Ten years makes for an interesting span of time. It’s not so long ago that it’s a distant memory, yet though I remember it well, I don’t quite recall it like it was yesterday.

So much has changed for me in ten years. In 2005, I was a middle school social studies teacher with no awareness whatsoever of the label and packaging industry. I was single and lived alone, in an (probably) illegal one-bedroom apartment. Now married with two kids and a house in the suburbs, a journalism career that has me engrossed in the label industry, ten years for me is truly a lifetime ago.

There’s a reason why I’m focusing on a decade’s worth of time, as we’ve done something new for this issue of Label & Narrow Web.

In our April 2005 issue – exactly ten years ago – we featured Logotech in our Narrow Web Profile story.  And in this issue we revisit the same Fairfield, NJ converter, and discover how much can transpire at a label converting operation over the course of ten years. For starters, the company is now called Tadbik NJ, and after you read the story, like me, you’ll wonder what the next decade will bring.

Prior to my visit with Tadbik for this issue’s feature, I dug up in our archives the April 2005 issue of L&NW, the one that featured Logotech. While the layout and look of our magazine is vastly different, what’s most striking to me is seeing how much the industry has changed. Looking at the Industry News section, several companies that were making headlines then, I’ve never heard of.

There was also an article in the issue titled “Indigo pushes on.” Part of the story detailed a series of open house events where the digital press maker would demonstrate the capabilities of its ws4050 press. The year 2005 also marked the formation of Dscoop (Digital Solutions Cooperative), the global association of users of HP Indigo technology. Last month, Dscoop celebrated its ten year anniversary at DscoopX in Washington, DC. With more than 2,200 attendees, it was the largest edition of the event to-date. From my perspective, Dscoop has evolved to become so much more than a users group meeting – I consider it a full-blown tradeshow.

Incidentally, following the 2005 profile on Logotech, the company would go on to purchase an aforementioned HP Indigo ws4050, and though the same press was up and running when I visited last month, an upgrade to a WS6800 is imminent, as are a host of other changes at Tadbik.

When I started in the industry in 2008, I could count on one hand the number of digital players there were. With the proliferation of inkjet technology, I’d need at least five more hands. This is just one example.

In the grand scheme of things, ten years is a blink of an eye. However, in the label industry, it’s enough time for major change. I’m happy to bear witness to it.

Steve Katz, Editor
[email protected]
Twitter: @LabelSteve