FTA’s FORUM 2022 & INFOFLEX 2022 featured everything flexographers have come to expect from the annual events.
Insightful and educational technical content, delivered live and in person, by industry experts. An exhibition floor packed with cutting-edge and best-in-class package printing technologies. And the kind of networking and connection that is essential to flexographers.
From March 13-16, the Omni Fort Worth Hotel and Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, TX were the site for all that and more.
Corralling Solutions & Creating Results
“I was impressed again this year with the level of our speakers and the information that was presented in the sessions—Everything lived up to and exceeded my expectations,” said FORUM 2022 Chair Bart Wright of Pacificolor. “I am very appreciative to FTA for the opportunity to chair FORUM and I had a great partner to work with in Laura Wright. Our industry continues to thrive and excel, and FORUM is definitely one of the reasons why.”
More than 25 presentations took place during the four days of FORUM, its theme for 2022 “Corralling Solutions, Creating Results.” They were split into nine sessions focused on important topics:
- “Print Quality eXchange and the Print Score Card” kicked off the event with a discussion of updates to PQX and how it is being adapted into today’s print score card
- Representatives from seven anilox roll manufacturers faced off in “The Great Anilox Roll Debate 2022” and debated engraving types and applications
- In “Welcome to Our Pressroom,” presenters looked at integrating ink transfer, surface energy and new prepress technologies to overcome common pressroom challenges
- “How Do I Fix This?” featured a panel of industry experts who addressed real-world production issues—including problems posed by FORUM attendees in the audience—and worked out solutions
- “Taking Your Flexography Further” examined a range of opportunities to expand printers’ capabilities and opportunities, along with a look at the necessary technologies and obstacles to overcome
- Flexographers heard how a collection of CxF representatives—brand owner, graphic designer, ink technician and printer—utilizes CxF data to its fullest capabilities in “CxF in Action”
- Research projects undertaken by the Flexo Quality Consortium (FQC) and scholarship recipients were dissected in “FQC: Research in Motion – Pioneering Solutions”
- “It’s Always the Ink’s Fault” examined the root causes of pressroom issues commonly blamed on ink, and a converter showed how it stops those issues from happening in the first place
- FORUM came to a close with “Improving Print Quality Through Optimization,” where presenters looked at how different areas of the flexographic printing process can be optimized to improve overall quality and production
“As co-chair of FORUM and an exhibitor at INFOFLEX, I thought that the conference really came together well,” added Laura Wright of CSW Inc. “It was great to see everyone after two years of holding FORUM virtually. Cheers to all for a successful event and for being in the ‘Wright’ place at the ‘Wright’ time!”
As it always does, day one of FORUM ended with FTA’s annual Awards Banquet. The formal dinner featured the announcement of the association’s most-sought-after honors, including the Excellence in Flexography Awards, Technical Innovation Award, Sustainability Excellence Award, FTA President’s Award and this year’s inductee into the FTA Hall of Fame. [Editor’s Note: See and read about all the honorees in March’s issue of FLEXO. Technical articles covering the Technical Innovation Award winners will appear in the May 2022 issue.]
Building Relationships & Forging Connections
INFOFLEX 2022 marked the exhibition’s 40th anniversary of bringing printer/converters and print partners together to solve problems and grow their business.
Some 160 exhibitors representing every piece of the package printing industry and supplying every piece of the package printing workflow filled seven aisles and more than 215 booth spaces. They met with printers of all segments and sizes, and offered answers to longstanding concerns of improving print quality, speeding up production, trimming waste and expanding into new markets.
During both days of INFOFLEX, Innovation Central offered exhibitors a platform for in-depth discussions about their technologies’ use cases, and to give first-hand accounts of success seen by their customers.
“Our experience at INFOFLEX this year was excellent. We were glad to be able to see and greet our customers, prospects and industry friends, face-to-face. It was like old times,” said Juan Bermúdez, EVP of sales and technical services at Harper Corporation of America. “Even though people are still a bit shy due to COVID-19, we were happily surprised with the number of people who attended this year’s INFOFLEX and stopped at our booth. Harper Corporation of America has been a long-time supporter of FTA and appreciates the value INFOFLEX provides.”
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