Gravure Printing: Engraved Innovation

Published: May 01, 2011, By By Nsenga Thompson, Assoc. Editor

America's “hottest” city was the backdrop for the 14th Annual Packaging and Label Gravure Global (PLGA) Operational Conference. Held March 9-11 in Miami, FL, sustainability and extending the marketability of print were the meeting's key themes. Guy McGuffin, VP of sustainable packaging at Wal-Mart Canada, opened the event with a keynote address stressing the importance of eco-friendly packaging, providing a springboard for a panel discussion on sustainability moderated by David Haslam of Southern Graphic Systems.

Along with sessions on press optimization and new technology, the Printing Industry of America's Dr. Ronnie David and Jim Kyger offered an overview of the state of the printing industry. The event's closing keynote speaker, Margie Dana, founder of Print Buyers Intl., stressed the continued marketability of print and how package printers can extend their brands and build business in an evolving global climate.

Capping off the conference was the announcement of the winners of the 2010 PLGA Awards. Each year, judging of awards is said to become more difficult because of the number and quality of entries submitted in each category.

The judges continued the practice established last year of presenting “Best of Show” awards in both Domestic and International categories. An Honorable Mention also was awarded in several categories. Here's a look at some of this year's award recipients. A complete list of this year's winners is available at www.plga.com.

Holding the Gavel

Here are the judges for the 2010 PLGA Print Quality Awards:

• Dick Chesnut, W.R. Chesnut Engineering

• Charlie Conover, Hurleton Inc.

• Jack Kenny, Label & Narrow Web magazine

• Kenneth Masters, Flint Ink

• Hubert Metzger, Chema Technology Inc.

• Kurt Oegerli, Max Daetwyler Corp.

• Frank Passarelli, Bobst Group North America

• Tony White, Flexo/Gravure magazine