Converting Magazine

Narrow Web Niche

• How fast can your company move from disaster to recovery?
  Suzanne Zaccone, Consulting Technical Editor, 11/01/2003
  It's 3 a.m., and the phone is ringing. That's never a good thing unless it's a wrong number. As soon as the caller asks for you, you know this is serious. A quick inventory of where your loved ones are fills your mind, and then you learn it's your life's work—your company is in trouble. Disasters take on many guises: a flood, tornado, hurricane, fire, a key staff member takes ill, a high... More
• What can label converters do to keep a security lid on their operations?
  By Suzanne Zaccone, 08/01/2003
  With the changes we've witnessed in our society, Americans, for the first time in history, are looking at security in a much different way. And so are printers. This article provides several converters' views on how they treat security within their manufacturing facilities—from access control to the security of raw materials and finished goods. More
• How do I create the next Killer App?
  By Suzanne Zaccone, 05/01/2003
  As a business owner, you're not simply responsible for leading your organization to profitability. Today, you must serve as visionary, strategist, change agent and statesman, as diplomat, spokesperson, negotiator and cheerleader. This must be done simultaneously while returning outstanding revenues and making sure your company, employees and partners are good corporate citizens in myriad locati... More
• What's a business executive to do in times like these?
  By Suzanne Zaccone, Consulting Technical Editor, 02/01/2003
  You survived online auctions, increased (and sometimes downright amazing) customer demands, buyers ordering fewer parts and wanting them faster and cheaper, corporate downsizing, the ever-popular voicemail jail, a zillion e-mails when you log on and the destruction that occurs when a computer virus visits your company. More
• What is the future of the roll label industry?
  By Skip Heintzelman, Consulting Technical Editor, 12/01/2002
  Let's begin by answering the question, "Is roll labeling a mature industry?" I associate maturity with a life cycle. Products have life cycles. They end with either limited demand or extinction. Buggy whips, eight-track tapes, 5 ¼-in. floppy disks, and CB radios are examples of products that reached the end of their own life cycles. More
• How do I achieve the right label look for glass or plastic containers?
  Skip Heintzelman, Consulting Technical Editor, 08/01/2002
  First you must identify the customer's expectations and determine the characteristics of the container and its contents. The major customer criteria usually include printing in the desired colors, and achieving the "no label" look. The "no label" look creates an image that blends into the container. There appears to be no depth to the label. More
• What are the intangible assets of my business?
  Skip Heintzelman, Consulting Technical Editor, 06/01/2002
  Assets are the total resources of your business. They fall into two classes: tangible and intangible assets. Tangible assets can easily be assigned a value and normally have a depreciable life, while intangibles are difficult to value and have more to do with the knowledge inside your employees' heads and the goodwill of your customers. More
• Which technologies have had the greatest impact on narrow-web converting?
  Skip Heintzelman, Consulting Technical Editor, 04/01/2002
  Your individual market, product line, customer base and role within the industry will influence your view of the importance of various technologies. Here is my list of the most influential technologies: 1) energy curing; 2) lasers; 3) computers/microprocessors; and 4) electronic drives. Your views may differ. More
• How has the pressure-sensitive industry changed?
  Skip Heintzelman, Consulting Technical Editor, 02/01/2002
  The industry has come a long way from the days of Stan Avery's "Gum Tacks" and Mark Andrews Sr.'s motorized hand-stamp tape printers.The growth of the label business has been evolutionary. Primary factors that have contributed to its success have included:The cost of our "toys" has certainly changed. More
• How can I improve my business in a slow economy?
  Skip Heintzelman, 12/01/2001
  This is the universal question being raised in every sector of the label and narrow-web industry. The September terrorist activities have accelerated the economic slowdown, leading to reduced sales and shrinking margins.I regret to report that there is no magic tonic that will bring about a quick and complete cure. More
• What does the "fresh bottle" labeling trend mean for label materials?
  Skip Heintzelman, Consulting Technical Editor, 08/01/2001
  Fresh bottle labeling, also called "hot bottle" labeling, means labeling a blow-molded plastic bottle even before it has shrunk to its ultimate size. The largest portion of blow-molded containers produced in the U.S. are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE). When these hot containers drop from the mold cavities, they are bigger than their specified size, and in fact test as medium-dens... More
• What role does e-commerce play in the label industry?
  Skip Heintzelman, Consulting Technical Editor 704/366-5204, 06/01/2001
  Now that the magic words in the e-commerce arena are "show us your business plan and profit model," it is prudent to take a look at the current and future status of e-commerce for labelmakers. The Internet is in its infancy, still trying to find out what it wants to be. E-commerce providers are seeking to determine what they can do best, feverishly searching for ways to provide the label indus... More