Medical Device Link.

NEWS

At EastPack 2006 in New York City, Bell-Mark Corp. (Pine Brook, NJ) introduced what it calls the smallest in-line flexographic printer available to medical device and pharmaceutical packagers. The FlexPrint mini features an 11.5 × 11.5-in. footprint and weighs about 200 lb. It can print 600-mm-wide webs at up to 50 cycles per minute.

The use of servomotors in the FlexPrint mini has “allowed us to eliminate manual adjustments and make the unit smaller,” explained Tom Pugh, vice president of sales, at the show.

The system’s anilox roll is controlled with a separate servomotor, reducing setup time and minimizing ink evaporation through a related reduction in roll movement. “When you move the roll constantly, as in traditional anilox-roll systems, you evaporate ink because it is exposed to the elements,” says Pugh.

Odorless ammonia-free inks can be used in the self-contained inking system, and a Teflon-coated ink tray eases cleanup.

Entries for the 2006 AmeriStar Package Awards, presented by the Institute of Packaging Professionals (Naperville, IL), must be submitted by November 10, 2006. Packages will be judged on December 8, 2006. Entries submitted on or before October 2, receive an entry fee discount. Entrants do not need to be IoPP members to enter, however, they do need to have been involved in the design or manufacture of the submitted package or one of its principal components. Any package produced after January 1, 2005, and not previously entered into an AmeriStar competition may be entered. Winning packages will be on display at the Packaging Summit Expo and Conference in Chicago, May 15-17, 2007. For more information, visit www.iopp.org/ameristar.

Automated Packaging Systems (Streetsboro, OH) received a product design award in the Short-Life Packaging category of the 2006 National Institute of Packaging, Handling, and Logistics Engineers (NIPHLE) Design Competition. The AirPouch void-fill air pillows with EZ-Tear perforations won for the ergonomic features of its EZ-Tear perforations, which are relatively unique in the void-fill and air pillow industry. The perforation consists of a slit part way through the regular perforation, designed to make it extremely easy for packers to grab a strip of air pillows and quickly tear off as many as they need. The EZ-Tear feature also allows the pillows to inflate more completely for a higher material yield that reduces costs. The pillows are designed for use with the AirPouch Express 3 system. It is an electric tabletop unit that produces strips of pillows at about 50 feet per minute. The competition was part of NIPHLE’s annual conference held June 7 in Baltimore.

Hassia USA, which encompasses the sales and service support for the A+F Automation and Gasti product lines, has combined all of its sales and service organizations under the new corporate name IWKA Packaging USA (Morganville, NJ). The structure change is meant to enable IWKA Packaging USA to offer numerous alternative packaging solutions and integrated systems while also increasing its aftermarket services. All existing personnel and products will remain the same under the new name. Hassia USA manufactures thermoform, sachet, pouch, and aseptic packaging machinery as well as in-mold labeling systems. A+F Automation provides end-of-line packaging solutions, and Gasti makes preformed cup-filling and -sealing machines and extended shelf-life packaging systems.