CHICAGO, Ill.—Radius Solutions Ltd. announced that Deluxe Packages has chosen PECAS Vision software to support its business objectives.
Deluxe Packages is a leader in providing quality converted material used in the food industry, especially in the areas of fresh cut produce, nuts and frozen foods. The company strives to provide outstanding customer service and supports green practices using water-based inks in its printing processes.
Deluxe Packages was using a combination of IT systems developed in-house to manage its operations across both of its facilities. With goals to improve efficiency and facilitate access to key business information, the company underwent a search for a new MIS/ERP system. It considered industry-specific software packages, as well as generic manufacturing ERP systems.
A number of factors were important in selecting the right vendor. Deluxe Packages wanted one complete, integrated system that could tie together all of its operations across both of its facilities. Purchasing from a vendor with industry experience and a reputable customer base were also key considerations. “We felt that Radius Solutions offered the most complete, industry-specific, up-to-date and easy-to-use system we had seen. They also offered a solid implementation plan that we are confident we can achieve,” stated Tim Burri, controller at Deluxe Packages.
The company will implement the entire PECAS Vision ERP suite across both of its facilities, with a goal to have all operations running on the new system early in 2009. “Deluxe Packages has very specific goals they want to achieve by investing in a new ERP system. We are confident that our PECAS Vision Software, coupled with the experience and industry-specific expertise of our consultants, will be the right combination for Deluxe Packages to achieve their stated objectives,” stated David Taylor, president and CEO of Radius Solutions.
by Dr Peter Harrop, Chairman, IDTechEx
Electronic circuits that are wholly or substantially printed are a commercial success today.
Companies such as T-ink, E Ink, Toppan Forms, Soligie, GSI, Electroluminate, Schreiner, Delphi, Avery Dennison, and Power Paper are selling printed electronic products to many famous brands such as Timberland, Caterpillar, Sears Craftsman, Hallmark, Toys R Us, John Dickinson, Kent, McDonald’s, Estee Lauder, Ford, Toyota, GM, Playtex, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Duracell, NTT DoCoMo, and Sony. Brand enhancement is a popular theme, from the tester on a battery to the animated display on a recent edition of Esquire magazine and the heated outdoor apparel of many famous brands.
The world’s largest conference on the subject will once again take place in the San Francisco area—Printed Electronics USA in San Jose on December 3-4, and will be truly international. On past trends, attendance will be about 800 and there will be a large exhibition. Although most of the speakers at the conference and optional Masterclasses are from the USA, a powerhouse of this new industrial opportunity, the foreign contribution is substantial as shown below:
Achieving the impossible
Printed electronics employs state-of-the-art physics and chemistry to achieve what was thought impossible only recently. This is reflected in sessions such as one on “Healthcare and Bionic Man” and another on “Smart Substrates and Stretchable Electronics”. Electronics as art is covered as is a broad sweep of printed and thin film components, including ones potentially using graphene. Add the new metamaterials based on micropatterning by flexo printing. They promise the cloak of invisibility and previously impossible electrical, electronic and optical components. Pioneers Imperial College London reveal, “Metamaterials—for Super Lenses and Invisibility Cloaks from DC to Optics”.
Transforming the human interface—staggeringly better brand enhancement
Probably one of the hottest topics this year is how, after 1,000 years of static print, the human interface is now starting to use many of our senses instead of one. Never forget that one in three Americans has difficulty reading instructions because they are sight-impaired, illiterate, dyslexic etc. and print is being made ever smaller to get everything in—a bizarre failure for a nation that got to the moon nearly forty years ago. For example, e-labels and e-packaging will employ electronic texture change, controlled aroma emission, localized sound and recording and many interactive features. This is therefore about transforming brands, not just saving lives when up to 25 percent of medication accidents are down to failure to comprehend written instructions and from lack of prompts from the package. Avery Dennison gives a case study of printed electronics in consumer goods. A key to this is for brand managers and brand facing suppliers to employ creative design using this new kit of parts instead of languishing in the wrong century.
Visit the magic
There are optional visits. They include Kovio, which replaces the silicon chip and antenna in an RFID label with a dramatically cost-reduced printed version—that being merely a bridge to transforming low-cost flexible electronics and photovoltaics in general. Visit Rfidium which will take you on a tour of the RFID processes leading to high-volume production. The Fuji Film Dimatix visit covers new fluid dispensing micropumps and inkjet technology and Vitex will show you their transparent ultra-thin barrier layers for flat panel displays. The University of California Berkeley tour takes in nanoparticle synthesis, gravure, inkjet and test facilities for printed electronics.
Huge opportunity
No one will be in doubt that this is shortly to become a multi-billion dollar industry transforming healthcare, printing, labelling, packaging, power generation, lighting, and many other industries. Nokia presents “Morph—Transformable Mobile Device”. Structural Graphics describes the recent success of electrophoretic displays on and in Esquire magazine and Apple will explain its approach. Goldman Sachs presents “Solar from Wall Street” and delegates will learn how intelligent batteries are now being printed by NEC of Japan.
New displays, materials and printing technology
Electronic displays from billboards to retinal projection will be covered including OLED advances, a new ultra-low-power electrochromic display from AJJER and the latest ultra-thin and flexible electrophoretic e-books, shelf labels, remotely programmable apparel pricing and so on. Kraft and other users describe their experiences. In addition, there is much on new materials and printing processes and the challenge of some materials becoming scarce. The new hot topic of printing copper to replace silver is center stage and then there is replacing indium.
For more information, visit www.IDTechEx.com/peUSA
PALO ALTO, Calif.—HP announced that Weber Marking Systems purchased an HP Indigo press ws4500 from the show floor at the recent Labelexpo Americas trade show.
With the new press, installed in September shortly after Labelexpo ended, the Arlington Heights, Ill.-based company aims to improve overall profitable growth based on the evolving needs of its customer base.
“Converters like Weber Marking Systems, which owe their success and longevity to an ability to meet customer demand and provide excellent service, can improve profitability and do more for their clients with the production flexibility and true offset quality of the HP Indigo press ws4500,” said Jan Riecher, vice president and general manager, Americas Graphics Solutions Business, HP.
The seven-color press, which was purchased along with a Digicon finishing system from AB Graphics, fits Weber’s need for efficient ramp-up and cost-effective production on new work from its customers, a growing number of which are expressing interest in multiple-SKU work and versioning jobs that can incur significant prepress costs when produced on flexographic devices.
“Although we’ve purchased scores of presses in the last 20 years, never has the ‘new press’ excitement level approached that of our ws4500,” said Thomas Michalsen, director of marketing, Weber Marking Systems. “The difference today is the ws4500’s positive value proposition. It speaks to all of Weber’s divisions: Sales, Marketing, Production, Quality, and Finance.
“It was great to see our press in action at HP’s Labelexpo booth,” Michalsen added. “We are now able to begin transitioning existing jobs to improve profitability and to start drawing new customers to our company with digital technology.”
Detailed analysis shows significant potential benefits
While Weber completed its purchase at Labelexpo Americas, the company had closely observed developments with HP Indigo label and packaging presses for several years. An analysis of Weber’s work done through the HP Indigo Label Job Estimator, a tool that is part of the HP Graphic Arts Capture Business Success Program, provided insights into why installing the HP Indigo press ws4500 made sense.
“A lot of the new business label converters win comes with investments in prepress that are not always fully recouped,” said Michalsen. “If it is a customer who is ordering 100 different SKUs on a four-, five-, or six-color job, the HP Indigo is the only solution we have seen where you can gain an immediate return.”
Working with HP consultants to analyze jobs printed over a six-month period, Weber executives came to the determination that as much as 31 percent of the work the company does on its 39 flexo presses could profitably transition to digital with HP Indigo technology. In addition, by eliminating makeready time with the HP Indigo press ws4500, the company can save as much as 2,500 feet of scrap created with typical jobs, which can translate into significant savings on label media.
Weber also benefits from a nearly seamless workflow integration with the new HP Indigo press. The company currently uses EskoArtwork prepress systems for its flexo work. The digital front end sold with all new HP Indigo press ws4500s, the HP SmartStream Labels and Packaging Print Server, was created for HP through an original equipment manufacturer agreement with EskoArtwork, and is fully compatible with EskoArtwork’s workflow products for the flexo industry.
WILMINGTON, Del.—DuPont Nonwovens has announced that Laird Plastics, an independent plastics distributor in North America, is a new distributor for DuPont Graphics products.
Selected for its nationwide presence and commitment to sustainable solutions, Laird Plastics was chosen to help expand distribution of DuPont Graphics products with a focus on DuPont™ Tyvek® print media in the wide-format marketplace.
“We are proud to partner with DuPont, a recognized leader for its commitment to the environment and the health and safety of its employees,” said Brett Thompson, Western region market development manager, Laird Plastics. “Laird Plastics is committed to streamlining the supply chain and providing customers with sustainable alternatives for traditional print materials.”
Laird Plastics consists of 51 service centers and 500 employees with more than 30,000 customers across North America in all segments of commercial, industrial and advertising activity. The company offers an extensive range of products including graphics materials (substrates and a variety of higher end materials) and mechanical/engineering materials.
“We were excited to find a distributor who so closely aligns with DuPont in corporate values and sustainability goals,” said Carolyn Burns, global marketing manager, DuPont Nonwovens. “We look forward to working with Laird as we bring affordable and sustainable media to the wide-format graphics industry.”
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Display Pack and Global Packaging Solutions (GPS) have formed a joint venture to service global customers with integrated services in packaging design, manufacturing, and supply chain strategy. Display Pack has also opened a West Coast facility in Riverside, Calif.
“This joint venture allows both companies to expand capabilities in offering complete packaging solutions to customers worldwide,” said Vic Hansen, president of Display Pack. “It enables us to pool our expertise and resources for large global companies who have very specific and complex packaging needs in today’s on-demand, on-time marketplace.”
Display Pack’s Riverside, Calif. facility provides thermoforming and contract packaging services for customers on the West Coast, with principal operations in Grand Rapids, Mich. GPS is based in Aliso Viejo, Calif. (Orange County), with manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, China. GPS provides extensive expertise in packaging design and supply chain management strategy, including packaging postponement and distribution.
“Display Pack brings a strong 40-year track record in thermoforming and contract packaging,” said Scott Henderson, principal, Global Packaging Solutions. “Their integrity and reputation in the packaging industry is valued by our customers, and we are delighted to partner with Display Pack to service these key customers’ complex packaging needs.”
Both Display Pack and GPS are privately held companies. Display Pack provides a complete packaging solution set—including packaging design, project management, engineering, production, thermoforming, printing, contract packaging and distribution—which is enhanced by this joint venture. GPS offers extensive expertise in packaging supply chain strategy for the consumer goods industry.
ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Jeffrey W. Hayzlett, chief business development officer and vice president, Eastman Kodak Company, has been selected by BtoB Magazine as the Marketer of the Year for 2008. Hayzlett received the award at a ceremony in New York City.
“Kodak has transformed itself in the past few years and substantially grown its b-to-b business,” said BtoB Editor Ellis Booker. “Jeff Hayzlett has spearheaded much of this change, pushing the envelope by launching a slew of sponsorship, event and online marketing initiatives.”
In January, Hayzlett oversaw Kodak’s participation on NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” A team of celebrity contestants developed a Kodak mobile printing station to drive brand messaging and awareness for the value proposition of KODAK All-in-One (AiO) Printers: save up to 50 percent on everything you print compared to similar consumer inkjet printers. Kodak’s integrated campaign, which included television advertising and online activities, helped increase sales of its AiO printers.
Hayzlett was previously the chief marketing officer of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group where he directed several innovative marketing programs to promote and generate demand for print, helping drive business results for customers. Earlier this year, BtoB recognized Kodak’s “Print Is…” campaign in a special report on successful integrated marketing. The campaign includes print ads, collateral materials, online components and special events to promote print’s unique ability to reach people in a personal, meaningful way.
Hayzlett was among the top marketers recognized by BtoB in their “Best 2007” issue. He serves as chairman of the Business Marketing Association and is on the advisory board of the CMO Council. He is chairman of the Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) Foundation for Marketing Education, a permanent trustee to the SMEI Academy of Achievement Sales and Marketing Hall of Fame, and is a two-term past chairman of SMEI. He is also a trustee of Pi Sigma Epsilon National Education Foundation, a sales and marketing fraternity.