PostPress
Amplify Print event off to flying start
FSEA, in partnership with the Association of Print Technologies (APTech), announced it would be creating a new event in 2022, Amplify Print, that will bring print finishing and embellishments to the forefront. The event will showcase the brands, products and processes that will raise the standard for metallic decorating and coatings, diecutting, folding and gluing, binding, direct mail and more. Amplify will take place June 14 – 16, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Preparation for the event is well underway and several sponsors and exhibitors already are committed.
“We have received a tremendous response to Amplify,” commented FSEA Executive Director Jeff Peterson. “We believe the timing and location are going to be perfect to launch this new event that will specifically target print finishing and postpress technologies, including embellishments, binding, direct mail and more.”
At the time that this issue of PostPress went to press, key sponsors included Sakurai USA, Kurz Transfer Products, Canon, Harris & Bruno, Universal Engraving, Inc., and Infinity Foils, Inc. Many others have reserved exhibit space or verbally committed to Amplify.
“The value of print is increasingly tied to the enhancement and finishing techniques that printers bring to the table,” stated APTech President, Thayer Long. “As important, automation is fundamentally changing the business of print and mail. We are excited to host this event with FSEA and focus on this rapidly growing area of the printing industry.”
Those interested in exhibiting or attending Amplify can visit www.amplifyprint.org.
FSEA promotes negligible amount of aluminum contained in decorative foils
The Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA) and its Sustainability Committee have worked with FSEA-member foil manufacturers to determine the amount of aluminum that is used in the manufacturing of transfer foils, including hot, cold and digital transfer foil products. Through this investigation, FSEA has compiled data confirming the layer of aluminum that provides the metallic sheen in a metallic transfer foil is negligible. In fact, it is so thin that it is measured in nanometers, which is 1/10th of an angstrom. “We believe it is important that those involved in the repulping and recycling processes understand the unbelievably small amount of aluminum that is contained in decorative transfer foils,” stated FSEA Executive Director Jeff Peterson.
The thickness of the aluminum layer in a transfer foil – which is a layer of aluminum that is vacuum metallized to a film carrier – has been found to be between 30 and 60 nanometers in thickness. For comparison purposes, a sheet of copy paper is approximately 100,000 nanometers thick, and a human hair is approximately 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers thick.
To further demonstrate the negligible amount of aluminum in transfer foils, one large roll of decorative foil (40″ x 35,000′), if unrolled, would cover nearly 2 ½ football fields. This one roll can be used to decorate as many as 120,000 cosmetic cartons containing 5% to 100% foil coverage. The actual amount of aluminum in this jumbo roll of foil would weigh barely more than one ounce, or less than .75 cubic inches in mass (about the size of the tip of a typical human thumb).
For further details and to receive the full press release and supporting data, contact Jeff Peterson direct at 785.271.5816 or email [email protected].
FSEA members on pace to save more than $350,000 on Grainger purchases in 2021
FSEA has announced that its members have saved more than $350,000 with the FSEA Grainger Discount Program in 2021. The cost-savings program recently has added several new products and categories, allowing member companies to receive significant discounts on products and shipping costs. “This program has helped many of our FSEA members, both large and small, save much more than the cost of their FSEA membershp on their Grainger purchases,” stated Assistant FSEA Director Dianna Brodine. For more details on the FSEA Grainger Discount Program, contact Brenda Schell at
[email protected].
FSEA welcomes new board member
FSEA has announced that Haley Hutchison-Quick, vice president of Infinity® Foils, Inc. – a UEI® Group Company, has been named to the FSEA Board of Directors as an Associate (Supplier) board member. Hutchison-Quick has been with Infinity Foils for over nine years and plays an instrumental role in the leadership and management of the company. Growing up in the industry, she has been immersed in the ever-changing world of foil stamping and embossing. She has a wealth of knowledge, from customer service and product performance to product innovation and how it applies to the many different industries represented by the Foil and Specialty Effects Association.