The 2011 NPIRI Technical Conference is scheduled for Oct. 18-20 at the Eaglewood Resort and Spa in Itasca, IL. The Eaglewood Resort & Spa is one of the top Chicago area conference centers with state-of-the-art meeting facilities. This year’s program theme is entitled “Facing Today’s Printing Ink Challenges,” and is designed to deliver cutting edge printing ink-related information on a wide range of topics.

“We’ve designed this year’s program to reflect not only the issues facing our industry but also to be particularly valuable to attendees who have multiple functional areas and responsibilities,” said George Fuchs, director regulatory affairs and technology at NAPIM. “The agenda features topics covering the raw materials, packaging, in-depth technical subjects and regulatory issues. It truly has something for everyone.”

Highlights of the conference will include:

• Keynote Address: State of the Industry – Rick Krause, BASF Corp.
Each year NAPIM assembles industry data from and on behalf of NAPM members to provide a picture of the current stae and outlook of our industry. This presentation will provide an overview of the current print market and a discussion of industry trends and directions.

• Packaging from a Brand Owner’s Perspective – Bob Tate, Axiom Consulting
This presentation will focus on current and future trends in the packaging market from a brand owner’s perspective. The influence of global innovation in packaging technology, smart packaging, consumer expectations, nano technology , sustainability and other relevant topics will be discussed.

• The Future of Raw Materials Part 2 – Diane Parisi, Flint Group – Facilitator
A short follow-up of the materials covered in last year’s raw material panel discussion will be followed by a second installment panel of suppliers experts covering Nitrocellulose, waxes, carbon black, polyamide and polyurethane resins, again discussing the current market drivers, market conditions (Supply shortages, environmental issues, ca- pacity concerns, etc.) and future trends and outlook for the sourcing concerns of the industry.

• Analytical Techniques to Identify Contaminants and Components on Food Contact Materials Karim Bentayeb, PhD, USFDA
Set-off can be defined as the unintentional transfer of substances used in printing inks from the external printed surface of food packaging to the inner, food-contact, surface. At present the main solution is visual quality control. However, since components from varnishes covering inks cannot be seen, and no other technique is commercially available to detect set-off in food packaging, a new, rapid approach is needed. Ambient ionization sources (such as DART) provide the possibility of quickly detecting compounds on a sold surface through mass spectrometric identification of their ions.

“This year’s conference is also unique in that we will have both the supplier spotlight presentations and the traditional tabletop exhibits,” added Mr. Fuchs. “Over time these have proven to be excellent opportunities to gather important technical information from printing ink raw materials suppliers and vendors. We are sure you will not be disappointed.”

Visit the NAPIM website (www.napim.org) for an up-to-date program and agenda.