OMET S.r.l of Lecco Italy has formed a partnership with Clemson Universities' new Sonoco Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics.  The Institute will be housed in the Harris A. Smith building.  The emphasis will be on printed electronics and the hope is that with the help of industry suppliers and leaders that Clemson will be able to break new ground in this emerging market.

"Packaging is a $200 billion plus business in the United States, and Clemson has invested in this business knowledge base", says Chip Tonkin, director of the institute.  " In a collaborative effort , Clemson will conduct a holistic approach to packaging sciences, combining many academic  disciplines, to learn how to best create packaging , hot to print, fill, seal, ship and recycle, responsibly".

OMET has donated a new Varyflex press, a result of their new  partnership with Clemson.  The press will be used by students for R&D, industry activities and for OMET customer demonstrations.  The narrow web press features seven printing stations, that can be configured with rotary screen, flexography or gravure with a variety of solvent based, water based and UV curable ink systems.  The press platform can handle polymer substrates as then as 12 microns, or paperboard materials as heavy as 600 microns, while achieving  high-end registration through a complete servo controlled system.

"We are pleased to be part of this ground breaking research," stated Marco Calcagni, director sales for OMET.  "Clemson is a worthy partner and we are extremely pleased that our VaryFlex press can further the knowledge in this emerging field".

For more information about OMET please contact Steve Leibin at Matik Inc., 33 Brook Street, West Hartford, CT 06110, call 860-232-2323 or visit www. matik.com