About The Flexographic Trade School

INTRODUCTION:

The Flexographic Trade School (FTS) is a very unique press-operator training, research and technology institute. Fashioned to meet the needs of progressive flexographic printers in the new millennia, FTS provides an excellent educational business model for the trade schools of tomorrow.

Our student recruiting efforts are not based on finding warm bodies to train, but rather to seek those with a natural talent for running a flexographic printing press.

Recently we began our 5th year of "Training Tomorrows Press Operators", along with providing the flexographic industry with Introductory, Advanced, and Custom "hands-on," press side training.

We have over 80 students that have graduated and went on to work in the industry in four countries and over 20 states, this is a huge accomplishment. This is and always will be our number one focus. We are adding additional presses to accommodate our demand for more students.

We have accomplished the ability to demonstrate and educate the industry through the many different training programs we put on. Whether it was an Introduction to Flexo seminar, Advanced training, or a custom seminar we have serviced over 500 people from approximately 10 countries. These one of a kind training programs are like none other offered in the industry, if you talk to anyone who has attended a class they will tell you that they learned a great deal about flexo. This is what FTS was created for, to bring a quality-training program, one with substance, to the industry.

We have helped several companies get back up and running smoothly again with our production programs we put in. We work with many high school and college flexo programs offering free training and scholarships. We have trained a good many and plan to work even closer with them in whatever capacity we can.

FTS was formed in May of 2000, thanks to the vision of co-owner and program director Art Fields. Today, the school operates for just at 100 flexo label, folding carton, and film printing converter companies as their commissioned training facility. The school’s staff and its 40 + vendor sponsors work daily to help FTS members better compete in today’s highly competitive world. Our printer clients are the vital key to the school’s success – as these member companies have provided our new ‘certified press operators’ 100% job placement.

Also, we offer a variety of programs and services to help printing converters with their day-to-day production. As a member of FTS, you have a resource available to turn to for help. Whether it is a production problem or personnel training need, we can assist.

One-Of-A-Kind Technology Training System: FTS is unique in the fact that its’ students run live production work commissioned by the school’s converting membership. In this way, the membership community gets graduating students who have lived the experience of a live production environment.

International Training and Research Center: FTS is the training and research center for its 140 + member companies seeking to advance Flexography’s competitiveness in the world of package printing. Supported by over forty leading vendor sponsors, FTS’s International Training and Research Center offers its converter members and vendors a ‘living environment’ for advancing their business technologies.

Programs and Services: FTS offers a variety of programs and services to assist its member converters with their day-to-day color reproduction, converting, and production challenges. As a member of FTS, you’ll have a resource available to turn to for help. As follows is a list of FTS services:

• Our NEWEST service is the production and sales of the "FTS Flexographic Color Application Guide in Popular PANTONE® Colors." These were printed at FTS and are now available through FTS or several of our contributing vendor sponsors for only $30.00 per Guide.
• "New Press Operator Hires" from our 3-month Press Operator Training Program.
• "One Month Intensive Operator Training" for training your current staff that may be ready to be your next press operator.
• "Flexo Personnel Placement" through Art’s Internet Job Links.
• Introduction To Flexo Training – A two day seminar
• Advance Press Operator Training – A three day seminar
• Guaranteed Results Consulting – On-site consulting and training
• Video Training – a 6-tape VHS program called "Bring The Training To You," at very affordable pricing.
• Custom "Hands On" Training for special staff needs, groups, etc…

Our Leadership Training Instructors:Art Fields, Program Director for the school and our 2 instructors have collectively been involved in the Narrow Web Flexo Industry for over 50 years. Art’s 18 years experience include working as a press operator, production manager, and consultant. After several years of production and training consulting, he realized the greatest need of the Flexo Industry was good quality trained press operators, as well as continuing education for personnel already in the industry. As a result, he joined with many supporting vendors and converters, and created a school that is truly unique to any other – a perfect business model for servicing the Flexo Industry’s biggest need – new incoming, technically trained employees!

CAPABILITIES LIST:

FTS is honored with support from the best equipment vendors in the industry, which are key to making the school what it is today…"a state-of-the-art training, research, and production center second to none in the world." If you would like additional information on our vendors, please click here.

FTS is capable of printing a wide variety of paper and film pressure sensitive label, tag, carton and specialty product stocks on its 2 color, 10" presses with a maximum print size 10" x 24". Both presses are waterbase and UV ink capable, with five stations equipped for UV. We utilize doctor blade metering in all 8 stations. The press is also equipped with a roll lift, auto butt-splicer and vacuum trim away system for efficiently handling roll stock and optimizing long run productivity. The press converting configurations allows us to perform laminating, relam-delam, two-sided printing via a turn bar, sheet stacking, cold foil, hot foil stamping, and embossing. A video monitoring system supports quality and maximum press speed efficiency.

Other supporting equipment include a rewinder-slitter as well as a table-top rewinder, an optical and manual plate mounter, a sonic anilox roll cleaner, and a computer automated ink dispensing system.

FTS is capable of running 4, 6 and 7 color processes up to 325 line screens on anilox rolls that go up to 2000 lines per inch, along with multiple banded rolls for testing.

FTS is capable of printing and converting the following materials:

• Pressure Sensitive (PS) 50/50, 60/40
• Tag, both PS and none PS, up to 18 point
• PS film supported
• Static clean film supported
• Vinyl
• Tyvek

• Styrene’s unsupported 4 mill or thicker
• Cloths
• UV laminates
• Self wound laminates
• Supported laminates
• Coupon stock

Converting Tooling FTS is capable of running:

• Embossing dies
• Air eject dies
• Vacuum dies
• All types of conventional die cuts.
• Medal to medal dies.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D):

Technology development is key to any industry’s continued vitality and growth. At FTS, we test new ideas, investigate new equipment or application enhancements, or perform stress testing of a new products and services. Each one of these is critical to keeping flexo in the forefront of the world’s preferred choice for package printing.

In an effort to both compliment industry growth and our student’s educational development, FTS works hand-in-hand with its converting and vendor sponsor membership in the vital area of R & D. As part of our membership service, FTS’s staff works as an R & D facilitator for its membership – making our facility an ideal place to discover and enhance leading edge technologies of today. Each month, FTS is running one to three critical product development efforts or performing application testing for product or equipment advancement efforts. All this is to help our students and members develop and maintain a leading edge in their respective fields.

RUNNING LIVE FLEXO WORK:

FTS is unique in the fact that its’ students run live production work commissioned by the school’s converting membership.