« Nipped roller + thickness variations = meandering? | Main | Bagginess in a laminate »
December 06, 2006
All in the family
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to visit and tour Accord Carton in Alsip, Illinois. Still being fairly new in this segment of the graphic arts industry, this was my first experience in a package printing facility, and more specifically, in a folding carton plant. But having toured dozens of commercial printing plants over the past 15 years, I was struck by how smooth and calm the atmosphere was. I know that part of this is due to the excellent third-generation management of the Codo family, but I also think that to some extent it's because of some of the key differences between commercial printing and package printing. Much of the work in Accord Carton is contracted on a regular basis and involves fairly long runs, as opposed to the unpredictable flow of short-run, quick turnaround jobs that often flood a commercial printing facility. And also, the nature of packaging work means that the finishing and converting must be tightly integrated into the process to allow for a smooth flow from raw material to finished product. If Accord Carton is indicative of the typical package printing plant, then the industry has a bright future. Using a variety of equipment from Bobst, Nordson, Kluge, Creo (now Kodak), Akiyama, and a brand-new 56-inch Roland 900 press from MAN Roland, the company is well positioned to grow and be passed down to future generations of the family.
- Keith Hevenor
Editorial/Conference Director
CMM International
Posted by khevenor at December 6, 2006 08:47 PM
