Appleton

A little change never hurt anyone. With that in mind, this year’s big show promises a change of pace, a change of scenery and a change in demand. The newly revamped PSDA (formerly DMIA) will host its annual Print Solutions Conference and Exposition on Oct. 23-25 at the Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore. This year’s featured general session keynote speaker will be Charlie Pesko, founder and president of InfoTrends, a leading market research and consulting firm in the digital imaging and document solutions industries. Technological advances and refined marketing strategies are just some of the issues gaining momentum in a slowing economy. To encourage print

Sean Erwin, chairman of the board of directors and president and chief executive officer of Alpharetta, Georgia-based Neenah Paper, will deliver the keynote presentation at the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame’s 12th annual induction ceremony on September 28. The festivities will be held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in downtown Appleton, Wis. The Hall of Fame—which recognizes individuals who pioneered and/or helped the world’s paper and allied industries to flourish—is anticipating the addition of six new honorees to its current membership of 70 notables from around the world. It is housed within the new Paper Discovery Center, an interactive museum celebrating everything

Pro Label Acquires Xpanded Label Technology Headquartered in Appleton, Wis., Pro Label recently purchased Xpanded Label Technology, also located in Appleton. Several key employees will join Pro Label as part of the transition. The Xpanded Label Technology name will be discontinued. Kevin Wichman, president of Pro Label, noted that the acquisition adds new technology to his company's current capabilities, while providing a broader range of services and product offerings to the combined customer bases. Founded in 1992, Pro Label is a manufacturer of custom pressure-sensitive labels, coupons and specialty non-pressure-sensitive products. For more information, call (920) 831-0404 or visit www.pro-label.com.

Appleton, Appleton, Wis., recently announced that it will add the Tru-Tech line of durable paper products to its family of durable products. Tru-Tech is a division of Temple-Inland, with manufacturing operations in Linden, N.J. Tru-Tech, available in sheets and rolls, features a wide range of tear-, moisture- and puncture-resistant products. The materials are water-, oil- and grease-resistant and, because they are made from paper, they print and convert like paper. The unique design also allows the products to be laser-printable. "The addition of Tru-Tech to our durable product line extends Appleton's range of value-added materials supplied to the document, tag, ticket, label

In 1954, Appleton, Appleton, Wis., (formerly Appleton Coated Paper Company) helped introduce the first carbonless paper, NCR PAPER brand, to the market. The product was simply promoted as a new paper product that eliminates carbon paper. The NCR PAPER brand has been continuously manufactured by Appleton since then, and has long been the leading brand of carbonless paper. It revolutionized the forms industry by eliminating the mess and bother of carbon interleaves. "The invention of carbonless paper used new technology that literally changed the way business information was processed," said Albert Selker, Appleton's marketing director. "What started as a niche product soon transformed the business

Appleton, Appleton, Wis., has acquired BemroseBooth, a provider of secure printing services based in Derby, England. For approximately $60 million, Appleton has purchased all shares of Bemrose Group Limited. "The company's location, customer base, experienced management team and market leadership positions make BemroseBooth a strong platform from which to grow our security business," Appleton's CEO Doug Buth said in a press release. Buth also noted that this acquisition will give Appleton instant access to security product markets in the United Kingdom and Western Europe. Employing nearly 850 people at manufacturing sites throughout England, BemroseBooth's sales revenue for 2003 is estimated to be approximately $100 million. This

Appleton, Appleton, Wis., has recently launched AssurMark Security Label Substrate for pressure-sensitive label applications. Combining a highly destructible face stock with non-reproducible covert security fibers, these new labels cannot be removed without showing visible damage. The security fibers are part of the paper itself and are invisible under ordinary light, but readily visible under ultraviolet light. There are numerous applications for AssurMark, including product labels, retail labels, routing labels, print-on-demand labels and packaging in various industries. AssurMark labels feature excellent printability for primary, secondary and print-on-demand labels. For more information, visit www.appletonideas.com.

Distributors can help customers battle check fraud through education and innovation. Asked for the latest statistics concerning check fraud, Barbara Hurst, executive editor of the newsletter Bankers' Hotline, editor/moderator for BankersOnline.com, and president of Pennsylvania-based Hurst Associates—security and compliance training specialists—responded, "You can get as many guesstimates as there are experts guessing." Hurst said it's a given within the industry that FBI and American Bankers Association (ABA) figures on the subject are "way, way low," since many losses are not reported but simply charged off. However, she cited an in-depth study conducted approximately five years ago by U.S. News and World Report

New Tickets to Paradise The coupons Aloha Airlines designed for its promotional campaign are purchased in bulk by travel agents and resold at special discounted rates in groups of five to end-users. Contained in unit sets, the coupons require intricate numbering and security features to protect against duplication and theft. To address these production challenges, Aloha consulted Kerry Lam of Honolulu-based Monarch Business Forms to refine the security features of the original design and get it to the printing press. Lam, in turn, contacted Skokie, Illinois-based GBF Graphics. Having partnered with GBF in the past, Lam was aware of the manufacturer's special numbering capabilities.