounds far up river from the ocean. The salmon are also vulnerable to pollu-tion, weather changes, and over-fishing, but the precise impacts of these factors are controversial. So BPA has insti-gated a monitoring program, which is a crucial element in their survival. It has awarded Digital Angel Corporation a contract to provide RFID equipment, including the instal-lation of the world’s largest RFID reader system, a 16-foot by 16-foot RFID antenna designed to electronically track indigenous salmon. Since the late 1980s, Digital Angel has worked with BPA and has developed, manufactured, and installed implantable passive integrated transponders in the native salmon population. Digital Angel’s largest RFID an-tenna located at the Bonneville Corner Collector, a route developed to allow the salmon to move safely past lock and dam, can electronically detect tagged fish in a fraction of a second. When tagged fish pass through the monitored areas, their transponder automatically activates and sends their unique identification number to BPA’s operations center where important information on species, journey or-igin, and age is recorded. This information is essential to bi-ologists and local conservationists attempting to maintain healthy ecosystems for the indigenous fish population.

Census of Marine LifeThe Census of Marine Life is a global network of research-ers in more than 80 countries engaged in a 10-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. The world’s first com-prehensive Census of Marine Life—past, present, and fu-ture—will be released in 2010. The Census aims (amongst many other objectives) to produce maps where the animals have been observed or where they could live; that is, the territory or range of the species. Knowing the range mat-ters a lot for people concerned about, for example, possible consequences of global climate change. In addition, marine hot spots, like the rain forests of the land, exist for large fish off the coasts of Brazil and Australia. The goal is to know much more about these marine hot spots to help conserve these fish. Their abundance and, thus, their diversity are changing, especially for commercially important species. Between 1952 and 1976, for example, fishermen and their customers emptied many areas of the ocean of tuna.




Technology

The Census has evolved a strategy of 14 field projects to touch the major habitats and groups of species in the global ocean. Three of these projects look globally at animals that either traverse the seas or appear globally distributed: the top predators such as tuna and the plankton and the mi-crobes. The projects employ a mix of technologies, includ-ing tags placed on individual animals that store or report data. Several reasons make such a report timely, indeed urgent. Crises in the sea are reported regularly. One recent study predicted the end of commercial fishery globally by 2050 if current trends persist. Better information is needed to fashion the management that will sustain fisheries, con-serve diversity, reverse losses of habitat, reduce impacts of pollution, and respond to global climate change.

Arrays of underwater monitors will be expanded in the vicinity of British Columbia, Alaska, and California. This will be an expansion of a Census project tagging thousands of endangered salmon to chart their individual travels, with profound implications for protection of threatened stocks. The system could spread worldwide to monitor traffic and tribulations of the many species that migrate along the shal-low coastal highways. Some 1,800 open ocean animals of 21 species, including sharks, turtles, seals, sea lions, and sea-birds carried Census tags during 2005.

Tags have shown that tuna travel vast distances. A tagged bluefin tuna recorded its stunning trans-Pacific migra-tion—three crossings in 600 days, a distance of 40,000 km, greater than the Earth’s circumference. The research spans species from microbes to whales, from near-shore to mid-ocean, from the world’s deepest mud in the abyssal plains to the foamy and sparkling surface, from hot seafloor vents to the ice oceans at both poles. Areas of exploration include the submerged edges of continents, seamounts dotting the ocean’s floor, and coral reefs.

Non-Native Wildlife Tracking, FloridaEstablished ecosystems have developed their own natural balance and controls over time, and the plants and animals within those systems find this balance suitable for survival, or they have been able to adapt in order to survive with-in those conditions. When non-native species from other ecosystems are introduced, they can upset that balance and

bring harm to the established plants and animals and the whole ecosystem. Non-native species come from some-where else, and they are not natural to the ecosystem they have been introduced to. They may be harmless and benefi-cial in their natural surroundings, but they can totally dev-astate different environments. When alien species enter into an ecosystem, they can disrupt the natural balance, reduce biodiversity, degrade habitats, alter native genetic diversity, transmit exotic diseases to native species, and further jeop-ardize endangered plants and animals. When there are no established natural controls, such as predators to keep the non-native harmful species in check, there can be a popula-tion explosion of the invasive non-native species causing an ecological catastrophe.

Florida is using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to combat invading non-native reptiles that might displace or prey on the state’s own indigenous fau-na. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commis-sion (FWC) has mandated that six non-native animals be tagged with RFID-enabled identifying chips in order to trace them back to their owners in case they escape or are abandoned. The reptiles now requiring RFID tags are the Indian or Burmese python; the reticulated python; the Af-rican rock python; the amethystine, or scrub, python; the green anaconda; and the Nile monitor lizard. The commis-sion has called the animals “reptiles of concern” and a po-tential threat if they enter the wild. Owners of such animals that are found in the wild may be subject to a fine as it is ille-gal to release non-native wildlife species from their owners’ control. The FWC hopes the use of RFID chips will ensure pet-owner accountability and so prevent these species from disrupting the local environment.

“It’s been a problem,” said a spokeswoman for the agency. “Down in the Everglades, we’re seeing more and more es-tablished populations of these animals, such as Burmese py-thons, and that’s led to concern,” she said. If one of the six reptiles on the list escapes and is recaptured, state investiga-tors will be equipped with scanners that can read the chip and find out the animal’s origin. The owner of the animal must also prepare and maintain a written disaster plan in case of a hurricane or if the animal manages to escape.



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Technology

Waste DisposalRadioactive Waste, Hanford, USAThe U.S. Department of Energy’s 586-square-mile Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State operates land dis-posal units for the disposal of non-mixed low-level radioac-tive waste and mixed low-level radioactive waste. It is par-ticularly important that DOE sites that plan to ship waste to Hanford understand the site-specific and Washington State requirements prior to treating their waste. Failure to understand these requirements could result in treated waste that cannot be disposed at the Hanford Site.

Axcess International’s system, FleetTag™, is being used by Bechtel Hanford to more efficiently track waste disposal at Hanford. The system is used by the Environmental Resto-ration (ER) Project team to accurately track low-level and hazardous waste from multiple cleanup sites, many located just yards from the Columbia River, to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF) for permanent dis-posal.

The ER Project team managed and transported nearly one million tons of waste in 2005. An average of 200 truck-loads, or about 4,000 tons of low-level and hazardous waste are disposed daily at ERDF. Each truckload of waste must be identified, weighed and tracked throughout the disposal process. By installing Active RFID tags on the trucks, iden-tification is automatic and waste weight is accurately and efficiently logged into the integrated database that serves the entire project.

“Waste management and transportation is a core process in our work to clean up Hanford’s Columbia River corridor,” said Julie Atwood, Waste Operations Project Manager for Bechtel. “A critical part of this work is being able to deter-mine what the waste is, whether it is acceptable for disposal at the ERDF and accurately track and record waste from cradle to grave. We knew we could improve our effective-ness in cleaning up the river corridor. This was an interesting project because we had to tie various technologies together, including web-based software, hand-held computers, bar-code scanning, and radio-frequency identification tags.”

Disposal of Medical Waste, Korea and JapanMedical waste can be particularly nasty. It includes things like extracted tissues and organs, used cottons and swabs

stained with human waste material; used plastics; tested culture and blood; and needles, scalpels, and blades. It obvi-ously needs to be disposed of correctly, and initiatives are in place in Korea and Japan to use RFID to do this, stiffened by new legislation to require hospitals (and other producers of medical waste such as blood banks, funeral parlors, pet clinics, jails, nursing homes, and laboratories) to ensure this is done. This is not a small matter—Korea alone generates some 50,000 tons of medical waste a year.

In Korea, the required treatment method is broken down: incineration 82%, sterilization and pulverization 17.6 per-cent, and re-use 0.4 percent. Waste is sorted into containers with appropriate seals and processed according to strictly set down procedures. To ensure correct procedures are be-ing followed, containers are tagged and read by RFID read-ers at the processing facility. Reports are generated daily, down to the level of which personnel were responsible for disposal, and any discrepancies can be highlighted and act-ed upon.

Kureha operates one of the largest incineration services to medical institutions in Japan. The company increased its medical waste processing capacity in 2004 to 1,600 tons per month, maintaining a high market share in the Tohoku and Kanto regions. In 2004, Kureha and IBM Japan began joint development of a waste traceability system that uses IC tags to prevent the illegal dumping of medical waste. Testing is being conducted at Kureha Hospital in Fukushima prefec-ture. Kureha is considering introducing this system in the Tokyo metropolitan region in the medium term.

Domestic Waste Disposal, Various LocationsSweden has a very active policy on waste disposal, partly driven by EU legislation and supplemented by stringent domestic initiatives. Policy goals are to stop the amount of waste increasing, decrease the use of landfill, and re-use and recycle where possible. The policies are supported by taxes on waste—for instance, SEK435 (~€40) per ton for landfill disposal. A whole industry is growing up in Sweden to sup-port this effort, and it has started to export this expertise to other countries.

Botek Systems AB is the market leader in Scandinavia and Iceland for Onboard Data Collection and Information Sys-tems used in Waste Management. The company specializes




Wavetrend has developed a smart building solution featur-ing asset management and access control. This RFID tech-nology can provide a complete “smart” building manage-ment system for the corporate environment. By enabling the tracking, monitoring, and protection of all assets, in-cluding people, a more controlled and productive environ-ment is created in which day to day business activities are handled more effectively and efficiently.

City of London School for GirlsThe City of London School for Girls has deployed a wire-less sensor system for heating its facility more efficiently and comfortably. The system allows each room to be controlled independently so that the optimum temperature can be maintained. The goal of the system is to lessen the school’s carbon footprint by reducing the habit of overheating some rooms, with wireless sensor nodes that were easier and less expensive to install than a traditional wired system.

Control Technologies Ltd. (CTL) developed the system, which was provided by sister company ARO Performance Systems Ltd. Another of CTL’s partner companies, Ambi-ent Environment Solutions Ltd undertook installation us-ing Jennic’s JenNet system and wireless sensors, based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

The school uses the city’s enterprise-wide TAC Andover Continuum building management system (BMS) to con-trol the temperature in its 120 classrooms and offices. The school also has under-floor heating mats and electric space heaters that warm the building in five heating zones. With the new JenNet system, the school increased the number of individually controllable zones from five to approximately 130, using 160 Jennic wireless sensors.

Each Jennic device contains a 32-bit RFID chip wired to a temperature sensor and is powered by two AA batter-ies. The sensor node awakens at preset intervals to collect temperature data and transmit that information, along with its unique ID number and the condition of its batter-ies, to the wireless mesh routers at a distance of up to 100 feet, or through three partitions (such as walls). The sen-sor then goes back to sleep. Six routers are plugged directly

into outlets on each floor and, in turn, transmit signals to a “coordinator” or “gateway node” of which there is one per floor. The sensor nodes and routers transmit their 2.4 GHz signals according to an IEEE 802.15.4 air-interface proto-col. Each gateway node is connected to the BMS system on the proprietary RS485 serial field bus, connecting data to the enterprise system via the City’s Ethernet wide area net-work (WAN). In this way, the City of London can monitor HVAC data from the many zones within the school to see how the heating system is functioning.

Each floor’s gateway node is also cabled to the school’s power distribution boards, which control the power run-ning the floor heating pads at any zone, based on that zone’s temperature sensor data. There are six routers installed on each floor making around 30 in the building altogether.

Nodes are installed in such a way as to transmit around el-evator shafts, which are highly metallic and can obstruct the RF signals. The installation cost was 80 percent less, and installation time was 90 percent less than that of a wired solution.

The Other Side of the CoinIn the interest of balance, we have to mention those aspects of RFID that do not particularly help the environment, such as:

• Onpaperrecycling:Adhesives,computerchips,pieces of metal from antennae and conductive inks can affect the process of recycling old corrugated containers, paperboard, etc., and manufacture of new board from recycled feedstock.

• Onpalletrecycling:Whenpalletsarecomposted,the metallic pieces from antennae will be shred-ded, but cannot break down.

• Onsteelrecycling:Copperaswellastheplastictag casings are contaminants not only in steel-making, but also as possible air emissions from chimneys or as residuals in the product.

• Onglassrecycling:Metalsandceramicsarecon-taminants and can damage the glass kilns, and this will affect recyclers as well as glass blowers.




Technology

in equipment and systems for weighing household rubbish, industrial and recyclable waste, as well as bulk products such as fuel pellets. The systems consist of modules for weighing and identification, which are connected to onboard com-puters. The company delivers truck-mounted electronic load-weighing systems. In order to calculate rubbish collec-tion charges, Botek identifies and weighs each rubbish bin, skip, and container (these are tagged using RFID) collected by the collection vehicle as it completed its round. Botek also collects additional information such as the collection address, type of waste, date, and time in order to generate other data for invoicing and statistics.

Comparable schemes are operating in other countries as the drive to discourage domestic waste continues, including Cranberry, Pennsylvania, and Howard County, Maryland, in the USA, and Randwick City in Australia. Expect this list to grow substantially.

Monitoring Endangered RainforestsSpringbrook National Park, Queensland, AustraliaAlthough rainforests make up just 0.3 percent of the Aus-tralian continent, more than half of the nation’s plant and animal species rely upon the complex forests. Springbrook is a national park in Queensland, 78km south of Brisbane. In 1994 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee officially extended the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves Australia World Heritage Area over the Scenic Rim (including Main Range, Mt Barney, Lamington and Springbrook National Parks and Goomburra Forest Reserve) and the rainforests of northern New South Wales. The Australian Environ-ment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 fundamentally and radically changed the Australian envi-ronmental legal system, representing a major consolidation, update and expansion of previous Commonwealth envi-ronmental legislation and jurisdiction to directly regulate impacts on the environment.

Scientists in Australia have developed a wireless sensor net-work (WSN) to monitor the environment and potentially restore endangered rainforests. The group has deployed 10 wireless solar-powered sensors in Springbrook National Park, to measure temperature, humidity, light, soil moisture and wind speed, and to pass that information on to a cen-tral database located in Brisbane. Up to 200 wireless sen-sors are deployed, including models with video and sound

recorders, to provide information on the health of the eco-system, fauna and flora. Aila Keto, president of the Austra-lian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS) and an ad-junct professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Agronomy and Horticulture, says the WSN could revolu-tionise environmental monitoring and provide a cost-effec-tive method for protecting and restoring environmentally sensitive rainforests.

CSIRO designed the system, which utilizes the organiza-tion’s third-generation Fleck nodes to form a wireless mesh network. Each node activates its sensors and samples the environment at set intervals. The nodes operate at 915 MHz and relay the information back to the base station—either directly or by hopping the transmission along other network nodes. The data is collated at a gateway point and forwarded via the Internet to a central database using Tel-stra’s Next G cellular communications network.

Microphones enable the scientists to identify specific birds and other animals by their calls, while video cameras take digital snapshots through motion, infrared or sound trig-gers. This information allows the group to determine popu-lation numbers and trends, search for patterns regarding when the animals appear, and determine which factors fos-ter reproduction cycles.

The next stage started in January 2009 and entails the de-ployment of acoustic and video sensors, as well as addi-tional nodes to gather extra information, such as light, tree diameter, sap flow, rainfall, and barometric pressure. The project has the potential to run for 10 or 20 years and to provide significant information regarding the restoration of rainforests around the world.

Reducing Energy UseHistoric Royal Palaces, LondonBy linking the activation or de-activation of facilities such as projectors, air-conditioners, lights, automatic doors, and so forth to employee tags in the presence or absence of such tags, companies have better control over the costs of utiliz-ing such facilities as well as the security of their employees by only allowing authorized access to specific zones within the building.




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Technology

About the Author:Raghu Das MA (Cantab) is CEO/MD of IDTechEx. He has a BA Natu-ral Sciences degree from Cambridge University, where he studied physics. He has been closely involved with the development of RFID and printed electronics for over 6 years, carrying out consultancy in Europe, USA, Asia and the Middle East. He has lectured on RFID, smart packaging and printed/or-ganic electronics at over 200 events and conferences around the world and is author of several IDTechEx publications. [email protected]

• Ondrumreconditioners:Whendrumsarerefur-bished and reconditioned, it’s doubtful whether the RFID tags will survive. There is also the possi-bility of electrostatic effect on residual vapors and fumes in the drums.

• Onplasticrecycling:MetalscancontaminatePETand HDPE and, thus ,affect recyclers as well as plastic manufacturers.

ConclusionNotwithstanding the list of possible negative effects above, when you look at the work being done by RFID solutions to help the environment, IDTechEx believes the balance is strongly in favor. Yes, RFID tags can be eco-unfriendy in some limited circumstances, but technology is helping to build a greener world, by:

• Reducingvehicleemissions• Monitoringthehealthofwildlife• Protectingindigenousfauna• Encouragingcontainerreuse• Conservingenergyuseinbuildings• Improvingwastedisposal• Encouragingrecycling• Protectingtheseafloor

Importantly, most examples also have an economic benefit, which will encourage further deployment.

IDTechEx KnowledgebaseThese case studies and many more have been taken from the IDTechEx Knowledgebase, an online database of over 3,700 RFID case studies from 110 countries. To find out more about the Knowledgebase, go to www.idtechex.com/knowledgebase/en/.

For more information attend the leading European RFID event on the topic - RFID Europe 2009, hosted by IDTe-chEx and held in Cambridge, UK on Sept 30-Oct 1. See www.IDTechEx.com/RFIDEurope for details.




http://www.idtechex.com/knowledgebase/en/

http://www.idtechex.com/knowledgebase/en/

http://www.IDTechEx.com/RFIDEurope



No one has more environmentally-friendly, Aluminum-safe ways to clean your anilox rolls than HarperScientific.

Call one of our cleaning specialists today—866.588.8686

Protect Your Anilox Investment.

Our Anilox Roll Cleaners are not only backed by a 100% performanceguarantee, they are both safe for your rolls, and safe for the world.Whether you need water based or solvent based products; in powders orliquids; by the gallon, box, tub or drum, we’ve got the proven solution.

HARPERSCIENTIFIC DIVISION


©2008


This Is What Total Commitment to Flexo Looks Like.

XLT Anilox Rolls are 100% performance guaranteed for quality and consistencyand supported by the most knowledgeable sales technicians in the industry.

ANILOX & COATING ROLLS DIVISION

A team of Flexo experts with knowledge of every aspect of the business. Provensolutions to make your plant run more efficiently from our Consulting Division.

GRAPHICSOLUTIONS DIVISION

Protect your Anilox investment with environmental-friendly, roll-safe cleaners, rollcovers, racks and accessories. Handproofers that save ink, substrate & press time.

HARPERSCIENTIFIC DIVISION

Free seminars at our advanced facility or coming to a city near you.

ROAD SHOWS & WALKINGSEMINARS

Scholarships, grants and funds invested in the future of the Flexographic Industry.

THE HARPER EDUCATION PROJECT


©2008



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Sponsor News

MDC-USA NAMES NEW PRESIDENT

HUNTERSVILLE, NC June 29, 2009 Max Daetwyler Corporation-USA, manufacturer of precision equipment and doctor blades named Ralph Daetwyler as President of Max Daetwyler Corporation USA and President of K.Walter Service Corporation, effective January 1, 2009.

Growing up in the family business, Ralph worked in the machine shop, doctor blade department and ser-vice department from the time he was a young teenager building on the knowledge that would best prepare him to eventually take over as the head of the company.

Ralph graduated from North Carolina State Uni-

versity in 2004 with a degree in Business and from Clemson University in 2007 with a Masters Degree in Graphic Com-munications. After graduation, Ralph worked and traveled extensively worldwide for two years to gain “hands-on” experience in all areas of the Daetwyler Corporation and meeting its customer’s demands.

Ralph’s focus is to continue to provide service, manufacture doctor blades and to fully utilize the technologies available in the machine and fabrication departments for current and potential customers by uniquely offering micro-waterjet cutting, as well as complete project management.

Source: Max Daetwyler Corporation Press Release

New AniCAM Set to Optimise Press Up-Time

June 2009 — Troika Systems Limited, Highworth, a UK company at the forefront of innovative development for print-based quality control products, has announced the release of a significant enhancement to its AniCAM prod-uct, an in-depth measurement tool for anilox rolls used on narrow and wide web and corrugated flexo presses.

Good anilox roll maintenance, measurement and man-agement lies at the heart of what flexo printers require to ensure the minimum of press downtime. To date there has been no really effective product to help printers to solve these issues. “Most flexo printers know that good anilox measurement and management is the logical move towards a healthier balance sheet,” said Phil Hall. “Poor manage-ment of a printer’s anilox inventory is a guaranteed way to increase press downtime. A significant percentage of print problems in the flexo sector are down to anilox roll issues, and with press time costing typically 400 Euro’s per hour, it doesn’t take too many anilox problems causing density variations or job re-runs to show how cost effective an in-vestment in anilox measurement and management with an AniCAM can be.”



http://www.daetwyler-usa.com/

http://www.providentgrp.com/webflagger


What is print? It’s how we communicate. How enterprises are enabled and individuals influenced. Here, there, and everywhere. Kodak provides answers for a dynamic, diverse marketplace. See for yourself at Drupa. Kodak solutions are here. Print is powerful.

Visit kodak.com/go/packagingSee the power of Kodak innovation at Drupa, Hall 5.©Kodak, 2008. Kodak is a trademark.

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What is print? It’s how we communicate. How enterprises are enabled and individuals influenced. Here, there, and everywhere. Kodak provides answers for a dynamic, diverse marketplace. See for yourself at Drupa. Kodak solutions are here. Print is powerful.

Visit kodak.com/go/packagingSee the power of Kodak innovation at Drupa, Hall 5.©Kodak, 2008. Kodak is a trademark.

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http://graphics1.kodak.com/us/markets/packaging/default.htm?cid=go&idhbx=packaging


Sponsor News

The latest enhancement has led to the company releasing two versions of the specialist camera-based unit, AniCAM-P and AniCAM-M. The two new variants are targeted at specific markets – AniCAM-P for flexographic print pro-ducers and AniCAM-M for anilox roll manufacturers. “Our research and our experiences with the first generation of AniCAM product has shown us that the requirements of anilox manufacturers differ slightly from printers needs,” said Phil Hall, Managing Director of Troika Systems.

With regard to the anilox roll manufacturers, Troika already has 19 of the 40+ suppliers worldwide using its AniCAM products. The new AniCAM-M product provides many additional features, including the ability to read more com-plex engravings such as trihelical, emerald and HVP, as well as “Press-O-Film” aluminium foil cell profiling materials.

No Worldwide Standard“Perhaps the most significant enhancement for manufac-turers, however, is our ability to be compatible with their current system of measurement,” states Phil Hall. To ex-plain this statement one needs to appreciate that there is no universal system for measuring anilox rolls. Manufacturers have historically developed their own standards. Phil Hall explains further: “As the number of anilox manufacturers grew over time, so anilox measurement evolved. Each man-ufacturer adopted the method of measurement they knew best and could afford. Consequently there is often a large difference in ink released from rolls from different manu-facturers, despite the rolls being marked up as having the same volume.”

Troika conducted its own research into these issues back in 2007. It took an anilox roll with 12 bands (from 40 lpcm – 480 lpcm) to 15 anilox manufacturers in Europe and North America where the manufactures were asked to measure the bands using their standard method of measurement. “The results were stunning. We found the minimum variation on one of the bands was 27% and the most extreme band had a 141% volume variation,” explains Phil Hall. “This makes life particularly difficult for the manufacturer of anilox vol-ume measurement tools, as each anilox manufacturer will, of course, defend its own standard of measurement and will not want to change the standard which they may have used over the past 5, 10 or 15 years. Our solution is to calibrate the new AniCAM-M to translate readings to any manufac-turer’s standard. This means that roll suppliers can either

translate AniCAM readings to their own internal system, or use our standard readings. This will help us to overcome a major objection.”

AniCAM-P for PrintersEffective anilox roll management has the potential to save a flexo printer a significant amount of press downtime. Mea-suring and archiving volume readings for each roll helps to monitor cleaning issues as well as wear of the roll – both major causes of press downtime. By reducing machine downtime by just 2% the owner of three presses running double-day shift could save over €300,000 over a three year period – significantly more than the €10,350 investment that would be required to purchase the AniCAM-P.

“We currently have in excess of 150 installations of our orig-inal AniCAM products, and believe that our new enhanced system will appeal to a good number of new customers,” said Phil Hall. “The important thing for the printer is to take the guesswork out of problem situations. If you know that the anilox is doing what it should do, then that reduces the potential problem areas within the press significantly. Cer-tainly printers that are already using the original AniCAM product appreciate the savings that they have been able to make, and the more efficient printing service that they have been able to provide for their customers.”

Wider MarketWhilst AniCAM-P will be targeted initially at the flexo-graphic printing sector, many lithographic printers may also find a need for this solution. The majority of high-per-formance coating units on litho presses are based on a flexo




printing system. Printings with a keen eye for the quality and consistency of coating should be measuring their anilox rolls. In addition to this a number of recent press introduc-tions, including the Heidelberg Anicolor and KBA’s Cor-tina, Karat and Rapida G machines, incorporate anilox roll-ers within their inking system. “Such developments need a quality control solution, and AniCAM-P offers the ability to measure the important detail on such machines,” con-cluded Phil Hall.

For further information on Troika Systems quality control products visit the www.troika-systems.com web site.

Source: Troika Press Release

Where in the Flexo World is Dr John Issue 1 - Colombia

June 2009 — Since joining Kodak at the end of 2007, a key part of my role is evangelist for flexo, internally and ex-ternally of Kodak, and globally to grow the flexo industry. To date I have been to Europe, North, Central, and South

America plus Asia. As I travel all over the world visiting Flexo printers and trade shops, as well as other packaging printers, I learn a lot that people like me to share.

It has been suggested that as I do this I could share my find-ings in a blog series titled “Where in the Flexo World is Dr John?”

The latest trip was to Colombia, my first to South America

and now completing a full count for continents visited ex-cept Antarctica. In the current economy, Colombia was a real surprise. There are a few reminders of their troubled past, like each motor bike rider is required to have ID vests, but the country has had 8 years of stable government. Ev-erywhere you look there is construction, investment, and signs of growth (they did not take the bad loans as in the US) and their economy is only a little soft, but doing very well.

What we saw at every printer visited were new investments, many presses less than a year old in every site, the newest and most advanced technology, and a client list of who’s who for the top packaging brand owners. They also are keen to listen and learn more to improve the print quality they can achieve. They employ many engineers, and apply total qual-ity management and preventive maintenance throughout their operations. They are often self sufficient operations, with film blowing or ink manufacture operations.

There are some of the best analog printers we have ever seen, achieving resolutions and results that mean that going to traditional LAMS digital plates will be a clear step back-wards for them.



http://www.troika-systems.com



Sponsor News

It is clear that much of the print is for local use, but increas-ingly it is for export to the US and Europe, and with the investments they are making now, there is the potential that as the world economies recover and demand increases they will take high quality print from other countries in the Americas, and become a major export force, like Turkey does in Europe, especially flexible packaging.

This is a country Tom Kowalski and I look forward to re-turning to very soon and continue to learn more before extending our introduction to Latin America with Walter Murillo, with a trip to several of the southern cone coun-tries soon.

Two personal lessons from Bogota is that in traffic red lights and stop signs are only optional, but a U-turn will get you a special spot fine from the police, and yes you really need at least 3 hours at the airport for international flights.

Source: Kodak Press Release

Inci.Flex boosts quality and productivity with EskoArtwork’s newest digital flexo

technology

Gent (Belgium), June 2009 – Installed at Inci.Flex, the Es-koArtwork’s CDI Spark 5080 is the first CDI unit equipped with HD Flexo technology in production in Italy. The in-stallation has given Inci.Flex a distinct technological advan-tage and enabled the company to expand its business from Campania to the international market. With their invest-ment in EskoArtwork’s digital flexo technologies, Inci.Flex is able to respond to the demands of the packaging and la-bel market with fast production and high-quality results.

Inci.Flex is operational in the Salerno area since 1997 and specialises in flexo plates. The company has 44 employees and is headed by owner Carmine Consalvo and his son Vincenzo.

CDI Spark 5080 - market reference for quality and reliabil-ity

Inci.Flex’s product portfolio covers a vast range of applica-tions in the packaging sector: corrugated board; film; print-ed paper for food packaging; boxes; cardboard displays and labels. After experiencing the quality and reliability of the CDI Classic 5080 digital exposure system installed for sever-al years, Inci.Flex decided to invest in another EskoArtwork CDI Spark 5080 unit with Inline UV exposure technology and a plate format of maximum 1270x2032mm because of the improved throughput and enhanced quality.

Inline UV Main Exposure allows digital flexo plates to re-ceive the UV main exposure within the same device where they are imaged, rather than requiring a separate exposure step on an offline unit. EskoArtwork’s UV Main Exposure also offers an environment that guarantees control of dot formation, further increasing the repeatability and consis-tency on the plate.

The CDI Spark 5080 installed at Inci.Flex is also equipped with HD Flexo, a system that combines the performance of 4000 dpi HD optics along with an exclusive screening technology, achieving sharper and more accurate imaging as well as attaining over 60-line printing, a characteristic re-quired by the label and stiff card market.

EskoArtwork HD Flexo: unique combination of optics and screening

“We believe the HD Flexo technology is a real step forward in quality for the flexographic industry – it significantly narrows the gap in quality with other kinds of printing, like gravure and offset,” says Rossella Salvatore, Sales Manager at Inci.Flex. “This technology ensures we can achieve print results that we couldn’t have hoped for before. Not only can we now deliver a better quality product to our exist-ing customers, we can also penetrate previously unexplored markets.”



http://www.esko.com


The screening technology included in HD Flexo ensures clearly defined, better shaped dots and screen management. The convex structure of the top of the digital dot means considerably lower dot percentages can be obtained during printing, together with higher line counts. This guarantees uniform ink transfer on highlights and in crucial areas e.g. fade outs to zero.

“Using the screening technology, we can achieve much high-er line counts while leaving the Anilox rollers unchanged,” says Consalvo. “The system uses support dots that are larger than the anilox cells. This avoids any blurring of the sur-rounding tiny dots, while ideal dot positioning simulates a uniform and even tone that’s undetectable by the human eye.”

“With these EskoArtwork solutions in place, we believe we can provide the top-quality results needed to weather the challenging economic climate,” says Consalvo. “With this in mind, we have prepared a new 10,000m2 facility, where we’ll soon be moving production. This logistic and technological reorganisation will allow us to grow the busi-ness in Italy and abroad, and help us expand into the label market.”

About EskoArtworkEskoArtwork is a global supplier and integrator of innova-tive solutions for packaging, commercial printing, sign and display finishing and professional publishing. Its products and services help customers raise productivity, reduce time-to-market, lower costs and expand business. EskoArtwork is the worldwide market leader with pre-production and collaboration software for packaging buyers, designers and manufacturers. The CDI flexo computer-to-plate imagers, Kongsberg short-run converting and signage finishing sys-tems complete the portfolio for the packaging, label, sig-nage and display industries. The company also provides a range of workflow solutions for the commercial printing and publishing market, as well as the Enfocus suite of PDF tools for graphic designers and print production profession-als. EskoArtwork employs around 900 people worldwide. Its global sales and support organization covers Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Japan, and is completed by a network of distribution partners in more than 40 countries. EskoArtwork is headquartered in Gent, Belgium, and has

R&D and manufacturing facilities in 5 European countries, the United States and in India. The consolidated full year revenue for 2007 amounted to EUR 170 million, with an EBITDA of EUR 30 million.

For more information, visit www.esko.com

Source: EskoArtwork Press Release

Kodak and Arden Software Alliance Adds New Dimension to the Packaging Market

ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 24—A new strategic alliance between Kodak and Arden Software brings 3D prototyp-ing and structural design solutions to the packaging mar-ket. The two companies offer a broad range of products and solutions for brand owners as well as package printers and converters. Arden’s IMPACT structural design ap-plications integrate seamlessly with Kodak’s PRINERGY POWERPACK Workflow to facilitate the packaging pro-duction workflow from product design through to print production.

Arden is a leading provider of structural design and manu-facturing software for its related pre-production workflow management solutions for the packaging industry. Through this collaborative marketing and selling agreement, Kodak and Arden will combine forces to market, sell and imple-ment the complementary product portfolios which extend from the structural design and production management software solutions to Kodak’s CTP, proofing products and consumables.

“As companies strive to reduce the impact of packaging on the environment, the use of structural design software to facilitate product redesign and prototyping is growing,”



http://www.esko.com



Sponsor News

said Steve Miller, Product Manager, Packaging Workflow, Kodak. “The alliance is intended to address this trend and help brand owners and package printers bring redesigned products to market more quickly. Kodak is excited to tie Arden’s IMPACT structural design applications with KODAK Solutions, offering customers a seamless work-flow solution from product design through to print pro-duction.”

This alliance includes utilizing implementation teams from both companies to meet specific customer requirements. “By focusing on the customers’ needs to streamline their operations and improve efficiencies, we see this alliance as providing world-class solutions that enable packaging com-panies to optimize their business performance,” explained Martin Poynter, Managing Director of Arden Software.

This announcement follows the recent establishment of Arden Software North America. Jim Silianoff, well known industry veteran and President of Arden Software North America, added, “Our formation of a co-marketing and co-selling effort with a company of Kodak’s stature underlines our commitment to becoming the undisputed world leader in the markets we serve. We are looking forward to a mutu-ally beneficial relationship for both of our businesses.”

Arden’s IMPACT structural design software provides sup-port for solid board, in corrugated or plastics. It assists users in setting up and completing complex projects with ease. Its intuitive drawing tools, a large library of pre-programmed and reusable design styles, an intelligent layout feature, and realistic 3D TruView modeling capabilities combine to make IMPACT one of the most usable, efficient and pro-ductive design packages on the market.

KODAK DESIGN2LAUNCH Solutions simplify the marketing process to enhance productivity and increase speed to market. This suite of integrated modules helps to address each of the different marketing challenges faced, from initial concept all the way through to final produc-tion.

KODAK PRINERGY POWERPACK Workflow Systems are powerful, highly automated workflow management so-lutions for package printers, converters, and trade shops.

They create a predictable and reliable manufacturing pro-cess that automates steps, reduces errors, and streamlines operations, so printers can do more runs in less time and get their customers’ products on the shelf faster.

The KODAK INSITE Prepress Portal System is an Internet portal into the KODAK PRINERGY Workflow System that streamlines job submission, job-status tracking, online collaboration, and remote proofing or approval. From any Web-enabled computer in any location at any time, cus-tomers, prepress operators, and customer service represen-tatives can manage and track job activity, proof print jobs, collaborate with creative and prepress staff on changes, and approve work.

KODAK Products are backed by KODAK Service and Support. KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals reaching more than 120 countries. It is a leading multi-vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and sup-port services for the commercial printing, graphic commu-nications, document imaging and data storage industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.

About Arden SoftwareFounded in 1988, Arden Software is an international lead-er in the development of structural design and workflow management systems for the packaging industry. Arden Software is dedicated to providing powerful, innovative solutions that enable companies to reshape their pre- and post-production activities to become more focused, effec-tive, productive and profitable. Arden Software has offices in Marple, United Kingdom (headquarters) and Park City, Utah, United States. Arden Software has more than 7500 installations of IMPACT CAD installed globally. Further information can be found at www.ardensoftware.com.

About KodakAs the world’s foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives. To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com and follow our blogs and more at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus.




http://www.kodak.com

http://www.kodak.com/go/followus


CANFLEXOGRAPHICS LTD. PRESENTS QUEBEC INSTITUTE OF GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION WITH HARPER

CORPORATION ANILOX ROLL DONATION

Charlotte, N.C., June 18, 2009 – Global anilox supplier Harper Corporation of America is well known the world over for its generosity to flexographic education endeavors, and its dedication to creating and maintaining a trained flexo workforce.

To that end, Harper Corporation recently allocated a gen-erous donation of anilox rolls to the Québec Institute of Graphic Communications (ICGQ). Canflexographics Ltd., the exclusive Canadian distributor of Harper’s exten-sive anilox roll and equipment line, presented the gift on behalf of Harper Corporation.

Pascal Ross, Canflexographics Ltd’s Sales Manager for the Québec area (Left), shakes hands with Régent Bernier, Flexo Department Manager at Québec Institute of Graphic

Communications.

The ICGQ is a Québec-based educational institution that offers a range of specialized services to assist companies with meeting the many technological and personnel challenges that face the printing industry today. As part of its mission, the ICGQ works to identify and troubleshoot potential challenges that the industry may face in coming years.

In addition, the institute operates a fully integrated print shop, from pre-press to finishing with a range of web, sheet-

HARPER PRESENTS AT SEMINARIO PERU CONVERSION SIGLO XXI

“The Impact of Anilox Rolls on the Printed Image”

Charlotte, N.C., June 22, 2009 – As a global anilox suppli-er, Harper Corporation of America supports customers and

offers educational opportu-nities all over the world. As part of that objective, Juan Bermudez serves the Latin American region as a Sales and Service Manager for Harper Corporation.

Recently, Bermudez pre-sented at the two-day semi-nar “Seminario Peru Con-version Siglo XXI” at the Country Club Lima Hotel

in Lima, Peru. As the seminar’s final speaker, Bermudez cov-ered “The Impact of Anilox Rolls on the Printed Image.”

“More than 90 flexo printers and converters from Peru and Ecuador participated in this event,” explained Bermudez. “Latin America has rapidly expanding flexo markets, and it’s satisfying to see increasing participation at seminars like this. I always appreciate the opportunity to offer input and assistance to our colleagues in the industry.”

For additional information, please contact Jazmin Kluttz at 704-588-3371, or [email protected].

Source: Harper Corporation Press



www.harperimage.com/anilox-index.asp




Sponsor News

fed, flexographic and digital presses. Expertise and facili-ties include computer graphics, ink, ink-paper interaction, colorimetry and image-analysis laboratories equipped with the latest generation technology.

For additional information about this donation, please contact Jazmin Kluttz at 704-588-3371, or [email protected].

To learn more about these organizations, please visit Harp-er Corporation of America at www.harperimage.com, Can-flexographics Ltd. at www.canflexo.com or the Québec In-stitute of Graphic Communications at www.icgq.qc.ca.


Kodak Offers Integrated Solutions for Print Professionals at PRINT 09

Booth theme stresses partnership, shows why “It’s Time for You AND Kodak”

CHICAGO, June 16—At PRINT 09 in September, under the theme of “It’s Time for You AND Kodak,” the compa-ny will help professionals in commercial print, data print, publishing, and packaging capitalize on opportunities to drive greater efficiency, productivity, and revenue. Service providers in all areas of printing and marketing can leverage Kodak’s comprehensive suite of solutions to identify and serve emerging applications including personalized print-ing, photo products, print on demand books, and many others.

“It’s no secret that this has been a challenging year for many service providers,” said Chris Payne, Director and Vice Pres-ident, Business to Business Marketing. “But with challenge comes opportunity, and Kodak continues to focus on de-

livering innovative solutions to help our customers capture the growth opportunities in the market today. By partner-ing with Kodak, printers have all the resources and support they need to differentiate themselves in the market, build a strong business, and help their own clients succeed.”

At Booth 6907, visitors will learn more about these ex-citing new solutions from Kodak, including the latest on KODAK Stream Inkjet Technology. The company’s fully integrated solutions streamline production with automated and integrated workflow, driving new operational efficien-cies and opening new business opportunities. KODAK So-lutions help printers achieve greater return on investment and deliver greater return on marketing investment for their clients.

It’s Time for Package Printers AND KodakAs competition intensifies for global brands, the need for package printers to ensure high quality and color consisten-cy is critical. Packaging serves as the front line for consum-ers, often making or breaking a sale on appearance alone. To make it easier for package printers to meet the demands of their clients, Kodak offers a range of workflow and plate imaging solutions that combine outstanding quality with affordability and ease of use.

Designed to give packaging professionals unprecedented productivity and quality in flexographic printing and plate-making, the award-winning KODAK FLEXCEL NX Dig-ital Flexographic System is a complete, integrated system that improves predictability in prepress, platemaking and printing. At PRINT 09, package printers will learn about the new KODAK FLEXCEL LO Washout Solution, de-signed to deliver optimum platemaking performance with low odor and reduced VOC content, as well as the FLEX-CEL Cold Recycling Smart System, a revolutionary system for flexographic washout solution recycling that provides a safer, more economical, and more environmentally friendly alternative to distillation.

KODAK PRINERGY POWERPACK Workflow is de-signed specifically for the packaging environment and max-imizes productivity while helping protect brand integrity.

It’s Time for Publishers AND KodakPublishers of all sizes in books, magazines, catalogs, and newspapers need solutions that enable them to increase ef-





http://www.harperimage.com

http://www.canflexo.com

http://www.icgq.qc.ca



— the place to be listed, whether you’re a flexographic printer, print buyer, supplier, trade association, consultant, or educator.

Simply visit:http://www.flexoglobal.com/flexoguideform.htm

orfill out the form below and mail it to:

FlexoGlobal, 7580 Salmon Creek Road, Williamson, NY 14589-9510

Company Information:

Company Name:

Main Address:

City, State, Zip, Country & Postal Code:

Phone: Fax:

E-mail: Web Site:

Sign-Off:Print your Name and Title:

Signature: Date:

FlexoGlobal’s Resource Guide

q anilox rollsq consultantsq consumer product companiesq educational institutionsq environmental equipment &

servicesq equipment manufacturersq graphic design services

q inks, pigments, coatingsq mounting tapesq packaging printer/convertersq plate manufacturersq prepress servicesq prepress softwareq press manufacturers q product/speciality printers

q quality inspection equipmentq substrate supplierq supplies & servicesq testing equipment manufacturerq transportationq workflowmanagement

What Company Does: Our company offers the following products and/or services . . . (100 words maximum)

Company Category:

FlexoGlobalTM



http://www.flexoglobal.com/flexoguideform.htm


Sponsor News

ficiency and remain competitive in the market. Kodak of-fers complete solutions for any size publishing operation, enabling professionals to reduce costs and shorten produc-tion times.

An ideal solution for publishers, the new PROSPER S10 Imprinting System adds the ability to customize or person-alize offset printing. VERSAMARK VL-Series Printing Systems help publishers with production of catalogs, books, manuals, forms, and other printed materials.

The DIGIMASTER EX300 Digital Production System delivers critical productivity for applications such as on de-mand book printing.

For applications including online book ordering, KODAK Web to Print solutions give publishers powerful automa-tion and productivity enhancements that streamline the production process and help reduce overall costs.

It’s Time for Commercial Printers AND KodakKodak’s solutions for the commercial print market are de-signed to make it easier for printers to increase efficiency, build a stronger business, and achieve success. Commer-cial printers today must maximize every capital investment they make to deliver targeted, effective print materials that drive greater ROI for clients. At PRINT 09, commercial printers will learn about leveraging the latest digital print-ing solutions to deliver new services and build new revenue streams.

For applications such as direct mail, marketing collateral, catalogs, publications, photo books, and other materials, Kodak introduces the breakthrough KODAK NEXPRESS SE3600 Digital Production Color Press. The first device in the company’s new SE Platform, the SE3600 delivers un-matched productivity and image quality.

In addition, Kodak unveils PROSPER, the brand name for the family of products using its revolutionary KODAK Stream Inkjet Technology. The first product in the fam-ily, the KODAK PROSPER S10 Imprinting System, is now commercially available and targeted for direct mail, catalogs, magazines, newspapers, inserts and transactional documents. The S10 Imprinting System is a monochrome continuous inkjet solution for inline digital printing on high-speed web devices.

For direct mail applications, the KODAK DIGIMASTER EX300 Digital Production System is the fastest cut sheet black and white electrophotographic printer in the mar-ket.

For commercial printers that want to increase productiv-ity and lower costs through greater automation in prepress, Kodak offers a new Automatic Pallet Loader (APL) for the KODAK MAGNUS 800 Platesetter family, which can run an entire pallet of up to 600 plates without operator inter-vention.

KODAK INSITE Campaign Manager is now commer-cially available. INSITE Campaign Manager defines each element of a marketing campaign, including outbound and inbound channels, landing sites, personalized URLs, email blasts, and key metrics and analytics.

At the show, the company is launching new versions of KODAK Web to Print Solutions, KODAK INSITE Pre-press Portal System, KODAK INSITE Creative Workflow System, and KODAK DARWIN Software. KODAK PRI-NERGY Workflow System and new KODAK PRINERGY Digital Workflow, along with KODAK COLORFLOW Software, tie all the production pieces together and ensure smooth operation with predictable, consistent results.

It’s Time for Data Printers AND KodakTo successfully serve the data print market, providers must be able to deliver higher value and more effective customer-facing communications that drive higher response rates. Kodak makes this possible by providing solutions that help data printers boost revenue opportunities by marry-ing transaction documents and promotional offers, and in-crease customer loyalty with one-to-one engagement.

Within these demanding and often highly regulated en-vironments, the six models of KODAK VERSAMARK VL-Series Printing Systems can handle a variety of complex variable data print applications. Based on a flexible, power-ful Drop on Demand (DOD) inkjet printing platform, the devices provide outstanding results for transactional docu-ments and direct mail.

The new KODAK VERSAMARK 700 Print Manager is a front end digital press controller that expands workflow choices and currently supports the KODAK VERSA-




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Sponsor News

MARK VL2000 Digital Printing System. Future versions will support additional VERSAMARK VL-Series Presses as well as Kodak’s upcoming PROSPER Press with Stream Technology.

For data print environments with offset technology, the KODAK PROSPER S10 Imprinting System using Stream Inkjet Technology enables hybrid printing at full offset speeds. The DIGIMASTER EX300 Digital Production System is well suited for transactional documents.

It’s Time for You AND Kodak“It’s time for automation and efficiency, it’s time for growth and profitability, and it’s time to enhance relationships with our customers to help them seize the opportunities that exist in the market today,” concluded Payne. “The Kodak booth at PRINT 09 will serve to educate, inspire, and equip print professionals from every market to face the exciting road ahead.”

For more information about Kodak at PRINT 09, visit www.kodak.com/go/print09.

KODAK Products are backed by KODAK Service and Support. KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals reaching more than 120 countries. It is a leading multi-vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and sup-port services for the commercial printing, graphic commu-nications, document imaging and data storage industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.



Kodak CMO Jeff Hayzlett Wins Crain Award for Business Marketing Excellence

ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 12—Jeff Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company, was awarded the prestigious G.D. Crain Jr. Award for Marketing Excel-lence at the Business Mar-keting Association’s (BMA) 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago on June 10. The award is named in honor of business marketing icon and pioneer G.D. Crain, founder of Crain Communications, publishers of Ad Age and BtoB Magazine.

“Jeff ’s contributions to Kodak’s brand transformation from a business-to-consumer marketing company to one that is also a leader in business-to-business marketing is extraor-dinary,” said Rance Crain, son of G.D. Crain, President of Crain Communications, Inc., and presenter of the award. “Jeff is very deserving of this award, and it speaks volumes towards his leadership and championing of B2B marketing at Kodak.”

Created in 1969, the G.D. Crain Jr. Award recognizes a BMA member for career achievement in business-to-busi-ness marketing communications and exceptional service to the Association. It carries with it election to the BMA Hall of Fame. Hayzlett serves as chairman of the board of direc-tors of the Business Marketing Association.



http://www.kodak.com/go/print09





“This is an exceptional honor for Kodak,” said Hayzlett. “Kodak’s transformation is one of the most profound in the history of business, and this award is testament to the tire-less efforts of our marketing team.”

In addition to the G.D. Crain Jr. Award, Hayzlett has re-ceived numerous global awards and honors, including the Frost & Sullivan Lifetime Achievement Award for mar-keting. He was named “Business to Business Marketer of the Year” by BtoB Magazine and “Direct Marketer of the Year” by the University of Akron Taylor Institute for Direct Marketing. Also in 2008, Hayzlett was inducted into the College of Business Administration Direct Marketers Hall of Fame. Previously, the U.S. Small Business Association named him “Entrepreneur of the Year.”

Hayzlett is cited as a leading marketing expert in numerous books, magazines, and newspapers worldwide, and is a fre-quent television guest and commentator, having appeared on shows including CNBC’s The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, Fox Business News, and NBC’s Celebrity Ap-prentice with Donald Trump.

About the Business Marketing Association The Business Marketing Association represents a lifetime of expertise in business-to-business marketing and communi-cations. For more than 80 years, BMA has been the pre-eminent service organization for professionals in the B2B industry.


Introducing Ink-Eater: The First Flexo Ink Spot Cleaner that Attacks Ink and Melts It

Away Fast

Bellport, N.Y. – Environmentally conscious flexographic ink-removing company FlexoCleaners.com introduces an-other fast and effective ink-removal chemical to its power-ful yet safe existing product line. Ink-Eater Flexo Ink Clean-er and Degreaser has been noted for its gellike concentrate, which starts dissolving the most stubborn ink and grease immediately upon contact.

“Ink Eater is undoubtedly our strongest cleaner, formu-lated to attack and remove decade-old, dried and stubborn flexographic ink,” says FlexoCleaners.com President Joseph Ialacci. “Of all of our ink-removing chemicals, I take the highest pride in introducing this unique product to my customers and letting them appreciate the value of it,” adds Ialacci.

Ink-Eater is currently being used in many flexographic print-ing plants across the nation and continues to be adopted throughout the industry. The special micro-bead abrasives that are blended within assist in scrubbing and dissolving even the most stubborn ink, grease or oil from any press part. This super-concentrated formula can be applied at full-strength, with no water or dilution needed, to any ink spot, and it can used on any metal, concrete or other hard surface. With Ink-Eater, the appearance and condition of equipment or any dirty ink or greasy surface can be restored to a like-new condition.

“This product is so remarkable that if, by chance, it does not work for you, you may need a nuclear weapon,” jokes Ialacci. Just like the rest of the FlexoCleaners.com product line, Ink-Eater Flexo Ink Cleaner and Degreaser is a bio-degradable and an environmentally friendly formula. More information about this product is available at www.flexo-cleaners.com/flexo-inkcleaners/Degreasers/Ink-Eater-Flexo-Ink-Cleaner-and-Degreaser/





http://www.flexocleaners.com/flexo-inkcleaners/Degreasers/Ink-Eater-Flexo-Ink-Cleaner-and-Degreaser/



http://www.flexocleaners.com/


Sponsor News

The industry’s largest selection of ink cleaners can be found at the company‘s fast, secure Website: www.flexoclean-ers.com. The FlexoCleaners.com site is packed with help-ful Flexo resources, time-saving tools and educational, environmentally-based articles The company can also be reached directly at their easy-to-remember, toll-free num-ber: 888-Flexocleaners (888-353-9653) or 631-345-5222 if outside the USA.

Established in 1973, FlexoCleaners.com is a leading manu-facturer of environmentally friendly, chemically superior flexographic ink cleaners. FlexoCleaners.com has been help-ing Flexographic printers lower their VOC emissions and become environmentally compliant through safer cleaning products and Free VOC consultations.

FlexoCleaners.com is a socially responsible organization and contributes a portion of every sale to environmental charities, such as 1% for the Planet, Co-Op America and Union of Concerned Scientists. They have recently received recognition from the EPA as a Partner in the Design for the Environment Program’s Safer Detergents Stewardship Ini-tiative (SDSI).

You can find the industry’s largest selection of ink clean-ers at their fast, secure Website: www.flexocleaners.com The FlexoCleaners.com site is packed with helpful Flexo resources, time-saving tools and educational, environmen-tally-based articles. You can also call them directly at their easy-to-remember, toll-free number 1-888- FlexoCleaners (888-353-9625) or outside the USA at 631-345-5222.

Source: Flexocleaners.com press release

Kodak Unveils New Worldwide Sustainability Goals

Company Surpasses Current Responsible Growth Goals

ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 4 -- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) announced today a new set of three-year Sus-tainability Goals. This comes on the heels of a prior pro-gram that reduced carbon emissions in an amount equal to taking 190,000 cars off the road.

The new Sustainability Goals will be the fourth set of volun-tary goals established by Kodak, building on the company’s long history of public commitment to health, safety, and en-vironmental performance. The new goals broaden Kodak’s focus by boosting expectations for products, suppliers, and employees. In addition to the pursuit of the Sustainability Goals, worldwide manufacturing sites will continue to set additional local goals.

The goals announced today supersede the Responsible Growth Goals established in 2006 and include an emphasis on enabling employees to integrate sustainability principles into their everyday work, a target for increasing the number of Energy Star-qualified products, and a renewed initiative to measure and further reduce Kodak’s water usage world-wide.

The Responsible Growth Goals were originally announced in 2006. Unlike former goals that mainly focused on the company’s traditional manufacturing footprint, the Re-sponsible Growth Goals represented a significant expan-sion of focus, introducing product stewardship and social responsibility elements, as well as operational excellence.



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http://www.flexocleaners.com



As part of that program, Kodak reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 40% since 2002, surpassing its 20% target. Kodak reduced occupational injury rates by 65% since 2002, exceeding its target to reduce rates by 50%.

The prevention of 1.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions since 2002, the equivalent of taking more than 190,000 cars off the road, is a hallmark of Kodak’s prog-ress. A portion of this progress is attributable to Kodak’s digital transformation. However, roughly half of the over-all progress is the result of applying the principles of lean manufacturing and process design, as well investments in energy-efficient equipment.

“Much of this substantial progress comes down to the cre-ativity and dedication of Kodak employees,” said David Kiser, Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Sustain-ability and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “For example, at Eastman Business Park in Rochester, employees looked for opportunities within the site’s transformation. Because of their diligent work, we realized significant en-ergy savings that allowed us to close a 67-megawatt power plant. It’s that kind of ingenuity that gives us confidence in meeting our new set of public goals.”

For its efforts, Eastman Business Park earned the U.S. De-partment of Energy’s Energy Champion Award in 2007, the highest award for energy efficiency for industrial facili-ties. In addition, Kodak’s world headquarters building in Rochester was designated as Energy Star certified in 2008.

Kiser also noted that he is very proud of the work by em-ployees and Kodak leadership in reducing employee safety incidents.

“During a time when extraordinary demands are being placed on our workforce and on our leadership due to the competitive and economic pressures facing all companies today, there has been an intense focus on keeping people safe on the job, as reflected by the nearly two-thirds reduc-tion in these incidents,” Kiser said.

In 2006, Kodak also set goals to improve the environmental attributes of products throughout their life cycle and im-prove access to Kodak products that provide direct benefits to societal needs. Achievements in support of these goals include:

• Awardsforenergy-efficientandenvironmentallyconscious digital camera and picture frame de-signs.

• Collectionofmorethan1.5billionsingle-usecameras for recycling.

• IntroductionoftheKODAKAdaptivePictureExchange (APEX), a dry lab system that produces photo prints and products without using any water or processing chemicals, and generates no regulated wastes.

• Developmentofavarietyofgraphicprintingtech-nologies such as production planning software, flexographic plates and computer-to-plate systems that reduce waste and resource usage at customers’ sites.

• Provisionofservicestoassistcustomersinbeingmore sustainable, such as the Printer’s “Go Green Kit,” the U.S. Printer’s EnviroServices Program, and the digital camera trade-in program.

• Donationofproductsandaccesstoimagingservices for socially responsible programs such as The Nature Conservancy’s Photo Voice project in China, the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, and the Olympics.

The new Sustainability Goals include:Social Responsibility

• EmployeeEducation:RaiseawarenessofKodak’ssustainability commitment and its expectations of employees.

• EmployeeSafety:Achievea70%reductioninKodak’s Occupational Injury Rate by 2012.*

Product Responsibility

• ProductEnergyEfficiency:Qualifyalleligiblenewly commercialized Kodak products under Energy Star guidelines.




Sponsor News

• ProductEnvironmentalAttributes:Improvethe environmental attributes of Kodak products throughout their life cycle.

• SupplyChainPerformance:Identifyhighprioritysuppliers annually and assess them against the per-formance expectations of the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition.

Operational Responsibility

• EnergyConservation:ReducetheenergyusageatKodak operations worldwide by 50% by 2012.*

• GreenhouseGasEmissions:Reducegreenhousegas emissions from Kodak operations worldwide by 50% by 2012.*

• WaterEfficiency:MeasureKodak’sworldwidewater footprint.

*Compared to 2002 baseline year.

For more information on Kodak’s Health, Safety, Environ-ment and Sustainability policies, procedures and perfor-mance, please refer to www.kodak.com/go/sustainability.



POULSON PRESENTS AT INFO*FLEX

Press optimization is the key

Charlotte, N.C., June 8, 2009 – Bill Poulson, Northeast Technical Graphics Advisor at Harper GraphicSolutions™, presented a dynamic presentation on press optimization

during the Flexographic Technical Association’s (FTA) annual INFO*FLEX show at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Bue-na Vista, Florida.

Entitled “Press Optimiza-tion Sets the Stage for Con-sistency,” Poulson’s presen-tation detailed the four key tenets press rooms can exer-

cise in order to obtain the best results from each and every press run:

1. Optimize the press condition 2. Certify the existing anilox roller inventory 3. Employ excellent care & maintenance procedures

on a day-to-day basis 4. Enable the ink room to match color in the lab

with a Phantom™ Hand ProoferPoulson summarized by discussing the time savings ben-efits press rooms realize when they minimize downtime for color matching.

In addition, at the Harper Corporation of America booth, Tony Donato, Product Development Engineer, greeted visitors and demonstrated a truly unique display: an anilox sleeve with three different families of laser engraving.

The sleeve includes XLT 60 Degree engravings, which are excellent for solid, continuous color or background print-ing; XLT 30 Degree channel engravings that are terrific for







whites and high viscosity inks; XDI Extreme Digital Image engravings, which are excellent for patterns, product “im-ages” and/or one- and two-color printing; and LaserKote engravings for overcoats in varnish and UV.

For additional information, please contact Jazmin Kluttz at 704-588-3371, or [email protected].


Kodak Graphic Users’ Association Generates Energy for Business Transformation

300 attendees at 2009 conference share how Kodak technology can drive efficiency and create new revenue

ORLANDO, Fla., May 22, 2009—The power of partner-ship fueled a three-day meeting of the Kodak Graphic Users’ Association (GUA) May 17-20 in Orlando, Fla. In a program themed “Efficiency Revealed,” nearly 300 at-tendees shared best practices and helped shape the future of Kodak’s products and solutions.

A challenged economy and the digital revolution drove dis-cussion throughout the conference. Many of the program sessions focused on how print service providers can use Kodak technologies to offer more to their customers in the emerging business model of “marketing service providers.”

“Everything changes when we start thinking of ourselves as in the communications business,” said Andy Paparozzi, Chief Economist and Vice President of NAPL (http://www.napl.org/ProfSvcsGroup/documents/Paparozzi-bio8-06.pdf ), who delivered the keynote address on day

one of the conference. “We have to work in harmony with our customers to achieve their desired results on all com-munication fronts—print, web and marketing.”

Kodak developers and product managers conducted more than 50 workshops, focusing on everything from the new-est developments in CTP to the future of Kodak Unified Workflow to updates on Kodak’s groundbreaking Stream Inkjet technology. The conference exemplified how the combination of Kodak’s expertise and portfolio of conven-tional and digital solutions can help customers grow their businesses.

“Marketers need to show return on investment, and they want help with services beyond print. This is a customer-led revolution, and the right response is to move from print ser-vice provider to marketing service provider,” said Jon Brack-en, Vice President, Marketing and Channels, Enterprise Solutions, Kodak. Bracken talks more about the transition to marketing service provider at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyeR5IlSe5g.

InfoTrends analyst Bryan Yeager, who reported via Twit-ter from the conference (http://twitter.com/bryanyeager), sees value in the GUA’s emphasis on efficiency. “As print-ers continue to face economic pressures, increasing job ef-ficiency to control costs and improve turnaround time is crucial,” said Yeager. “Implementing workflow and enabling automation are keys to achieving greater efficiency, and the focus on this topic at Kodak GUA’s conference is very rel-evant as printers strive to improve processes.”

Kodak Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Hayzlett kicked off the second day of the conference, using Kodak’s own successful digital transformation as an example of how print compa-nies can reshape their businesses. “We’ve been through one of the biggest turnarounds in American business history. We want our customers to continue to provide us with feed-back and input so that we can continue to change and grow as a company,” Hayzlett said. See more of Hayzlett’s address at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPvDqs1EzfE.






Sponsor News

Susan Kinney of The Castle Press in Pasadena, Calif., and a GUA board member attended the conference and believes the GUA delivers benefits to her business all year long. “I think the big thing that differentiates us are the online fo-rums that we have so people can talk to each other. If they have a problem, they can instantaneously go online and they have 5,500 people that can answer their question,” Kinney said. A full interview with Kinney is at http://www.you-tube.com/watch?v=RK7nSTDflEc.

Kodak introduced GUA attendees to its newly formed Business Solutions and Services Group, the organization at Kodak that encompasses workflow and software solutions for graphic communications, as well as document imaging, service and support and enterprise wide solutions for mar-keters and businesses. An interview with Dolores Kruchten, General Manager, Business Solutions and Services Group, is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNRv67VPkZo.



Kodak Holds a Series of Workflow Webinars to Help Customers Increase Profitability in

their Businesses

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 13—Dr. Joe Webb, author of “Renewing the Printing Industry” is a keynote speaker for a series of free webinars designed to help commercial print-ers maximize efficiency and profitability. The upcoming webinar dates, each taking place at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, include:

•Thursday,May21•Wednesday,June3•Tuesday,June9

Webb will discuss key strategies needed in the current eco-nomic climate with an eye for success in the post-recession printing industry.

Jim Aust, Business Analyst, Kodak, will discuss real-life ex-amples of printers’ operations, and how productivity and costs were improved by implementing an efficient, auto-mated workflow.

Rick Mazur, Commercial Print Segment Leader, Kodak, will offer an overview of KODAK Unified Workflow Solu-tions. Mazur will also lead a question-and-answer session with a customer who details their company’s experience in moving to a KODAK Unified Workflow Solution. The webinar will conclude with a live demonstration of the KODAK PRINERGY Workflow System, integrating the KODAK INSITE Prepress Portal System.







“In these challenging economic times, print and commu-nication companies are looking for ways to improve their profitability and be more responsive to their customers’ needs,” said Barry Quart, General Manager, Business So-lutions and Services Group, US&C Region, Kodak. “This series of webinars is intended to help companies gain in-sight into industry issues, benchmark themselves, and gain visibility into best practices that can directly impact their bottom line.”

To register, visit: http://complete.kodak.com.

KODAK Products are backed by KODAK Service and Support. KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals reaching more than 120 countries. It is a leading multi vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and sup-port services for the commercial printing, graphic commu-nications, document imaging and data storage industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.

About Dr. Joe WebbDr. Joe Webb is one of the graphic arts industry’s best-known consultants, forecasters, and commentators. He is the director of WhatTheyThink’s Economics and Research Center. A 30-year veteran of the graphic arts industries, his “Mondays with Dr. Joe” column has become a must-read feature on WhatTheyThink.com, as have his quarterly eco-nomic forecast webinars, where he analyzes trends in the economy, technology, and the industry, interpreting what they mean for executives and their strategic decisions.





http://complete.kodak.com




Basic Flexographic Seminars

December 8-11, 2008 February 2-5, 2009 | May 4-7, 2009 | August 24-27, 2009 | December 7-10, 2009

This 3-1/2 day seminar provides the basic information necessary for the production of quality flexographic printing. Instruction includes lectures, demonstrations, field trips and actual operation of printing presses. Seminar instructors are experienced in flexography or related industries. Register early! Seminar limited to 24 people. Cost: $895- includes all training, speakers, handouts, break food, lunches, and transportation to/from fieldtrip locations.

SPECIAL: Additional employees registered on the same date from the same company - $795/person

Fundamentals of Narrow Web Press Operation

March 30 – April 1, 2009 | June 8-10, 2009 | September 14-16, 2009

This 3 day seminar provides the basic information necessary for the production of quality flexographic printing. Instruction will consist of lectures, demonstrations and operation of machinery in the various subject areas. Topics covered: Flexographic art and copy, line, tone, and process printing, prepress functions, plates, press components and operation, anilox rolls, substrates, inks, solvents, inline converting and troubleshooting. $795/person/ includes all materials, morning breaks, noon lunches & extras.


Fundamentals of Wide Web Press Operation

November 3-5, 2008 February 16-18, 2009 | July 13-15, 2009 | November 2-4, 2009

The goal of this 3-day seminar is to give the participant equal instruction between theory and hands-on activities in the area of flexo platemounting and wide web press operation. Topics covered: Flexographic printing theory, press components & operation, ink handling & management, print setting adjustments, register & tension control, mounting, anilox rolls, doctor blades, chambered blade assembly & maintenance, press set-up, run, and clean-up & documentation. $795/person/ includes all materials, morning breaks, noon lunches & extras.


Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) & Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) Seminars Seminars are held at Appleton WI with FVTC faculty instructing

Register with the FTA (631) 737-6026 | www.flexography.org

Achieving Consistency in Process Printing

January 19-22, 2009 | June 15-18, 2009 | October 5-8, 2009

This seminar deals with the concepts and tools involved in the production of high quality, repeatable process printing. Lectures, demonstrations, a field trip, and printing a four-color process job on an 8-color, central impression gearless press are included. Topics covered: Process color theory, image assembly& prepress proofing, densitometry & spectrophotometry, plate making, press operation, characterization & documentation, process ink- handling, anilox usage and maintenance.

FVTC is your training source for all flexo applications Registration Information

www.fvtc.edu/flexo920-735-4755



http://www.fvtc.edu/flexo


Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) & Association of IndependentCorrugated Converters (AICC) Seminars

Fundamentals of Improved Flexographic Printing & Rotary Die Cutting Seminars

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday March 2-4, 2009 | June 22-24, 2009 | August 17-19, 2009

Who should attend: Press operators, press supervisors, sales representatives, and other plant personnel.

What you’ll learn: This 3-day graphics and die cutting program combines hands-on press work in printing and die cutting 2 and 3 color jobs using a WORKHORSE 3-color flexo rotary die cutter with interactive classroom analysis and discussion. You will acquire new skills to improve operations back at the plant. Please visit the AICC website for costs.

Digital Production for Containers & Displays

Who should attend: Customer service, pre-production, production, supervisors and line management

What you’ll learn: This NEW intensive workshop teaches digital production and processes. The program covers digital workflows, coordination of various production components; equipment utilized, and live, on-site demonstrations. The agenda covers corrugated manufacturing in a digital world, workflow and component coordination, equipment, processes, demonstration of digital production flow, putting the digital production puzzle together, and making it happen back when you return to your workplace. Please visit the AICC website for costs.

Selling Digital Printing

Who should attend: Sales people and designers

What you’ll learn: This NEW program teaches trends in graphic communications; markets of opportunities for converters; case study of one company’s approach to selling digital; business development selling strategies; and creating a plan using specific strategies and tactics that meet appropriate client needs. Please visit the AICC website for costs

Seminars are held at Appleton WI with FVTC faculty instructing

Register with the AICC at (877) 836-2422 or (703) 836-2422

http://www.aiccbox.org/



http://www.aiccbox.org

flexoglobal tmfrom agricultural by-products such as cornstarch or other starch-rich substances like...

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