Universal Engraving, Overland Park, Kansas, an engraved foil and emboss die maker, has announced that regular visitors to the company’s website will be in for a surprise. The legacy engraved die company has a new logo and a completely revitalized website.

The updated Universal Engraving logo reflects a balance of foundational values and forward-thinking innovation. It retains the familiar navy and gold colors but incorporates a bolder, modernized typeface and increased negative space. The subtle nod to the former icon has been invigorated with speed and global reach.

Jim Hutchison, senior vice president of sales and marketing, stated that the company’s history has taught it that it is imperative for companies to stay true to their core values and beliefs while maintaining a passion for refreshing their brand, and that is exactly what the company is delivering with its new logo.

An even bigger change is the Universal Engraving website. The site’s new responsive design and optimized speed lets customers quickly and securely access the site on the go or at the office, making it an invaluable resource. It offers customers a centralized source of product information and inventive solutions. Like the logo, this site also has a fresh and modern new look.

For more information, visit www.UniversalEngraving.com.

 

A host of high-profile speakers are set to join Labelexpo’s first Virtual Label Summit, taking place online between 28 September and 2 October 2020, and designed around five key themes.

The opening day of the five-day event focuses on the global landscape, starting with a look inside pressrooms around the world. Providing vital insight into how the industry is adapting in these changing times, speakers include Anuj Bhargava, founder, Kumar Labels in India; Christie Wong Barrett, CEO, and Thomas Barrett, president, both of MacArthur Corporation in the US. This is followed by an editorial panel led by Labels & Labeling magazine, whose global team of journalists will share their knowledge of label market trends around the world.

Day two, themed around converter business markets and opportunities, will open with a session led by Chris Ellison, managing director, OPM (Labels and Packaging), covering the lucrative flexible packaging market from the converter perspective. This will lead into a global converter CEO panel discussion on tips for post COVID-19 recovery. Moderated by TLMI president Linnea Keen, panelists include Charlie MacLean, president and CEO, ASL Print FX (Canada); Mark Glendenning, CEO, Inland (USA); Isidore Leiser, CEO, Stratus Packaging (France); Sachen Gudka, CEO, Skanem Interlabels (Kenya); and David Richards, managing director, Amberley Labels (UK).

Day three explores futureproofing one’s business, beginning with a technology update led by Labelexpo’s strategic director, Andy Thomas-Emans. Sponsored by the Label Academy, this session also features a preview of what’s in store at Labelexpo Americas 2021. Claudia St. John, president, Affinity HR, is speaker for the following session which will cover leading a team through a season of crisis. Ending the day is a converter panel that will discuss alternatives to landfill and how converters have successfully navigated this. Sponsored and produced by TLMI, and moderated by its vice president of sustainability, Rosalyn  Bandy, panelists are John Dultz, process improvement manager, CCL; Mark Howard, vice president, graphic services, Syracuse Label and Surround Printing; Brian Hurst, vice president, operations, Yerecic Label; John Crosby, vice president, operations, Grand Rapids Label; and Jesse Hood, director of quality and continuous improvement, Hub Labels.

Day four moves on to sales and marketing opportunities, with the opening session led by Vicki Strull, principal, Vicki Strull Design. She will provide an exclusive insight into ways of designing innovative and impactful products. This will lead neatly into a presentation on successful omnichannel marketing. Moderated by Ken Theriot, executive director, TheRiot Agency, this session is led by Jesse Freitas, marketing director, StickerGiant, and Adam Peek, business development and channel partner manager, Fortis Solutions Group.

The final day of the conference is themed around branding and design from the customer perspective, and kicks off with a session taking delegates through an innovative package design for Procter & Gamble – from research and development to commercialization to launch. Moderated by David Lukshus, president, Cog LLC, featured speakers are Ken McGuire, research fellow, Procter & Gamble; Cedric D’Souza, chief technology officer, AeroFlexx; and Ben Greengrass, creative director, ThoughtMatter. Wrapping up the conference is a session led by Hernán Braberman, partner and executive design director, Tridimage, who will delve into how different generations choose one product over another.

Running alongside the main conference will be opportunities for attendees to interact with industry suppliers in the ‘Expo Hall’ in between the sessions and discover the label and package printing industry’s latest innovations. Sponsors on hand include Avery Dennison, Baldwin Vision Systems/AMS Spectral UV, BOBST, Brotech, Domino, Flint, GEW, Hybrid Software, Label Academy, MacTac, MPS, Pantec, OMET, UPM Raflatac and Xeikon.

The conference will be broadcast early in US Central Time (CT) to enable participation from a global audience. The full program and speaker details are available on the Virtual Label Summit website.

For further information about the Virtual Label Summit, contact Helen Stoddart, communications manager, Labelexpo Global Series, email: hstoddart@labelexpo.com or visit www.labelsummit.com/virtual.

Attendee registration is open for the industry’s new web-based event, PACK EXPO Connects. The event, scheduled for Nov. 9-13, 2020, is produced by PMMI Media Group for the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, Herndon, Virginia.

PACK EXPO Connects aims to deliver the power of PMMI Media Group and the PACK EXPO brand to connect the packaging and processing industry during these challenging times. In creating this experience, PMMI Media Group combined its digital marketing expertise and industry knowledge into one intuitive interactive platform, making live engagement with exhibitors easy. With more than 600 solutions-providers featuring state-of-the-art virtual showrooms, attendees can spend less time and effort searching for the latest innovations and more time fostering connections via live chats, live product demos and interactive educational opportunities.

With more than 2,600 live product demos over five days, attendees will be able to watch demonstrations of machinery and products in 15-minute increments. Attendees can schedule one-on-one live chats with product and technical experts to find targeted solutions and expeditiously search for specific products among 12 targeted categories.

In addition to exhibitor interaction, PACK EXPO Connects will offer virtual educational opportunities covering the most pertinent industry trends. These include the daily Jumpstart to kick-off each day of the event, complete with a special Packaging and Processing Women’s Leadership Network session on Tuesday, Nov. 10, featuring Jan Tharp, president and CEO at Bumble Bee Foods. Innovation Stages, Trend Chats and The Solution Room will feature expert-led interactive educational sessions, and the Showcase of Packaging Innovations will feature a web portal full of the latest in award-winning packaging from PACK EXPO Connects partners. Daily Download sessions with PMMI Media Group editors will discuss each day’s PACK EXPO Connects highlights.

Live showroom hours will run Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. CT and Friday 10 a.m.-1 p.m. CT. International demo hours also have been added each day, to expand PACK EXPO Connects’ global reach. International demos will be broadcasting at 10 a.m. China Standard time (9 p.m. CT) and 10 a.m. Greenwich Mean time (4 a.m. CT). These time slots will enable attendees who reside outside the Western Hemisphere to view solutions and enjoy live interactions with exhibitors. In addition, all educational sessions will be available on-demand for international attendees to watch at times convenient to them. Spanish language closed captioning also will be provided for the Jumpstart sessions.

The MyConnects Planner will serve as the first stop for every attendee after registration, assisting in advance planning for the most efficient PACK EXPO Connects experience. An Outlook calendar integration is available for attendees to add events to their Outlook calendars for ease of reference.

Preview Week (Nov. 2-6) will be the week before PACK EXPO Connects. Attendees are encouraged to browse, add product demos, educational sessions and all items of interest, as well as finalize their MyConnects Planner.

For more information and free registration, visit www.packexpoconnects.com.

PRINTING United Alliance, Fairfax, Virginia, producer of the PRINTING United Digital Experience that replaces this year’s in-person Expo, has announced more details about the event that now will run Oct. 26-Nov. 12. The multifaceted online experience spans 14 action-packed days of carefully curated keynotes, educational programming, and worldwide product launches and demonstrations being offered at no charge to attendees, as the industry moves toward recovery in 2021.

Segment-based content sessions that focus on apparel, digital textile, industrial, graphics/wide-format, commercial, packaging, and mailing and fulfillment already have garnered attention from printers around the globe. The platform aims to include a wealth of information and insight from leading analysts, researchers, subject matter experts, OEMs and suppliers. This robust combination creates a unique educational experience for printers to best understand the current landscape, optimize recovery and see the latest technology to drive their businesses forward. In a time when these types of rich experiences have not been possible, PRINTING United Alliance is mission-driven to ensure it is delivering on its promise to be the go-to place for all things related to printing.

Registration for the event and session details will be announced soon. To become a sponsor for the PRINTING United Digital Experience, please contact Jack Noonan, VP of business development, PRINTING United Alliance: jnoonan@printing.org.

For more information, visit PRINTINGUnited.com.

Labelexpo’s first Virtual Label Summit is the perfect opportunity to stay connected and keep a company’s label and package printing knowledge up to date.

Featuring five days of expert-led sessions, participants will learn about the technology and key trends affecting the global label and package printing market.

Join Labelexpo from Sept. 28-Oct. 2, 2020, and discover how to adapt operations for the new challenges and opportunities ahead.

Conference sessions will be broadcast in the morning – US Central Time (CT) – to allow participants from across the world to take part. Sessions also will be available on-demand after the broadcast for three months.

For more information, visit www.labelsummit.com/virtual.

drupa, the trade fair for printing technologies, extends its digital offering: starting in October the online platform drupa preview will offer exhibitors and visitors an additional channel for touching base with the sector, discussing trending themes and presenting product portfolios. The portal will consist of the content formats “Conference”, “Exhibition” and “Networking” and will bring the community together. The drupa preview thus enables continuous exchange of information until the hybrid trade fair in April 2021 (April 20 – 28 in Düsseldorf, Germany), which will combine the on-site event with additional digital content.

In the “Conference Area” users will find lectures, videos and interviews – providing a preview of drupa 2021. It will reflect the agenda in terms of content and the knowledge transfer that drupa stands for. On fixed days and times interested parties can take part in the web sessions free of charge and chat with the speakers. Afterwards the videos will be available on demand. The “Exhibition Space” brings together what visitors can expect to normally see in the exhibition areas – exciting products, innovative companies and expert input. This means visits to the live event can already be planned at this early stage. In addition, even meetings can already be set up – at the “Networking Plaza.” The networking options allow companies and interested parties to establish live online contact in advance and intensify this contact at the event in April 2021.

Thanks to the new digital offering, drupa provides the sector with continuous exchange and knowledge transfer and meaningfully bridges the remaining time until drupa for both visitors and exhibitors.

“We have already been working long and hard on enhancing our digital offering. The pandemic has faced us with new challenges and has ultimately been a catalyst for digitization,” says Sabine Geldermann, director drupa and Print Technologies, and adds: “With the hybrid drupa we also give those visitors who are unable to travel the possibility to take part in the industry get-together. At the same time, we meet exhibitors’ needs to reach the international community personally. Via the portal the drupa platform therefore unites the global print community in a targeted manner.”

The content of drupa preview is free of charge for visitors. After registration, content and videos can be accessed at any time. For web sessions, live lectures and Matchmaking there will be a separate (free) registration for a specific day and time. The agenda of live sessions will follow soon.

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at drupa 2021, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: 312. 781.5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; visit www.drupa.com and www.mdna.com.

For hotel and travel information, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at 866.674.3476; Fax: 212.674.3477; E-mail: info@ttitravel.net; www.ttitravel.net.

The International Association of Diecutting and Diemaking (IADD), Crystal Lake, Illinois, has announced that it will host its 48th Annual Meeting Xchange online. Informative programming will be live every Tuesday beginning September 29 through October 27.

IADD vice president of education, Robert McCann, Bobst North America, Inc., noted that the annual meeting offers technical programming focused on folding carton and business management topics designed to stimulate creativity and innovation.

Dr. Chris Kuehl, managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence, is the keynote speaker and will kick off programming on Tuesday, September 29. Dr. Kuehl provides forecasts and strategic guidance for a wide variety of corporate clients around the world and will provide the economic outlook for the industry. During his program, attendees will learn the five things that will most likely change and five things to help them make better business decisions during uncertain times.

In addition, the IADD will bring experts each week to cover all aspects of the folding carton industry. These fifty-minute online programs can be watched live or on-demand. Each session will take a deep dive into the subject and provide the opportunity for attendees to ask their questions. Topics include:

• Carton Board Characteristics
• Steel Counters
• Cutting Load Balancing, Zero-Point Makereadies and Cutting Speed
• Foil, Embossing & Diecutting
• Layout Challenges

Attendees will get the answers to their toughest questions during the Layout Challenges panel discussion. Experts represent each discipline from software to diemaking to converting, and can provide advice to help improve the efficiency of jobs. Submit layout challenge design PDFs and questions in advance by email at xchange@iadd.org. Any submission used in the live session will be stripped of any identifiable company information to protect the privacy of attendees and their customers.

New this year, attendees will have the chance to view the latest technology, equipment and products during five-minute Supplier Spotlights that will be integrated throughout the programming.

The IADD Annual Meeting Xchange is a one-stop shop for learning, “xchanging” ideas and gaining knowledge to advance one’s business.

To conclude the meeting, IADD president Gino Gualtieri of Central Die Supplies, Inc., will announce the Pillar Award and Presidential Award recipients during the annual business meeting on October 27.

Early registration discounts are available through September 22. To see the full schedule, program descriptions and to register, visit www.iadd.org/?current.

Visit www.iadd.org or call 815.455.7519 for more information.