Plastic, Not Drastic
Are plastics the new dirty word,
Offensive like an errant dog turd?
What was once seen to be,
The savior of a tree:
And now only dissing is heard.
Is plastic now this fearful stuff,
Which suddenly we’ve had quite enough?
Is it not retro thinking,
Out of paper cups for drinking:
Is plastic recycling so tough?
Remember that most paper uses,
Simply can’t stand those abuses.
For without a coating,
Only good once for toting:
But for plastics there’s no such excuses.
If retrogression is now the thing,
Should we walk instead of taking wing?
Go back to the horse,
(And a buggy of course):
And cash registers than still go “ka-ching”?
Would it not be a sensible recourse,
For recycling venues to endorse?
The public will grasp,
This remedial task:
Instead of stupidity to enforce.
Submitted by Albert Stix Sr, Checker Bag
Priorities, Priorities
Shawn emphasizes workforce development in listing out flexography’s priorities for 2019. He is far from alone. On the checklist:
- Finding press operators
- Training new hires
- Allocating necessary resources to skills development and educational endeavors
Labor concerns stand prominently on the mind of yet another printer respondent. “As customers demand a more consistent product, it requires printers to do more with automation through vision systems and color data collection devices.” Elaborating on the point, he states, “Integrating this into our process gives us a necessary window into continuous improvement practices. The challenges are that these systems require setup time and labor to prepare to use on each job.” To that he adds this observation: “More can be done with automation to reduce this cost, but it is in the very early stages.”
Shawn similarly contends that integration of new technologies will assist in efforts to reduce both downtime and waste. Sharing that belief, one printer says, “The combination of customer demand for shorter runs and faster turnaround times, along with competitive pressures on price, are driving flexo printers to find solutions for lowering costs on these shorter runs. This means faster/shorter changeovers.”
One respondent links digital capabilities with boosting short-run productivity. “As part of the solution to efficient shorter runs, digital becomes more attractive. Hybrid presses, in particular, bring value as an inline solution and a way to limit digital to only that which needs to be digital (variable data print, etc.). Learning how to leverage digital as a complementary technology is a priority.”
Technology as Advantage
Shawn also admits, “Digital is going to impact flexo. I believe it will complement the process. With the increasing number of hybrid presses, flexographers need to increase their knowledge on the digital process to stay competitive.”
While commenting on technology’s ever-expanding role, Shawn ties it to workforce or labor challenges. “Automation and technologies that allow for fewer workers (as they are hard to find) are playing a big part. This can be from anilox roll cleaning to better plate technologies that make our lives easier and our products more repeatable.”
He observes, “Technologies are out there. Some are not that expensive, especially when you look at the big picture and identify how much money you will save by doing things right the first time.” Here, Shawn cautions, “The flexo industry sometimes seems slow to adopt new technologies and sticks with voodoo flexo practices, as that is the way it always did it. We have to abandon that practice.”
Even printers expressing the desire to remain anonymous agree: “Technology advances are key to the industry.” One holds, “It takes a lot of time and effort to sort through the technologies and determine if there is a fit and where the ROI is coming from.” Others contend, “Technology changes very fast, so investment needs to be ongoing.”
Factors Printers Believe Are Influencing Production
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The objective with implementation or adaptation of state-of-the-art equipment is to eliminate past burdens, and as a result make the staff and the plant more productive and efficient. One printer says, “Given today’s highly complex technologies, it takes a lot to make them as helpful as originally expected.” Still, he subscribes to the very common view that “Integration of cutting-edge systems offers critical advantages and is very important—particularly when it comes to automation. It requires strong internal information technology support, but payback is significant and it falls right to the bottom line.”
Better in-plant productivity is ever present on every package printer’s strategic agenda. It’s always been that way and it will always stay that way. Whether it’s consistent color, better reliance on process control, faster reaction and response time, print practitioners are steadfast in declaring, “Improving performance will always top the list of strategic objectives.”