Paul Teachout on the Trending Now-themed 2017 FTA Forum

The FTA forum embraces today’s hottest topics and trends. With over 1,600 attendees and 300 show booths there was something for everyone in Phoenix.

FTA Forum and INFO*FLEX, organised by the Flexographic Technical Association (FTA), is one of the largest annual gatherings for the package printing and converting industry in the USA – the #1 Education & Networking Event of the Year. The FTA forum embraces today’s hottest topics and trends. With over 1,600 attendees and 300 show booths there was something for everyone in Phoenix.

The Trending Now-themed 2017 Forum coved all current hot topics and technologies in the industry, with expansion into segments that are relevant for today’s business and guaranteed to help prepare attendees for future customer demands.

“It has been a privilege to Chair this year’s annual Forum and INFO*FLEX Show”, mentioned Paul Teachout, Vice President of Sales & Marketing Nilpeter USA Inc. “It brought great opportunity to influence discussion on trends that are important to all of us. One of the most influential topics at the FORUM was the Press Crew Crisis session. This session is close to us here at Nilpeter, as we prepare our innovations for the next generation of production personnel. Our industry is in dire need of new talent as our labour pool continues to shrink. At Nilpeter we are meeting this demand head on. Our new FA-Line of products will directly address the generational workforce challenge and the age of automation. These solutions will include complete motion control features, where all press functions are managed by automation, tablet controls and Clean-Hand Technology operation. Exactly what a milenial workforce is looking for and converters need, faster, better, and easier, and all run by the numbers!“

Nilpeter shared knowledge

The Nilpeter technical team had a strong presence at the event.

Chris Baldwin chaired the session on Disruptive Technologies covering many topics that are changing our landscape.

  • How to calibrate a digital press to a flexo press and the opportunities that come when transitioning between analogue and digital printing. All profiles and information gathered with our supplier partners from testing at Nilpeter’s own Technology Center.
  • The freshest practices of mixing analogue and digital equipment, specialty LED-curing ink, specialty coatings, enhancing metallic inks, and ways to simplify building a scorecard strategy.
  • Future proof your business with information on printed electronics and interactive packaging.

Chris Baldwin chaired the session on Disruptive Technologies covering many topics that are changing our landscape.

Keith Nagle chaired sessions on Flexography 101 and 102, educating attendees on not only how to choose variables, but how to use! A complete interactive session on optimizing and profiling your operation.

  •  A better understanding of inks, anilox rolls, flexo plates, sticky back, and how to optimize their performance.
  • The correct methods to heighten your workflow; analyse, measure, and choose the best combination of print variables for optimum output.
  • Again, all suppliers gathered for multiple press runs and videos at Nilpeter’s Technology Center to share live samples with all attendees

“All in all it was a great FTA Forum and Info*FLEX show, we showed our strong commitment to our partners and the industry by leading the way in sharing technology and resources, it has been an honour for all of us to support the FTA through this endeavour, and we look forward to continuing that support!“, Paul Teachout concludes.