Leuven – With many attendees hailing it as the best in the GlassPrint series yet, the GlassPrint 2015 conference and exhibition was staged in November and presented the latest decoration trends and developments to the international audience that gathered in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Staged for the sixth time, a record attendance of approximately 200 glassmakers, glass decorators, end-users and suppliers visited from 26 different countries, not only from throughout mainland Europe and United Kingdom but also from long distance destinations such as Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Kuwait and USA.

Expanded Conference Programme

The two-day programme provided delegates with a series of technical conference presentations and networking opportunities to discover the latest advanced technologies for printing onto architectural, automotive and hollow glass with digital and screen applications.

Five additional keynote addresses were made, covering the flat and hollow sectors. Adeline Farrelly, Secretary General of FEVE outlined competitiveness, challenges and opportunities for the European glass packaging industry, while Cédric Janssens, Public Affairs Advisor at Glass for Europe, presented “EU policy reform on energy efficiency in buildings”. Later, Timo Feuerbach of VDMA Glass Technology Forum reflected on equipment manufacturers’ view on Glass Industry 4.0.

On behalf of Bundesverband Glasindustrie e.V., Birgit Horn, project director at Messe Düsseldorf, examined the current situation and trends in the German glass industry, as well as provided an update on glasstec 2016. In recognition of its importance on the global glass events calendar, GlassPrint 2015 was powered by glasstec.

GlassPrint LIVE

For the first time, a GlassPrint LIVE panel discussion was added to the programme, with a specially selected panel of glass decoration experts answering questions from the audience about topical issues. Representing key hollow and flat glass manufacturers, decorators and brand owners, panelists included: Simone Baratta (R&D and Innovation Manager at Bormioli Luigi), Olivier Dangmann (Innovation Manager – O-I Europe), Alvise Cavallari (Packaging Innovation Manager at Nestlé), Martin Hehl-Heinz (Technical Director R&D at Sahm) and Carsten Schwabe (Global Innovation & New Business for Flat Glass at Schott).

Technical Presentations

Technical experts working for various companies in the glass decoration sector have delivered an expanded series of presentations demonstrating processes and ideas to add extra value to the end product included:

• Digital decoration of glass bottles in mass production for the beverage industry: Challenges and solutions (Curvink)
• Digital flat glass printing vs. screenprinting: Advantages and limitations (Durst)
• Digital printing on hollow glass: The path from theory to realisation (Fermac)
• New trends and developments of organic applications in the glass industry (Ferro)
• Inkjet printing and glass (Global Inkjet Systems)
• Specifying and selecting a UV curing system (Integration Technology)
• Metalising reinvented (Isimat)
• Trends in container glass print inspection (KBA-Kammann)
• UV roller-coating onto glass in combination with UV digital printing (Marabu)
• The transparent picture (Ormo Print)
• Glass-IMD/FIM: Screenprinting inks and adhesion promoters for glass backmolding (Pröll)
• 100 parts per minute: Challenges in UV curing with printing onto hollow glass (Ruco)
• How process standardisation can increase hollow glass printing efficiency (Sefar)
• Screen technology and automation (Sign-Tronic AG / Grünig-Interscreen)
• Computer-to-screen concept and blue diodes solution (SRS)
• Innovation and decoration (Stölzle Glass Group)

Anyone who missed GlassPrint 2015 and would benefit from viewing the presentations can now purchase the complete package online at www.esma.com/shop/glassprint2015

Sold-out Exhibition

The conference programme was supported by intervals dedicated to the accompanying sold-out tabletop exhibition area, and at the end of the first day delegates benefited from networking with their peers and suppliers during an evening dinner. Exhibitors who displayed the latest developments in inks, pre-press technology, printing equipment and supplies included: Canon, Curvink, Dr. Hönle, Durst, Encres Dubuit, ESC, ESMA, Fermac, FERRO, Gallus Ferd Rüesch, Glass Global, Glass Worldwide, glasstec / Messe Düsseldorf, Global Inkjet Systems, Grünig-Interscreen, Integration Technology, Isimat, KBA-Kammann, Kiwo (Kissel + Wolf), LPKF Solar Equipment, Machines Dubuit, Marabu, Ormo Print / University of Munich, Peyer Graphic, Pröll, Ruco, Sefar, SignTronic, Specialist Printing Worldwide, SRS, Sun Chemical, Tecno 5, Tiger Coatings, Till, Tiflex and Uviterno.

Sponsors and Organisers

GlassPrint was jointly organised by Chameleon Business Media, publisher of “Glass Worldwide” and “Specialist Printing Worldwide” magazines, and ESMA, the European association for specialist printing manufacturers of screen, digital and flexo technology. As well as being powered by glasstec, GlassPrint 2015 was also sponsored by Deutsche Glastechnische Gesellschaft (DGG), glassglobal.com, GPD, SGCDpro and the SGIA.

After confirming its status as Europe’s leading event for glass decoration, the organisers are already planning to repeat GlassPrint in 2017; details on the location and dates will appear in ESMA newsletters, future issues of “Glass Worldwide” and you can register your interest at www.glassprint.org. The March/April 2016 issue of “Glass Worldwide” will include the “Annual ESMA Glass Publication 2016”, a unique guide to glass decoration. To subscribe, visit www.glassworldwide.co.uk

Feedback

Feedback from delegates and exhibitors from GlassPrint 2015 includes:

• “There was a lot of important information for me.” Satoshi Kashiwabara, AGC Glass Group (Japan)
• “A very interesting conference allowing for a great deal of networking. Really good presentations that covered a wide range of topics…” Rosie Langridge, Allied Glass (UK)
• “The presentations as well as the exhibition were very useful to learn about new technologies and products in the glass printing industry.” Yves Lallemand, Schott (France)
• “As a glass decorator, Glassprint 2015 was a key event for us.” Gérard Monney, Univerre Pro Uva SA (Switzerland)
• “GlassPrint 2015 provided an important possibility to meet the most important experts in glass decoration and have an overview on future scenarios.” Simone Baratta, Bormioli Luigi (Italy)
• “The conference was a great place to meet colleagues and get a true understanding of the future of glass printing and the trials and tribulations of all glass printing techniques.” Brian McDonald, Universal Packaging (Canada)
• “The show has evolved into an important event that perfectly complements glasstec in the biannual calendar.” Dr Christian Maas, KBA-Kammann (Germany)
• “It was one of the best GlassPrint events since they started. We got exactly the contacts we expected.” Patrick Brunner / Roland Drach, Sefar (Switzlerand)
• “Very interesting market study of the development of flat and container glass printing.” Stefanie Schumann, Canon (Germany)
• “A varied programme and high attendance – this is THE event in Europe for the glass industry.” Debbie Thorp, Global Inkjet Systems (UK)
• “Very good event… very helpful for our business.” Marc Hueske, LPKF SolarQuipment (Germany)
• “Excellently organised and well-attended conference.” Stefan Zaeh, Proell (Germany)