AB Graphic, L&L collaborate for charity campaign at Labelexpo Americas 2016

AB Graphic is collaborating with multiple industry partners who also are exhibiting at Labelexpo Americas to print stickers that will be donated to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for the nonprofit organization’s nationwide fundraising initiatives.

Additionally, Labels & Labeling has joined their efforts and designated the National MS Society as its official Labelexpo Americas 2016 charity. To donate to the cause, view the magazine's fundraising page here.

The donated stickers will be printed at Innovative Labeling Solutions in Ohio and Nosco in Illinois prior to the show. HP Indigo will handle some printing on site, and AB Graphic will convert the stickers on its Digicon Series 3 finishing unit that will be on display in their booth (#3223). More than 350,000 stickers will be printed and donated to the National MS Society. That’s 210,000 feet of material that normally would be thrown in the trash going to a good cause.

The bulk of the printed jobs will be 2-inch round stickers to be used at the organization’s Walk MS or Bike MS events, which happen in cities across the US. Rectangle runner’s bibs also will be printed.

The National MS Society is America’s leading charity organization dedicated to multiple sclerosis research, education and advocacy. The society’s fundraising events raise money to fund research, support groups and lobbying efforts.

AB Graphic and HP Indigo have partnered with Acpo, Actega, Rotometrics and Yazoo Mills for this cause, and all have donated materials or services.

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disease affecting the central nervous system. According to the National MS Society, MS is thought to be an immune-mediated disorder, in which the immune system incorrectly attacks healthy tissue in the central nervous system. The society says that MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.

The concept to donate printed labels came from Tony Bell of AB Graphic and Alon Bar-Shany of HP. Choosing the National MS Society as the beneficiary was an idea came from AB Graphic operations manager Tim Staples.

‘We’ve never done anything on this scale and with a large nonprofit,’ Staples said. ‘We wanted to do something where we weren’t throwing away 20,000 meters of material a day. So much of this material is gone to waste.’

Staples continued: ‘Most of it is going in the trash. If a nonprofit organization can use these products, then it’s a win-win-win. We get to show our equipment, it’s a tax deduction for manufacturers, and it’s a great relief on these nonprofits.’

The initiative also is a ‘personal crusade’ for Staples, who was diagnosed with MS in May after what he first believed were complications from Lasik eye surgery. He lost sight in half of his eye, and when he went back to the eye doctor, he was sent for a brain scan that detected MS.

After the diagnosis he turned to the MS Society for help in understanding the disease.

‘There’s a lot of information out there, but the reputable information comes from the National MS Society,’ he said.

MS can cause many symptoms, including blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, and blindness and more, the Society says. These problems may come and go or persist and worsen over time. There is no cure for MS, but treatments are available to reduce the number of relapses and delaying progression of disability.