PLUS Spotlight
Deanne Sinclair
Cambridge Label P. 11
Updated Events
Latest dates and times for events postponed by COVID-19 pandemic. P. 13
New Products
Driving packaging innovation with new gear from HP, Ravenwood and SinaLite. P. 14
ROLLING INTO NEW TERRITORY
SinaLite expands into labelling market P. 7
Interim Editor
Andrew Snook
asnook@annexbusinessmedia.com
289-221-8946
Associate Publisher
Stephen Longmire
slongmire@annexbusinessmedia.com
416-510-5246
Media Designer
Lisa Zambri lzambri@annexbusinessmedia.com
Account Coordinator
Alice Chen
achen@annexbusinessmedia.com
416-510-5217
Circulation Manager
Beata Olechnowicz
bolechnowicz@annexbusinessmedia.com 416-510-5182
Circulation
bolechnowicz@annexbusinessmedia.com
Tel: 416-510-5182
Fax: 416-510-6875 or 416-442-2191
Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1
Group Publisher
Diane Kleer
dkleer@annexbusinessmedia.com
COO
Scott Jamieson
sjamieson@annexbusinessmedia.com
FEATURES 7
Cover story
Rolling into new territory: SinaLite expands into labelling market.
Annex Business Media
111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 printaction.com Tel: 416-442-5600 • Fax: 416-442-2230
Deanne Sinclair, Owner and Vice-President, Cambridge Label.
DEPARTMENTS
NEWS
3 Xerox ends its hostile takeover bid for HP, Flexible Packaging Association launches new website, Xitron introduces COVID-19 stimulus package for printers, and new Recycling Group announced within TC Transcontinental Packaging.
INSTALLS
6 Champion Imaging, SinaLite, Art Smart Digital Printing.
EVENTS
13 With the events industry severely disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many print and packaging related trade shows and conferences have been postponed or cancelled in 2020. Check out the latest updated dates and locations for upcoming events in the print industry.
NEW PRODUCTS
14 Latest packaging technology and products from HP, Ravenwood and SinaLite.
Xerox ends its hostile takeover bid for HP
Citing the current global health crisis related to the COVID-19 coronavirus, tech giant Xerox has dropped its bid to merge with competitor HP.
“The current global health crisis and resulting macroeconomic and market turmoil caused by COVID-19 have created an environment that is not conducive to Xerox continuing to pursue an acquisition of HP Inc,” Xerox said in a March 31 statement. “While it is disappointing to take this step, we are prioritizing the health, safety and well-being of our employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders, and our broader response to the pandemic, over and above all other considerations.”
Xerox will not nominate candidates to HP’s board, and has withdrawn its offer.
“We have a healthy cash position and balance sheet that enable us to navigate unanticipated challenges such as the global pandemic now before us, while preserving strategic optionality for the future,” HP said in its own March 31 statement.
Xerox had previously led a hostile takeover bid of HP which would combine the two companies. In November 2019, HP’s board unanimously rejected the offer, arguing that it undervalued the company and wasn’t in the best interest of shareholders.
The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) has launched a streamlined, more us -
er-friendly website designed to be a better communication tool for members of the printing and packaging industries.
The homepage of the website (www.flexpack.org) offers an FPA Spotlight section that highlights a market tracker, the State of the Flexible Packaging Industry Report, the Flexible Packaging
Achievement Awards Competition, upcoming events, advocacy, and recent publications. Many of the resources contained in the website are for FPA members only and require a login. When FPA members log into the new site for the first time, they will be required to reset their password.
Xitron introduces COVID-19 stimulus package
Xitron, a subsidiary of Global Graphics PLC and the developer of the Harlequin-based Navigator RIP and workflow products for commercial, flexo, digital, and high-speed inkjet printing, is now offering a plan to assist printing companies af-
fected by shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program allows printers to purchase necessary RIP and workflow software with little cash outlay and interest-free payments, enabling them to direct resources to employee retention and consumables.
Most software packages are eligible under the Xitron program guidelines, including RIP upgrades, new Navigator RIP software, RIP & Workflow bundle packages, CTP interface kits, and ink key setting systems such as the Ryobi Ink Saver, which is a 64-bit Windows 10 compatible replacement for the Ryobi Ink Volume Setter. Interest-free payment plans are available from 90 days to 12 months or more, depending on the package.
With Navigator products,
all available options such as trapping and Raster PDF output will be enabled during the first 60 days so that users can experiment with additional functionality at no cost.
TC Transcontinental recently announced the creation of a Recycling Group within TC Transcontinental Packaging. In 2020, this group will start purchasing equipment for converting flexible plastics recovered from sorting facilities and other commercial, industrial and agricultural sources into recycled plastic granules. It will also be on the lookout for potential acquisitions of companies in this sector. The establishment of the Recycling Group will contribute to the achievement of
TC Transcontinental’s objectives as a signatory of the El-
len MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy
Global Commitment. One of the corporation’s objectives is to increase post-consumer recycled content across its portfolio of flexible plastic packaging products. The purchase of recovered plastics will better enable their
value recovery and facilitate the creation of local outlets for sorting facilities and companies in the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors. The team will be led by Sylvain Levert, as senior vice-president, Recycling Group, reporting to Thomas Morin, president of TC Trans-
continental Packaging. Levert was previously senior vice-president of procurement at TC Transcontinental. He will be supported by Mathieu Séguin as general manager, and by Fabrice Laberge as director of research and development, recycling technology.
There’s
a better
way.
We get why solvent is king. It’s been around for a while, and other options have not been able to compete with its quality. But that’s changed. Improved water wash technology has arrived, and Flenex plates are the proof. They process 3x faster than solvent and 1.5x faster than thermal, and the gradation and superior print quality with the ability to hold a 1%, up to 99% dot.
No more disposing of nasty chemicals. No more waiting on drying time. Just 30 minutes of total processing.
Learn more and transform your plates at www.fujifilmpackaginginsights.com/flenex-fw/.
In early 2020, Montreal-based Champion Imaging Group completed the installation of a new Anapurna H3200i LED from AGFA. The AGFA Anapurna H3200i LED is a UV LED Hybrid printer that can print rigid and flexible materials up to 10-feet-wide with average print speeds of 500 square feet per hour.
The first Duplo DocuCutter DPC-400 flatbed cutter in Canada has been sold to Sheng Gan, Director of Initial Print, in Vancouver, B.C., by PDS. The system will help the PSP produce custom boxes, kiss-cut labels, magnets and more.
Art Smart Digital Printing of Vaughan, Ont., has installed the INcut DC-6040 digital finisher from Insource. The new solution is designed to automatically feed, cut, crease and kiss-cut digital sheets in a single process. According to Insource, the INcut DC-6040 works with coated and non-coated papers, folding cartons, labels, magnets, synthetic papers and more.
Rolling into new territory
SinaLite expands into labelling market
By Andrew Snook
Growth through the successes of others. This is essentially the business model of Markham, Ont.-based SinaLite, which recently celebrated its 21st year in business. The wholesale trade printer has partnered with more than 10,000 businesses since 1999, when Oscar and Fara Meshkati opened up a 1,200-sq.-ft. shop with a small single-colour offset press for printing flyers, pamphlets, NCR forms, and other promotional products that their clients needed.
According to Brian Meshkati, vice-president of SinaLite, their company’s entire business model and focus is about helping others succeed.
“As a trade printer, our only focus is to help distributors, print brokers and other commercial printers be able to compete in such a difficult industry. We want to help them succeed,”
Brian says.
That business model has served the company well over the past two decades. SinaLite has grown to approximately 150 employees working in a 100,000-sq.-ft. facility and boasts more than $20 million worth of state-ofthe-art printing technologies.
In addition to the company’s more traditional promotional print offerings, SinaLite recently developed a label printing division and an apparel division with dozens of different
apparel offerings.
“One of the things our customers have been requesting is, ‘How do we compete with the billion-dollar online printing companies out there that are offering not only traditional business cards and marketing collateral in a wide format, but they’re also starting to offer stickers, labels and apparels?”
Brian says. “It’s hard for them to compete against that.”
Rolling up their sleeves
SinaLite recently started up a label printing division to expand its product offerings. Brian says this was a sound business decision since label printing makes up a good percentage of the
The Meshkati family (Mike, Fara, Oscar and Brian) recently celebrated the 21st anniversary of Sinalite, which they have been operating in Markham, Ont. since 1999.
printing market and it isn’t showing signs of disappearing.
“You won’t see labels going anywhere soon,” he says.
For expanded production of the roll labels, the company purchased an HP Indigo 6900 digital press, which was installed in January 2020.
“The main reason was because of the quality that it outputs,” says Mike Meshkati, president of SinaLite. “It is meant for high-end label printing. It’s meant for short-run printing for the label market – consider the short-run anything below 50,000 pieces. At the same time, HP offers great service in the GTA (GreaterToronto Area) and in Canada, and we like our equipment to always be up and running so we can fill our clients order and ship to them the next day, if we need to.”
The company currently produces 19 different substrates of roll labels and different adhesive types.
“The substrate can be anything from fluorescent green colour or could be
for applications for a freezer, outdoors, in- doors or wine bottles. Some of the adhesive types we offer our clients are permanent adhesive and there’s also removable adhesives,” Brian says, adding that one of the big things that differentiates SinaLite’s offerings from competitors is that they’re not charging additional for custom shapes.
“We do offer our customers circles, ovals, rectangles and squares, but we also offer them any shape that they really want. So, if what they’re buying needs the shape of a star, we can do it, and we don’t charge additional for it.”
“I know that anyone we talked to was excited about this new area developing within the company,” adds Lisa Ratanprasad, manager of public relations for SinaLite. “To be able to offer this to their client base, they feel like it’s over and above.”
New products, new people
With the additions of the label and apparel lines, SinaLite has brought on
additional staff at its Markham headquarters.
“For the roll labels right now, we’re running two shifts. So that alone is four additional individuals that we’ve added to our team in production. Apparel just came out last month, but we are running one shift, and that’s three individuals in total, Mike says. “As demand increases and we get more orders –
and we are expecting that in these two departments – we are looking to expand that team.”
The addition of the roll labels and apparel products lines are only two of several recent investments made by SinaLite to grow their brand. The company also invested in two HP Indigo 12000 digital presses installed in October 2018 and October 2019; and
SinaLite currently produces 19 different substrates of roll labels and different adhesive types.
a new ABG Digicon Series 3 installed in late 2019.
Mike says his company’s investments in new equipment have allowed SinaLite to offer great quality at a very economical pricing model with quicker turnaround.
“It’s increasing our speed to market, which helps our clients win more work,” he says. “It’s allowing aggressive customers that want to grow their businesses to be able to tap into new markets. For example, if someone was traditionally selling post- cards to their clients, now they could start selling roll labels to their clients, and then they could start selling apparel. We’re investing heavily in our gear so our clients can increase their profits and increase their revenues. We’re already seeing that a big percentage of our customers are taking advantage. For example, I have a graphic designer that I was working with two or three years ago who was struggling with his
business. He was just selling business cards, postcards and traditional marketing collateral. As soon as we introduced roll labels, he tapped into the cannabis market and he’s getting a lot of orders. He never had that revenue before, plus now, because he got all of those roll label products for his cannabis business, his postcard marketing and marketing collateral business automatically grew too, because he attracted new customers.”
Mike says he has already started to see SinaLite’s new apparel lines help clients grow their businesses.
“Operationally, it’s helping us increase our revenues by helping our customers’ revenues to increase,” he says.
The company expects these new products continuing to grow as more and more of the younger generation move towards an e-commerce model for their businesses.
“Anyone that’s selling print can jump
on our platform and within hours start making money,” Mike says, adding that there is extra security that comes with doing business with SinaLite.
“With us, they have the security that we’re not going to the end user.”
Going forward, SinaLite hopes to continue expanding in the future, bringing in top technologies and offering the best services for their customers.
“We’re thrilled to be celebrating 21 years in business,” Lisa says. “It shows the dedication and growth that this company has been through. We’re keen to develop new ways to help the customers – whether it’s shipping times or getting a new portfolio of products to sell, or just finding ways to make things simple.”
As part of SinaLite’s recent 21st anniversary festivities, they were presented a plaque from Mayor of Markham Frank Scarpitti.
– Suitable for all packaging/POP
– Robust, multifunctional tooling
– Over Cutter Camera for high-speed, oneshot register mark capture
– Automatic/robotic load & off-load options
– Modular, upgradable, easy to use Contact us for more information and current options for live demonstrations.
Deanne Sinclair / Owner and Vice-President / Cambridge Label
Deanne Sinclair is an entrepreneur and proud owner of her family business, Cambridge Label Inc., a manufacturer of custom printed labels for food and beverage, pharmaceutical, industrial and medical applications for label resellers across Canada and the U.S. Having been raised by a family of entrepreneurs, Sinclair says she enjoys soaking up new information at every opportunity and possesses the ability to persevere when times are tough. She graduated from the MBA program at the Ivey School of Business at Western University in 2015.
PA: How is the state of the print industry?
DS: I view it as growing and dynamic, especially for young professionals looking to start a career. As a label and
packaging printer, I’ve seen the demand for labels and packaging grow over the last 10 years. As you go about your daily routine, think about how many different products you interact with — all of them have labels or some form of printed packaging. I find when I encourage other millennials to think about this, it’s an eye-opening experience for them. Print is everywhere, and I don’t see it going away anytime soon. It’s the product’s label and packaging that sells it. Did you know the most important influence in a consumer’s buying decision is visual packaging? Unfortunately, I think the younger generation has the misconception that print isn’t in demand, but I see the opposite.
PA: What attracted you to the industry?
DS: I like that it is dynamic, fast-paced, and ever-changing. The technology is constantly evolving, and because of
this, I feel like I am always learning. In the 10 years I have spent in print, I’ve witnessed the evolution of the digital
label press and the impact this has had in the marketplace. When I started working at Cambridge Label, we didn’t even have a digital press! Crazily enough we only installed our first digital press in 2013, which isn’t even that long ago. It’s interesting to see how far we have come with digital print technology in the last six years and this constant evolution keeps work exciting. The other thing about this industry is that there aren’t many young people entering the marketplace, yet there are boomers looking to retire in the next five to 10 years. Those jobs need to be replaced, and I think this presents a great opportunity for anyone entering the industry who is looking for career growth.
WestRock research
finds that 66 percent of consumers have purchased a new product because the packaging caught their eye.
business. Growing up, my father had a strict “no family members as employees” policy, out of respect for his other business partners. It wasn’t until I had graduated from high school when he purchased the entirety of Cambridge Label that I was allowed to begin working with him. I started in production in the rewind department and quickly grew to love all of our team members and enjoy the fast-paced environment.
There is never a dull or boring moment in print!
PA: How can we get more young people into print?
My family has been in print for more than 35 years but to be honest, I never envisioned myself working in the family
DS: I believe business leaders in our industry need to focus on recruiting and hiring the younger generation. If we do not look to recruit or hire young talent, we won’t introduce them to this amazing industry. I am responsible for
all of our hiring, and I do not shy away from hiring someone who has no print experience. I look for a positive attitude, willingness to learn, and enthusiasm. If they possess these skills and seem like they would be a good fit, I will happily invest in whatever training is required to bring them up-to-speed, and I have attempted to do this in all areas of our business. I had a job posting for a customer service position about a year ago, and an applicant came in for an interview and said, “Wow, there are so many young people here, is this a permanent job or is this to cover off a maternity leave?” I took this as a compliment! We have had millennials who work for us tell their friends about how great this industry is, and we have since recruited some of their friends to join our team — it’s a snowball effect.
DS: We always aim to promote from within, and I think that is key to maintaining and satisfying your workforce. If I have an outside applicant with all the relevant skills and experience, and someone who has been on our team for a while who needs training but would be an excellent fit, I will always choose from our team first. Furthermore, if there is something I can invest in to make our employees’ jobs more comfortable, I will 100 percent explore it. As an example, we recently purchased standing desks for our office staff, and everyone was so appreciative and finds worklife much more enjoyable now. It’s the promoting from within and investing in a positive workplace that goes so far with staff, and that’s because my father and I do deeply care about our people.
PA: You’ve previously said that part of Cambridge Label’s success is due to investing in your people. Please elaborate.
Responses were edited for length. For Sinclair’s complete Q&A interview, please visit www.printaction.com/profiles.
With the events industry severely disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many print and packaging related trade shows and conferences have been postponed or cancelled in 2020. Here are the latest updated dates and locations for upcoming events in the print industry.
Drupa, the print industry’s largest global trade show made the decision to postpone its 2020 show until April 20 to 30,2021 due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic..
June 21-24
CUPMAC
Niagara Falls, Ont.
August 23-25
ISA Sign Expo
Orlando, Fla.
August 24-25
Converters Expo
Green Bay, Wisc.
September 10-12
Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2020
Bangkok, Thailand
September 15-17
Brand Print 2020
Chicago, Ill.
September 15-18
Digital Signage Expo 2020
Las Vegas, Nev.
September 15-18
Labelexpo Americas 2020
Chicago, Ill.
September 18-19
Sign Expo Canada 2020
Mississauga, Ont.
September 24, 2020
Gala Gutneberg
Montreal, Que.
September 29 to October 1
Solimar User Conference & CAC
Summit
San Diego, Calif.
October 6-8, 2020
FESPA Global Print Expo
Madrid, Spain
October 21–23
Printing United 2020
Atlanta, Ga.
November 12
Canadian Printing Awards 2020
Palais Royale Toronto, Ont.
2021
April 20-30, 2021
drupa
Germany
HP Indigo V12 Digital Press
For label production, the HP Indigo V12 Digital Press, designed with next-generation HP Indigo LEPX architecture, is a narrow-web press that exploits the core power of Indigo’s Liquid Electrophotography (LEP) technology. First in the Series 6 platform, the HP Indigo V12 offers up to 12 colours on press, a speed of up to 120 metres per minute (400 f/pm) and multiplies productivity performance to match analog speed. A new, automated colour-matching technology, Spot Master, provides what HP describes as the industry’s fastest timeto-colour.
Ravenwood releases new linerless label applicator
Ravenwood Packaging has launched the Nobac 5000, a new label applicator building on the core functionality of the company’s 500 range of machinery.
The new machine features several refinements for improved functionality and ease of operation. Its modular construction provides increased flexibility of use and machine configuration with the twin head option now being retrofittable. The machine also features more space for printers allowing for further options, such as coding on labels and packs.
Improved guarding also allows easier access with better label control from a new upgraded brake system. In addition, the applicator’s electrical cabinet has also been repositioned, making for easy engineer access. And optional cardboard tray coding systems are now available, including motorized adjustment for product setup.
SinaLite supports print community with launch of pre-designed floor graphics and decals for clients
Wholesale trade printer SinaLite has recently introduced two timely new products to their selection to help the print community: social distancing floor graphics, and health and hygiene decals. Both these products come with pre-designed artwork to make the ordering process faster and easier. Clients do not need to upload a file; they simply pick a design.
SinaLite’s new floor graphics feature five designs to choose from. Printed on vinyl stock with anti-slip properties, this item is safe and scratch-resistant. It can be applied to surfaces such as tiles, wood flooring, carpets, and more. These removable 13mil. vinyl adhesives are most commonly used by the following businesses in lineup areas: stores, warehouses, service centers, hospitals and clinics, takeout restaurants; and other essential services. SinaLite has also introduced decals to promote healthy hygiene practices. Launched on April 9, these 4mil removable vinyl decals come in four sizes and feature 11 different designs to choose from.
Designs include decals that promote hand washing, covering coughs, and avoiding handshakes.
Both products take two to four business days to produce, and can be blind shipped either to the reseller’s address or directly to the reseller’s client.
HP Indigo V12 Digital Press
Nobac 5000
SinaLite has launched a line of vinyl floor graphics
DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS YEAR’S
PRINTACTION BUYERS GUIDE
For the first time ever the Buyers Guide will be included within our October issue print and digital editions, as well as enhanced online listings NEW for 2020/2021 edition.
Deadline for display ads and enhanced online listings is August 31st