The last few months saw a couple of major milestones: 31st of May 2018 was the third registration deadline for REACH, the European Chemicals regulation. The long-awaited Circular Economy Package was published in the official Journal in June, tightening recycling and landfilling targets and focusing in particular on the reduction of plastic waste in the so-called Plastic Strategy. In the area of Food Safety, the Commission announced a disappointing delay in its work on the highly anticipated EU measure on Printed Food Contact Materials.

Alex Knott, of the Dow Chemical Company, has been chosen as the recipient of the R. Stanton Avery Pioneer Award for the 2018 Label Industry Global Awards. Judging for the 15th annual awards program took place on 6 June during the recent FINAT European Label Forum (ELF) in Dublin, where the panel of international judges met to consider entries across four award categories.

Olympus Print Group, UK specialists in self-adhesive labels and large format digital print, has increased capacity and market share in wine and beverage and high-end labels, with the acquisition of three Nilpeter FA-4* flexo presses over the course of the last 18 months.

The aesthetic appeal of Multi-Color Corporation North America Wines & Spirits’ Sidewinder Spirits label helped it achieve the accolade of Best in Show at the 2018 FINAT Label Competition.

Registration for the 16th edition of Labelexpo Americas, the region’s leading trade show for the label and package printing industry, is now open. Set to take place once again at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois, from 25-27 September, this unmissable event promises an exciting range of features including a packed two-day conference schedule, an Ecovillage and, for the very first time, an Automation Arena.

The launch edition of Labelexpo Southeast Asia – the biggest label and package printing event in the region – has exceeded all expectations, with 7,934 attendees from 62 countries flocking to BITEC in Bangkok, Thailand for the three-day show from 10-12 May.

Guadalajara in Mexico hosted 964 of the label and package printing industry’s thought leaders and representatives from 12 Latin American countries recently, who came together to share ideas and help shape the future direction of the industry in the region at this year’s Label Summit. This made it one of the best-attended events of its kind to date.

FINAT is proud to welcome two distinguished experts from the renowned Irish beer brand Guinness to its speaker programme for this year’s European Label Forum, 6-8 June, Citiwest Hotel, Dublin. On the last day of the event Emma Rochford and Kathryn Wilson will share Guinness’ considerations on the path to 2020.

The search is underway for the world’s leading pioneers and innovators in the label and package printing industry! Marking 15 years of Label Industry Global Awards, this year there are four prizes up for grabs at the industry’s prestigious Oscars, as the awards honor those organizations and individuals who have excelled in the label and package printing sector through innovation and best practice.

Think back to the 1980s and 1990s. These were great years for pressure-sensitive label converters. PS was snapping up glue-applied market share at a rapid pace and packaging buyers were extremely loyal to their label vendors. These were the years when a printed label wasn’t considered a commodity. Labels were applied solutions, whether the final product was a mustard jar, a barcode on a shoebox or a combination-printed label on an upscale shampoo brand. Label converting companies didn’t need to focus on marketing due to the intrinsic market forces in place during these decades.