S-OneLP: Blog - Digital Labels and Flexible Packaging

NEED TO KNOW: 4 Keys to Food-safety in Package Printing

May 17, 2018 By Ginger Cushing

We get calls every day from label producers who intend to begin manufacturing flexible packaging for food products. We previously discussed selecting the best multi-layer structure with the appropriate barrier properties to protect product freshness. As printers, while we are not handling food directly, we must keep in mind that food customers expect packaging suppliers to use food safety management systems to protect their products throughout the value chain.

4 Keys for Converters:

Understand the customer’s use of the product.
Use the appropriate films, primers and coatings that are approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Eliminate the preventable risks that may crop up during converting. Many of these risks are common sense. Take a walk through the process. Is there an operator lunching near the slitter? Think about roll contamination if an operator drops her ham sandwich into the machine. Did someone park the finished pouches under a bank of glass light bulbs that could shatter and get shards into the shipment?
- Set up and maintain a safe process. Identify risks through HACCP (Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points). HACCP maps out the food handling and manufacturing process and identifies potential chemical, physical and biological contaminants that could intrude at each process step.
- Operate safely. Reduce risks by implementing industrial Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
Be accountable. Implement and maintain track and trace information for all materials and processes.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) sets the benchmarks for third-party certification programs. Do you need third-party certification? Not necessarily. If you can demonstrate that care has been taken to reduce risks and hazards and provide traceability, it will often suffice.

Bottom line: The converter must set up operations and maintain good documentation on their manufacturing processes to assure their food customers that their products are safe for consumer use. Begin with food-approved materials, use good manufacturing practices and reduce all the risks and hazards in the process. Make a plan, keep good documentation and review it annually.

To learn more about the right materials for food-safe labels and flexible packaging materials, give S-OneLP a call at 941-256-7900.

S-OneLP Partners with Kustom Group to Offer Specialized Coatings

May 9, 2018 By Shellie Terry

SARASOTA, FLA – S-One Labels & Packaging is pleased to announce a new partnership with Kustom Group to introduce a wide variety of over-print varnishes and coatings designed for both flexo and digitally printed label and packaging markets.

Under the Kustom Koatings brand, S-OneLP will offer standard coatings, such as gloss or matte, and specialty coatings using sand, glitter and many more. The two companies will also jointly create proprietary coatings individually customized and developed under the new co-branded KustomLP product line.

“Utilizing the exceptional products developed by Kustom Group and S-One’s Utopia Digital Technologies’ development lab creates a powerful partnership that is sure to disrupt our industry with all of the new possibilities in coatings and over-print varnishes,” says Ralph Giammarco, Vice President of S-One Labels & Packaging. “And we’re going to bring these customized products to our customers with shorter lead times than they’ve had access to in the past.”

This new partnership will not only allow PSPs to receive products more quickly, but will offer the opportunity to create one-of-a-kind UV-based coatings that perform special functions, such as greater adhesion, more or less gloss levels, light or gritty sand, hieroglyphics effects, scratch-and-sniff or whatever finish a customer’s designer can dream up.

“We have been selling our products through various channels in the past with great success but are looking forward to a more direct approach with a service expert like S-OneLP,” says Michael Gerkin, Jr.; Kustom Group President & COO. “Having a partner eliminating barriers and creating exposure in the expanding digital, labels and packaging markets is very exciting and a huge advantage to print producers.”

The S-OneLP/Kustom Group partnership adds to the growing list of partnerships for S-OneLP, the direct source for primers, over-print varnishes, pre-laminated films, thermal laminates and customized coatings for HP Indigo press owners.

About S-One Labels & Packaging

S-OneLP is a new division of S-One Holdings Corporation providing in-line, off-line and custom primers, pre-laminate films, thermal laminates and custom coatings for HP Indigo print providers, as well as materials, technical know-how and integrated solutions for digital label and flexible packaging printing. To learn more, visit S-OneLP.com.

About Kustom Group

Kustom Group is a manufacturer of overprints and coatings in oil based, aqueous and energy curable chemistries used to coat, protect and enhance virtually all forms of printing. We are unique in our understanding of the interaction of these chemistries when being applied. We take pride in our problem-solving abilities and will be glad to work with you on your specific application. We are your technical resource for print coating technology. To learn more, visit KustomGroup.com.

Insider Tip: The Key to High-quality Flex Pack Printing in Fewer Steps

April 24, 2018 By Ginger Cushing

Let’s cut to the chase: There are just too many choices in flexible packaging design. In conventional converting/flexographic printing, you need to ask: Which substrate/sealant combination will work best for my application? Which adhesive system? How do we know when it’s fully cured? Do we have all the materials lined up, the flexo plates made and time available on the both the press and adhesive laminator? Will the package look good while having the protective barrier needed to assure the product stays intact and fresh? It’s a headache.

Since you asked … first, I’d avoid the flexo process altogether and go with a digital press. Then I’d buy a pre-fabricated structure that’s suitable for the pouch contents (food-safe, for example) in which the webs have already been laminated and fully cured. I’d sleep well knowing that the structure was chosen for its suitability for the application I have in mind, and all I’d need to do is upload artwork, put the pre-laminate on a digital press and make roll stock. Here are steps to choosing the best pre-laminate.

What is the product to be packaged?
What package format, e.g. pouch, sachet or stick pack or flow wrap?
Does the package need to be clear, silver or white?

For example, I want to make 1,000 packages for an order of sugar cookies on a horizontal flow wrap machine and the entire web will be printed. I would choose Protect-all 2mil Snack Web – White (PPC2000W), a food compliant, polyester//white sealant pre-laminate with overall thickness of 2.0 mils. Why white? Because a white background makes colors pop.

Run the pre-laminate through the digital press, top with a water based OPV such as Michelman DigiGuard Gloss 115, wind it up and send the roll to the co-packer for horizontal form, fill and seal (HFFS) packaging.

Once you know the right pre-lam to choose for the contents, the rest is a piece of cake. Ready to get started? Call S-OneLP at 941-256-7900 or email labelsandpackaging@sone.com to request a sample of a printed and OPV finished pre-lam pouch and learn about other packaging possibilities available from S-OneLP.

DON’T MISS our upcoming blogs for more tips on food safety and the flexible packaging printing processes.

5 Steps to Flex-Pack Success

April 10, 2018 By Shellie Terry

Because traditional flexible package printing involves so many steps and the lead times can be weeks (or even months), it’s almost hard to believe how simple – and quick – it can be with digital printing. And you can do it with the equipment you already have, like an HP Indigo 6800. With traditional flexo, printing requires investing in customized plates, therefore making it prudent to print thousands of packages.

With digital technology, customized printing can be done on the surface of a pre-laminate film that only needs an OPV or thermal laminate to protect the ink – and you can print just one package or thousands. Sound simple? It is. Here are our five steps to get it done in a few short days after receiving the order:

1. Style the package with branding, design, size and pouch type and function. Questions to ask:

What’s in the bag?
What kind of barrier does the content need?
How is it being filled?
Do you want finishing like zippers or spouts
How can the design tell your brand’s story?

2. Source supplies including ink, primer, pre-laminate, over-laminate film, OPVs. Ideal materials for HP Indigo:

In-line or off-line primers
Pre-laminated film ready for surface printing
Thermal laminate for optimal ink protection
OPVs for overall protection or spot enhancements

3. Surface print on pre-laminate film and protect the print with either an OPV or hot nip to a clear film over-laminate. The new way to print flexible packaging: Using a pre-laminated film on an HP Indigo is like making a photo copy on paper – just load it up and print!

4. Shape, fill and seal the roll stock with a pouching machine immediately after printing. If you don’t have a pouching machine in-house, co-packing companies can be found around the country who can shape, fill and seal your customer’s packages in the style that works best for the pouch’s content.

5. Ship finished packages to your customer. When you create flexible packages using this method, you can turn them around in a matter of days rather than months, helping your customers get their products to market faster than ever.

With a partner like S-OneLP, you can order smaller quantities of primers, pre-lam, over-laminates and OPVs, that will make it easy for you to sell small, personalized runs for start-up and specialized customers. Plus, we can also help you determine the right material to use for whatever your customer wants to put in the pouch. Give us a call at 941-256-7900 to learn more about breaking into this exciting market.

We Found Innovation and Inspiration All Around Dscoop 2018

April 6, 2018 By Shellie Terry

Dscoop 2018 in Dallas was filled with inspiring moments throughout the 4-day conference, and we couldn’t have been happier to have our first major outing as S-OneLP during the event. Dscoop lived up to its promise of “Unleashing Print,” with many awesome print displays, conversations and industry-changing ideas that all came together inside the Gaylord Texan Conference Center.

When we weren’t talking labels and packaging supplies in our booth, we couldn’t help but be impressed with the innovation going on all around us. HP set up four areas, Storyland, Inkland, Brandland and Thinkland, where they showed off what seemed like endless creative ideas, but also the power of personalizing with print and the HP Inkspiration Awards. On display was the winning entry by one of our customers, Bennett Graphics, pairing HP Indigo 6800 and 10000 technology and Scodix Ultra Pro Digital Press (more on Bennett later).

We were also amazed by the new technology and concepts in the HP booth, which included watching Toray Plastics films run on the HP Indigo 20000, and the invisible security inks from one of our partners, VerifyMe. Adding additional layers of security is becoming an important piece of the package printing puzzle, especially in pharmaceutic and cosmetic markets. Expect to hear much more about the possibilities of print and security in the near future!

Check out how a special light is shown on the invisible ink to display the security code.

Back in our booth, we explained S-OneLP’s role as the only channel partner focused solely on full solutions for digital label and flexible packaging printers. We hope we inspired our booth visitors to “Lead the Pack” into this new frontier. Our booth took on that adventurous theme with a camp-out feel that even included a campfire.

Toray Plastics film on the HP Indigo 20000

Our next-door neighbors and partner, Michelman, shared some exciting news during Dscoop, which included the launch of DigiPrime^® 022, DigiGuard^® 222 and DigiGuard^® 901 additive, solutions as part of the launch of the HP Indigo Pack Ready for Labels. These products are geared for “durable labels,” such as automotive oils, refrigerated and sterilized goods, and cleaning and bathroom products, and will be available through S-OneLP.

We want to extend our thanks to Edwards Labels in Ventura, Calif., who printed all of our flexible packaging samples, and Bennett Graphics in Atlanta for producing all the labels on the tins throughout our booth as well as the pre-Dscoop mailer we sent to some customers. With these labels and packaging, we got to show booth visitors our materials at work, including:

Protect-all pre-laminated films: Metallic snack web, clear snack web and clear stand-up
Michelman primers: DigiPrime DP680, DigiPrime DP680 b-1
Michelman over-print varnishes: DigiGuard Gloss 110 and DigiGuard Matte 173
Kustom Koatings custom spot coatings: KS-494 Imprintable Gloss UV Coating, KS-535, Metallic Angle Dependent UV Coating

S-OneLP’s Tom Hauenstein, left, and Ralph Giammarco, right

Our VP Ralph Giammarco and Global Director of Sales, Tom Hauenstein, gave a presentation in one of the break-out sessions titled, Lead the Pack, How to expand your label printing business into flexible packaging printing. We were thrilled at the turn-out — standing room only! The Q&A session sparked great conversations about how we can all work together to take digital label and packaging printing to the next level.

We are excited to see not only how this ever-evolving market continues to grow, but also how the Dscoop community continues to support it. We’ll see you at Dscoop 2019 in Orlando!

S-OneLP and VerifyMe Join Forces

March 23, 2018 By Shellie Terry

S-One Labels & Packaging is pleased to announce a new partnership with VerifyMe, Inc., a technology solutions company that markets a broad patent portfolio and proprietary products that provide identifiers and serialization for authenticating, tracking and tracing functions for labels, packaging, products, people and financial transactions.

S-OneLP will handle sales and marketing activities for VerifyMe’s printed products and services on a global basis.

“We are excited with this new relationship with VerifyMe,” says Ralph Giammarco, vice president of S-OneLP. “Partnering with VerifyMe is timely for us as our company recently established our new division, S-One Labels & Packaging, which has become a significant part of our offerings, especially with the HP Indigo platform of printers.

“By having VerifyMe aboard, we can now offer key authentication and validation products and services to our existing and new customers in the labels and packaging space; a very large market where VerifyMe’s products reduce the rising threat of counterfeiting and product diversion. In addition, we also have the capabilities of assisting these clients with any implementation issues that may arise.”

Patrick White, president and chief executive officer of VerifyMe says, “This agreement with S-One is of great value to a company of our size. S-One has a proven track record of successfully representing international brands and brings to VerifyMe deep experience and relationships in the global digital print space. With S-One’s global reach, VerifyMe will be able to leverage their expertise and capabilities by allowing them to not only market and sell our offerings, but also provide full customer support and back-office services, including customer help, troubleshooting, strategy sessions, and video demonstrations. We are extremely pleased to be partnering with S-One and look forward to a rewarding relationship.”

Both S-OneLP and VerifyMe will be at Dscoop’s Unleashing Print Inspiration Experience in Dallas, Texas, March 25-28. S-OneLP will be in the Solutions Showcase at booth #131. Learn more about VerifyMe in the Showcase New Products & Innovation Pavilion.

About S-One Labels & Packaging

About VerifyMe, Inc.
VerifyMe, Inc., is a technology solutions company that markets a broad patent portfolio and proprietary products that provide identifiers and serialization for authenticating, tracking and tracing functions for labels, packaging, products, people and financial transactions. VerifyMe’s physical technology authenticates packaging, labels & documents with a suite of proprietary security inks, pigments and software that performs track and trace business intelligence. The company’s digital technologies authenticate people by performing strong, multi-factor verification via its patented digital software platforms. To learn more, visit VerifyMe.com.

S-OneLP Partners with Toray Plastics (America) to Sell Flexible Packaging Products

March 16, 2018 By Shellie Terry

S-One Labels & Packaging has signed an agreement with Toray Plastics (America) to sell flexible packaging and specialty label films to HP Indigo users in North America.

S-OneLP is the leading provider of off-line, in-line and custom primers as well as over-print varnishes and custom coatings for HP Indigo printers from manufacturers such as Michelman and Utopia Digital Technologies. With more than 15 years in this market, S-OneLP (originally a division of LexJet) expands its reach into the flexible packaging printing market with this partnership. As digital printing plays an increasingly important role in label and flexible packaging manufacturing, this alliance pairs product excellence from Toray with unparalleled customer service and technical support from S-OneLP.

“Toray Plastics (America) is a critical partner as S-OneLP begins to address our customers’ challenges of delivering more customized packaging with shorter runs and tighter turn-around times,” says Ralph Giammarco, Vice President of S-OneLP. “With more than 20 years of digital printing experience and our existing HP Indigo client base, we are primed, with Toray’s partnership, to take the lead in helping our label printing customers launch into the quickly expanding flexible packaging world.”

S-OneLP’s customer-intimate approach pairs consultative selling with technical support, customer service, fast delivery and the ability to sell products in smaller quantities, which benefits both the manufacturers and print providers.

“Toray Plastics (America), Inc. has years of experience as the market leader in various market segments utilizing our polyester, polypropylene, metallization and coating technologies. We believe this partnership coupled with S-OneLP’s Indigo expertise will be a winner out of the gate for the customer base,” says Milan Moscaritolo, Senior Director of New Business Development.

About S-One Labels & Packaging:

S-One Labels & Packaging is a new division of S-One Holdings Corporation, the parent company of LexJet and Brand Management Group. This new division provides materials, technical know-how and integrated solutions to print providers who are currently active or expanding into label and flexible packaging digital printing. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Sarasota, Fla., S-One provides innovative product research, development, manufacturing and worldwide distribution to digital imaging, design and print professionals. Visit S-One Labels & Packaging at S-OneLP.com.

About Toray Plastics (America)

Toray Plastics (America), Inc., is a leading manufacturer of polyester, polypropylene, bio-based, and metallized films for flexible and rigid packaging, lidding, graphic, industrial, optical, and electronic applications, and conducts all its manufacturing and metallizing at one location. Toray is also a leader in the manufacture of polyolefin, polypropylene, and polyethylene foams for the automotive and flooring industries. The company is a subsidiary of Toray Industries, Inc., the world leader in synthetic fibers and textiles, carbon fibers, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and high-performance films, which has annual sales exceeding US$19 billion. Toray Plastics (America), Inc., headquarters is located in North Kingstown, R.I. Visit Toray Plastics (America), Inc. at TorayTPA.com.

Get into Digital Flex-Pack Printing with the Equipment You Have

February 28, 2018 By Ginger Cushing

So you run an HP Indigo 6000-series press and you’ve built a nice business printing labels. Have you ever considered what else you can use it for? Flexible packaging printing is some easy, low-hanging fruit in many market segments.

For instance, natural, organics and health food products are booming. Stores are teeming with new, specialized products, setting the stage for short runs of customized packaging with short lead time to market. This is a perfect opportunity for label press owners to expand into the world of flexible packaging.

Consider Juliette in California who has perfected her family’s recipe for healthy almond bars and wants to begin selling them. She landed an order and suddenly needed 500 printed packages ASAP. She quickly learned that flexible packaging converters typically have high minimum order quantities, and she didn’t want to thousands of packages.

The graphics were likely to change after she received food certifications and adjusted her message, which discouraged investing in more than she needed for this first production order. After searching, she found a converter who agreed to make a small order, but the lead time was four weeks. Ouch.

Fortunately, she found a solution. A nearby company had an HP Indigo 6000 series digital press with in-line priming, which was perfect for making food pouches such as pillow packs, stick packs and sachets. For the nut bar, they made flow wrap by starting with a prefabricated, metallized film structure with oxygen barrier. This pre-laminate was primed in-line and digitally printed with her graphics. The ink was protected by thermally laminating to a clear, glossy layer of polyester film.

The rollstock, along with the nut bars, were sent to a local co-packer who used a horizontal flow, fill and seal machine to fill the packages. Bottom line: the lead time for packages was slashed from four weeks to a few days because pre-fabricated substrates were digitally printed on demand all within a few miles of the kitchen that made the bars.

What’s the secret? Keep things simple. In fact, S-OneLP created the Five S’s for Digital Flex-Pack Success:

Style the package with branding, design, size and pouch type and function
Source supplies including ink, primer, pre-laminate, over-laminate film
Surface print on pre-laminate film and hot a nip clear overlaminate on printed surface
Shape, fill and seal the roll stock with a pouching machine or send to a co-packer
Ship finished packages to your customer

Send me your questions in the comments below.

Ginger Cushing has spent more than 25 years in the flexible packaging converting industry and is a founding partner in FPK Resources LLC. FPK Resources shows label manufacturers how to enter the world of flexible packaging by showing how to streamline pathways, eliminate waste and enhance customization to respond to real-time consumer product packaging needs.

Introducing: S-One Labels & Packaging

February 28, 2018 By Shellie Terry

Welcome to S-One Labels & Packaging! We are your direct source for digital solutions in label and flexible packaging printing.

Originally a division within LexJet, S-OneLP is the No. 1 provider of Michelman in-line and off-line primers in the U.S. and Canada, and we’re now providing an expanded portfolio of best-in-class and cutting-edge products for digitally printing labels and flexible packaging on HP Indigo presses. We are the first digital-dedicated supply and support team in the fast-growing label and flex-pack printing industry!

At S-OneLP, we provide essential products, unparalleled service, technical know-how and integrated solutions from some of the best brands in the industry, such as Protect-all, Toray America and Kustom Koatings. If you are interested in entering the digital flexible packaging market or evolving your presence there, we now offer pre-laminated films, thermal laminates and customizable films. In addition, our portfolio of products will soon include a greater selection of primers and over-print varnishes for both prime and durable label applications, and custom coatings for all print and finishing jobs.

“Staying closely in tune with this market, we’ve discovered that our customers are looking for not only the best-performing products with lower minimums and improved lead times, but they are also searching for unwavering support and vital education as they expand into digital flexible packaging printing, which has seen exploding growth in the past year,” says Ralph Giammarco, S-OneLP Vice President. “With S-OneLP, we’ve paired our exceptional primers sales team with product experts, market development specialists and the flex-pack industry’s top minds to lead this market forward.”

Our mission is to help you optimize the equipment you already own to offer more services to your customers that will help you grow your business and take the lead in labels and packaging printing!

Questions? Give our team a call at 941-256-7900 or email us at labelsandpackaging@sone.com.