John Penhallow01.22.24
Just before Christmas 2021, the Brussels bureaucrats gave birth to yet another European directive on labeling (Number 2021/2117, in case you want to look it up), and at the end of 2023 it came into effect: from now on, wines will no longer escape the rigorous labeling requirements of most other foods and beverages. L&NW readers will know that the back-label of European wines is already so crammed with required data you need a magnifying glass to read it. Now must be added a full list of ingredients, additives, to say nothing of the usual health and allergy warnings.
The European Commission has graciously agreed that most of this information can be put onto a QR code. Oh, great. But whenever the production conditions change (all the time in the case of most wines) the QR code must be altered, and new QR codes don’t come cheap. Wines made before the end of 2023 are exempt from the new directive – buy now while stocks last!
The London graduates have set up their own company, Pulpa Tronics, and are said to be developing a technique based on a laser impression to encode information directly onto the label.
This is the second Truepress that Screen has delivered to this customer. Reslan general manager Emre Görü plans to double his sales of digital labels over the coming three to five years. He likes the new press’ durability, and in particular, its seven colors, particularly useful when printing the purple many of his customers require.
On the other side of Europe, in France, another converter has just ordered its second digital press. QRT Graphique was the first in France to install a Domino inkjet press. That was 10 years ago. Now it has just taken delivery of a second one from the same manufacturer. QRT has a dozen production lines, including now three Dominos. Sales manager Christophe Quirantes says QRT has seen double-digit growth for each of the past five years, “And this is largely thanks to short-run digital labels,” he comments.
Discussions between industry representatives (including FINAT), the EP and the European Commission will run through several months of this year, and a binding directive will not come into force for several years.
Ecoleaf avoids the wasteful foil-based technology by using a so-called “trigger image” plus a metallization unit. It uses only the exact amount of metal flakes needed for the image and according to ACTEGA, can produce excellent tactile metallic effects and high resolution finishes without embossing and without wastage.
Another leading UK-based converter was in the news with the purchase of not one but two Nilpeter FA-26 presses.
Reflex Labels has a dozen production sites in UK, and it is also present in Norway, Ireland, Poland and Australia, with total staff of over 800 worldwide.
“We purchased this new MPS machine to offer our customers more possibilities and respond even better to their needs with label production as well as printing flexible packaging,” says Matthias Gerloff, Optimum Group HT Labelprint. This latest MPS press features 10 colors with MPS’ patented E-sleeves, Apex GTT laser engraved anilox rolls, and the GEW E4C high power, water-cooled UV curing system.
Visitors will meet Omet, Gallus, Bobst and Landa, as well as A B Graphic and Leonhard Kurz. Absentees from the show will apparently include HP Indigo – and more. If you’re interested in a breakdown by country, there’ll be just 43 US exhibitors, 51 from UK and…wait for it…332 from China! So, is drupa 2024 worth the trip to Dusseldorf? For label specialists, probably not. For beer enthusiasts, definitely!
The European Commission has graciously agreed that most of this information can be put onto a QR code. Oh, great. But whenever the production conditions change (all the time in the case of most wines) the QR code must be altered, and new QR codes don’t come cheap. Wines made before the end of 2023 are exempt from the new directive – buy now while stocks last!
French press manufacturer takes top industry award
In France, narrow web press manufacturers are thin on the ground. But one has been in the news after receiving an industry award from the hands of Industry Minister Roland Lescure: Codimag is a privately owned company now managed by second-generation CEO Benoit Demol. It has for many years enjoyed considerable success with its Aniflo technology, which successfully combines the advantages of flexo and offset. The occasion of this award was an event to encourage young people to enter the printing industry.Bad news from UPM France
European demand for labelstock is holding up reasonably well when compared with most other grades. However, this has not stopped the UPM mill in Eastern France from cutting production and laying off one in four of its staff. Part of the production will be relocated to one of UPM’s mills in Poland.RFID labels
Graduates of the Royal College of Art in London are reported to have developed a way of making RFID labels without metal or silicone. The aim is to make the labels more easily recyclable. This could be significant, because the total number of clothing labels made worldwide is estimated at 40 billion per year and growing in double-digits. Many of these labels use RFID for stock control and handling. However, RFID chips and antennae mostly contain copper, nickel, aluminum, or other metals that are both costly and hard to recycle.The London graduates have set up their own company, Pulpa Tronics, and are said to be developing a technique based on a laser impression to encode information directly onto the label.
Leery of the Lira
Few businessmen relish transactions in Turkish Lira. Over 2023 it lost one-third of its value against the dollar, and inflation, though down, is still running at over 60%. Most business is done in dollars or euros, and that is certainly the case with the Truepress digital equipment recently bought and installed by Reslan Labels Printing, one of Turkey’s leading converters.This is the second Truepress that Screen has delivered to this customer. Reslan general manager Emre Görü plans to double his sales of digital labels over the coming three to five years. He likes the new press’ durability, and in particular, its seven colors, particularly useful when printing the purple many of his customers require.
On the other side of Europe, in France, another converter has just ordered its second digital press. QRT Graphique was the first in France to install a Domino inkjet press. That was 10 years ago. Now it has just taken delivery of a second one from the same manufacturer. QRT has a dozen production lines, including now three Dominos. Sales manager Christophe Quirantes says QRT has seen double-digit growth for each of the past five years, “And this is largely thanks to short-run digital labels,” he comments.
News on packaging waste
At the end of November 2023, the plenary session of the European Parliament (EP) voted its final position on the European Commission’s proposal to revise the “Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive.” Final, of course, does not mean final, but it at least takes the debate one stage further. Key changes introduced by the EP include: lower recycled content requirements for packaging; exemptions to recyclability requirements for components representing less than 5%; and a longer timeline for requirement of compostable labels on fresh produce.Discussions between industry representatives (including FINAT), the EP and the European Commission will run through several months of this year, and a binding directive will not come into force for several years.
Touchy, feely coatings
Sappi, the South Africa-based paper manufacturer, and Germany’s ACTEGA (part of the Altana Group), are to jointly develop new coatings for labels with metallic and haptic effects. This development of ACTEGA’s Ecoleaf technology is proving popular, particularly for beer and chocolate labels.Ecoleaf avoids the wasteful foil-based technology by using a so-called “trigger image” plus a metallization unit. It uses only the exact amount of metal flakes needed for the image and according to ACTEGA, can produce excellent tactile metallic effects and high resolution finishes without embossing and without wastage.
In the steps of Julius Caesar
Autajon, one of France’s few homegrown multinational label converters, has again crossed the English Channel, acquiring Royston Labels. This privately owned converter, first set up in 1984, now employs 80. It joins Simply Cartons, Autajon’s first UK acquisition less than a year ago. Autajon now has 4,300 employees worldwide and makes over 20 billion labels per year.Another leading UK-based converter was in the news with the purchase of not one but two Nilpeter FA-26 presses.
Reflex Labels has a dozen production sites in UK, and it is also present in Norway, Ireland, Poland and Australia, with total staff of over 800 worldwide.
New presses for old!
If you have a 22-year-old label press you probably think it’s time to put it on the scrap heap. Not so if you’re HT Labelprint in Germany. When this converter bought a new MPS flexo press for multi-layer applications, it sold the veteran press to a converter in Jordan.“We purchased this new MPS machine to offer our customers more possibilities and respond even better to their needs with label production as well as printing flexible packaging,” says Matthias Gerloff, Optimum Group HT Labelprint. This latest MPS press features 10 colors with MPS’ patented E-sleeves, Apex GTT laser engraved anilox rolls, and the GEW E4C high power, water-cooled UV curing system.
Fourth-generation joins Geostick
Netherlands-based Geostick is one of a rare breed of label converters now in its fourth generation of the Berveling family. Founded in 1924 in Uithoorn and still at almost the same address, the company has grown partly by acquisition, buying up a succession of Dutch label converters to reach its annual sales of over 60 million euros ($66 million).Will this be a Super-Drupa?
The Covid pandemic was said to herald the death of the “Big Shows.” Labelexpo more or less showed that the patient was surviving. Now, what about drupa, the biggest of all print shows (May 28 – June 7 2024)? There are nearly 1,400 exhibitors registered so far, but not many of them will be familiar to those in the label business.Visitors will meet Omet, Gallus, Bobst and Landa, as well as A B Graphic and Leonhard Kurz. Absentees from the show will apparently include HP Indigo – and more. If you’re interested in a breakdown by country, there’ll be just 43 US exhibitors, 51 from UK and…wait for it…332 from China! So, is drupa 2024 worth the trip to Dusseldorf? For label specialists, probably not. For beer enthusiasts, definitely!