It goes without saying that innovations in packaging materials and the evolution of packaging as we know it are great things.

We’re evolving with the expectations of a new breed of consumer.  We’re reducing waste, saving cost and resources as we invent, test, and improve new materials; making us leaner, meaner, and greener than before.

But did you ever consider how changes-for-the-better in package materials  can spell changes-for-the-worse when it comes time to cut that material down to size?

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We’re pretty big on converting, so naturally we were pretty upset to hear that Converting Magazine has ceased publication effective immediately.

Industry Publisher RBI has been planning this move for almost 9 months, but last Friday  it became official. Converting Magazine, along with 22 other publications spanning industries from graphics to home improvement, has closed its doors forever.

The loss of one of the converting industry’s leading voices in print is compounded by the subsequent closure of the resource rich convertingmagazine.com, which officially closes April 30,2010.  For what excellent insight and content the print edition provided, the site itself quadrupled in up to date news posts, discussions on converting sub-topics, job postings, and even additional e-newsletters.

RBI has made mention of making the intellectual property associated with these pubs available for sale, but only time will tell if that turns out to anything.

So here’s to you, Converting Magazine: thanks for over a quarter century of insight, opportunity, and dedication to the converting industry and all us manufactures, suppliers, and everyone in between.

You will be missed.

We talked about this before, but thought it was important to expand on how we provide end users and OEM’s the same level of service and quality with every knife and saw me make.

After over a century in the cutting business, all we can say is: we get it.

As an OEM, you want a reliable solution that’s cost-effective, quick to turn around, and consistent.  We can work with your engineering team to design the best cutting edge for your specific application.

As an end user, you want the most economical solution to your knife needs without having to go back to your machine’s OEM. Maybe they’re overseas and hard to contact. Maybe their costs are too high or their lead times too long.  As long as we don’t already have a working relationship with your machine’s OEM, we are more than happy to assist you with your machine knife requirements.

No Matter Your Role – Count on YSK to Deliver the Best Knife Every Time:

• Financial Savings – Time and time again we have saved manufacturers and end users money over knives sourced from overseas suppliers.
• Time Savings – It is not uncommon for our lead times on knife fabrication to be 50 – 70% quicker than those of other suppliers.
• No Minimum Order. Need I say more?
• Free Test Cutting – Haven’t you met Ol’ Cutty yet? Anyway, we provide free test cutting services as part of helping you on your way to the optimal cutting edge.
• 106 Years of American Made Quality and  Knife Expertise
• ….oh. And We’re Fearless – Think your processing knife is a challenge to duplicate? Go on. Send it over. If we can handle shark teeth, we can handle anything!

Food Processing to Form Fill Seal, whatever your application, we’d love to work with you to design and produce a knife with the ultimate cutting edge.

Interested? Give us a call today.

York Saw and Knife is now active in Google Maps’ Local Business Center.

By searching for or visiting us there, you’ll find our enhanced company listing featuring our contact info, directions, website link, general info and some photos and videos.

The YSK Google Maps business listing is a pretty cool feature, particularly for folks not familiar or previously not aware of York Saw and Knife and our high-quality products and services.

And it never hurts to drop some additional knowledge on the folks at Google.

Pack Expo 2008 is in the books and York Saw & Knife is back from the Windy City. We really enjoyed the show – and it seemed Pack Expo enjoyed the YSK booth! More attendees visited our booth than any other Pack show we’ve been involved with!* So congrats to the Pack Expo organizers and our own YSK team who coordinated our show participation and staffed the event.

York Saw & Knife blades not only deliver proven results, but they also get a lot of attention. People regularly stopped at the YSK booth to take a look at the wide variety of leading edge York Saw & Knife blades displayed. Among the favorites of the Pack crowd were the packaging knives, straight knives and circular knives.

* Maybe it was the peppermint patties!

For attendees that swiped their card at the YSK booth, we will be sending out information soon!

In a little over two weeks, York Saw and Knife is hitting Chicago to take part in the 2008 Pack Expo. We’ll be there November 9 – 13. We’re currently finishing our final preparations for the show – crossing t’s and dotting i’s.

Pack is an event devoted to the packaging industry, serving suppliers and buyers of packaging machinery, materials, components and services. This year, the show is held at McCormick Place and co-located with the Process Expo and Converting & Packaging Printing (CPP) Expo.

We’re looking forward to Pack, and the opportunity to visit with past and current customers and vendors, and meet some new people. If you’re attending Pack, Process or CPP, stop by the York Saw and Knife booth (#E-7827) to say “hi” and see our full displays of leading-edge cutting tools.

Many customers in the packaging and converting business are exploring new types of plastics and polymer materials and experiencing difficulty in using their existing knives to cut these new, progressive materials. York Saw & Knife has developed a test cutting machine to help design engineers and plant personnel solve their cutting problems. The machine is designed to test rectangular or straight knives.

It is an easy 3 step process

1] Call one of our sales engineers at 800-233-1969 and discuss your particular application, what you are trying to achieve or type of problem you are trying to solve. We need to know what type of cut edge geometry in your material is acceptable for your application like a straight cut,”V” shape on the cut edge commonly found on candy bar wrappers, potato chip bags, etc. – or a wavy edge.

2] Send us a sample of your material either by shipping it to us @ York Saw & Knife, 295 Emig Road, Emigsville, PA 17318 or by mail to: York Saw & Knife. P.O. Box 733, York, PA 17405

3] We will test cut your material using different cutting edge geometry’s and tooth designs. V-teeth, scalloped edge, and beveled edged configurations all can be tested. We will return your sample test cuts to you and inform you which knife configurations used the least amount of force to cut your material.

Our test cutting service is free of charge and an excellent way for you to narrow down the optimum cutting edge for your particular application.