FTA Technical Conference Schedule
Sunday, September 21
FIRST Level 1
FTA’s FIRST Level One Training is the ultimate launchpad for entry-level printers, offering a unique opportunity to earn your professional credentials on-site at FTA Technical Conference. By completing this comprehensive certification during the event, you’ll instantly elevate your professional profile, gaining essential technical knowledge and fundamental skills that will transform you into a confident, industry-ready print expert with a valuable credential to showcase your commitment to excellence.
Presidential Opening: FTA President, Nathan Ridnouer
Board Leadership Panel: Future of FTA
Join us for an exclusive 1-hour session with the leadership of the Flexographic Technical Association Board. This special event offers members a unique opportunity to hear directly from the board about current initiatives, industry priorities, and the strategic vision shaping the future of flexography. Gain insight, ask questions, and connect with the leaders driving innovation in our community.
Tag, Scan, Deliver: Unlocking RFID & Smart Packaging for Flexo Converters
From automation and sustainability to digital hybridization and workforce evolution, this session dives into the key trends redefining flexographic printing. Discover where the industry is heading, what’s driving change, and how forward-thinking printers and suppliers are adapting to stay competitive. Packed with insight and foresight, this session is your fast-track to staying ahead in a rapidly evolving print landscape.
Flexo Forward: Trends Shaping the Next Decade
From automation and sustainability to digital hybridization and workforce evolution, this session dives into the key trends redefining flexographic printing. Discover where the industry is heading, what’s driving change, and how forward-thinking printers and suppliers are adapting to stay competitive. Packed with insight and foresight, this session is your fast-track to staying ahead in a rapidly evolving print landscape.
Refreshment Break with Solutions Lab
KPIs, OEE- Metrics for the Pressroom
Data-driven performance is no longer optional—it’s essential. This session will break down the key performance indicators (KPIs) and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) metrics that matter most in the flexographic pressroom. Learn how to track, interpret, and act on the data to improve uptime, reduce waste, and boost productivity. Whether you’re on the floor or in management, this session will help you connect metrics to meaningful results.
Regulatory Changes in Flexo Operations
An in-depth exploration of evolving regulations and available incentives in the flexographic printing industry. This session will cover key air quality and emissions control requirements impacting flexo operations, including strategies to meet compliance standards while optimizing operational efficiency. Learn how advanced pollution control technologies like Regenerative Thermal Oxidizers (RTOs), Direct-Fired Thermal Oxidizers (DFTOs), and Electric Thermal Oxidizers (ETOs) can help reduce VOC emissions and improve sustainability. Gain insights into government incentives and funding opportunities that can offset compliance costs and enhance long-term profitability.
In Control: Mastering Process Stability in Flexography
Consistency is the cornerstone of quality in flexographic printing. This session explores the tools, techniques, and strategies behind effective process control—from ink management and plate performance to press settings and environmental variables. Learn how to reduce variation, improve repeatability, and build a workflow that delivers predictable, high-quality results every time.
The Balancing Act: Efficiency vs. Excellence in the Pressroom
Running fast and printing flawlessly—it’s the ultimate flexo challenge. This session takes a deep dive into the ongoing tension between high-speed production and uncompromising quality. Learn how leading pressrooms navigate tight schedules, minimize waste, and maintain print integrity without sacrificing throughput. From crew coordination to press maintenance and job planning, uncover the strategies that help balance productivity with precision.
Networking Reception - around exhibits
Monday, September 22
FIRST Committee and WoF Breakfast
Breakfast is provided. As well as an opportunity to meet as a community with FIRST or Women of Flexo. This is a chance for these groups to meet together and for interested parties to find out how these groups help FTA advance package printing.
Keynote
Lean and Clean: Streamlining Success in Flexo Operations
Lean isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a competitive management advantage. This session explores how flexographic printers can apply lean principles to eliminate waste, improve flow, and maximize value across the entire operation. From setup reduction and inventory control to cross-functional teamwork, learn how to build a culture of continuous improvement tailored to the fast-paced demands of flexo.
Brand Unbound: Flexo and Digital for Customization at Scale
Discover how a leading national brand combined the strengths of flexographic and digital printing to create a dynamic, customized packaging strategy. This session will explore how the brand achieved consistent quality, speed to market, and creative flexibility—bringing personalized branding to the shelf without compromising efficiency. Learn what it took to align design, supply chain, and print technology to deliver a bold, scalable vision.
Refreshment Break with Solutions Lab
Cracking the Code: Conquering White Ink Opacity
White ink plays a critical role in packaging impact—but achieving consistent opacity in flexography is no easy feat. This session tackles the technical and material challenges behind white ink performance, from ink formulation and anilox selection to substrate choice and press settings. Learn how to improve laydown, avoid mottling, and meet brand standards with confidence—no matter the complexity of the job.
Lunch
Technical Innovation
Technical Innovation: SpectroVision by Techkon
Technical Innovation
Refreshment Break with Solutions Lab
Smarter by the Second: Using AI to Drive Process Improvement in Flexo
Artificial Intelligence is changing how flexographic printers collect, analyze, and act on data. This session explores how AI-powered tools can streamline data compilation, uncover hidden inefficiencies, and support faster, smarter decision-making across the pressroom. From predictive maintenance to quality control and production optimization, see how AI is becoming an essential partner in process improvement.
Built to Last: Designing a QA Process for Flexographic Excellence
Quality doesn’t happen by accident—it’s built into every step of the workflow. This session walks you through how to establish a robust Quality Assurance (QA) process tailored to the flexographic printing environment. From defining critical control points and standardizing inspections to integrating documentation and team training, learn how to set up a QA system that prevents errors, ensures consistency, and meets brand expectations every time.
Remote Reality: Navigating First-Time Print Approvals in a Virtual World
Approving first-time printed samples has always been a critical step—but doing it remotely introduces new complexities. This session explores the challenges of using virtual technologies for color verification, communication, and decision-making when stakeholders aren’t physically present. Learn about the limitations and advantages of remote approvals, tools that can help bridge the gap, and best practices for ensuring accuracy, speed, and confidence in your virtual sign-off process.
Tuesday, September 23
FQC and LIFT during breakfast
Breakfast is provided. As well as an opportunity to meet as a community with FQC or LIFT. This is a chance for these groups to meet together and for interested parties to find out how these groups help FTA advance package printing.
Keynote
FIRST 7.0: Optimization
Optimization is the foundational first step in the FIRST methodology, crucial for achieving consistent, repeatable, and high-quality flexographic print results. This session will explore how to identify the best combination of print variables and preferred operating parameters, striking a balance between print quality, stability, and operational efficiency. Learn to conduct thoughtful optimization print trials, involving job-specific variables like anilox rolls, mounting tape, inks, and plates, as well as general press components. Proper documentation and data analysis, including statistical methods, will be covered as essential components for successful optimization. Understanding and implementing optimization is vital for minimizing downtime, maximizing speed, reducing waste, and providing the necessary baseline data for subsequent fingerprinting and characterization steps in the pursuit of process improvement.
FIRST 7.0: Fingerprinting
Fingerprinting, the crucial second step in the FIRST methodology following optimization, benchmarks your press’s performance to establish a precise foundation for consistent, repeatable flexographic printing. This session will delve into how to measure and record your press’s unique print characteristics under defined operating conditions and with specific materials, including all process and spot colors. You’ll learn about the comprehensive print trials involved, utilizing a range of test elements such as solid color patches, gray balance, tone scales, vignettes, and bar codes. The session will cover how to derive critical aim points and tolerances for key quality measures like density, dot gain/TVI, and color matches. Attendees will also understand the importance of documenting these results through “Press Operating Data Sheets” and “Press Fingerprint Reports,” which serve as the essential baseline for all future production runs and continuous process improvement efforts.
FIRST 7.0: Characterization
Characterization, the fourth step in the FIRST methodology, is vital for achieving accurate and predictable color reproduction in flexographic printing. This session will detail how characterization trials utilize industry-standard targets, such as the IT8.7/5, to precisely define a press’s color reproduction capabilities for process colors. You will learn how the data gathered from these trials is used to create ICC profiles, which are then applied to calibrate monitors, scanners, imagesetters, and proofing systems to accurately simulate the press’s output. The session will emphasize the critical importance of adhering to the aim points and tolerances established during the prior optimization and fingerprinting steps, ensuring that the characterized printing condition is repeatable. Discover how successful characterization leads to optimized color separations, proofs that accurately predict printed results, reduced make-ready time, minimized waste, and enhanced customer satisfaction. Practical aspects of data collection, documentation, and maintaining standardized variables for future production runs will also be covered.
Refreshment Break
FIRST 7.0: Measurement and Verification
This session will focus on Measurement and Verification, a crucial and pervasive element throughout the entire flexographic reproduction process. Recognized as a dedicated section in FIRST 7.0 to avoid redundancy, this topic encompasses the essential tools and procedures for ensuring consistent, repeatable, and high-quality print results. Attendees will explore the application of various measurement devices, including spectrophotometers and densitometers, to quantify key print characteristics such as color (process, spot, and gray balance), solid ink density, dot gain/TVI, and ink trap. The session will also cover the use of magnifiers and tape measures for visual and dimensional assessments, and discuss the critical role of statistical process control tools like run charts, control charts, and histograms in monitoring and managing print quality over time. Learn how thorough data collection and analysis, alongside standardized test elements and viewing conditions, are indispensable for understanding process capability, making informed adjustments, and maintaining alignment with established aim points and tolerances from optimization and fingerprinting. This foundational understanding is vital for achieving predictability, minimizing waste, and ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction.
FIRST 7.0: Print
This session will delve into the Print Section of the FIRST 7.0 document, a critical guide for flexographic printers aimed at achieving accurate, consistent, and cost-efficient reproduction of graphic designs. Attendees will learn about the printer’s responsibility in consistently reproducing designs and utilizing process controls to ensure accuracy and consistency throughout and between press runs. The session will cover key print characteristics that must be measured and controlled, including gray balance, dot gain/TVI, solid ink density, and print contrast, along with other critical variables like print sequence, ink trap, registration, image slur, and impression. The session will emphasize objective measurement using standard conditions and control targets, providing the necessary understanding to maximize process capability and enhance profitability.