Contrast in Print Technologies: Preprint vs. Postprint
Sunday, April 19, 4 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Session Chairs: John Rastetter, Pamarco & Scott Miller, BCM Inks
When developing a strategy to achieve a desired look, brand owners have several print methods and technologies to choose from. We have identified two of the print processes to examine in depth—preprint and postprint.
“Contrast in Print Technologies: Preprint vs. Postprint” will plunge into the different systems and methods developed to uphold the complex desires of the brand owner from a graphics perspective. Speakers will detail how differentiating or enhancing packaging in the retail market will drive sales. At the same time, they will recognize that other factors do play a major role when determining how a package will be printed. Price, quantities and size are a few of the topics we will discuss.
“Differentiating, or enhancing packaging, in the retail market, will drive sales.”
- Geoff Roznak, principal, Further North LLC, will represent the brand owner’s perspective and speak to the challenges presented to the print provider as it upholds the brand’s integrity and objectives
- Daniel Lachapell, area plant manager, Menasha Packaging Corp, will represent the preprint process and discuss the advances in technology to strengthen preprint’s position and better align it with brand owner desires. This presentation will touch on when preprint makes sense from an economic standpoint
- David Straten, director of graphics packaging, Advance Packaging, will represent the postprint process. He will talk about the advances made in the postprint world to appease the brand owner. His address will point out the circumstances that dictate when an item is suitable for postprint
All three speakers have been active and well-respected contributors to the flexographic industry. Their knowledge and experience will provide unparalleled insight on their related subject matter.
There are many underlying factors when choosing the appropriate print process to accomplish a desired look. This session will address these factors, discuss the differences in print technologies (preprint vs. postprint) and hit on the technological advancements made in each process. The mission is to uphold the brand owner’s objectives in developing a strong strategy for selecting the appropriate print process from a graphics and economic standpoint.
The Defectives II: A “Virtual” Guide to Troubleshooting
Monday, April 20, 8 a.m.–10 a.m.
Session Chairs: Bobby Congdon, Clemson University & Dave Nieman, All Printing Resources Inc (APR)
“The Defectives” was a highly rated session at FORUM 2019. As troubleshooting is a never-ending battle where more information is always beneficial, it was determined another similar session would be of value. The biggest difference for FORUM 2020 is the utilization of virtual reality (VR) from Clemson University to demonstrate on-press problems and the effects of the corrective actions being taken to alleviate the issues.
We selected four of the most common print fault categories that converters still fight every day:
- Excessive dot gain
- Banding/bounce/chatter/voids
- Pinholing/mottle
- Print/ink spitting
Our subject matter experts picked the best “fix” from their respective areas of expertise in inks, press/ink delivery, and prepress/plates/mounting. In addition, we have added to the team two respected converters—one from wide web and the other from narrow web–to add their perspectives and experiences. They’ll be playing the role of the printer experiencing the problem.
“Troubleshooting is a never-ending battle where more information is always beneficial.”
After a brief discussion of the troubleshooting process, we will present each print fault, demonstrate the fault on the VR press, discuss the possible corrective actions, and then demonstrate the result of each of these corrective actions (again, on the VR press). We will alternate between wide web and narrow web, as all of the print faults being discussed exist for both formats. Also, back by popular demand, we will be polling the audience for their input on which options they feel are best to fix the print issues.
Our subject matter expert team consists of:
- Tony Donato (ink delivery/press): Tony has extensive experience specializing in press-related troubleshooting. He has conducted countless training sessions in such areas as doctor blade and anilox roll problem solving at converters all around the world. Most recently, he has been the product development engineer for Harper Corporation of America
- PJ Fronczkiewicz: PJ has spent the last 15 years with Flint Group, in both technical and product management roles. He was part of “The Defectives” presentation at FORUM 2019 and we brought him back because of how much troubleshooting knowledge he can bring to the session
- John Kilbo: John’s 20+ years in the ink industry, including his current position as regional technical manager with Siegwerk, has resulted in a wide range of experience in troubleshooting and on-press problem solving in both wide web and narrow web environments
Our converter team members are:
- Marcy Southern: Marcy is VP, graphics and print optimization at PPC Flexible Packaging. She has 26 years in the industry in graphics, plate making and wide web printing. Her current role is to integrate/optimize graphics and printing
- Karl Nurse: Karl is the president at Bay Tech Label and has 30+ years in the industry, allowing him to bring a lot of valuable knowledge and experience to the session focused on narrow web troubleshooting
Takeaways for the audience will include further knowledge on troubleshooting options for correcting several of the most common print faults we face every day. Although this could be review for some, the utilization of VR should also serve to open up additional opportunities for discussion, while demonstrating how this technology could serve as a training platform for their teams in the future.