Feb. 4, 2014—Forum 2014, the world’s premier educational conference for the package printing and converting marketplace will officially kickoff on Sunday, April 27 (Baltimore, MD) with an in-depth, all-new focus on expanded gamut (EG) printing. The session, formally titled “Expanded Gamut Printing, the Customer and You!” will headline a representative from one of the world’s most prominent Consumer Products Companies (CPCs), The Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G).
Rick Pollard, packaging engineer, brings to this session his 30 years of experience with P&G in the packaging and printing realm. For the last six years, his work has concentrated on print quality and design using expanded gamut. Pollard will use his expertise and experience to educate attendees on how P&G approaches EG printing as a way to reduce inventory, develop markets and be more nimble in meeting customer demand.
His presentation will cover the challenges associated with EG printing, as well as the cost and timesaving benefits the process offers. Additionally, Pollard will explain how using expanded gamut requires complete and total understanding from all members of the supply chain, from artwork design to production scheduling to the ensuing pressrun.
From there, the session will feature additional insights from the design, printer and supplier perspective, detailing how each must work together toward the common goal of creating and producing graphically superior packages.
Representing the design perspective, David Franklin of Tri-Media will share what expanded gamut means to the artist. He brings his 25 years experience in working with a multitude of flexographic packaging for clients including Hershey’s Chocolate, McCormick Spice, Season Brand, Jays Potato Chips, Lance Snacks and Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzels. Franklin’s talk will focus on EG’s advantages in reproducing vibrant color, and will detail best practices and special considerations for producing successful designs. He’ll conclude with a “designer wish list” to provide optimized results.
Steve Upton, CHROMiX, will offer the printer’s perspective and discuss the issues printers face with managing color for expanded gamut workflows. Upton will detail some of the more complex aspects of color management, specifically ICC profiles, and offer interesting tricks and techniques to gain better understanding of what’s going on “inside the black box.”
The session, chaired by industry veterans Robb Frimming, Schawk! and Kevin Bourquin, Cyber Graphics, LLC, will conclude with an extended question and answer period where additional expert panelists (Mark Samworth, Esko and Johnny Dye, Accredo Packaging, Inc.) will be brought on stage to address some common questions faced in everyday EG print, as well as field questions from the audience.
“This year’s expanded gamut session is a must-attend for all Forum attendees. We’ll harness the experience of key supply chain partners that have had past success with working in an expanded gamut workflow. Their insights are critical to understanding what really needs to occur, from concept to completion, for a truly successful expanded gamut system.” said Bourquin.
Frimming added, “Every member of the value chain plays a critical role. For attendees, this session will peel back the layers of complexity and offer a real world look into ‘what needs to be true’ for successful implementation of an EG workflow.”