Chicago welcomes converters

Print 05 & Converting 05 is set to attract 70,000 people from September 9 -15 to McCormick Place, Chicago. Almost 800 company exhibits will fill about 750,000ft² of space. Around 200 companies are to display equipment and other products designed for folding carton converting, label printing, flexible packaging and other packaging applications. These exhibits will occupy about 325,000ft².

"This will be the show not to miss as converters strive to stay competitive with new technology," said Nelson Stevens, president of Independent Machinery, which will occupy 1,500ft² on booth 10037. "We anticipate a tremendous turnout and are excited to debut new technology in 41in foil stamping from Gietz, Sanwa die cutters/blankers, Heiber & Schroeder windowing systems and Tunkers' litho-laminators," he added.

At Print Craft Supply and Carton Craft Supply (booth 234), president Mark Doxtader agreed that "this is a major show for us, and one that no one in the industry can afford to miss!"

Show visitors, he added, can expect to see "the latest innovations in in-line finishing, die cutting, printing, and more, which will increase productivity and give the competitive advantages companies need in today's market." The companies plan to use their 800ft2 to showcase a variety of production solutions for printing, die cutting and converting including the Print Line RSP In-line finishing system, which allows users to die cut, kiss cut, perforate, and score in-line on a Heidelberg or Komori sheet-fed press. It will also be running in the Heidelberg booth, showing the benefits of kiss cutting stickers in-line while printing at full press speeds.

Jay Skinner, director of sales at Stratis, describes the event as "THE trade show to discover the latest technology and trends in the industry. This show is the finest opportunity to learn numerous ways to improve your company. In particular," he added, "roll pallets are becoming more important to the package printing industry as more companies incorporate roll converting in their production processes."

Plastics films for packaging will be a key category of product displays. Neil Clements, marketing and sales manager at VTS Imperial Plastic Sheet, said his company will debut "a new thin gauge clear PP sheet that will have a clarity that was previously not seen in polypropylene. We will also be introducing a 0.014 mil clear PP." VTS's products are designed for packaging fabricators, consumer package goods companies, and others who want to print, fold, glue, score, cut or weld plastics packaging materials.

Two leading US organizations - the FTA (booth 464) and AIMCAL (booth 668) are participating in the show. They join other industry groups at the exhibition such as the Flexible Packaging Association, the Flexographic Pre-Press Association, the Foil Stamping & Embossing Association, the Paperboard Packaging Council and RadTech, The Association for UV & EB Technology.

"The support of these respected national organizations reflects both the community of interest across all segments of commercial printing, package printing and converting, and the central role of Print 05 & Converting 05 in bringing all of these specialities together in one venue," says Regis J Delmontagne, president of GASC.

"We're very pleased to be able to participate in this global event. There's no question that the opportunity exists for commercial printers to explore package printing and converting more extensively, and for package printers to gain some insights on improving print quality and workflow efficiency," noted Mark Cisternino, president of FTA.

Flint Ink is inviting customers to "Rely on Us" for innovation on booth 857.

Amongst the products on show are ArrowStar sheet-fed inks formulated to perform on all sheet-fed presses used by packaging and commercial printers. The product line is claimed to offer exceptional, robust performance combined with demonstrated consistency on a diverse range of substrates and presses. ArrowStar products are said to be fast setting and feature wide print operating windows.

Major ink maker Sun Chemical will emphasize its ability to provide printers a total package of printing consumables designed to make their work more efficient.

"Print 05 is the world's leading graphic arts show this year, and we will use this opportunity to demonstrate our capacity to provide total solutions through innovative inks, coatings and other new products," said Chris Morrissey, Sun Chemical corporate vice president, marketing. "At Print 05, we will offer new product lines that can help increase pressroom productivity, and we back these with the global resources of the largest ink manufacturer with facilities around the world."

Kohl & Madden, the Sun Chemical division which primarily serves the North American commercial printing market, will feature Marathon, a robust, new sheet-fed ink series. "Marathon inks offer more performance-laden features than any other inks K&M has ever released," according to Brian Breidigan, K&M vice president, marketing and business development. "These inks offer outstanding reproduction, even with stochastic screening. They have a wide lithographic window and extended stay-open properties that reduce the need for press washes and streamline makereadies." The Sun Chemical booth 811 will also feature emerging technologies in such areas as colour management and brand security.

  Many of the exhibitors at the show are offering equipment suitable for both commercial and packaging printers, says GASC.

Commercial printing equipment manufacturers have seen that some of the needs of package printers can be met by similar quality equipment to that used by commercial printers with some specific alternations or modifications. This cross-over approach is one that commercial printers are using to diversify their own service offerings, to differentiate and expand their businesses.

Manufacturers offering a mixed product line suitable for both high quality commercial work and package printing include Bobst, Creo, Esko-Graphics, Gallus, Heidelberg, Kampf, KBA, Komori, MAN Roland, and Standard Paper Box.

A new 41in Rapida 105 sheet-fed press capable of printing board at speeds up to 18,000 sheets/hour will be a highlight of KBA's 11,500ft² display. Marketing director Thomas Goecke said: "This is one of the most important shows for us." Thanks to the broad capability of machines like the Rapida 105, KBA North America president and ceo Ralf Sammeck said of the company's customers: "No longer are they being pegged a packaging printer or commercial printer."

The company recently sold such a machine to Trojan Litho, of Seattle. "We believe that our new Rapida 142 56in press will bring us further efficiencies due to its larger sheet size and its increased automation," said Wayne Millage, president of Trojan Litho. "Instead of running 100,000 sheets for a box design through our 40in presses one-up, we'll be able to put through 50,000 sheets two up. It is a press that is equipped with a variety of features that will differentiate us from our competition."

Eric Frank, vice president marketing for KBA-North America, commented: "We've seen the lines between commercial work and package production increasingly blur over the last few years, and have expanded our portfolio to offer equipment that is more flexible to the end user over a wider range of jobs and substrates."

Press manufacturers aren't the only suppliers offering equipment or solutions suitable for both commercial and package printing. Under the Kodak banner, Creo will be offering prepress systems, flexographic computer-to-plate imaging systems, and proofing systems, to meet the needs of flexographic printers, converters, package printers and trade shops.

Other companies have adjusted their entire business strategy to take advantage of the opportunities the package production market offers. Prepress hardware and software provider Esko-Graphics now primarily focuses on the global packaging market. Esko-Graphics' packaging activities currently account for over 60 per cent of revenues.

"The packaging market is a healthy and growing business environment, attracting many new customers. We have decided to put more focus and resources towards this booming part of our activities, to grow and expand it even further," says Rene Delbar, senior vp marketing, Esko-Graphics.

Brandtjen & Kluge, US manufacturer of high quality print finishing equipment, offers machines for foil stamping, die cutting and embossing, a full line of folding and gluing equipment and the Kawahara automatic blank separator. Amongst the folder gluers in its range is the Small Box Machine designed to address the fast growing short to medium run small packaging market. New for the machine is an optional fold hook kit that enables users to convert auto-lock bottom boxes in-line, at speeds of up to 5,000/hour. Applications include pharmaceutical, cosmetics and other speciality cartons.

One of Heidelberg's main attractions on the 76,000ft² booth 1200 will be the XL 105 Theatre _ a special large screen theatre for live presentations that will house the new Speedmaster XL 105. First of the company's new series of high end offset presses known as the "Maximum Performance Class," the Speedmaster XL 105 boasts speeds up to 18,000sheets/hour.

Outside the theatre, the Heidelberg booth will be divided into five solution areas to showcase new advances in each of the company's major printing categories. Easily identifiable by colour coded signs, these areas will include Quick Print Solutions, Commercial Print Solutions, Industrial Print Solutions, Packaging Solutions and the Prinect Experience.

Bobst Group will showcase an array of equipment and systems ideal for folding carton converters and other package printing specialists in its 6,000ft² display.

Chris Raney, vice president in Bobst's Folding Carton division said: "Although shows are part of most successful marketing efforts, it is critically important to select the right shows: "The Bobst Group has always favoured shows featuring operating equipment so that we can actively demonstrate our equipment by running actual production work."

The company's display at McCormick Place will include live demonstrations of the SPeria 106-E die cutter, SPeria 102 Foilmaster, Mistral 110 A-2 CS folder gluer, Amazon 105 A-1 folder gluer and an Apollo 1450 CTS sheeter. Among the new products scheduled to debut at the show are the Angle-Lock Blanking System and "InTouch", the direct customer connection for Bobst parts and service.