Historically, converters have been constricted to a single-source supplier for the manufacturing of thermal plates. In this supply niche, manufacturers typically consign – or “rent” – the plate processing equipment to the converter. Recognizing the need for risk mitigation at the converter level, MacDermid and APR (All Printing Resources) have partnered together to present a new approach to the North American narrow web industry.

For converters who will be integrating a MacDermid LAVA system as their primary plate processing technology, this new strategy allows label printers to continue to produce competitors’ plates on the MacDermid system.

As a result of chronic supply chain shortages and delays in some key raw material categories, converters are increasingly seeking ways to mitigate risk. The recent TLMI Market Watch report indicated that, on average, converters’ lead times from their suppliers have increased 170% compared to their lead times for products in 2021. Orders for materials that arrived in two weeks last year are now taking a month and a half. Orders that took three weeks to arrive on a converter’s doorstep are now taking more than two months. And materials in some categories that took five to six weeks to ship upon order placement are now taking up to four months or more.

This year ushered in a supply chain crisis, and converters are looking for ways to secure contingency plans for critical supply items in order to reduce the risk of potential shutdowns.

The MacDermid-APR announcement enables converters to ensure they’re optimizing their workflow and using the best combination of plates, exposure, and screening in order to achieve more consistent quality levels.

Catherine Haynes, APR’s vice president of growth and development, comments, “At this point, a majority of converters have made the migration to flat-top dot technology and continue working to optimize their screening solutions in order to get the highest quality imaging they possibly can. It usually comes down to factors related to the solids, ink release, and highlight fades; these have always been and continue to be the biggest challenges of flexo.”

Changing plate suppliers can be a rigorous process, and converters are often hesitant to make the switch due to legacy work and the need to maintain consistent workflow processes.

Haynes continues, “There is so much technology and effort that goes into optimization, fingerprinting, and characterizing of a press. A company may realize a competitive plate supplier offers potentially better solutions, however, they have already put so much work into optimizing the plates they are already using, plate mounting, printing, inks, as well as how all these work together, there’s always a concern about what happens if you throw a new plate material into the mix. It often comes down to, ‘Can I match my legacy work?’ And with the new approach that MacDermid and APR are offering, this enables converters assurance that they will be able to continue matching that work because they don’t have to change the types of plates they’re using for certain applications.”

MacDermid and APR’s announcement also enables converters to take advantage of new plate technology advancements that optimize the newest prepress screening technologies.

Dave Nieman, president, and CEO of APR, comments, “We have successfully and efficiently migrated customers from competitors’ products to MacDermid many times. We do this without any loss, and sometimes improvement, from their current print performance. APR has a proven process to do this and the beauty of this new approach is that if a converter has any legacy work they might be concerned about switching, they can still use their existing plates for those jobs. It all comes down to the fact that in the world of thermal plate processing, a competitor’s plates can be manufactured successfully on MacDermid LAVA processors. This is similar to what we have been witnessing with solvent plate processing for years. The current thermal processing structure was put in place to lock customers in, not for any technical reasons, and this new MacDermid-APR approach changes the whole paradigm so that converters have less risk and more options. ”

The events of the past two and a half years have underscored how critical it is for converters to integrate more flexibility into their supply base to effectively meet delivery time requirements in a market of continued change and uncertainty. Ryan Vest, director of innovation and technology for MacDermid, comments, “At the root of this announcement is that we’re bringing more flexibility to converters. It all comes down to risk and change management. We are working with APR in providing more flexibility for our customers to be able to transition at their own rate of speed and absorb the change of cost at their own rate of acceptance. Every label converter has been impacted by the supply chain crisis, mostly with labelstocks, however, this new joint approach gives converters increased agility and resilience if anything occurs in the polymer supply chain because you now have more options.”

Brad Wills, MacDermid’s senior vice president and global general manager, adds, “MacDermid is acutely aware of converters’ supply chain concerns and the impact that the current business landscape has had on the industry. We’re a company that prides itself in constantly providing new and innovative solutions across the markets that we serve and this program with APR reinforces our commitment to the marketplace and to each and every one of our customers.”

In addition to flexibility and mitigating risk, plate technology transitions are also about quality. As consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs) continue to push their narrow web-printed packaging vendors to raise the bar on quality to enable CPG products more differentiation on the retail shelf, converters must constantly evaluate the technology they currently have and consider ways to optimize their own capabilities.

Brian Cook, MacDermid’s applications development and lab manager, adds, “While we’re at a very high level currently with the level of quality that the market is producing with flexo plates, whether thermal or solvent, that bar is constantly being raised as new technology becomes available. We’re not done. Technology will continue to evolve and as it does, our joint announcement with APR means that converters no longer have to be locked in to one plate supplier.”

Printed packaging converters are well-versed in transitions. During the pandemic, the industry proved extremely resilient as companies met demand surges in some end-use verticals while other segments flatlined. Throughout 2022, converters have met the supply chain crisis head-on as companies fine-tuned their logistics strategies and production protocols to ensure orders were filled and production steady. The current business environment demands that converters and their suppliers are having to work together more closely than they ever have, and the new MacDermid-APR approach allows companies to do more than just survive transitions. It allows them to thrive through them.