Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) is now offering an all-new “Forum & INFO*FLEX Sampler” package that gives delegates a condensed, 2-day version of the events, as opposed to the full 4-day time commitment. The package includes entrance into the INFO*FLEX Exhibition on Tuesday, March 8, a lunch voucher, drink tickets, and admission into Forum’s technical sessions on Wednesday, March 9. Available to printers/converters who hold an active FTA membership, the offer aims to broaden the appeal of the events to those who have never attended before and can be purchased at www.ftastore.com for $125.

Those who select the package will have access to the INFO*FLEX show floor and browse the latest offerings from the nearly 250 exhibiting companies. The exhibit floor, housed at the Fort Worth Convention Center, will also feature an all-new Solutions Theater, as well as live demonstrations of running machinery.

The next day, sampler-goers can attend the final two technical sessions of Forum 2016, “Flexography 101: Define It!” and “Flexography 102: Control It!”, chaired by Zachery Blackburn, Central Piedmont Community College, and Shawn Oetjen, AWT Labels & Packaging. The sessions will explore flexo fundamentals, with key focuses on topics such as: press types, press components, print quality, calibration, optimization, fingerprinting and characterization.

Flexography 101: Define It! will feature the following speakers and their presentations:
Shawn Oetjen, AWT Labels & Packaging, “How Does It Work? Flexographic Presses and Print Stations”
Sean Teufler, Harper Corporation of America, “Understanding Aniloxes and the Vital Relationship with the Metering System”
Keith Nagle, ACTEGA WIT, “Ink Basics: Water-Based, UV, Solvent & What They Print On”

Zachery Blackburn, Central Piedmont Community College, “The Plate Package: Fundamentals of Image Carrier & Mounting Tape”


Flexography 102: Control It! will host:
Zachery Blackburn and Shawn Oetjen, “Getting Control of Process Control: Tools You Need in Your Pressroom”

PJ Fronczkiewicz, Flint Group “Optimization: How to Get From Here to There”
Mark Mazur, “Fingerprinting”
Tim Reece, All Printing Resources, “Automating Characterization: Nope, it’s Not the Same as Fingerprinting”
Zachery Blackburn and Shawn Oetjen, “Putting It All Together: Process Control & Improvement”