2026 Summer Course
July 27, 2026 – July 31, 2026
The 2026 NAPIM Summer Course will take place at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC from July 27-31. Appalachian State University houses one of the premier graphic communications departments in the U.S. and offers excellent instructional facilities along with state-of-the-art ink laboratory and printing training resources.
This course serves as a comprehensive “foundation” program that begins with fundamental concepts and advances into more complex topics. This unique, one-of-a-kind, week-long course provides attendees with a solid understanding of printing ink formulation, performance on press, and testing.
Designed to appeal to both technical staff (formulators, in-plants, chemists) and non-technical staff (sales, support personnel, and newcomers to the industry), the course includes actual production press demonstrations and introduces new ways to improve skills while maximizing productivity.
Instructors include printing and ink experts from:
Brandt Technologies,Kustom Group, Flint Group, Sun Chemical, FlakTek, Evonik, BASF, Summlt Analytical, Harper Corporation, Siegwerk, INX International, Wikoff and others.
Each Summer Course instructor is carefully chosen not only for their technical expertise, but also for their ability and interest in communicating complex information in a classroom setting. And while this course occurs annually, it is not the same as previous years—each session was reviewed, refined, and improved to ensure the most current and up-to-date information is provided.
Course Highlights Include:
Organic/Inorganic Pigments, Metallic & Special Effect Colorants:
This session explains the basics of color in printed applications. Topics will include the CIELAB (Lab*) Color Space and key pigment properties such as color strength, transparency, stability, hiding power, flow properties, and dispersibility.
Film Substrate:
This in-depth session focuses on polymeric substrates (films), which are major materials in packaging. It covers technical aspects of different films—such as polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, nylon, and polyvinyl chloride—and their printing-related properties.
Formulating Litho Inks & Vehicles:
This interactive session allows registrants to apply concepts learned earlier in the week. Attendees are guided through the “whiteboard” construction of a lithographic ink formulation.
Principles of Rheology & Practical Applications:
Understanding rheology is essential for printing ink formulation. This presentation will focus on what rheology is, how it is measured, how it affects different types of printing inks, and related issues.
Lithographic Print Process:
This session will provide an in-depth understanding of the lithographic printing process, which remains a dominant method in today’s printing and graphic arts industries.
Energy Cure (UV, EB, LED):
This session will examine energy-curable inks, which continue to gain popularity. Topics include different types of energy-curable inks, their formulation, application methods, and benefits.
Viscosity Demonstration:
This onsite demonstration will focus on ink viscosity, one of the most important ink properties. Attendees will learn how to measure viscosity using an ink viscometer.
Attendees will leave this year’s course with new knowledge and experience in their fields and a new network of industry colleagues. Over the years this course has evolved and improved to meet the training requirements of our current industry. NAPIM very much looks forward to the 2026 Summer Course and the opportunity to provide increased, focused and in-depth instruction and hands-on training.
