Envisioning the Future and Empowering Flexographers at FTA’s FORUM & INFOFLEX 2023

BOHEMIA, NY—Flexographers saw tradition reimagined and discovered how to build their business’ future at FTA’s FORUM & INFOFLEX 2023.

The four-day technical conference and exhibition took place April 16-19 at the Hilton Columbus Downtown and Greater Columbus Convention Center, respectively, in Columbus, OH.

FORUM 2023 Chairs
FORUM 2023 Chair Laura Wright of CSW Inc and FORUM 2023 Co-Chair Jason Cagle of MacDermid Graphics Solutions

“I was very impressed with the work of our session co-chairs and speakers this year,” said FORUM 2023 Chair Laura Wright of CSW Inc. “They really embraced the session topics and objectives, as well as the idea of clearly offering value to the audience. The presentations and discussions were professional, informative and engaging.”

With a mix of presentations and panel discussions, and aided by live audience polling and Q&As, FORUM 2023’s content focused on topics essential to modern-day flexographic printing: How sustainability can benefit both business and planet; collaboration between design, prepress and printer; mounting tape and sleeve market trends and best practices; ways to find, train and retain employees; reasons to embrace collecting color data and implement color measurement; flexographic essentials; and a forward-thinking examination of the industry’s integrated and automated future.

FORUM 1
AWT Labels & Packaging’s Shawn Oetjen
FORUM 2
Jessica Harrell of SGS & Co

“Our conference theme, ‘Tradition Reimagined,’ directly addressed the notion of reconsidering long-held assumptions and using today’s tools to improve both efficiency and print quality,” added FORUM 2023 Co-Chair Jason Cagle of MacDermid Graphics Solutions. “I was immensely impressed by and proud of our roster of speakers, who filled each session with material that encapsulated the idea of reinventing customs we are accustomed to. They presented fresh approaches through process control, employee recruitment and training, and new technology.”

At INFOFLEX 2023, printer/converters and CPCs networked with companies from every piece of the package printing workflow, received hands-on demonstrations and saw hundreds of cutting-edge technologies. Inside Innovation Central, they heard intimate discussions of how to grow their business and build its future by streamlining operations, implementing key products and solutions, and identifying new market opportunities.

“INFOFLEX definitely lived up to the hype of ‘Building on the Future,’” said Jay Kable, FTA’s director of membership and business development. “The show floor featured more than 170 companies showcasing their latest equipment and offering hundreds of solutions. Attendees also got a glimpse of the future as they listened to 12 presentations from leading manufacturers in Innovation Central.”

FTA would like to thank all speakers, attendees, exhibitors and Association members for making FORUM & INFOFLEX 2023 a success.

Later this year, the rebranded Fall Technical Conference heads to Louisville, KY, in conjunction with INFOFLEX at Fall Technical Conference.

Downloads

FORUM 2023’s logo

INFOFLEX 2023’s logo

Photos from FORUM & INFOFLEX 2023


About FTA

FTA logo
Chartered in 1958, FTA is a professional society dedicated to bringing all members of the flexographic printing community—printers, suppliers, consumer product companies, institutions, prepress houses and others—together by providing opportunities for the free exchange of technical ideas and discussion of mutual concerns. It is a proponent of maintaining and advancing quality standards and includes 1,650 member sites that represent more than 1,400 companies and 35,000 individuals. Foundation of FTA, founded in 1974, is the educational arm of FTA and is dedicated to supporting and advancing the flexographic printing industry.