Midwest Ink

By Erik Cagle In basic terms, the commercial printing industry has to deal with a new ozone standard set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The standard, previously 0.12 parts per million, now becomes 0.08 parts per million. The back end of the compliance timetable is 2021. One would presume eliminating 0.04 parts per million over an 18-year span doesn't sound all that challenging. But that breakdown is akin to saying the U.S. government is a bunch of people who take care of things. While true, it is horribly simplistic. The new standard, with its ramifications,

BY MARK MICHELSON Given the lingering economic malaise, representatives of sheetfed and web offset press manufacturers exhibiting at Graph Expo & Converting Expo 02 in Chicago last month—understandably—may have felt a bit under the weather leading up to the show. Any salesperson trying to reach his/her quota selling printing presses knows that the past 12 to 24 months have been a real headache. Would customers and prospects even come to the show and, more importantly, would printers there be feeling healthy enough to make capital equipment purchases? To the surprise of many exhibitors, attendee traffic was brisk, especially the opening day and throughout the

Looking for alternatives to the inks you're currently using on-press? Then check out what other commercial printing inks are now on the market. BASF Printing Systems offers a diverse range of K+E printing inks for sheetfed offset printing and narrow web offset printing, including a new line of Ultraking UV-curable and Novabryte hybrid inks. Novabryte inks are fast curing to allow for in-line UV coatings and high-gloss finishing in sheetfed offset with only one coating unit. Specially formulated to run on high-speed and perfecting presses, K+E printing inks provide outstanding rub resistance and high gloss for publication, commercial and specialty printing applications. K+E printing inks