Honors & Awards
In the 2018 Excellence in Flexography Awards, 114 prints were honored. This total included 38 gold awards (six of which were also named Best of Show), 39 silver awards, 33 bronze awards, three self-promotion awards and one non-traditional flexo award. “In the four years I have been judging, this year was probably the best for execution,” said awards committee member Sean Teufler of Harper Corporation of America. “Printers understand it is not just the look, but the technical details that make their samples stand out.”
Lon Robinson, director of research and development at Tension Corp and a fixture at every FTA event, became the 56th inductee into the FTA Hall of Fame. In addition to being just about the nicest guy anyone knows, Lon is an industry stalwart, patient teacher, tireless learner and dedicated volunteer.
Jason Cagle of MacDermid Graphics Solutions received this year’s FTA President’s Award. In his brief time in the industry, Jason has been the recipient of the 2015 FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship, spoken at FTA events, assisted in several FLEXO Magazine Cover Projects and now leads the Emerging Leaders Committee.
Two companies were honored with a Technical Innovation Award:
- Eaglewood Technologies, for the Sitexco Laser Anilox Cleaning System, which produces no waste, requires no consumables, keeps a history of each roller and is harmless to the environment
- Hamillroad Software Ltd, for its Bellissima DMS screening software, which delivers superior dots and increases flexography’s print quality to gravure levels while improving its short-run capability to challenge digital
Heritage Envelopes was honored with a Sustainability Excellence Award for PackMail, an alternative solution for shipping envelopes that uses less material, minimizes packaging waste, and reduces fuel consumption and CO2 output.
California Polytechnic State University was named the overall winner in The Phoenix Challenge College Competition. Its team consisted of Hope Mosley, Pavan Sohal, Yasmeen Eid, Michaela Purcilly, Hana Zarea, Jillian Kehliger and Alan Nguyen. Two students from Asheville High School—Grayson Hackett and Travis Brown—won the high school competition.
Katherine Treadaway of Clemson University was awarded the first-place FFTA Rossini North America Flexographic Research Scholarship prize for her proposal on reducing the plate relief standard to allow for great dot stability without printing the floor of the plate. Emma Linnea Landgren from California Polytechnic State University was awarded second place.
Signature Events
The third annual Emerging Leaders Golf Outing took place May 5, just one day before the start of Forum 2018, at Indianapolis’ Eagle Creek Golf Club. Golfers enjoyed great weather, catching up with colleagues and making new acquaintances as they supported the next generation of flexographers.
Forum & INFOFLEX took place May 6-9 in Indianapolis, IN. Over the course of the four days, flexographers took part in technical and educational sessions as well as networking opportunities that delivered on the pledge to synchronize processes, people and potential.
Forum was chaired by Bob Coomes of Plastic Packaging Technologies LLC and co-chaired by Ann Michaud of 3M Co. Attendees praised the event for its networking opportunities, look at new technologies and “excellent” presentations. Feedback also indicated:
- 95 percent rated the entire event as good or excellent
- 90 percent rated the speakers as good or excellent
- 95 percent said the event provided networking opportunities
There was also positive feedback about INFOFLEX. One attendee said it provided “lots of opportunity to talk to many different people in many different industries.” Other survey results showed:
- 98 percent said they were able to network and conduct business effectively at the exhibits
- 5 percent said they met new prospects/customers
- 6 percent said their presence at INFOFLEX was a benefit to them and their organization
The Solutions Theater at INFOFLEX offered 15 unique and detailed technical presentations, covering topics like new screening software, solvent-based inks, scoring solutions, digital printing’s use cases, and slitting and rewinding’s future.
Nearly 300 flexographers attended Fall Conference 2018, which took place Oct. 29 to 31 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel in Cleveland, OH. The program chair was Kevin Bourquin of Cyber Graphics, and the event included networking opportunities as well as eight technical sessions falling under the “Taking Care of Business” theme.