Print Week articles from August 2007

Print Week archives from August 2007

RR Donnelley to cut Flaxby jobs as directory pressure mounts.(Flaxby Moor)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... RR Donnelley has confirmed plans to make 110 redundancies at its UK print site in Flaxby Moor, Yorkshire, amid speculation that a number of contract losses are to blame for the move. The US print group said that the decision was made due to...

Olympic tender favours SMEs.
August 2, 2007... London's Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) this week opened the door for small and medium-sized printers to win work for the 2012 Games. A tender document published on Tuesday (31 July) included lots for digital, litho and stationery print,...

Edwards, Ward elevated in St Ives management reshuffle.(Brian Edwards)(Simon Ward)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... St Ives has reshuffled its top management team in a move seen by some as reward for the chief architects of the firm's group sales initiative. Brian Edwards, formerly managing director, has been moved up to the role of chief executive of...

Stop Press.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Repropoint has launched a new internet print buying service which allows users to create and submit work via the internet... EFI is to open a research and development design centre for inkjet in Israel... Trade union Unite has hit...

Trinity Indy deal set to benefit MAN and Wifag.
August 2, 2007... Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror is set to hand press installation deals worth pounds 23m to MAN Roland and Wifag after it extended its print contract for The Independent. The publisher was this week understood to be on the verge of...

TNT weighs up 'final mile' service.
August 2, 2007... Mail operator TNT has said it will decide in the next year whether to take on Royal Mail by launching a 'final mile' delivery service in the UK. The service would focus on bulk mail such as direct mail. Dutch firm TNT's planned decision...

Ashfield boosts Newsworld board.(John Ashfield)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Digital newspaper print network Newsworld has officially launched after bringing Screen on board and appointing former Polestar director John Ashfield as chairman. The company, set up by Norwegian entrepreneur Nils Trosterud, is focusing...

In brief: 1st Byte buys second Pit Stop digital creaser.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... 1st Byte, the London digital printer, has bought a second Pit Stop digital creaser from Encore Machinery. It has also invested in an MB folder, which is connected on-line to its original Pit Stop. Lawrence Dalton, 1st Byte managing director,...

In brief: Unite welcomes comments from Alcan chief executive.
August 2, 2007... Unite, the union, has welcomed comments from Alcan chief executive Dick Evans suggesting that he would want to sell Alcan's packaging division as a whole rather than break it up, following Rio Tinto's planned acquisition of the multinational

In brief: Polestar and J&G Environmental renew contract.
August 2, 2007... Polestar and J&G Environmental have renewed a deal whereby the waste management firm will continue to service the print group's sites for the next three years. The two have already worked together for six years. Karen Hardy, Polestar group...

In brief: Appointment at ProSkills.(Bob O'Shea appointed)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... ProSkills, the sector skills council, has appointed Bob O'Shea, chairman of Kerenza J, as its printing board member. O'Shea replaces Polestar operations director Catherine Hearn. He said: 'Continuing the good work that Catherine has done for...

In brief: BFS Pressroom Solutions launches Diginip.
August 2, 2007... BFS Pressroom Solutions in Calcot, Berkshire, has launched Diginip, a device designed to accurately measure the contact width between two rollers. The hand-held instrument is suitable for sheetfed or rotary machines and has two individual...

In brief: Daval Litho orders press.
August 2, 2007... Daval Litho in east London has ordered a five-colour plus coater B2 MAN Roland 500 press. The machine will be at the centre of the firm's JDF workflow, linking to a Kodak Prinergy Evo front-end. Managing director Allen Nash said: 'While we had...

In brief: Turning Point Innovation to hold open day.
August 2, 2007... Turning Point Innovation is to hold an open day on Xinet workflow and digital asset management next Friday, 10 August 2007 at Earls Court As well as demonstrations, the company has promised new product launches

Wace faces closure as other TPF sites await pounds 13m of investment.(Wace Group PLC)
August 2, 2007... TPF Group's rollercoaster year took two further twists this week as chief executive Steve Brundle announced the probable closure of Wace and a pounds 13m investment in kit. The Swindon sheetfed plant's workforce of around 70 was told last...

Prue joins board as BGP hires ex-Wace chiefs.(Paul Prue)(Geoff Hughes)(Steve Palmer)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... BGP Group has appointed a new board-level director after it hired the two top managers from Wace. Geoff Hughes and Steve Palmer, until last week managing director and sales director of Wace, joined BGP's sheetfed arm Stones the Printers...

De Vroede buys Tower to grow UK operation.
August 2, 2007... Envelope specialist Tower Supplies has been acquired by Belgium-based De Vroede Group amid plans for the combined group to expand in the north-west of England. Outgoing Tower Supplies managing director Roy Jackson, who formed the Bury,...

Capital Olympic site bulldozed.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Large-format firm Capital's former factory was this week among the first buildings to be demolished to make way for London's 2012 Olympics. Demolition crews from the Olympic Delivery Authority set to work on the Marshgate Lane, Stratford...

Jennings returns to set up UK Akiyama agency.(Mark Jennings appointed)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Ex-Sakurai UK chief Mark Jennings is to head up a new sales operation for Akiyama presses. MDP UK began trading at the start of the month and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mag-D-Print, a Spanish printing kit distributor that secured the...

ISOs awarded to Wyndeham.(ISO 9001)(Wyndeham Heron PLC)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Wyndeham's Heron web-offset plant and Print Direct direct mail division have both become ISO 9001 accredited. The accreditation is designed to assure customers that robust procedures are in place to control quality. It also requires the...

ProCo to focus on digital work for major contract with Labour Party.
August 2, 2007... Sheffield-based printer ProCo has won a major contract with the Labour Party following a particularly competitive tender. Although the party has a long-standing contract with Newcastle printer Elanders Hindson, it recently decided to share...

Heidelberg sales soar in wake of Ipex 2006.
August 2, 2007... Press giant Heidelberg has posted improved results for the 2006/07 financial year with business in Europe flourishing. The company recorded a 6% sales increase to pounds 2.5bn (EUR3.8bn) while operating profits jumped 20% to pounds 244m....

SFO and police raid De La Rue.(Serious Fraud Office )(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Currency and passport printer De La Rue's premises were raided last Friday (27 July) by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the City of London Police's Economic Crime unit. The company issued a statement confirming that a police...

Abitibi merger gets go-ahead.
August 2, 2007... A merger that will create the eighth largest pulp and paper manufacturer in the world was given the green light last week. Canadian-owned Abitibi-Consolidated, which has a 20,000 tonne recycled newsprint mill at UK division Bridgewater...

MSO to merge acquired Labelsco with Hannibal.
August 2, 2007... Packaging giant MSO Group is to rejig its labels operation after acquiring self-adhesive label printer Labelsco. The Leicester-based firm will be merged with its Hannibal Labels division, also based in the city. It will be headed up by...

Reader reaction: Is there a benefit to using eco-friendly inks?
August 2, 2007... COMMERCIAL PRINTER Romona Harron-Harding, business development director, Polar Group 'Printing responsibly is about making the environmental accreditations we have more robust. We think that vegetable-oil based inks and low-alcohol...

Hurst leaves buying for Headley Bros sales role.
August 2, 2007... Joanne Hurst, production director at VNU Business Publications, has quit print buying to move into sales with magazine and journal printer Headley Brothers. In Hurst's new role, she will work on business development for Ashford, Kent-based...

Ex-Graphoprint sales chief hired by Howitt.(Peter Hochrath appointed)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Ex-Graphoprint sales director Peter Hochrath has joined Howitt to take on a similar senior sales role. He will work alongside Howitt sales director Nick Barbeary and has been tasked with driving the group forward with existing clients and...

Goodall named APS print chief.(Steve Goodall)(APS Group (Cheshire, England))(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Print and print management firm APS Group has named Steve Goodall as production director following the firm's investment in two 10-colour presses in May. Goodall has more than 20 years' experience of print and was the former production...

Legal notices.
August 2, 2007... This information is extracted from the print- and publishing-related notices that appear in the London Gazette. Further information is available from its website at www.gazettes-online.co.uk. WINDING-UP PETITIONS Atlas Print &...

Walsall MBC switches to web template tool.(Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council )(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (WMBC) is rolling out an online print ordering tool across its 6,000-user network after successfully piloting the Vpress-developed software Coreprint. Print and design manager Kevin Williams said the...

XPS format passes first standardisation test.
August 2, 2007... Microsoft's XML Paper Specification (XPS) came a step closer to standardisation last week when ECMA International's technical committee 46 (TC46) held its inaugural meeting. The committee, which was created at ECMA's general assembly last...

Kodak launches print info site.(Website overview)
August 2, 2007... Kodak has launched a new website, PrintAmbassador.com, which aims to promote the 'many uses and benefits of print' to the marketing community. The website, which was unveiled last week to 100 members of the International Graphic Arts...

Screen reveals new generation of platesetters.
August 2, 2007... Screen has revealed a new generation of its VLF PlateRite Ultima thermal platesetters, the PlateRite Ultima 36000 SX and 24000 SX. The platesetters are equipped with Screen's latest GLV-X technology that features 1,024 imaging channels. For...

Print Plus buys Suprasetter A74 platesetter.
August 2, 2007... Print Plus has bought a Suprasetter A74 platesetter after attending Heidelberg's open house in Tamworth. The system will be supplied with cassette plateloading and is financed through a consumables deal that will give the firm a regular supply...

Xitron releases a Universal Printer Plug-in option.
August 2, 2007... Xitron, the workflow and software developer, has released a Universal Printer Plug-in option for use with the Navigator RIP and Navigator GPS workflow family of products. Until October 2007, users can take advantage of a pounds 500 (dollars...

Agfa Graphics completes workflow installation.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Agfa Graphics has completed a workflow installation at The New York Times as part of its five-year strategic alliance with the publisher Arkitex Courier transmits all of the newspaper's pages to 22 of its national print sites. Arkitex Director...

Ghent PDF Workgroup celebrates its fifth anniversay.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... The Ghent PDF Workgroup (GWG), the workflow association, has celebrated its fifth anniversary. Chairman David Zwang said: 'The main reason for the success of the GWG is that the development of each of the specifications and best practices all...

James McVicar Printing replaces five pieces of pre-press equipment.
August 2, 2007... James McVicar Printing has replaced five pieces of pre-press equipment with a Presstek Dimension 400 platesetter using Anthem plates All platemaking at the Glasgow-based printer is now in-house. The company has belonged to the same family since...

Softcare says plug-ins available for Adobe Creative Suite 3.
August 2, 2007... Softcare, which develops workflow solutions for the publishing industry, has said that plug-ins Softcare Overset Manager and SoftCare Notes Manager are now available for Adobe Creative Suite 3

Masterprint moves into CTP with first platesetter.
August 2, 2007... Masterprint has moved into CTP with its first platesetter. The Salisbury-based commercial printer has taken a step up from its film-based kit, plumping for a Screen PlateRite 4300E running Fujifilm Brillia HD Pro-T processless plates

A1 upgrades to new DocuColor.
August 2, 2007... Security printer A1 Trade Print Services has invested pounds 360,000 in a new Xerox DocuColor 5000 digital press with Creo Spire CXP50 Color Server. The 50ppm kit replaces a DocuColor 2000 and joins two Nipson 7000s and a smaller Nipson...

Konica Minolta sets up consulting operation.
August 2, 2007... Konica Minolta has launched a new division focused on consultancy and software that is targeting European revenues of around pounds 70m (EUR100m) by 2010. The company is set to promote its range of Printgroove packages at Digital Print...

Colour shines in Xerox Q2 results.
August 2, 2007... Revenues from Xerox's colour devices were among the highlights of its second-quarter results. Overall revenues were in line with expectations at pounds 2.05bn (dollars 4.2bn), up 6% on Q2 2006's pounds 1.94bn, and leading to a net profit...

Nipson forecasts challenging 2007.
August 2, 2007... Digital press manufacturer Nipson has released a gloomy trading statement suggesting it is heading for a disappointing 2007. It said that although second-quarter equipment sales were an improvement on the first quarter, the company has...

Team Player.
August 2, 2007... Canon is to join the festival of football that is Euro 2008 next summer. The company has signed up to be one of the official sponsors of the tournament, which takes place in Austria and Switzerland from next June

Pope's printer opts for K800.(Vatican ordered a new pinter)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... The Vatican's printing house has ordered an MBO K800 Perfection folding machine, with a Vacuknife and Navigator Control. His Holyness' new machine comes with high-grip spiral fold rollers. The digital navigator control will allow memory...

Dedicated Die Cutting plumps for Tauler as it equips new premises.
August 2, 2007... Dedicated Die Cutting in North London has expanded its services following a move to new premises. A new Tauler PrintLam CTI 75 thermal laminating machine, supplied by Friedheim International, has been installed at the company as part of a...

PMG buys a Varimatrix to save on outsources.
August 2, 2007... Pinewood Media Group (PMG) plans to save pounds 85,000 a month after investing in a Heidelberg die-cutter. The company spent almost pounds 250,000 on a Varimatrix 105, which will allow it to bring the finishing of many of its products...

Finishers dispute BPIF findings that consolidation is answer.
August 2, 2007... Trade finishers have disputed a BPIF report that claims finishing companies need to consolidate to survive, saying specialisation is the key. Following the release of a report conducted by BPIF McInnes Corporate on structural change within...

Collapsed BPS warns of disappearing suppliers.
August 2, 2007... Bespoke Paper Services (BPS) managing director Jim Tunstall has issued a warning to the industry after the paper merchant went into administration on 2 July. The Cheshire-based paper merchant blamed its position on pounds 500,000 of bad...

Paper body CPI joins Proskills.
August 2, 2007... The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) has joined Proskills, the sector skills council for the print sector, as of 1 August. Proskills chief executive Terry Watts said: - Paper is one of the first industries to join in this...

Results mixed as costs continue to escalate.
August 2, 2007... Paper manufacturers have released mixed second-quarter results after a period of difficult trading conditions. Stora Enso posted sales of pounds 2.6bn (EUR3.8bn) for the second quarter of 2007, compared to pounds 2.4bn last year. Pre-tax...

M-real re-launches website.(Website overview)
August 2, 2007... M-real has re-launched the website dedicated to its uncoated paper, Tauro. The grade is highly opaque and is available in 70-300gsm. The website, www.tauropaper.com, has an African theme and includes technical and service information on the...

Stora Enso's senior executive vice president of marketing services departs.
August 2, 2007... Stora Enso's senior executive vice president of marketing services, Jussi Huttunen, has left after 28 years of service. His departure is with immediate effect and by mutual agreement. Sven von Holst will temporarily take over Huttunen's...

Sappi Fine Paper North America launches streamlined product line-up.
August 2, 2007... Sappi Fine Paper North America has launched its streamlined product line-up. It will also begin rolling out its new strategy, based on customer and product segmentation, over the next six months. These include investments in R&D to bring new...

UPM award EU Flower certificate.
August 2, 2007... UPM has been awarded an EU Flower certificate for its magazine papers. The papers awarded the accreditation come from UPM's Finnish paper mills Jamsankoski, Kaipola, Kajaani, Kaukas and Rauma. To receive the EU Flower, paper producers must meet...

Sequana Capital's Arjowiggins units in talks.
August 2, 2007... Sequana Capital has said that its Arjowiggins unit is in talks to buy Danish recycled paper producer Dalum Papir. It is believed that the producer will be acquired for pounds 42.8m (EUR63.5m). Dalum Papir recorded a turnover of pounds 62m in...

Waste & Resources Action Programme releases analysis.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has released an analysis of the market for recovered paper. It looks at the current position of paper consumption and recovered paper in the UK and addresses the main challenges that face the...

Confederation of European Paper Industries welcomes impact assessment.
August 2, 2007... The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) has welcomed an additional impact assessment on biofuels and agricultural markets that has been prepared by the European Commission (EC). It aims to answer one of several open questions that...

Editorial: Print has its fair share of heroes and villains.
August 2, 2007... What makes a hero? The Oxford Dictionary of English definition is 'a person, typically a man, who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities'. This week, we have what will hopefully be the first in a series...

Comment: Talk is cheap, action is too costly.
August 2, 2007... One dictionary defines a talking shop as 'a place or group regarded as a centre for unproductive talk rather than action'. To be honest I revel in talking shops enjoying the cut and thrust of debate. My natural role is that of Leader of the...

Comment: Talking business.
August 2, 2007... Print sector must work together to rise to the challenge of a skills revolution. The government has called for a 'skills revolution' in its official response to the Leitch Review, which was published last month, and set out what it would...

Analysis: Royal Mail - Strike action poses big questions for DM.(direct mail)
August 2, 2007... Fears mount that stalled services may drive sector to use alternatives to print. It's not been a good year for Royal Mail so far. The company has been thwarted by postal regulator Postcomm over its plans for a zonal price structure and has...

Print heroes.(dialogues with Stanley Donwood and Rachel Bacon)(Interview)
August 2, 2007... Many old print techniques are fast disappearing, but all's not lost as a recent crop of artists take up the mantle to keep these traditions alive, writes Simon Creasey. Stanley Donwood. You may not know his name but you will almost...

Technology Report: Micro-encapsulation - Sniffing out a profit in print.
August 2, 2007... Otherwise known as scratch and sniff, micro-encapsulation is experiencing a revival, but treat the trend-driven niche with caution, writes Scott Morris. Something stinks in the world of women's magazines - or rather something that used to...

Product Portfolio: Product of the week - Bobst StarFold.(Product/service evaluation)
August 2, 2007... Bobst's latest folder-gluer makes light work of converting tricky microflute carton, discovers Karen Charlesworth. In 2004, Swiss manufacturer Bobst surveyed 50 of its best customers, spread across 10 different countries. The results...

Product Portfolio: Me & My ... MB PrestigeFold Net 52.(Product/service evaluation)
August 2, 2007... Selsey Press managing director Derrick Tyler feels his combination folder has brought his finishing department up to date in terms of automation. - What does the machine do? It's a computer-controlled buckle/knife combination folder....

Products Portfolio: Tried & tested - Bobst SP 76-E.(Product/service evaluation)
August 2, 2007... After turning its attention to the commercial market, Bobst found success with its flexible and user-friendly die-cutter, writes Nosmot Gbadamosi. In 1940, Bobst, which was founded in 1890 when Joseph Bobst opened a small print supplies...

Product Portfolio: Buyers' guide - Newsprint.(Product/service evaluation)
August 2, 2007... Despite the electronic onslaught, newsprint continues to thrive with a host of new mills expected to open in the coming years. A funny thing happened when the internet boom finally started to hit print sales. What was meant to be the final...

Product Portfolio: Joanne's help line - Church services & synthetic stock.(Interview)
August 2, 2007... Joanne Gardner tracks down the solutions to your print problems Q: To mark the 25th anniversary of the closing of the Fakenham Press, the town's largest employer for over a century, we are planning a service at Fakenham Parish Church in...

Technical Tutorial: Cover-mounting and wrapping.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Film wrapping has become the default method of enclosing most magazines and some newspapers, especially those with items mounted on their covers. Cover mounting (also known as 'onserting') came into its own as automation increased and was...

Diary.(Calendar)
August 2, 2007... SEPTEMBER Proskills - Profiling Success Conference 2007 Date: 25 September Venue: The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands Price: pounds 175 Contact: www.proskills.co.uk OCTOBER Digital Print World Date: 16-18 October Venue:...

Post Script: Biodegradable litter eases the conscience.(Interview)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... One of Post Script's more trusted news sources is American website The Onion, so we were doubly delighted last week when its journalists tackled the current debate over excessive packaging head on. In an upper-case-heavy piece entitled 'New...

Post Script: Memory Lane.
August 2, 2007... 1 YEAR AGO New Jarrold Printing's top directors left the firm as it was placed into administration with KPMG... receivers at Pillans & Waddies made 72 staff redundant in the first round of job cuts after their appointment FIVE YEARS...

Print's Past: John Dunlap.
August 2, 2007... John Dunlap, printer of the first copies of the Declaration of Independence, was born in Strabane, Northern Ireland, in 1747. In 1771, Dunlap emigrated to Philadelphia where he was employed by his uncle - a printer - and founded the first...

Post Script: Q&A - Neil Cooper impA.
August 2, 2007... Neil Cooper is operations director at Bezier. At age 41, his time in print has been relatively short following a move up the supply chain from a paper firm. He is married with one daughter and enjoys watching cookery programmes. Whether he...

MPI clears key pensions hurdle to net Butler & Tanner pre-pack.
August 9, 2007... Media & Print Investments (MPI) has bought Butler & Tanner (B&T) in a pre-pack deal designed to secure the long-term future of the troubled colour book specialist. MPI managing director Mike Dolan said that even though the deal briefly...

CGI swoops on foot and mouth.
August 9, 2007... CGI Group and Communisis swung into action last Friday to print information booklets on the foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey. London-based CGI printed eight information documents for Defra overnight after being put on standby by the print...

Mail strikes set to delay copies.(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... PrintWeek would again like to inform readers that this week's planned strikes at Royal Mail are likely to have caused some copies to arrive late. We will continue to do everything we can to minimise disruption during the industrial action...

Stop press.
August 9, 2007... Union Unite is planning to meet management at Wace, the TPF Group site slated for closure or a sale, next week. Unite officer Martin Hodges said that a meeting was being planned for Tuesday afternoon Three parties are believed to be interested...

TPF hires new head to take on US.(Doug Haggist)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... TPF Group has hired a managing director to spearhead its expansion into the US. Doug Haggist, formerly a director at Ikon Office Solutions, has joined as managing director of TPF Inc, the newly launched US print and document management...

Emerson rises to TripleArc board.(Daniel Emerson)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... TripleArc's board has been boosted with the appointment of Daniel Emerson as executive director. Emerson, who was a director of TripleArc division AccessPlus Marketing Services, has been appointed group operations director for the whole of...

In brief: Nature Publishing digitises processing.
August 9, 2007... Nature Publishing Group has digitised the processing of its classified advertising using a tailored workflow from Essex-based data management and pre-press firm J Jays. It will be used for its portfolio of Nature scientific titles, as well as...