Heraeus recently announced that, in collaboration with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), it has developed an improved mass-manufacturing process for its Clevios™-based films used in touch panels and sensors for a variety of electronics devices. This process will reportedly enable companies to use Clevios-based films to produce touchscreens with greater functionality, including the ability to be flexible, curved, 3-D or wearable.

Introduced in 1960, ultraviolet (UV) curable ink has resulted in increased automation, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Originally, water- and solvent-based inks were used for flexographic printing, textile printing, screen printing, and more.

Demand for converted flexible packaging in the U.S. is projected to increase 3.3% annually to $20.7 billion in 2019. Although advances will decelerate from the pace of the past decade, converted flexible packaging will remain a growth area in both food and nonfood applications due to the inherent cost and performance advantages of lightweight bags and pouches.

Downtime—both planned and unplanned—can have a pronounced impact on packing line efficiency and throughput. This downtime, caused by film roll changes, registration errors, catastrophic film failures, bottlenecks, and more, is costly and may seem impossible to avoid. Taking appropriate steps to streamline processes wherever possible can help to mitigate the repercussions of downtime, improving overall line efficiency and thus profitability.

It’s tough to be perfect when producing millions of custom boxes every year—but customers expect it. If defective boxes turn up in a shipment, customers gladly return them—along with a complaint.

Below are the year’s most-viewed news stories on the ASI website (posted and viewed from 1/1/15 to date).