1999 Flexible Packaging: Download

HighBeam Research

Title: Timeline of innovations in flexible packaging: as we celebrate our 10th anniversary, flexible packaging magazine takes a look back over the last decade at major developments in flexible packaging within the context of world events.

Date: March 1, 2009 Publication: Flexible Packaging 1999

Flexible Packaging magazine debuts in April as "The Official Publication for the Flexible Packaging Association." Dry platemaking system. Killings at Columbine High School.
Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) licenses use of its trademarked "Source Reduction" logo.
Slider closures. World gears up for Y2K computer meltdowns. Talk of "combination" printing presses. Solventless laminating grows. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2000 Y2K problems never materialize. Marla Donahue becomes FPA president. Oscillating haul-off for blown film lines. Researchers complete map of the human genome. Polylactic acid (PLA) polymer.
Direct-to-sleeve platemaking. Shaped pouches. The dot.com bust. Digital photopolymer plate. Ultraviolet/electro-beam (UV/EB) curing for printing, coating and laminating. StarKist launches first retort pouch for tuna.
VP Al Gore concedes on Dec. 14, and George W. Bush is named our 43rd president. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2001 Laser scoring.
All-air web guiding.
Bag steams fresh vegetables in microwave.
Foot-and-mouth disease spreads to Europe.
Gearless flexo press features infinitely variable repeats.
Internal bubble cooling (IBC) in blown film.
Narrow-web press prints gravure or flexo.
9-11 terrorist attacks.
PDF workflow software.
Oxygen-scavenging polymer.
Air ring controls air volume in segments for 20% better cooling efficiency.
9-layer blown film lines.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

2002
The Euro becomes the common currency in Europe.
White-pigmented ink is UV-curable.
Narrow-web converters eye flexible packaging markets for growth.
Nebraska plant opens to produce up to 300 million pounds of polylactic acid (PLA) bio- based resin.
Slider on pre-made bags.
Contour laser scoring.
Enclosed chambered doctor blade systems.
Printers
embrace digital prepress technologies.
Pateneted 6-color hexachrome printing.
Job Definition Format (JDF) workflows.
Computer-to-plate sleeve technology.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

2003
Portable aseptic pudding stick pack.
Microwavable retort pouch for cooked rice.
Unique print deck design on narrow-web flexo press has a single-impression cylinder operating between two color decks to create a short web path and superior registration.
Space shuttle Columbia explodes. Atmospheric plasma surface treatment. Laser-engraved anilox rolls. War in Iraq begins on March 19.
ISO 12648: 2003 safety standard. Price hikes.
Nanocomposites.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

2004
Edge detectors automatically sense changing web widths.
Conductive inks for RFID applications.
Matte-finish films.
Health-and-wellness concerns.
In new method, extruders blow film bubbles down, into a cool-water bath, producing film with the clarity of cast film coupled with the advantages of blown film.
Tsunami in Indonesia. Volatile resin prices are a global phenomenon. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Laser die-cutting. President Bush wins re-election with 51% of the popular vote. Soft-proofing of hi-res files in real time via the internet. Blue Star Food Products is first with reclosable retort pouch for crab meat. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2005 Coextruded films often replace laminations.
New machine-direction orientation technology enhances film properties. Alan Greenspan: The budget deficit is "unsustainable." Regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs). Legible 2-point font printed on Tyvek.
Gearless flexo press with in-line laminating.
Digital ink jet printer handles webs as wide as 5 meters.
Hurricane Katrina.
Record high polymer prices.
Compact extrusion die design (half the size of previous dies) saves changeover time.
In North America, 79% of presses used in flexible packaging are flexograpbic, according to FPA.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2006 Variable sleeve offset press. 9-layer cast film line. 9-extruder cast line makes 17-layer film. Self-venting microwavable stand-up pouch. TiVo.
Layer-multiplier extrusion flat-die system coextrudes up to 80 micro-layers.
Anilox roll features line screens of 3,500 lines per inch.
The Dow Jones industrial average rises to 12,000 for the first time.
Wal-Mart's Sustainable Packaging Scorecard.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

2007
N.Y. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announces candidacy for President.
Plasma surface treater eliminates backside treatment.
Implementation deadline is June 1 for European regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals).
First 17-layer cast barrier film line.
Blown film die purges fast and produces no port lines.
Plug-and-play coater/laminator is sized for R&D or pilot lines.
VP Al Gore and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change win Nobel Peace Prize.
Cross-machine-directional scoring technology creates easy-open packs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2008 U.S. recession feared.
First 11-layer blown film die.
Fast-cure solventless laminating adhesives.
G8 members agree to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050.
FDA approves range of UV/EB materials for direct food contact.
China hosts the Summer Olympics.
U.S. economy in freefall.
UV curing with LED lights cuts energy usage on digital ink jet printers.
Barack Obama becomes the first black President in U.S. history.
Hybrid press prints via flexo, offset and screen printing in one pass.
Unemployment rate rises to 6.7%.
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[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

2009
Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl for the sixth time, a first in the National Football League.
Unemployment rate hits 7.6% President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
By rectifying the voltage electronically, new UV lamp control and power supply saves 30% on electric costs with 20% more UV output.
PLA combined with pectin equals food bacteria prevention.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Our thanks to Coating Excellence International for sponsoring our Timeline of Innovation.
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