New modules extend Label Academy reach

The next group of modules to be made available will cover topics including: die-cutting and tooling; inks, coatings and varnishes; brand protection and security labeling; pressure-sensitive label substrates; and product decoration technologies.

‘The target is to reach 20 modules by the spring of 2017,’ said Tarsus Labels & Packaging group strategic director Mike Fairley. ‘The need for ongoing updating of existing modules will be reviewed periodically.’

All the titles can be purchased in hard copy or Kindle formats, and are available through the L&L Bookstore. Purchasers of hard copies also receive a free Kindle version. Each of the published modules is supplemented on the Label Academy website by relevant magazine articles, supplier education material, video clips and much more. This supplementary learning material also forms part of the examination questions ‒ so becomes essential reading for students.

‘The label industry is undergoing a significant evolution, not just from the implementation of digital printing technology, but from key developments in origination and pre-press, tooling, workflow and management information systems, hybrid presses, the environment, sustainability, food contact, and a whole host of exciting brand-owner marketing solutions,' commented Fairley.

These advanced technologies are driving the need for better trained and more highly skilled employees. ‘The industry has been crying out for a response: better education and training schemes; enhanced employee development opportunities; more knowledge exchange; and better ways of implementing training into the workplace.’

Fairley stressed that while individual label converters, suppliers and countries have looked to create their own education and training schemes to fulfil these needs, there has until recently been no global action to create a standardized knowledge-based education and examination program for the label industry which supports life-long learning and training for all label company employees. ‘This is why the Label Academy was developed.’

The Label Academy has been endorsed by leading label associations including Finat, TLMI and LMAI. Current course modules cover conventional and digital printing technologies, origination and pre-press, codes and coding technology, label dispensing and application technology, and environmental performance and sustainable labeling.