Plastics Decorating

Plastics decorating industry professionals should mark their calendars and make their reservations for a busy fall tradeshow season. LOUPE Americas LOUPE Americas, formerly Labelexpo, convenes September 15-17 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago) Illinois, as North America’s largest dedicated event for the label and package printing industry.

By Shelly Otenbaker, president, WayPoint Marketing Communications In today’s plastics industry landscape, activity is not the same as progress. Plastics molders and decorators are investing more than ever in marketing – new websites, digital ads, tradeshows, CRM systems and automation tools. On paper, it looks like momentum. But in reality, many organizations are generating more noise than results: unqualified leads, long sales cycles and missed revenue targets. The problem isn’t effort. It’s focus.

Press release submitted on behalf of Plastics Decorating and IMDA. The In-Mold Decorating Association and Plastics Decorating Magazine have set programming for the 2026 Plastic Product Decorating Summit: September 1-3 at the Houston Marriott Sugar Land hotel in Sugar Land (Houston), Texas.

Automark 512.593.7100 www.automarkco.com The Azon Edge is a digital direct-to-part printing system that gives manufacturers the freedom to produce vibrant, durable graphics directly on plastic components and other rigid substrates – without labels or secondary decoration processes. Ideal for prototypes, customization, industrial part marking and short-run production, it also produces textured effects, premium varnish finishes and ADA-compliant Braille signage in a single workflow.

By Dustin Will, RAYN Technology For decades, lasers have been synonymous with permanent identification – serial numbers, barcodes, logos and traceability marks. Today, however, advances in laser processing have expanded that role dramatically. Manufacturers increasingly are looking to laser technology not just for marking, but as a true decorative manufacturing process capable of producing premium finishes directly on three-dimensional plastic components.

Innovative Marking Systems, headquartered in Lowell, Massachussetts, supplies equipment, automation, accessories and training to the plastics decorating industry. The Logica PadFoil 05NS is its latest offering from TOSH, combining pad printing and die-less foil stamping in one machine. TOSH’s European clients are using the system to decorate high-end glass beverage and plastic cosmetic containers and closures, plus natural and synthetic materials such as those found on footwear.

Edited by Dianna Brodine, vice president, editorial, Plastics Decorating For more than 35 years, the Ford Explorer has been a steady contributor to the midsized SUV segment with a variety of trim levels, third-row family seating and a name that appeals to the adventurer. The 2025 model year received an upgrade in both style and safety with a film-insert molded applique that showcased decorative graphics and functional lighting in a single, lightweight component.

By Paul Uglum, president, Uglum Consulting, LLC One question that is asked far too infrequently in manufacturing, and especially with plastic decorating, is “Why?” The purpose of the question is to reach an understanding of just how things are made and the science that both limits and enables successful plastic decoration. A good first question is, “Why are plastic parts decorated?” This probably is the easiest question to answer: Plastic is decorated to add value.

By Kenneth Stack, executive chairman, Engineered Printing Solutions On a production line handling thousands of plastic tool cases per shift, decoration quickly can become a constraint. Each product requires clear identification, technical information and regulatory marking, and in high-SKU environments, no two items may share the same artwork.

By Liz Stevens, writer, Plastics Decorating As manufacturing companies evaluate their use of automation, questions arise on how well these innovations work in plastics decorating and how they are most effectively deployed. At the 2025 Plastic Product Decorating Summit, the panel discussion “Efficient Operations with Automation” tackled these questions.