The North American flexo scene will converge on New Orleans from 5–8 May this year as the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association) gathers its members for its Forum and InfoFlex events.
All Flexo, All of the Time, is the official theme of Forum 2019, set to take place at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel.
An event which was once a small gathering of 300 flexographers in 1959, 60 years later the Forum will be the largest assembly of the package printing and converting marketplace in 2019. Chair and co-chair, Ann Michaud of 3M and Hank Welter of TC Transcontinental Packaging, are diligently working to cultivate informative educational content with the intent of placing 100% attention on flexographic printing.
Attendees gathering in ‘The Big Easy’ should expect things to be changed up a bit at Forum 2019. Many fresh faces will be visiting the stage, ready to impart their flexographic knowledge to the eager audience. Organisers aim to keep energy levels up and attention towards the stage, sessions will run no longer than two hours throughout the duration of the four-day event. The initial start of Forum, Sunday, 5 May, will host the first session at 11:30 am, instead of the usual 9:30 am to give travellers more time to settle in once they arrive in New Orleans.
Finally, recurring sessions, including the traditional Flexography 101 and 102 sessions and the fact-based Flexo Quality Consortium (FQC) session, have been rearranged to land on different days and times, as compared to past Forums, to give all attendees an equal opportunity to see the sessions of their choosing.
Focus on flexography
Topics will be concentrated on the size, stature and ever-evolving posture of the flexographic printing industry, including briefings on new market research study outcomes, enhanced printing techniques, process controls, defect detection and other corrective actions and basic fundamentals of flexo.
Attendees will see the Brand Owners Council identify standards that are relevant to today’s packaging workflows, then provide full details on how their adoption can equip printers to meet the top-quality concerns of their Consumer Product Company (CPC) customers. Leading pre-press software developers will demonstrate and educate conference-goers on the latest technologies, by identifying leading screening options, demonstrating use of the software, and the action taken to produce a graphic.
Infoflex will be held at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
A modern industry
There is also a new, member-driven initiative in response to the growing number of women entering the flexographic industry. The meeting will be held on Monday, 6 May. It is open to any actively employed women in the flexographic community, as well as FTA student members.
According to initiative organisers Nona Woolbright, Clemson University, and Katie Graham, Pamarco, their plan is to gauge the desire for such a group and what purpose/goals participants would like to see it have. Their hope is to develop a group that advances leadership skills, offers mentoring and builds a network that women in flexo can turn to for support.
The organisers said, ‘With the rise of women in leadership as well as skilled positions in the flexo industry from prepress to suppliers to production, there’s a tremendous opportunity for FTA to provide a platform to specifically support women who wish to network, learn and grow within the industry.’
FTA president Mark Cisternino added, ‘I feel it is prudent to organise a ‘Women in Flexo’ group to bring attention to the growing percentage of women joining the industry in a variety of influential positions.’
Walking the halls
Co-located with the Forum is InfoFlex, which this year is using the theme, ‘Find Your Fit. Expand Your Brand’. The event takes place 6–7 May at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, and to offer a comprehensive package printing and converting experience with a total of 305 booths.
‘The show delivers year after year and is heading for its ninth straight sellout,’ said Jay Kaible, FTA director of membership and business development. ‘Infoflex strength is the ability to bring flexo, digital and hybrid technologies under one roof for package printers/converters to evaluate. There will be new attractions on the show floor such as the Innovation Central, which will focus on topics critical to bridging technologies to meet customer needs.’
The event will house 10 different segments of the package printing and converting industry on the show floor, including: labels, flexible packaging, box making/folding carton, corrugated display and packaging, converting equipment, specialty printing, finishing equipment, envelope decorating, digital printing and premedia. More than 1800 printers/converters will be looking to evaluate new opportunities, diversify applications, build their bottom line and prove to be more versatile in the face of continually changing demand and operating conditions.
Innovation Central will provide a glimpse into the cutting-edge technologies of the future at InfoFlex. It will give attendees the opportunity to discover new solutions that fit their customers’ needs, help to increase quality and improve workflows, ultimately strengthening their organisation. Innovation Central, formerly known as Solutions Theater for the past eight years, has been reshaped to take on the latest trends of the package printing and converting industry. As InfoFlex exhibitors open their booths to more than 1850 industry professionals, Innovation Central will allow attendees the freedom to pick and choose to join as many of the 14 20-minute presentations as they like. Every presentation will be designed to provide a solution for printers to immediately take back to their plant.
Show and tell
The exhibition will include live demonstrations of equipment and software systems. Equipment catering to all 10 segments of the package printing industry will be up and operational wherever you turn: flexo, digital and hybrid presses, plate mounters, plate cleaners, inspection systems, solvent recovery systems, ink pumps, imagesetters, anilox laser engravers, anilox washup systems, virtual reality diagnostic tools and more.
Mark Andy will be demonstrating its Digital One. The entry-level digital label press designed specifically for micro/short-run work using CMYK dry-toner technology combined with a flexo print station for decoration and inline die-cutting.
MacDermid Graphics will display the recent expansion of its Lux ITP flat-top dot portfolio, M-Systems liquid portfolio, and LAVA thermal platemaking equipment.
‘InfoFlex allows us to present our innovative solutions to the people who need them, printers and converters,’ stated Alicia Gibson, strategic marketing and portfolio manager. ‘We are excited to show our photopolymer plate and plate processing equipment portfolio which will help expand the flexographic printing industry for years to come. I encourage all show attendees to visit us to learn more about optimising their platemaking workflow and improving their print capabilities.’
The newest Sitexco SL 1.5 anilox cleaning system from Eaglewood Technologies will also be demonstrated at the show. Each system is safe, intelligent and effective at cleaning ink and coatings of all types. The machine can clean multiple rollers simultaneously, has an RFID reader option and digital microscope available.
