TLMI will be holding the association’s 12th Technical Conference at the Swissotel in Chicago, September 1-3, 2015. The theme of this year’s Technical Conference is “Breaking Boundaries: Insight into Business Strategy and Technical Operations” and is a forum where conference presenters and industry experts will take attendees through a wide range of topics that address the day-to-day issues converters and their suppliers face, in addition to the drivers and trends that are reshaping the North American narrow web sector. TLMI Technical Conference session topic highlights include:

Keynote Speaker Terry Jones: The conference will open with keynote speaker Terry Jones, who will lead attendees in an exploration of innovation strategies. In 1996, Jones founded mega online travel agency, travelocity.com, the first website that allowed consumers to reserve, book and purchase airline tickets directly. Today, Jones is the managing principal of Essential Ideas, a consultancy he co-founded to help companies with their transition into the digital economy.

Emerging label design trends: Attendees will gain insights into emerging packaging and labeling design trends that drive the needs of retailers, brands and the entire ecosystem of solution providers. Presenters will demonstrate how the world of changing creative ideas transforms a business utilizing design modifications to enhance the consumer experience through texture and sensory features in a case study.

Interactive labels: This session will focus on the disruptive technologies in labeling applications, specifically focusing on the changing requirements of labels to be not just a product description, but also a marketing element for the brand. This session will include consumer demographics, the success rate of brand owners using interactive labeling in their campaigns, QR codes and directional labeling, and thermochromatic and smart labeling.

Change agents as an industry opportunity: This session explores how converters are adapting to current changes in packaging material specifications and package design configurations. Material down gauging, lowering coating weights and the development of linerless labels will be discussed and attendees will learn how to better position their companies for the future.

How engaging customers drives buying influence: This session will explore the shifts in the buying decision process and the most effective tactics in sustaining brand consideration and customer loyalty. Presenters will showcase actual business-to-business converter experiences in addition to sharing the most effective options available for driving customer engagement programs.

Building a scientific color management system: This session will guide converters on how to move beyond the craftsman culture when choosing the color management platform that is the best fit for their company. The session will also address how to achieve color management across multiple digital and flexo platforms, including G7. The topics explored during this session will be the fundamentals of color, including Delta E, color gamut and PMS; and how to move from subjective to scientific management of color variations.

Bridging the skills gap for building tomorrow’s labor force: This session is designed to provide insight into the availability of resources for how converter organizations of all sizes and business structures can address training and retention. Presenters will share practical advice on how to attract and retain the millennial generation in the narrow web converting industry.

Taking a deeper dive at the interactive roundtable session: The conference will close with a special session that will engage attendees in roundtable discussions, exploring the content of the conference’s previous sessions. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from industry peers, including some of the session speakers themselves, through interactive, small group discussions led by moderators. The business track roundtable discussions will focus on Customer Engagement, Bridging the Skills Gap and Intentional Behavior. The technology track discussions will dive into Smart Labels, Color Management and Packaging Development Trends.