Siegwerk at Labelexpo Americas 2016 – Interview about trends and highlights

Dean Radford about trending topics of this year’s Labelexpo Americas, and his personal highlights of the show. He is Head of Technology for Canada & USA at Siegwerk Environmental Inks.

Q: What are your highlights of this year’s Labelexpo, Dean? 

A: With its motto “A fantastic world of possibilities” this year’s Labelexpo Americas gave a great overview of current developments and future trends in label and package printing technology. The show is the largest event of its kind in the American region and therefore an important presence for Siegwerk. The industry’s move towards UV inkjet in digital printing was clearly recognizable at the show and is definitively one of the highlights. Besides, it was very interesting to see the newest developments in terms of LED inks. LED UV curing is for sure one of the present growth drivers at the global printing market. Strolling along the exhibition area it was also clearly visible that the demand for low migration inks is still increasing. Continuously working on optimizing the inks for all types of applications is key for every ink manufacturer. In the meantime it’s not only the industry that is aware of migration potentials but also the consumer awareness for possible health risks by migrating substances is more and more increasing. The offering of migration optimized inks for several print applications will become even more crucial for success in the future. 

Q: What topics trended the show? And how is Siegwerk able to address these?

A:The Labelexpo Americas was trended by developments to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. For printers it becomes more and more important to stay agile and react quickly to changing market requirements and conditions. Working efficient and cost-effective is key for success. Siegwerk is serving this trend for example with our innovative web-based color management software program “FASTMatch” that simplifies a printer’s color adjustment process while providing accurate ink formulations. FASTMatch helps decrease press set up time, lessens ink used, and reduces waste. All of these help cut costs on a press run and increase a customer’s bottom line. With this software already successfully launched in the US region Siegwerk is able to support customers to enhance their capabilities and improve efficiency while providing highest product safety standards targeted to their individual needs.

Q: What is the most exciting current trend from your perspective?

A:One of the most interesting trends right now is the LED UV curing technology. From my point of view this topic will make a big step towards becoming an industry standard in the future. Printers are increasingly interested and opting for this technology regardless of the printing process used. With its potential for eco-efficiency, cost-effectiveness and productivity advantages, it is definitely one technological advance of recent years that will drive future development in the printing industry. We will see some more movement in this area for sure.