FIRST Prepress Operator Certification Archives - Flexographic Technical Association

A Year to Remember: 2020 in Review

2020 brought challenges, changes and adaptations to flexography, flexographers and the industry FTA services and supports.

Three Individuals Honored with FTA President’s Award

As I kick off this announcement each year, I feel it’s important to remind everyone that the FTA President’s Award has been bestowed on a very diverse group of people since its inception in 1991. Admittedly, the criteria are very loose. This was a conscious decision made so that our team had the flexibility to … Continued

Flexography in 2019: Looking Back on What the Year Meant to FTA, FLEXO Magazine & the Industry

With each passing year, innovations in flexography continue to grow and expand, and this year was no exception. In 2019, flexography was once again a preeminent force. Attendees to events like INFOFLEX and Labelexpo Europe saw firsthand the new and upcoming technologies that are allowing companies to streamline processes, automate and become more competitive. Printers … Continued

Bringing the Year Together: FTA, Flexography & the Industry Continued to Grow in 2018

The phrase “Bringing It All Together” may have only applied to the four days of Forum 2018—after all, that was its official theme. But the idea extended both before and after the early May event, with flexographers seeing it play out during the entire year. From Forum and INFOFLEX in May, to Labelexpo Americas in … Continued

Bay Tech Label Improved Work Methods & Problem Solving with FIRST Individual Certifications

Better communication, predictable results and less stress—Bay Tech Label Inc attributes these skills and more to Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST). With employees who have completed each FIRST Individual Certification, the company says it is better equipped to speak with customers and meet their evolving needs, with improved skills and work methods. “We … Continued

Best Label Co Sings the Praises of FIRST Individual Certifications & FIRST Company Certification

When FTA member Best Label Co decided to pursue FIRST Individual Certifications, it was for a simple reason: “Because statistical process control and printing to the numbers are essential,” recalls its General Manager John Crammer. As press operators, prepress personnel and implementation specialists at the company’s Union City, CA location achieved their individual certifications, it … Continued

FTA Member Autumn Graphics Uses FIRST Individual Certifications to Improve Employee Knowledge, Customer Interactions

Printing to the numbers, process control, color management—these are data-heavy concepts at the heart of Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances (FIRST). But the numbers, equations and measurements are means to an end, and in getting to that end, it’s important to keep sight of basic questions, like “Why are we doing this” and “How … Continued

FTA Member Coveris Shares Experiences of 80+ Personnel Completing FIRST Individual Certifications

In the war on inconsistent print, it was a handful of Coveris employees at the company’s Battle Creek, MI location who fired the first salvo. While developing training documentation for their flexo presses, explains the FTA member company’s Corporate Continuous Skills Development Manager Sheri Hudachek, those employees pondered how a more comprehensive knowledge base could … Continued

Flexo Concepts Completes Level 1 of <em>FIRST</em> Implementation Specialist Certification

PLYMOUTH, MA—Flexo Concepts employees have recently completed Level I of FTA FIRST Operator Certification in order to become flexographic printing “experts.” The training was made possible by a Massachusetts Express Grant designed to fund workforce education in the state. Created and administered by the FTA, FIRST Operator Certification is an online training program through which … Continued

Smyth Companies Sees Large Returns on FIRST Company Certification

A little can equal a lot. Take, for example, the incrementally small bump in price to go from a medium to large soft drink at any fast food restaurant: How can McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and the like make any meaningful profit from selling an additional 20-oz. of soda for pennies? The answer is, they … Continued