BOHEMIA, NY – May 19, 2015 – Heralded as the best Forum ever, Flexographic Technical Association’s (FTA) 2015 annual conference drew historic crowds at the four-day event, May 3-6 at the Omni Nashville in Nashville, TN. Attendance records were shattered as nearly 2,000 conference-goers, made up of printer/converters, print buyers, designers, brand management firms, prepress providers, suppliers and students/educators, filled every seat of the ballroom and jammed the aisles at the co-located INFO*FLEX Exhibition.
- Educational and technical content was at its finest
- Networking was continuous and constant
- Subject matter inspired dialogue and discussion
- Challenges were presented; solutions were identified
Chaired by Jessica Harrell, Anderson & Vreeland, Inc. and Jennye Scott, Berry Plastics Corp., the package printing and converting industry’s signature event in North America attracted praise gleaned from the session evaluations:
- “Excellent information that I can use right now!”
- “Well presented, clearly communicated topics relevant to everyday challenges.”
- “This is why we are here, for the technical discussions!”
Ten sessions spanned everything from consumer forecasts, to printed electronics, to process control, color theory and print consistency. Specifically: Buyer preferences, brand protection strategies and new packaging trends were explored in the “Upside Down, Inside Out;” while exactly how rival printing processes like digital and gravure can complement flexography and lead to synergies and improved efficiency in “Multi-Market Commonalities.” A humorous look at “young” and “old” employees transformed into an examination of multi-generational workforce training and personality types in “From Tribal Knowledge to Technology” and seasoned flexographers posed as translators to help demystify complex standards and explain their usefulness during the popular “De-Geek the Geeks” session.
A four-part Toolbox Tuesday session brought back the basics, delivering proven insights into process control, KISS impressions, color control and manufacturing’s best practices. Pressrooms had their health evaluated, as “Gauging Your Flexo Vital Signs” examined essential do’s and don’ts, and offered a roundtable discussion from five FTA Hall of Fame members. Many times over, the Flexo Quality Consortium gave updates on several of its projects and featured the work of the first-place 2014 Rossini Research Scholarship winner.
At the Annual Banquet & Awards Program, held in conjunction with Forum, honors were bestowed before an audience of 800. By the night’s end:
- 106 award winners of the 2015 Excellence in Flexography Awards Competition were unveiled
- Advance Packaging Corp. took home the FTA Sustainability Excellence Award
- Jennye Scott and Richard Black were recognized with President’s Awards
- Paul Lancelle was the 53rd inductee into the industry’s most elite group of flexographers—FTA’s Hall of Fame
- Nuova GIDUE was named the winner of the 2015 Technical Innovation Award
- The FFTA/Rossini North American Flexographic Scholarship was awarded to two deserving students, Jason Cagle, Clemson University (first place) and Bilge Altay, Western Michigan University (second place)
Platinum Plus and Platinum sponsors of the 2015 Forum were: Esko; Kodak; 3M; Anderson & Vreeland, Inc.; DuPont Packaging Graphics; KBA-Flexotecnica; MacDermid Printing Solutions and Sun Chemical Corp.
Next year’s Forum is slated for March 6-9, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Chairing the events are Jennye Scott, Berry Plastics Corp. and Paul Teachout, Nilpeter.
For more information about FTA’s Annual Forum visit flexographic.wpengine.com or contact Sharon Cox ([email protected]), FTA director of marketing at 631-737-6020 ext. 46.
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About FTA: Flexographic Technical Association (FTA), chartered in 1958, 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 60,000 individuals. Foundation of FTA, founded in 1974, is the educational arm of FTA and is dedicated to supporting and advancing the flexographic printing industry.