Printing Industry Commentary & Analysis

The Payoff of Everyday ERP: an IT Manager Explains

Published March 8, 2016

At Lofton Label, Jimmy Rana obtains measurable benefits from using EFI's Radius enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to optimize processes through comprehensive data gathering and analysis.

Labels and Packaging: Entrepreneurial Springboard for Che International Group

Published March 1, 2016

To build a multi-capable network of companies, what better place to begin than the label and packaging business? Just ask Christopher Che.

Company on Fire: Heidelberg Debuts a Branded Digital Printing Portfolio

Published February 22, 2016

To have a branding strategy for digital printing, there first has to be a cohesive family of digital printing products. Heidelberg says that it now has both.

Brain Science Deems Print a Brainy Choice for Marketers

Published February 17, 2016

What instinct tells us about the effectiveness of print has now scientific backing that links it to measurable brain activity, as detailed in a study commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service.

What Price Privacy? The Pew Research Center Tries to Find Out

Published February 15, 2016

Does “privacy” have meaning any more? People are sometimes willing to trade personal information for rewards—even when they know they are going to regret it. There are implications for print in the conflict.

Packaging Finds Its Proper Place on the Agenda at EFI Connect 2016

Published February 9, 2016

The user conference was too wide-ranging to have a single keynote, but it was a good place to catch up with what EFI is doing to streamline packaging workflows.

No Packaging Necessary—No Question?

Published February 4, 2016

There are those who envision a future free or nearly free of packaging. Although it might seem unachievable, some tentative steps in that direction have been taken.

Fresh, Flexible, and Family-Inspired: Values that Breed Success at Emerald Packaging

Published February 2, 2016

Look around the produce section of your supermarket. Notice how many colorfully printed flexible bags there are? Meet the company that put some of them there.

Gecht and Wynn at EFI Connect: for Printers, the Ultimate Vegas Double Bill

Published January 25, 2016

As leaders in their respective fields, Guy Gecht and Steve Wynn share an exceptional ability to hold a stage and captivate an audience. Both played to a packed house as keynote speakers at EFI Connect 2016.

What’s in Your Wallet? A Printed Piece of $1.34 Trillion

Published January 18, 2016

Paper currency has been part of the American mindset ever since Benjamin Franklin pamphleteered for it in 1729. But, folding money has to confront 21st-century trends that could displace it.

3D Printing Makes Room for a Fourth “D”

Published January 13, 2016

Just when we thought that the definition of “printing” had been pushed to the limit, along comes a new one that envisions morphing objects made of self-assembling materials.

Heidelberg Crosses the Digital Divide: an Interview with Jason Oliver

Published January 12, 2016

Now a committed developer of digital printing systems, Heidelberg knows where it wants to go in the digital equipment market and what it can do to get there.

Digital Applications Make Gains in Packaging, but Progress Is Hard Won

Published January 5, 2016

A special report ahead of drupa 2016 sees the event as the setting for a turning point in the adoption of digital printing for packaging production.

Tidings Are Good and Not So Good for Ever-Popular Greeting Cards

Published December 22, 2015

The greeting card, a tradition and an industry in one, is struggling in its present form but faces no shortage of creative possibilities for the future.

#SharePackage Puts Holiday Boxes to Compassionate Use

Published December 21, 2015

A promotional campaign for paper and packaging goes for the heartstrings with special boxes to be filled with gifts for kids spending the holidays in hospitals.

The Graphical Genius of Albert Einstein

Published December 18, 2015

Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity is 100 years old, but his appeal as a creative inspiration for graphic illustrators is 100 years young.

Tech Trends for Labels and Packaging: the Year in Review

Published December 15, 2015

2015 was a chock-full-of-news year on the technology front—but only a curtain-raiser for what lies ahead in 2016.

Stocking Stuffers: “The 12 Days of Packaging”

Published December 15, 2015

Santa Claus, who knows a thing or two about packaging, has a sackful of innovations for fans of the art form this year.

Why Digital Print for Corrugated? HP Inc.'s Eric Wiesner Explains

Published December 11, 2015

HP Inc. believes that the same "megatrends" toward short-run, on demand production and versioning that have transformed other print markets will have a comparable effect on packaging. It's potentially a $13.6 billion opportunity, and HP Inc. sees corrugated as an ideal place for the transformation to begin.

Holiday Retailing Season Is Shaping Up Nicely - with a Few New Twists

Published December 9, 2015

For the holidays, “shop early and shop often” is still good advice—assuming that you know what “early” now is starting to mean in the retailing world.

KBA's Claus Bolza-Schünemann on Co-Creating the PageWide Web Press T1100S with HP

Published December 8, 2015

The two technology leaders want to take digital printing for packaging to the next level—and to several levels after that—with a 110-inch-wide web inkjet press specifically for the corrugated market.

Aiming at Packaging, HP and KBA Introduce the Widest Inkjet Web Press Yet Developed

Published December 8, 2015

Two technology leaders want to take digital printing for packaging to the next level—and to several levels after that—with a 110-inch-wide web inkjet press specifically for the corrugated market.

A Power Partnership: How HP Inc. and KBA Will Bring the T1100S Inkjet Web Press to Market

Published December 7, 2015

The R&D and the building of the first working model took just two years. Now, HP Inc.'s Eric Wiesner and KBA's Christoph Müller discuss how the companies will deploy marketing, sales, and support strategies with the same kind of high-efficiency cooperation.

Expect New Looks and New Roles for Corrugated

Published November 30, 2015

Take another look at the tried-and-true stuff that shipping cartons are made of. Some top developers of packaging printing technology are.

“We Say Yes Where Others Say No”: At Island Pro Digital, Words to Live and Work by

Published November 24, 2015

Packaging isn’t everything at Island Pro Digital, a printing company with a highly diversified product base. But, it represents some of the most interesting work that the firm fabricates for its clients.

Canon Supports Literary and Print Production with “Future Authors Project”

Published November 23, 2015

The scale of the program is modest, but when the young writers who take part in it see their words in print, its achievement seems far-reaching.

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.

Articles by Patrick Henry