On March 19-22, the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will take place in Houston, TX. At the event, attendees will learn about the latest industry advances and those of related fields, as well as brainstorm with other experts about solving problems and road blocks in order to move our industry forward. Members come to the Annual Technical Conference from all over the world and from all facets of the graphic arts industry. Papers accepted and presented at the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will be published in the TAGA Proceedings. TAGA is recognized worldwide as the most prestigious and comprehensive literature resource for graphic arts sciences and technologies. On Tuesday, March 21, Anoosheh Oskouian from Ship & Shore Environmental will give his paper presentation, Energy Efficient Approaches to Innovate the Printing Process & Gain the Competitive Edge. Energy efficiency is one of the most overlooked opportunities in the printing process.  With increasing environmental regulations, energy efficiency has become required or the “right” thing to do; studies have also shown it can significantly cut costs.  Learn the critical steps to transform existing waste into productivity and profits by identifying sources of emissions, wasted heat, energy and non-value added activities. This will provide valuable insight as to where consumption, loss, defects, inconsistencies, non-value time, activities and overall waste occur.  By identifying these areas, process improvements and savings opportunities can begin.  Arming printers with the tools to identify process waste allows companies to become proactive players in the flexographic printing game and gain the competitive edge. By identifying and eliminating the most common areas of waste, flexographic printers can become aware of the competitive opportunities and cost savings slipping through their process and fingers.  Additional benefits may include opportunities to take advantage of possible incentive programs, increase credibility, and choose qualified vendors. To learn more about Oskouian’s paper or to hear others, register for the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference at...

On March 19-22, the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will take place in Houston, TX. At the event, attendees will learn about the latest industry advances and those of related fields, as well as brainstorm with other experts about solving problems and road blocks in order to move our industry forward. Members come to the Annual Technical Conference from all over the world and from all facets of the graphic arts industry. Papers accepted and presented at the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference will be published in the TAGA Proceedings. TAGA is recognized worldwide as the most prestigious and comprehensive literature resource for graphic arts sciences and technologies. On Tuesday, March 21, Anoosheh Oskouian from Ship & Shore Environmental will give his paper presentation, Energy Efficient Approaches to Innovate the Printing Process & Gain the Competitive Edge. Energy efficiency is one of the most overlooked opportunities in the printing process.  With increasing environmental regulations, energy efficiency has become required or the “right” thing to do; studies have also shown it can significantly cut costs.  Learn the critical steps to transform existing waste into productivity and profits by identifying sources of emissions, wasted heat, energy and non-value added activities. This will provide valuable insight as to where consumption, loss, defects, inconsistencies, non-value time, activities and overall waste occur.  By identifying these areas, process improvements and savings opportunities can begin.  Arming printers with the tools to identify process waste allows companies to become proactive players in the flexographic printing game and gain the competitive edge. By identifying and eliminating the most common areas of waste, flexographic printers can become aware of the competitive opportunities and cost savings slipping through their process and fingers.  Additional benefits may include opportunities to take advantage of possible incentive programs, increase credibility, and choose qualified vendors. To learn more about Oskouian’s paper or to hear others, register for the TAGA 2017 Annual Technical Conference at...

This post was submitted by 2017 President’s Conference sponsor, KBA.   As we get ready to join our colleagues at the 2017 PIA President’s Conference, we’ll be bringing the message that our own president and CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, Claus Bolza-Schünemann, announced after drupa last year: “Print is on the rise again.” It’s been less than a year since drupa 2016, and our company is still maintaining momentum from the show. After some challenging years, print made a dynamic comeback in Düsseldorf with proven products, new technologies, and even more applications. The high numbers and nationalities of the visitors as well as the positive mood in the show’s halls revealed the bright future of our industry. Our company’s presence at drupa received much praise. Visitors were drawn to our innovative one-stop-shop that featured digital, flexo, and offset printing as part of our well-attended live demonstrations. Experts from around the globe could ask for print samples straight off the press and had the opportunity to have some crucial questions competently answered. We were clearly focused on growth markets like digital, packaging, and LED-UV printing for the commercial space. It was plain to see that the KBA Group is actively working on solidifying its strong position in the packaging market. If you weren’t able to attend drupa, we are bringing it to you with our interactive website, KBA @ drupa. We think you’ll enjoy this virtual experience. KBA, like other manufacturers, has done its homework and adapted to new market realities. We’re continuing to invest in new technologies, future-focused products, and new markets. Sitting amid other business owners, presidents, CEOs, and their executive management teams at the PIA President’s Conference gives us the opportunity to share our upbeat mood and learn what others are...

This post was submitted by 2017 President’s Conference sponsor, KBA.   As we get ready to join our colleagues at the 2017 PIA President’s Conference, we’ll be bringing the message that our own president and CEO of Koenig & Bauer AG, Claus Bolza-Schünemann, announced after drupa last year: “Print is on the rise again.” It’s been less than a year since drupa 2016, and our company is still maintaining momentum from the show. After some challenging years, print made a dynamic comeback in Düsseldorf with proven products, new technologies, and even more applications. The high numbers and nationalities of the visitors as well as the positive mood in the show’s halls revealed the bright future of our industry. Our company’s presence at drupa received much praise. Visitors were drawn to our innovative one-stop-shop that featured digital, flexo, and offset printing as part of our well-attended live demonstrations. Experts from around the globe could ask for print samples straight off the press and had the opportunity to have some crucial questions competently answered. We were clearly focused on growth markets like digital, packaging, and LED-UV printing for the commercial space. It was plain to see that the KBA Group is actively working on solidifying its strong position in the packaging market. If you weren’t able to attend drupa, we are bringing it to you with our interactive website, KBA @ drupa. We think you’ll enjoy this virtual experience. KBA, like other manufacturers, has done its homework and adapted to new market realities. We’re continuing to invest in new technologies, future-focused products, and new markets. Sitting amid other business owners, presidents, CEOs, and their executive management teams at the PIA President’s Conference gives us the opportunity to share our upbeat mood and learn what others are...

As we begin 2017, the economy is in its eighth year of growth and printing companies are, on average, enjoying the highest level of profitability since before the Great Recession. Growth, however, may have been accommodated with decisions counterproductive to reducing waste and improving performance. Floor space may have been haphazardly filled with inventory or additional equipment. Clutter and disorganization may have become the norm. Safety priorities may have been overlooked in order to stay on schedule. Now would be a good time to for companies to reassess their operational performance. Printers that pursue operational excellence do so in part by putting in place disciplined processes for employees to search for and remove non-value-added activities (things customers wouldn’t want to pay for). That helps bring manufacturing costs down, develops an energizing culture, and reduces lead time. Here are eight types of waste companies can use to assess the efficiency of their operations. All key employees should be sensitized to each of these so they can be spotted and dealt with. If a company is ignorant of its current situation, things are unlikely to improve. Defects: This refers to more than the product itself, but the time and materials wasted in producing defective product then re-running it. Waste from product defects includes employee time spent, materials, and equipment utilized inspecting and sorting defective product, and in identifying, handling, and segregating non-conforming product. Overproduction: Overproduction is when a process produces product earlier or in an amount greater than the next process or customer needs. The result is large amounts of product spending long periods of time in work-in-process (WIP). Symptoms of overproduction include pulling jobs off equipment in the middle of a production run to make room for another job, production overtime that customers don’t pay for, large amounts of floor space clogged with skids of WIP, process bottlenecks, bindery extras that are never used, and warehouses filled with finished goods inventory. Waiting: Waiting for other processes and people to complete activities, scheduled downtime, equipment breakdowns, defective product, and inaccurate and incomplete job information are all non-value-added waste. Transportation: Think about the time spent and extra equipment used to valet information, tooling, materials, supplies, and WIP around the plant. Moving product on pallets from one side of the building to another and back again is a perfect example. Inventory and WIP: Inventory should be whittled down to the bare minimum. There is a dollar cost in time and resources to hold excessive raw materials, lots of work-in-process, and a warehouse full of finished goods. This is why “just in time” is a mantra at many companies committed to Lean thinking.  Motion: Thisincludes time wasted searching for and retrieving tooling and materials, getting...

As we begin 2017, the economy is in its eighth year of growth and printing companies are, on average, enjoying the highest level of profitability since before the Great Recession. Growth, however, may have been accommodated with decisions counterproductive to reducing waste and improving performance. Floor space may have been haphazardly filled with inventory or additional equipment. Clutter and disorganization may have become the norm. Safety priorities may have been overlooked in order to stay on schedule. Now would be a good time to for companies to reassess their operational performance. Printers that pursue operational excellence do so in part by putting in place disciplined processes for employees to search for and remove non-value-added activities (things customers wouldn’t want to pay for). That helps bring manufacturing costs down, develops an energizing culture, and reduces lead time. Here are eight types of waste companies can use to assess the efficiency of their operations. All key employees should be sensitized to each of these so they can be spotted and dealt with. If a company is ignorant of its current situation, things are unlikely to improve. Defects: This refers to more than the product itself, but the time and materials wasted in producing defective product then re-running it. Waste from product defects includes employee time spent, materials, and equipment utilized inspecting and sorting defective product, and in identifying, handling, and segregating non-conforming product. Overproduction: Overproduction is when a process produces product earlier or in an amount greater than the next process or customer needs. The result is large amounts of product spending long periods of time in work-in-process (WIP). Symptoms of overproduction include pulling jobs off equipment in the middle of a production run to make room for another job, production overtime that customers don’t pay for, large amounts of floor space clogged with skids of WIP, process bottlenecks, bindery extras that are never used, and warehouses filled with finished goods inventory. Waiting: Waiting for other processes and people to complete activities, scheduled downtime, equipment breakdowns, defective product, and inaccurate and incomplete job information are all non-value-added waste. Transportation: Think about the time spent and extra equipment used to valet information, tooling, materials, supplies, and WIP around the plant. Moving product on pallets from one side of the building to another and back again is a perfect example. Inventory and WIP: Inventory should be whittled down to the bare minimum. There is a dollar cost in time and resources to hold excessive raw materials, lots of work-in-process, and a warehouse full of finished goods. This is why “just in time” is a mantra at many companies committed to Lean thinking.  Motion: Thisincludes time wasted searching for and retrieving tooling and materials, getting...