One of the highlights of the self-adhesive label industry’s calendar is the biennial Technical Seminar organised by the international association, FINAT. Taking place once again in Barcelona, Spain, March 16-18, at the Crowne Plaza Barcelona Fira Center, the biennial 2016 FINAT Technical Seminar is headlined “Labeling – the Future and Beyond.”

The seminar program is wide-ranging, combining formal plenary and parallel-conference sessions and extensive peer networking around the accompanying tabletop exhibition. The 2016 FINAT Technical Seminar promises to provide a focused, practical and down-to-earth evaluation of the opportunities and challenges for self-adhesive labeling today, and tomorrow, for all involved in the industry.

The seminar will open with a session that explores how labels need to change to meet end users’ and consumers’ criteria in the face of evolving print technologies and substrates, packaging styles, regulatory concerns, brand owner and consumer demands, and environmental issues. This session will be a prelude to the more in-depth discussions that are scheduled over the course of the seminar.

FINAT projects, LCA guidance
Following an overarching update on the latest test methods developed by the Technical Committee, an overview of regulatory affairs from FINAT’s Public Affairs Manager Mark Macaré and an introduction to the FINAT/TLMI Life Cycle Analysis Guide from Anne Gaasbeek, Pré Consultants, seminar delegates will be able to attend parallel sessions on emerging technologies and /sustainability.

Looking to the future
Future developments are the focal point of the second day’s agenda, at every level of self-adhesive labeling’s activities, from pre-press innovations and measurements in labelstock testing to L’Oréal’s evaluation of label quality. Throughout the program, the supplier tabletop exhibition provides a location for delegate networking and business discussions.

The 2016 FINAT Technical Seminar is one of a number of events organized to assist FINAT members in navigating successfully the evolving label industry – including an ongoing program of technology webinars throughout the year; the FINAT Young Managers Club Summit (Budapest, April 28-30); and the annual European Label Forum (Amsterdam, June 16-18).