• Digital package printing will top $223 million by 2007, says a new study by Packaging Strategies, West Chester, PA. Sales of digitally printed labels and folding cartons are expected to grow 20 percent a year over the next four years. Sales of digital labels will climb from $70 million last year to $178 million in 2007, and digital carton printing will rise from $17 million in 2002 to $42 million in 2007. Flexible packaging is the laggard category, the study says. Sales will increase from only $4 million last year to about $7 million in 2007.
• Labelexpo Americas 2004 adds a fourth day: Increasing demand from exhibitors and visitors means the show will now run Sept. 13-16, 2004, at the Stephens Convention Ctr. in Rosemont, IL. "An extra day at Labelexpo Americas offers an added opportunity to properly research the new technologies and equipment narrow-web suppliers have and also to spend some time attending the seminar program," says TLMI president John Bankson, president/CEO of converter Label Technology. The extra day also "allows for a more flexible travel schedule for everyone."
• A new set of twins: Plattsburgh, NY-based converter Salerno Plastic Films and Bags places an order for two Hudson-Sharp (Green Bay, WI) MS 1000 bagmaking machines. The equipment upgrade will increase Salerno's capacity and support the company's aggressive approach to new markets, it says.
• A like-minded acquisition: Neenah, WI-based roller maker Webex purchases Fox Companies Machining, a roll manufacturer and specialty machine shop in Greenville, WI. Terms of the sale were not disclosed but include all of the company's stock and assets, including the 35,000-sq-ft facility in Greenville. The companies' product lines will not change, but Fox's name will be changed to Fox Machining, a division of Webex.
• Adding capacity in layers: Chicago-based Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.'s Brampton, Ontario, Canada, facility completes the installation of a new 7-layer blown-film line. The state-of-the-art equipment provides additional capacity for coex packaging films sold primarily to fresh and processed food customers.
• The new line will improve Brampton's ability to combine high oxygen barriers with moisture barriers and sealant substrates and is the company's first 7-layer line.

Digital Printing for Packaging," a five-part internet-based Webcast conference, begins Oct. 21, running on consecutive Tuesdays through Nov. 18, exclusively at www.convertingmagazine.com

Organized by Karstedt Associates and Converting, the online Webcast brings digital printing experts and their insightful presentations directly to the desktop PCs or laptops of converters, package printers and consumer product companies.

The five total hours of Webcasts, over five consecutive weeks, will provide breakthrough technical and marketing knowledge, along with the real-world experiences of today's digital package printers. Converters and their consumer-product company customers will highlight each session.

Topics include market segmentation and end-user needs; supply-chain enhancement via digital print for packaging; technical advances in digital-print engines; and in-depth looks at turnkey solutions for labels, flexible packaging, folding cartons, corru-gated and POP markets.

Among the industry experts scheduled to speak via the unique online format are Jeff Wettersten, Inland Paperboard & Packaging; Patti Williams, IT Strategies; Bill Leach, Vivid Print Innovations; Paul Ewing, Avecia; and many others.

Online access to the Webcast conference, "Digital Printing for Packaging," is available for only $495. Virtual attendees will also receive the entire program and its Power-Point presentations on CD-ROM after the event.

Register online at www.convertingmagazine.com by clicking on the "Webcast" link.