Dscoop will host more than 90 Partners at Dscoop7, its seventh annual conference, taking place March 22-24, 2012 in Washington, D.C. With drupa taking place six weeks after Dscoop7, HP Graphic Arts customers will be able to preview many new product releases before the rest of the industry.

“Dscoop7 will provide our members with a look at all the new products and technologies from HP and our partners before our industry attends drupa,” says Craig Curran, Dscoop7 chairman and vice president of sales for Nosco. “We could not do this without our partners. We thank them for their ongoing support both in the Solutions Showcase exhibit hall and in the year-round Dscoop Partner Program, which benefits all Dscoop members.”

More announcements will be made at Dscoop7, but a sampling of the new products from Dscoop Diamond and Platinum Partners include:

AB Graphic International Inc. will showcase its Sabre Extreme, described as “the future in laser diecutting and the perfect solution for digitally printed web.” All jobs can be prepared off-line, in an office environment, and either downloaded through an Ethernet cable or via a removable storage device, making your job easier. Sabre Extreme comes with the Digital Die Shop software enabling you to import, create or edit die patterns, giving you the ability to test each job on a virtual machine, including an estimated maximum run speed, before going live. The Sabre Extreme operating system uses Windows-based software. As the current job is running, new files can be loaded and then changed over on the fly and stored on the system for future use.

GPA Specialty Substrate Solutions is featuring its New Ultra Digital substrates, specialty papers for high-end invitations and fine art reproductions; bold papers for seasonal promotions that highlight white ink technology; a new paper designed to create metallic effects on an HP Indigo for striking promotions, packaging and greeting cards; and innovative photo book papers for seamless, high-impact images.

Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. is launching new substrates for digital presses and new resources for digital printers. Mohawk’s digital portfolio now includes specialty substrates for digital: pressure sensitive, embedded, synthetic, magnet and photo papers. Mohawk MakeReady provides practical tools and actionable information to help digital printers gain new business – including marketing, production, sales and operations insights.

In addition, Executive Sponsor HP will showcase its new products at Dscoop7 before they are featured in the Graphic Arts Experience Center in Atlanta.

HP Graphic Arts customers can see these products and more at Dscoop7. To facilitate attendees’ navigation of the show floor, the exhibit hall will be segmented by products related to general commercial print, label and packaging, grand format and high-volume segments.

One of the highlights of the show figures to be Dara Torres, a 12-time Olympic swimming medalist, who will speak at the event.

At the Olympic Games in Beijing, Torres became the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics. In total, she has competed in five Olympic games. Torres made international headlines after her performance in Beijing and is credited with inspiring older athletes to re-enter competition. Despite undergoing knee surgery in 2009, Torres says she will try for the 2012 London Olympics.

“Dara’s accomplishments are tremendously inspirational to everyone who’s ever felt like the odds were stacked against them,” says Craig Curran. “This is a common theme in both sports and business, and I believe Dscoop members will be able to relate to her story in a meaningful way. She will be sharing the importance of never giving up on your dream and how to achieve them at any stage in your life.”

In addition to her accomplishments as an Olympic swimmer, Torres is a commentator and author. She won the 2009 ESPY award for “Best Comeback” and was named one of the “Top Female Athletes of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated.

Eric Hawkinson, global executive of Dscoop, says the numbers this year point to an eary sellout. “Based on the phenomenal speakers that we’ve been able to secure, we are tracking ahead in number of registrations and all indications are that we will sell out very early this year. We’re incorporating many new offerings for Dscoop7 this year and I’m proud that we’re providing tools and education to attendees that they cannot get anywhere else.”

TLMI welcomes two new members
The Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute has welcomed two new supplier members to the association: Gurnee, IL, USA-based PC Industries and Brattleboro, VT, USA-based FiberMark.

PC Industries designs and manufacturers automatic inspection, quality improvement and process control solutions for the printing, converting, packaging and pharmaceutical industries.

FiberMark’s specialty fiber-based materials support industries and consumers worldwide. The company provides value-added products with advances in fiber technology and serves the office products, publishing, luxury packaging, technical/industrial, graphic design and paper crafting industries.

TLMI is a member-driven association that provides forums to address issues critical to the success of the tag and label, packaging and converting industries in the North American marketplace.

TAPPI offers new packaging scholarship
The Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) will offer a new scholarship designed for students pursuing a career in the field of packaging thanks to a recent gift. The Daniel Siegel Memorial Scholarship was funded by the Siegel family and MICA Corporation in honor of Daniel Siegel, founder and chair of MICA Corp.

“We are very grateful for the recent gift made on behalf of Daniel Siegel that will fund a new scholarship for students in our industry,” says Larry N. Montague, president and CEO of TAPPI. “The Daniel Siegel Scholarship Fund will assist deserving youth in pursuit of a career in the field of packaging. This gift will be a testament to Daniel Siegel’s interest in TAPPI and higher education for all.”

MICA Corp. is a supplier of primers, coating, and adhesives to the flexible packaging industry. According to a statement by the company, Siegel’s developments in water-based adhesive technology were considered innovations of their time and continue to influence manufacturers of flexible packaging materials. He joined TAPPI early in his career in 1968. He attended many TAPPI events over the years and played a key role in encouraging his employees to become active in TAPPI.

The scholarship, in the amount of $4,000, will be presented to an undergraduate or graduate student chapter member at a packaging school. The scholarship is designed to encourage more students to pursue careers in packaging and to raise awareness of the TAPPI Polymers, Laminations,  Adhesives, Coatings and Extrusions (PLACE) Division at these institutions. The deadline is February 15 on even numbered years, except this year, when it is March 15.

The Daniel Siegel Scholarship Fund comes at a crucial time in American manufacturing. “A chronic shortage of engineering students threatens America’s role as the world’s leading innovator and continues to impede our nation’s fragile economic recovery,” writes Paul Otellini,  a member of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, in a recent opinion piece for The Washington Post. “This shortage of engineers is even more acute in the manufacturing sector and threatens America’s ability to retain its innovation edge.”

FPA annnounces  56th Annual Flexible Packaging Achievement Award winners
The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) has announced the winning entries of the 2012 FPA Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards. Of the 86 flexible packaging entries (126 competition category entries) submitted, 25 packages were presented with 31 Achievement Awards within one or more categories including Packaging Excellence, Printing Achievement, Technical Innovation, and Environmental & Sustainability Achievement.

Winning packages were produced by the following:
Amcor Flexibles Europe and Americas
American Packaging Corporation
Ampac
Berry Plastics Corporation
CL&D Graphics Inc. 
Curwood Inc.  – A Bemis Company
ConAgra Foods, Phoenix Packaging
Exopack
Flex America Inc. 
Flex-Pack
Heinz North America
Hilex Poly Co. 
Innovative Packaging Solutions
Nordenia USA
Peel Plastic Products Ltd.
Plastic Packaging Technologies
Printpack Inc. 
Sealed Air Corporation – Cryovac Food Products
Sonoco Flexible Packaging

Awards were presented during the 2012 Welcome & Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards Dinner, February 22, 2012 at The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, AZ, USA.



Tenth NELMA expo set for May 3
The North East Label Manufacturers Association (NELMA) will hold its 10th Annual Expo and Networking Reception on Thursday, May 3, at the Hotel Somerset Bridgewater (formerly Crowne Plaza Hotel) in Somerset, NJ, USA. The event will run from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and features an exhibition hall for key suppliers of products and services to the label printing industry. Following the exhibition will be a Networking Cocktail and Buffet Reception from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Expo will also include attendance by graphic arts students from Millersville University for an educational seminar.

“There will be attendees from various narrow web and label producing companies looking for new vendors or just to network,” says Steve Miller, NELMA president. “This is a low cost show that gets you directly in front of many potential new customers in the Northeast area. We always receive a lot of positive feedback. Don’t miss out on this year’s Expo.”

There is limited vendor space available and reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. NELMA will print and send out over 900 invitations on March 14. In order for the vendor’s name to appear on the invitations, it is suggested vendors register as soon as possible. All attendees must be pre-registered to attend and can register until May 1. If needed, rooms will be available at the Hotel Somerset Bridgewater for reservations on May 2-3.

NELMA is a 17-year old organization whose events focus on advancing the label manufacturing processes of its members while providing forums for peer and vendor networking. NELMA also provides education by working with technical schools and universities.

For more information or to register, contact Jennifer Kline at 610-873-0150 or [email protected]; or Steve Miller at [email protected]. Registration and Expo updates are also available at www.keebar.com.