Articles by Patrick Henry
Displaying 126-225 of 629 articles
Thermochromic Imaging: the Color Shift That’s Supposed to Happen
Published November 19, 2015
That old hippie mood ring you’d die of embarrassment to be seen wearing now? It was the cutting edge of an important decorative technology for labels and packaging.
Growth in Folding Cartons to 2019 Will Be Meager but Measurable, says Paperboard Packaging Council
Published November 17, 2015
A growth forecast of half a percentage point per year may not sound like much, but it indicates undeniable post-recession momentum for the folding carton market.
Present at the Creation: Frank Steenburgh Remembers the Launch of Xerox DocuTech
Published November 16, 2015
Building the world’s first “print shop in a box” was a watershed achievement for Xerox. So was marketing and selling it—a story that “DocuFrank” knows from the inside.
LED Technology Gains in Importance as UV Curing Solution
Published November 10, 2015
Printers working with UV curing have a new technology to learn about, if they are not already acquainted with it: UV LED
How Quality Comes in a “Chain Reaction” at New York Label & Box Works
Published November 3, 2015
A label and carton company doesn’t get to be 137 years old without having made an unwavering commitment to quality. The 137-year-old label and carton company profiled here has done it by adopting a well-known philosophy of continuous improvement as its playbook.
From “Packademia,” Solutions Not to Be Sniffed at
Published November 2, 2015
Stink-squelching film, inkless color printing, and built-in 3D bar codes are three recent laboratory innovations that could be commercialized as packaging problem-solvers.
A Night to Remember for DWS Printing Associates
Published October 28, 2015
Can you say “sesquicentennial”? It’s an anniversary. This company feels the pride and the joy of every one of its 150 years.
Is There Enough Extra Room in That Package for a Lawsuit?
Published October 19, 2015
People don’t like packages that look as though they contain more than is actually inside them. But, prosecutors and class-action attorneys do.
PrintForm's Mark Abramson on Creating One-off Complex Packaging
Published October 14, 2015
WhatTheyThink's Patrick Henry talks to Mark Abramson CEO at PrintForm about creating complex packaging product with run-lengths of one. PrintForm was recently involved in the team that created a printed virtual reality headset and talks about building teams to do this type of work.
Craftsmen’s Club Visits NYT Plant and Comes Away Suitably Impressed
Published October 13, 2015
As long as The New York Times remains in print, it will print on a massive scale. This is exactly what takes place every evening at the paper’s main plant in College Point, Queens.
TruTag Technologies Pushes Back Against the Pharma Fakers, One Tablet at a Time
Published October 7, 2015
A dust-sized anti-counterfeiting tag for medicine pills? Turns out the idea isn’t hard to swallow or digest.
Image Test Labs: New Sheriff in Town for Grading Press Performance
Published October 6, 2015
Three pairs of eyes that have seen it all in print measurement are looking straight at the acceptability of press output from machines of every type.
Franklin Luminaire Awards: the Industry at Its Best and Brightest
Published October 5, 2015
Among printers, honors and awards signal deep bonds of friendship and respect. In New York City, it’s a tradition that industry members still turn out in force to celebrate.
As Publication Markets Decline, SAPPI Steps Up Its Profile in Packaging
Published September 30, 2015
Anyone who has ever picked up a glossy magazine probably has touched SAPPI publication paper. Now the company hopes to achieve the same kind of ubiquity with its packaging papers.
The Might and the Memory of “Mr. Univers”
Published September 29, 2015
Millions—perhaps billions—have seen his font creations. Those quoted here understand their lasting significance for the art of typography.
Wrapping Up Packaging at Graph Expo 2015
Published September 22, 2015
Those who came to the show in search of answers for packaging production should have had no trouble locating them in the vendor stands and specialty areas where packaging solutions were being featured.
How Graphic Measures International Cultivates Packaging’s “Best of the Best in the World”
Published September 15, 2015
Not every packaging printer has what it takes to pass muster with this performance-certifying organization. But, those that clear GMI’s high bar can claim elite status among packaging service suppliers.
Canon Comes to Town with Everything—Literally—It Makes and Does in Imaging
Published September 14, 2015
“Everything under one roof” took on a new and dazzling meaning as Canon made good on the promise at Canon Expo, its 100,000-square-foot technology showcase in New York City
“The September of Canon”
Published September 8, 2015
This month, Canon will make a triple play for industry attention with events that illuminate how far it has come as a source of production solutions.
SEC’s Rule 30e-3 Said to Threaten Print Revenues and Employment
Published September 4, 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to modernize the way the investment industry reports on what it does. The plan could include freeing these companies from having to print and mail certain shareholder documents.
Of Politics, Printing, and Innocence Lost
Published September 3, 2015
On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, Americans will go to the polls to elect 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 34 U.S. Senators, 11 state Governors, and one President. It’s been widely reported that next year’s election cycle will be the costliest in history, with spending by candidates, parties, outside groups, and individuals expected to be as high as $10 billion.
Packaging Production Will Have a High Profile at Graph Expo-CPP
Published September 1, 2015
Packaging professionals who haven’t yet decided whether to invest in a trip to the show still have time to give the idea the serious consideration it deserves.
Walter G. Anderson Thrives on Change in An Increasingly Complex Food Packaging Market
Published August 25, 2015
As consumers demand more variety, food packaging production gets harder to stay ahead of—but not if the producer is as well equipped and as versatile as this market leader.
Study Sees Underlying Strength in the U.S. Market for Flexography
Published August 20, 2015
Technical advancements and process improvements in flexography should keep it secure in its key applications. even in the face of competition from digital.
Q: When Is a Package Not a Package? A: When Inspiration Strikes
Published August 13, 2015
For many people, an empty package is an artist’s kit full of creative opportunity. Brand owners may not fully appreciate how they benefit when their packaging is repurposed for fun or practicality by end-using consumers.
In Other News, OSHA Citations Still Cost Money
Published August 12, 2015
For printing and printing-related businesses, penalties for safety citations in OHA’s most recent reporting period came to $735,464—not a huge sum, relatively speaking, but a number worth thinking about all the same.
New Report from Two Sides Answers Misleading “Green” Claims
Published August 7, 2015
Not sure how to frame the argument about the environmental impact of paper and print? A new collection of facts dispels the myths.
No Letup in Experiments with E-Ink and E-Paper
Published August 5, 2015
If e-ink and e-paper haven’t yet taken the world of graphic communications by storm, that doesn’t necessarily mean they never will.
Are We Printing More Nutritional Labels than There Are Eyes Willing to Read Them?
Published August 5, 2015
Companies that print food labels work hard to make sure that the information on them is correct. It’s a matter of professional pride and, very often, also one of complying with the law. But, out there in the consumer marketplace, who cares?
The Vatican’s “Green” Mission Can Count on Print and Other Media
Published July 27, 2015
Vatican City may be the world’s smallest sovereign state, but it has world-class environmental ambitions as well as the media resources to promote its activism.
Paper Industry “Unfolds” Deep-Pocketed Image Campaign to Halt Slide in Demand
Published July 27, 2015
Paper suppliers have made an all-out commitment to putting a floor under the declining use of their products—including levying a volume-based fee on themselves to pay for the effort.
Yes We “Can,” and Do, Says New Promo Campaign for Aluminum Containers
Published July 22, 2015
“Open Up to Cans” is what consumers are being urged to do by a can makers’ trade association. But, when it come to beverages, most already have.
Tracing the Chester Carlson Story from Photocopier to TV Set
Published July 20, 2015
Everyone who has ever made a photocopy knows the legacy of Chester Carlson, but few outside the graphics industry know his name. A television program may help to give the inventor of xerography the exposure he deserves.
Surprise (or Maybe Not): Millennials Are Print Book Lovers, Too
Published July 17, 2015
Everyone makes generalizations about age groups. Those who generalize about younger adults and their feelings for books probably will be wrong.
Fortis Solutions Group Grows by Acquisition and by Technical Leaps and Bounds
Published July 14, 2015
An investment banker turned label printer is building a network with a widening geographic reach and a deepening capability in flexo and digital production.
Two Sides North America Defends Paper and Print on Many Fronts
Published July 9, 2015
Corporate promulgators of spurious “green” claims that disrespect printing, be warned: a riposte and a recantation may be in your future.
Not with A Pop, but A Whimper
Published July 8, 2015
What would Bubble Wrap be without poppability? Alas, we are about to find out.
Business Success Is All in the Family at Prystup Packaging Products
Published July 7, 2015
This privately owned folding carton company follows a straight line from its family values to its strategies for business growth.
“Cluster” of Companies Aims to Stimulate Papermaking Industry in the Bay State
Published June 24, 2015
There’s strength in numbers—and in “clusters” of businesses like the ones that have come together to reinvigorate paper manufacturing in Massachusetts.
Signs and Wonders: Digital Begins to Transform Indoor and Outdoor Displays
Published June 18, 2015
Smart screens that look back at their onlookers are only the beginning of the changes that digital technology will bring to signage and display markets that used to belong to—but now must be shared by—conventional print.
Man of Letters: Hermann Zapf and the Art of Packaging Typography
Published June 16, 2015
Typography for packaging design will never be the same after Hermann Zapf—and always will be.
Anti-Counterfeiting Technologies Tell Packaging Knock-Offs To Knock It Off
Published June 12, 2015
In a perfect world, food and beverage producers wouldn't have to spend billions to protect themselves against bogus packaging. But, at least they have effective ways to spend the money.
Accu-Label Enters the Digital Market at a Pace That Wastes No Time
Published June 9, 2015
A rapid changeover from conventional to digital production was both the cause and the result of the installation of digital printing equipment at Accu-Label Inc.
Next-Stage Growth Was Front-of-Mind at Digital Print for Packaging Conference
Published June 5, 2015
Digital printing for packaging has room to grow and the means to achieve that growth. There was plenty of room for discussion about making it happen at a recent symposium of experts in Tampa.
Introducing icmPrint, a New Resource for Print Research
Published June 2, 2015
“Champions” of print will work with academics in the field to advance the development of printing technologies on all fronts.
Paper Chase: Mcor Pursues 3D Printing Market with Ingredients That Every Printer Knows
Published June 1, 2015
Put ink on paper, and you have a print. Do the same thing as part of a process known as selective deposition lamination, and you can have a three-dimensional object in full, ICC-compliant color.
The Pizza Box—Yes, the Pizza Box—Reimagined
Published May 27, 2015
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, it may be because someone has printed or drawn the moon (or another visually arresting image) on the box.
Two Paper Makers Forge Alliance for High-End Packaging
Published May 26, 2015
Trust, a handshake, and an eye on luxury packaging are behind the newly formed partnership between Mohawk and Arjowiggins Creative Papers.
No Letup in Experiments with E-Ink and E-Paper
Published May 25, 2015
If e-ink and e-paper haven’t yet taken the world of graphic communications by storm, that doesn’t necessarily mean they never will.
Packaging Salutes America’s Military Personnel in “Hops for Heroes” Campaign
Published May 22, 2015
You can honor those who serve, have served, and will serve in America’s armed forces by buying and quaffing “Homefront IPA” this Memorial Day.
In Praise of Packaging Engineering, with Specimens that Speak for Themselves
Published May 19, 2015
In a package, you see the design, but you experience the engineering: the underlying combination of technical merits that make it practical to use as well as delightful to behold.
Why Can’t We All Be Employed by Employers Like Hammer Packaging ?
Published May 14, 2015
Rochester, NY, is distinguished for many things connected to the printing industry. Hammer Packaging is keeping that tradition alive in an exceptionally employee-friendly way.
Eeewww or Edible? Nanoscience May Have an Answer for Food Packaging
Published May 12, 2015
Deciding when packaged food has gone bad is a tough call that we often get wrong. At MIT, they’ve come up with a guesswork-eliminating solution.
With Flexcel NX, Kodak Promises to Break New Ground in Flexo Print Quality and Efficiency
Published May 12, 2015
Can flexography do a better job with opaque whites, hard-to-hold details, and other hurdles for packaging printing with the process? Kodak says yes.
Read Any Good Books, etc., Lately?
Published May 7, 2015
The concept of what a “book” is means more than it used to—and not just because of the rise of e-reading devices.
PET Project: Label-less Labeling
Published May 4, 2015
Every beverage bottle must have a label to identify and brand the product—correct? Not necessarily, says the developer of a direct-printing alternative.
“R&D” on a Digital Press Takes Premier Markings to the Next Level in Label Production
Published April 28, 2015
Established seven years ago, this small but visionary shop is a case study in the rise of digital technologies in the label printing segment.
HP Aims to Disrupt 3D Printing with Inkjet Solution Now on Way to Market
Published April 27, 2015
By adding a third dimension to what it already knows about inkjet printing in two, HP hopes to develop the fastest and most capable 3D printing solution yet seen.
Garbage In, Garbage Out, Good Accomplished
Published April 22, 2015
How an earth-friendly cleaning products company called method scours the ocean for plastic waste it can recycle into material for new containers.
Sun Chemical Heads to INFO*FLEX with a Full Kit of Packaging Solutions
Published April 21, 2015
A vertically integrated ink manufacturer, Sun Chemical takes a concept-to-shelf approach to packaging with a broad range of products and services for printers and converters.
Smithers Pira Survey Measures Impact of Digital on In-Store Signage and PoP
Published April 20, 2015
Screen-based advertising technologies are gaining ground in outdoor locations, but the prospects for in-store digital media are less clear. New research aims to find out what they mean for conventionally produced store signage and PoP.
Not Sure How to Recycle That Package? Look at the Label
Published April 20, 2015
The How2Recycle Label is a much-needed visual cue in the right place at the right time.
What’s My Line? Some Labelers Say, “Linerless”
Published April 17, 2015
Eliminate the peel-away part of a pressure sensitive label while protecting it from the adhesive on the backs of the other labels it’s rolled or stacked with: it can be done and is being done in the solution known as linerless labeling.
Does the U.S. Postal Service Have an Unfair Economic Edge?
Published April 6, 2015
A new study contends that the U.S. Postal Service significantly understates the value of the economic advantages it enjoys as a government-mandated monopoly—advantages it can and does leverage in the markets where it competes with private services.
“Dear Packaging, I Hate You”
Published April 6, 2015
When designers forget that that the product experience, not the act of opening the package, is what consumers are paying for, things can get stressful.
Winston Packaging Moves Into Its Second Century With a Speed Record and a Winning Game Plan
Published March 31, 2015
This North Carolina packaging printing firm has earned its place in a demanding market through stringent quality control, smart technology investments, and ultra-efficient production workflows.
Taking A Look Back, and Ahead, at E-ink
Published March 27, 2015
E-ink may not have eclipsed conventional ink-on-paper publishing, but it is far from having run out of applications that showcase its unique capabilities.
Packaging Plants Are on the Rise
Published March 25, 2015
While we are waiting for flowers to bloom in the spring, we can admire the recent crop of plant openings or expansions in various segments of the packaging industry.
CRON-ECRM Joint Venture Declares Bid for Leadership in CTP
Published March 24, 2015
A Chinese computer-to-plate systems manufacturer and an American counterpart have joined forces to offer CTP devices that they say are as good as if not better than any other such solutions now on the market.
GASC’s Ralph Nappi on Moving Graph Expo to Orlando
Published March 20, 2015
On the face of it, all the GASC announcement says is that there will be a one-year detour to Orlando between now and 2017, when the Print show will have its prescheduled run at McCormick Place in Chicago. That’s also where we’ll be heading for Graph Expo this year—no change there, either. So, what’s the larger story?
A Dr. Joe Sighting on St. Patrick’s Day at CRON-ECRM Open House
Published March 19, 2015
He may or may not be Irish, but he leads the parade when it comes to straight-talking printers about their obstacles, options, and opportunities.
HP and KBA Take Aim at Corrugated Packaging Market with HP’s T1100 Simplex Color Inkjet Web Press
Published March 17, 2015
High, wide, and in its own way, handsome: that’s the kind of machine HP and KBA are out to build in HP’s T1100 Simplex Color Inkjet Web Press, a solution meant to introduce digital printing to top liners for corrugated packaging.
Sliding Back to 2008: a drupa Retrospective
Published March 13, 2015
An almost-discarded memory stick turns the clock back to 2008 and thoughts to what was important at drupa that year—and now.
Learning the Language of Labeling
Published March 12, 2015
The Constantia Flexibles Labels Division of Spear Inc. recently announced that it has found a way to make pressure sensitive labels compatible with recycling methods for bottles molded from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic. This is a breakthrough, says the company, because it offers an affordable and environmentally friendly solution for bring pressure sensitive labeling to the 400 billion PET bottles the world uses annually.
The Primacy of Process: an Interview with Heidelberg’s Jürgen Grimm
Published March 10, 2015
The most successful packaging printing companies that Jürgen Grimm has seen are the ones that have their processes most thoroughly under control. In this interview, the president of Heidelberg USA talks about how that control can be achieved.
“Boggs Bills” and the Power of Print in Your Pocket
Published March 9, 2015
Quick: what’s the one form of printed matter that most of us are likeliest to have in our possession at any given moment of the day?
PRIMIR Research Explores Tag & Label Printing Trends 2013-2018
Published March 3, 2015
Flexo claims almost two-thirds of tag & label market production, but some brand owners still view it negatively. By 2018, 50% of installed tag & label presses will be digital. There’s more—keep reading.
Is There a Case to Be Made for “CPOs”? Kodak Thinks So
Published February 27, 2015
By now, you may have heard about Kodak’s ChiefPackagingOfficer, a new online resource for packaging professionals. If you haven’t, its publisher, Joshua Fedeli, wants you to know why the portal is worth your time, attention, and participation.
IDEAlliance Makes A Little Knowledge “Just Enough”
Published February 25, 2015
IDEAlliance has a handy information resource it calls the Just Enough Video Knowledge Bank. It’s a visual glossary of print and publishing technology terms that offers exactly what the name says: “just enough” information about these topics to get a conversation started or to serve as a starting point for deeper research.
Regis Delmontagne Comments on Outlook for U.S. Shows
Published February 18, 2015
We heard from Regis Delmontagne in response to a post about the impact of the drupa decision on the timing and planning of U.S. printing trade shows operated by the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC). Delmontagne was president of the National Printing and Equipment Association (NPES), as it was called during his tenure, from 1976 to 2005. He also was president of GASC in the years when the Print and Graph Expo shows reached their peaks of attendance and exhibitor participation.
What’s New at “the New MBO” Packaging Production, Among Other Things
Published February 17, 2015
Say “MBO” to anyone in the industry, and the reply will be “folders.” That answer still passes the word association test, but it’s far from being the full story of what this diversified supplier of graphic equipment now has to offer printers and packagers.
Timing Change for drupa Flutters Pages of U.S. Trade Show Calendar
Published February 13, 2015
Like a pair of planets with intersecting orbits, the drupa and Print expos are going to cross paths on the calendar in 2025 and overlap in six additional years after that through the end of the century.
The Water “Bottle” You Can “Eat,” and Other Definition-Stretchers
Published February 12, 2015
What does a package do? It contains, protects, transports, and identifies what’s inside it. That’s the neat, four-cornered functional description of a package. Here are some edgier ones—and a couple that don’t have edges at all.
“Radius” of Label and Packaging Capability Grows Longer Within New EFI Enterprise Packaging Suite
Published February 10, 2015
Radius software for MIS/ERP has been at work in label and packaging printing plants for many years. Now part of EFI, Radius will significantly expand its toolkit within a new framework called EFI Enterprise Packaging Suite.
Heidelberg’s “Vision 2020” Hinges on Growth in Services and Consumables
Published February 3, 2015
When a business model needs reinvigorating, the first thing to do is to revisit the fundamentals. Heidelberg acknowledges this with “Vision 2020,” a strategic redirection that places new emphasis on the non-machinery parts of its portfolio.
What We Mean—and Don’t Mean—When We Say, “Sustainable”
Published February 3, 2015
Will it surprise anyone to learn that there’s no universally accepted definition of “sustainable packaging”? Probably not, but the extent of the confusion raises eyebrows all the same. Readers of Packaging Digest discovered this when they scanned the results of a recent survey by the magazine and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) into what’s standing between packagers and their desire to make their products more sustainable.
From Across the Atlantic, Lessons to Be Learned About Sustainable Packaging
Published January 27, 2015
A review of recent news about sustainable packaging initiatives in the U.K. and Europe raises confidence that global strategies for managing packaging’s impact on the environment can be developed.
AF&PA’s PaperRecycles.org Sends the Right Message the Right Way
Published January 27, 2015
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has done a nice job of consumer outreach with PaperRecycles.org, a new web site that aims at better educating the public about recovering paper and paper-based packaging for recycling.
Guinness record: World’s largest wad of paper!
Published January 21, 2015
We can’t improve upon a recent press release from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) about the creation of the world’s largest ball of paper—a stunt with an important point to make about recycling for packaging.
Pennsauken, NJ Printer Follows “Value Stream Map” to Packaging Success
Published January 20, 2015
At Contemporary Graphic Solutions, manufacturing efficiency and process improvements are 24/7 preoccupations, especially as they apply to the company’s demanding but rewarding packaging business.
Precision and Pride Drive Label Manufacturing at Mossberg & Company
Published January 13, 2015
Mossberg & Company, a commercial printer since 1930, has built an equally successful label printing business through judicious investments in technology and scrupulous attention to quality assurance.
Nous sommes CTD
Published January 12, 2015
In the midst of the grief and the loathing that last week’s terrorist attacks in France stirred in all of us, there was one small scrap of comfort that touched close to home: the fact that no innocent people were killed at the print shop where the Charlie Hebdo gunmen made their final stand.
2015 Should Be Chock-a-Block with Opportunity for Packagers, Market Watchers Say
Published January 8, 2015
The end of the year always brings a flurry of state-of-the-market reports from research organizations and commentators tracking the global packaging industry. Here are pulls from some of the year-end pronouncements for 2014 that we gathered last month. They tell us that despite the unpredictability that always has to be factored into forecasts like these, 2015 is shaping up to be a promising year for the world’s packaging printers and converters.
Solid Five-Year Outlook for Corrugated and Paper Boxes
Published December 10, 2014
There's encouraging news for producers of corrugated and paper boxes in a newly released research report which forecasts that demand for these products will increase 2.6% per year to $39.4 billion in 2018.
How Heidelberg Is Realigning Its Product Offerings to the New Realities of the Label and Packaging Market
Published December 9, 2014
Heidelberg's profile as an equipment manufacturer is not the same as it once was, but its interest in label and packaging production is as keen as ever. This report comes from a high-level briefing that WhatTheyThink received on the company's current ambitions in the L&P equipment market.
From Europe, a New Definition for Labeling
Published December 2, 2014
This summer, members of FINAT, the international trade association for self-adhesive labeling and related industries, met in Monte Carlo for an annual congress around the general theme of "The Battle for Shelf Appeal." What emerged were an updated redefinition of labeling and a frank reassessment of the role that labels play in a greatly altered selling environment for packaged goods of all kinds.
Memo to self: get all the *?@#! toothpaste out of the tube, or die trying
Published November 26, 2014
Did you know—well, heck, how could anybody know?—that some people are willing to injure themselves if that's what it will take to force the last drop of product out of a container? Or that consumers would rather go to the dentist than see product they've purchased go to waste in packages they can't empty completely?
Past Is Prologue: 150-Year History Spurs DWS Printing Associates to New Ambitions in Label Production
Published November 18, 2014
Continuous reinvestment and continuous reinvention sum up the strategic thinking at DWS Printing Associates, a Long Island label printing firm with deep roots in the past and a progressive view of the future.
And the Winner Is...the Package!
Published November 18, 2014
What lends itself more readily to creative competition than a well designed package? The packaging industry is full of contests that showcase the high degree of graphic innovation that can be found in packages of all types and materials. Here is a short list of some of the competitions that celebrated the art of packaging design in 2014.
Holiday Season Marketing and Packaging Trends
Published November 12, 2014
Can it be mid-November already, with preparations for the year-end holidays getting into full swing? Just ask International Paper. The Wall Street Journal recently quoted IP’s chief executive Mark S. Sutton as saying that box orders for the online retail segment have been up 15% year-over-year in 2014 and could continue rising, depending on demand. The story reports that the surge in demand for holiday packaging from both online and traditional retailers is helping to improve the performance of IP’s industrial packaging unit, which provides cardboard boxes, specialty packaging, retail displays, and paper bags.
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