| THE GALT HOUSE was the venue for this FALL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
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By Walter Siegenthaler,
Max Daetwyler Corp
While perhaps a bit of a “dry subject” for some, I felt the presentations were well received and attendees had a good feeling that PLGA was stepping up to the plate and doing something.
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The 5th Annual PLGA Global Technical Conference was held at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, KY on October 3-5, 2007. This city has some interesting eateries such as “The Library” which featured a museum with displays of unusual Avant-garde Artwork.
A major portion of this year’s conference was focused on the need to develop a set of standard specifications for gravure which shows PLGA’s commitment to the industry. Specifications for other printing processes were established several years ago but to date there are none for gravure printing. The presenters and particularly end-users stressed the enhancements that clear specifications would make on our industry.
Session II explored the latest technology in “Alternative Image Carriers”. Topics such as Sleeve Systems, Ballard Shell technology, polymer light-weight cylinders, and the build-up of polymers on existing cylinders were presented. This session was followed by a tour of the Cylicron Engineered Cylinders plant in Jeffersonville, IN. Participants were given the opportunity to see a state-of-the-art steel base manufacturing facility and learn further details about polymer cylinder technology. During the tour, visitors were also able to see an automated copper plating line in operation. As always, the various presentations followed by Q&A discussions were highly informative.
This year’s conference concluded with a roundtable session where participants were given the opportunity to express their individual opinions concerning the importance of different subjects being considered as part of the gravure specifications. |
