Print Week articles from December 2010

Print Week archives from December 2010

3M jobs threatened as passport contract switches to De La Rue.
December 17, 2010... More than 100 production staff are facing redundancy at 3M Security Printing as a result of its loss of the UK Passport contract to rival De La Rue. According to Unite, around 170 staff are in consultation as a result of the contract switch,...

Barringtons gets reprieve as site buy delayed.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Commercial printer Technoprint has been given a glimmer of hope that its York subsidiary will not be closed after funding from York Council to buy the facility was postponed. However, Barringtons of York is not out of the woods yet, as a...

Reeds Printers bought and rebranded by H&H.
December 17, 2010... Penrith print business Reeds Printers has been bought by one of its key clients, Carlisle-based H&H Group, following its decision to enter the printing industry. H&H Group, which has its history in livestock auctions, has diversified...

Cox leaves PrintWeek after 12 yrs.(Barney Cox resigns as executive editor)(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Barney Cox, PrintWeek executive editor, is to leave the magazine at the end of the 2010 after 12 years' service. 'I've had a great dozen years at PrintWeek, supported by fantastic colleagues and contacts, many of whom have become friends,...

Heidelberg to disclose digital deal.
December 17, 2010... Heidelberg has said it will unveil its much-anticipated digital print partner before the end of March 2011 in a deal that will 'change the industry'. In the first public statement on its hunt for a digital partner since a proposed tie-up was...

BCQ Group increase team.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... BCQ Group has boosted its client service operation after making a trio of appointments to the team. Martin Bateman, formerly commercial director of Pelican Print in Aylesbury, has joined the commercial department, while Henry Boyce and Jason...

News International launches The Sunday Times iPad edition.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... News International, the newspaper publisher, continued its push into new media last weekend, with the launch of The Sunday Times iPad edition. According to the firm, the iPad edition offers exclusive added layers of information, 'not possible in...

Fespa's first at The Egg.
December 17, 2010... Fespa's first European Congress has taken place at The Egg in Brussels. Some 80 delegates from six European Fespa member associations attended the Continuing to Innovate one-day event, where they listened to keynote speeches from the likes of...

APS Group wins contract.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... APS Group, the print management firm, has won a three-year contract with the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. The contract covers forms and medical charts, as well as any other print requirements that should arise at the trust's sites in North...

Snowball secures contract.(Tangent Group contracts with Carlsberg Group )(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Snowball, a subsidiary of the Tangent Group, has secured a contract to provide print and other services to drinks giant Carlsberg Group Under the terms of the contract, Snowball will create a bespoke ordering system, allowing Carlsberg...

PaperCo customers win competition.
December 17, 2010... PaperCo customers from Philtone Litho, WM Print and Taurus Print have all won a recent competition open to those buying Fasson self-adhesive substrate. Each was given a European city break for two Colin Dixon, managing director of Taurus Print...

Stephens & George Print Group do their bit for charity.
December 17, 2010... Stephens & George Print Group's staff have done their bit for charity by growing their moustaches during 'Movember'. S&G's team of 20 'Mo Bro's', including group managing director Andrew Jones, were clean shaven on 1 November and grew...

WWF changes tack as industry rails against unprintable PDF.
December 17, 2010... The WWF has said it will relaunch its unprintable PDF scheme 'Save as WWF - Save a Tree' after a tide of criticism from the print and paper sectors. The new WWF file type, which is essentially a PDF with the print function removed, was...

New government bill a boon to print's SMEs.
December 17, 2010... SME printers are set to benefit from lower business rates following the publication of the government's Localism Bill this week. The bill, which is a key part of the coalition's plans to cut red tape to support small businesses, includes...

Manroland: niche markets will be key to printers' success in '11.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... The UK arm of press manufacturer Manroland has said it can assist SME printers gain finance, by helping them to offer attractive, niche services to customers. Manroland managing director Norman Revill said the past two years had been...

GI cuts CO2 with new chiller kit.
December 17, 2010... Direct mail printer GI Direct has installed new chiller equipment that it said had delivered annual cost savings of 40% and reduced its annual energy usage and carbon emissions by 35%. The chiller equipment previously used by the company to...

Kodak shares jump as investors speculate on PE buyout rumours.
December 17, 2010... Shares in Kodak Graphic Communications Group parent Eastman Kodak shot up more than 13% last Thursday (9 December) on buyout rumours, as more than five times the usual daily volume of shares were traded. Kodak's policy of not commenting on...

Public BAF.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Large-format digital firm BAF Graphics has helped dress windows at Selfridges' London, Manchester and Birmingham stores using Dufaylite board. The festive displays in London and Manchester used 150 3mx1.2m boards and props such as back-lit...

BPIF salutes success of EcoPrint programme.(British Printing Industries Federation )(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... The BPIF has said that its EcoPrint London accreditation scheme has been taken up by more than 65 printers, of which 45 have already completed the programme. The fully funded programme enables London printers to achieve the Carbon Smart Blue...

J&G wins waste work at Warners.(J and G Environmental contracts with Warners (Midlands)(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Magazine printer Warners (Midlands) has upped its environmental performance after it contracted J&G Environmental to collect its general print waste. Bradford-based recycling and disposal firm J&G will collect the printer's plates,...

Legal notices.(Public notice)
December 17, 2010... This information is extracted from the printand 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 Coastal Media Group...

Devilish delivery.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... St Ives subsidiary Clays, famed for its tight security measures on the production of the Harry Potter books, has been involved in another high-flying book launch. The Bungay-based book printer produced 100,000 copies of the latest Tom Clancy...

Enfocus unveils bullish plans to make Switch software its 'star'.
December 17, 2010... Enfocus has put its Switch workflow automation technology firmly at the centre of its growth plans for 2011 both within and beyond the graphic arts industry. Fabian Prudhomme, vice president of the Belgium-based developer, said he 'firmly...

Interprint goes chemistry-free.
December 17, 2010... Interprint has switched to chemistry-free plate production with Agfa's Azura TS plates, an Avalon N8 platesetter and Apogee workflow. The Knaresborough, North Yorkshire-based commercial printer images around 1,500 plates per month for its two...

Bytes puts weight behind Infigo brand with launch of subsidiary.
December 17, 2010... Bytes Document Solutions has moved sales and support for its Infigo web-to-print product to a newly formed subsidiary, Infigo Software. The new company, which has been formed to propel the adoption of the Infigo suite of products, will be...

Monotype boosts font range with Ascender.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Monotype Imaging has acquired Ascender Corp, a privately-held font provider for dollars 10.2m (pounds 6.4m), including dollars 7m in cash and dollars 3.2m in stock. The acquisition has broadened Monotype's intellectual property offerings and...

Cri boosts firepower as digital draws in high-profile contracts.
December 17, 2010... Nottingham-based printer Cri has taken its latest step to becoming an exclusively digital operation after investing pounds 120,000 in new equipment including a Xerox 700. The 15-staff firm has also bought a Fujipla laminator and had its...

SOS lauds Tech8 for fast service.
December 17, 2010... Display graphics printer Sign on Scotland has praised the speedy turnaround of wide-format kit servicer Tech8 after a fault developed on its Mimaki JV3 printer. The company, which supplies signage to the commercial property sector, including...

Totally Dynamic Lincoln franchise opens to serve 'growing market'.
December 17, 2010... Vehicle-wrapping franchise Totally Dynamic has expanded its network with a custom-designed showroom and workshop in Lincoln. The latest franchise in its network was opened on 22 November by its joint managing directors Perry Cooper and Ryan...

Iced Gem.(CS Labels)(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... CS Labels has cemented its relationship with Xeikon with a cake in the shape of its recently installed Xeikon 3030 digital label press. The inkjet manufacturer baked the cake to celebrate CS Labels' fourth Xeikon press in as many years. Simon...

Folio expands finishing offering with Avon deal.
December 17, 2010... Finishing house Folio has added to its array of services after purchasing local short-run case-binding business Avon Bookbinders. Bristol-based Folio already offered a host of finishing services, but has added case-binding, hardcover printing...

HGCT hunts for UK distributor.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Dutch finishing equipment manufacturer HGCT is looking for an English distributor for its foil stamping and embossing products. The company has developed a means of fabricating counter moulds that it claims is more efficient than anything...

Gristina joins Pitney Bowes.(Pitney Bowes Management Services hired Marianna Gristina as its bid support manager)(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Finishing equipment firm Pitney Bowes Management Services has hired Marianna Gristina as its bid support manager. Gristina joins the company from Siemens Enterprise Communications, where she held the role of proposal manager. Her new role...

Orphans Press cuts bottlenecks in bindery with Horizon Stitchliner.
December 17, 2010... A printer initially set up to help a local orphanage has improved its competitiveness thanks to a Horizon Stitchliner from Intelligent Finishing Systems. Orphans Press in Leominster, which was set up in 1873 to fund Leominster Orphans Homes...

Larkbeare eyes growth after pounds 100k kit spend.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Finishing house Larkbeare Services will retire one of its hardest-working machines next year, following a pounds 100,000 kit spend that includes a Wohlenberg 115 guillotine from Friedheim. Talaton-based Larkbeare will replace two older...

Editorial: Don't let the WWF spoil your Christmas break.(Editorial)
December 17, 2010... There I was, gently filling up with Christmas cheer, a warm glow of yuletide anticipation spreading through my bones, and then I come across a seemingly harmless press release from a respected environmental body and 'goodwill to all men'...

Comment: File format promotes greenwash.
December 17, 2010... Loose language The WWF has built a reputation based on meticulous examination of facts, and the skewering of weasel words spouted by environmental offenders. It is beyond my comprehension that this organisation would be so loose in its own...

Profile: Precision printing.
December 17, 2010... Custom software solution shows way forward for slick on-demand operator. Staying cool under seasonal pressure has become second nature to this innovative outfit, says Barney Cox. Last weekend was Precision Printing's busiest of the year, with...

Wish List: All I want for Christmas is.(Buyers guide)
December 17, 2010... Sick of receiving the same old same-old from your nearest and dearest? Then why not take advantage of PrintWeek's seasonal gift guide Simply tick the 'I want one of those' box next to the item that you desire and leave the magazine lying around...

Product Portfolio: Product of the week - Oce ColorStream 3500.(Product/service evaluation)
December 17, 2010... This unit offers a way into digital colour, whether as a stepping stone or standalone, discovers Jon Severs. Some might describe Oce's ColorStream 3500, launched at Canon Expo in Tokyo in November and shipping from January 2011, as a bridge...

Product Portfolio: Me & My ... KAS CreaseMatic Auto 50.(Interview)
December 17, 2010... Brad Hillcoat, pressroom manager at stationery printer Smythson, tells Jon Severs how this machine has accelerated the firm's turnaround times. - Describe your business Smythson supplies high-quality engraved stationery to clients in the...

Product Portfolio: Tried & Tested - Watkiss DFS.(Product/service evaluation)
December 17, 2010... While this machine started life as a one-off, its flexibility and efficiency quickly proved a hit with print firms across the globe, writes Jon Severs. When Watkiss Automation built a specialist application for a customer in the mid-1990s, it...

Product Portfolio: Jo's Help Line - Restarting a CTP & a Wikifrauds site?(Product/service evaluation)
December 17, 2010... Jo Francis tracks down the solutions to your technical troubles. Q: We have a HighWater Platinum 2218 CTP system, which for various reasons has lain unused for three years. Are you able to put us in touch with any engineers who may be able to...

Product Portfolio: Power of Print Showcase - Matt Gloss-reticulation Varnish.(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Sun Chemical's special insert for PrintWeek was all about maximising the impact of the four-colour image without making it look unrealistic. We wanted to bring out the central part of the image, the pot with berries, without going overboard and...

Product Portfolio: Diary.(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 17, 2010... FEBRUARY FESPA Americas Date: 24-26 February Location: Orlando, Florida, US More information: www.fespa.com YMP Conference Date: 25-27 February Location: Blackpool More information: jane.miller@bpif.org.uk MARCH Publishing Expo 2011 Date: 1-2...

Post Script: C-note boo-boo costs Fed dollars 110,000,000,000.
December 17, 2010... Those of us involved in day-to-day print production will, at some point, have produced, or equally, received a below-par print job and we all know the trouble that can cause. So spare a thought for the US government and the trials and...

Post Script: Memory lane.
December 17, 2010... ONE YEAR AGO: Venture capital firm Thames Valley Capital acquired a majority stake in TPF Group... Horizon Print Finishing bought Graphics Arts Equipment out of administration... FIVE YEARS AGO: Johnston Press acquired Caledonian Offset...

Post Script: Print's past - Donald Milner.
December 17, 2010... I have recently been making a list of people from print's past about whom I would like to know more. Donald Ewart Milner is one of them. Headmaster of the Aston School of Arts and Crafts in Birmingham in the 1920s, Milner was an accomplished...

Post Script: Q&A - Best of 2010.(Interview)(Brief article)
December 17, 2010... Mark Barlow, head of design and print, Blackpool Council; Nigel Anderson, managing director, Alchemy Coatings; Fiona Hemmings, sales director, Lightbrigade Graphics; Jim Freeman, lithographer at West Three Colour; Steven Brown, director, Your...

Snee slams lack of public sector support as Barringtons closes.
December 10, 2010... Leeds commercial printer Technoprint has slammed the lack of public sector support for UK manufacturing, blaming it for the impending closure of its York subsidiary. Around 15 staff are set to lose their jobs at Barringtons of York and two...

Caris retires as chief executive of Roto Smeets.(chief executive John Caris resigns from Roto Smeets)(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Roto Smeets chief executive John Caris has stepped down from his role, and will leave the firm at the beginning of the new year. The pan-European print group's supervisory board announced his decision to take early retirement last week. ...

Printers brace for new year paper price rises.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Printers will face more paper woes in the new year after Europe's mills proposed double-digit price hikes, including an increase of up to pounds 50 per tonne for coated mechanical papers. Uncoated mechanical grades could increase by pounds...

As Flint and Sun announce hikes.
December 10, 2010... Ink, blanket and pressroom chemicals are all set to increase in price as consumables giants Flint Group and Sun Chemical said they were under pressure from rising raw material costs. Flint Group said raw material markets for the production of...

Union gets deal for OUP members.
December 10, 2010... The threat of further strike action at Oxford University Press (OUP) has been halted after the company agreed a pay deal with its employees. Unite members at the company's Corby warehouse held two strikes in October after its employees...

Manroland to sell Oce inkjets as firms sign 'development' deal.
December 10, 2010... Manroland and Oce have signed an agreement under which the German offset firm will sell Oce's JetStream range of continuous-feed inkjet digital presses. The sale of the JetStream, and the recently launched ColorStream 3500 machines, is the...

SCA fined over worker crushed by paper reel.
December 10, 2010... Paper manufacturer SCA has been fined pounds 120,000 after an employee at one of its UK sites was crushed by a two-tonne paper reel in an incident that left him paralysed from the waist down. Christopher Shaw was working as an assistant...

HH on track to double last year's earnings.(Financial report)(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... HH has said it is on target to double its operating result in the current financial year after equalling last year's EBITDA of pounds 1.1m in the first six months. The Sutton-based print manager added that it had further reduced borrowings to...

PurePack could cut coating bill.
December 10, 2010... The Sherwood Group packaging division has launched a coating technology for the food industry with flexible applications and the potential for cost savings. The Nottingham-based firm said its patented PurePack system featured a water-based...

Butler Tanner & Dennis buys UK's first VLF XL 162.
December 10, 2010... Butler Tanner & Dennis (BT&D) has said it will push the boundaries in large-format printing after ordering the UK's first Heidelberg VLF Speedmaster XL 162 press. The six-colour machine with coater, Heidelberg's largest to date, will...

APS to provide print to Arriva.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Print manager APS Group has won a contract to provide printing services for the bus operating division of passenger transport firm Arriva. The three-year contract will lead APS Group to produce marketing materials and operational print...

Reader Reaction.(Viewpoint essay)
December 10, 2010... Is the UK printing industry an easy target for fraudsters? Last month, a con artist targeting print was jailed. But was it too simple for him to stage the scam? COMMERCIAL PRINTER Peter Wise, director, Minuteman Press 'Printers...

Legal Notices.(Public notice)
December 10, 2010... This information is extracted from the printand 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 Vale Print Supplies...

Oberthur's overtures rejected by De La Rue.
December 10, 2010... De La Rue has become the takeover target of rival French security printer Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire following the 47% fall in the company's share price over the past year. The troubled security printer announced on Monday (6...

Securency backers to shed stakes.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... The joint owners of secure film manufacturer Securency International are understood to be pursuing a sale of the company following allegations of corruption in its pursuit of international polymer banknote contracts. Securency, which is a...

Heavenly Riches.
December 10, 2010... The Royal Mint has rolled out a new pounds 2 coin to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Featuring the quote 'In the beginning was the Word', from John 1.1, the new design demonstrates the original technology behind the...

RSNI eyes UK market following Esko pre-press kit investment.
December 10, 2010... Trade repro company Reprographic Systems NI (RSNI) has set its sights on the UK market following an investment in a raft of pre-press equipment from EskoArtwork. The Lurgan, Northern Ireland-based business has installed a Kongsberg XL cutting...

Image2output claims big savings for printers with 'value' ink range.
December 10, 2010... Image2output has said its own range of 'affordable' re-manufactured Epson inks and Fogra-certified back-printed proofing paper can help printers ride out the economic downturn. The company claimed its ISOchrome and ISOchrome-X re-manufactured...

Nustream launches UK push with Europe op.
December 10, 2010... Canadian soft proofing developer and supplier Nustream Graphic has made inroads into the UK market following the formation of Nustream Europe. The Derby-based business is being led by ex-CT & Line director Colin Taylor, who takes on a...

Neo publishes 2D code guide.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... 2D barcode specialist NeoMedia has published a white paper to help potential users understand the applications and implementation of the technology. 2D barcodes are able to integrate print with other media, particularly the burgeoning mobile...

Romano: printers must forge opportunities in cross-media.(Fast Forward the Future conference )(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... 'It's not about saving print, but securing opportunities,' said Richard Romano, delivering the keynote speech at Dotgain's Fast Forward the Future conference in London last week. The US-based media and print expert said printers needed to...

Nova's Smellymail adds olfactory option to personalised DM range.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Nova Direct Mail has launched a scented direct mail service, Smellymail, which combines personalised mailers with a range of scented coatings. The West Sussex-based printer is rolling out the new service this month following a trial run. ...

Ricoh rolls out range of inline finishing kit.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Digital print equipment manufacturer Ricoh has launched a raft of inline finishing kit for its presses. Among the new machines is the SR5020 booklet finisher, an alternative to the existing SR5000, and the Ricoh-exclusive GB5000 perfect...

Printflow buys Xerox Nuvera.
December 10, 2010... Digital printer Printflow has ramped up its monochrome production capabilities with the installation of a Xerox Nuvera 288. The twin-engined machine replaces two Docutech 6180s, which commercial director Paul Manning said had run their...

In-house boost for Clanpress.
December 10, 2010... Commercial printer Clan-press has upgraded its bookletmaking with a Duplo System 5000, easing a bottleneck in the bindery. According to managing director John Drohan the firm's five-colour Heidelberg MO, two-colour Heidelberg MO and Xerox...

SMP buys Redline 2100N as blue-chip work soars.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... SMP Group has installed a Redline 2100N die-cutter from Diecut UK to support the PoS specialist's focus on blue-chip clients. Previously, the company had used a number of hand-fed platens to die-cut its work, but additional work from...

Post-Ipex boom at Tech-ni-fold.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Finishing equipment manufacturer Tech-ni-fold has sold its 40th CreaseStream Junior since Ipex, helping it to beat the recession. The machine was launched at the Birmingham-based trade show as part of a broadening of Tech-ni-fold's...

Autobond adds CC 105 to finishing options.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... UK finishing kit manufacturer Autobond has continued its move into new areas with the launch of the CC 105 cross-cutter. The machine can be used alongside any laminator or encapsulator, according to Autobond managing director John Gilmore. ...

Optichrome's 105 spend kicks off Friedheim's UK Wohlenberg sales.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Commercial printer Optichrome has installed a Wohlenberg 105 guillotine, the first to be sold by UK distributor Friedheim International. Woking-based Optichrome bought the Wohlenberg machine to replace an ageing guillotine. Chairman Ted...

Antalis unveils Decades mailer.(Antalis McNaughton has launched a direct mail campaign )(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Antalis McNaughton has launched a direct mail campaign to showcase its Creative Papers ranges. The campaign, Decades of Design, is based around iconic design between 1930 and the 1990s and Creative Papers' new ranges, all of which are...

Paper sector battles big freeze to keep printers stocked up in snow.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Paper merchants have been battling the tough conditions to get paper to printers as sub-zero temperatures and heavy snowfall continue to affect the UK. Kent was one of the worst-hit regions but Antalis McNaughton said distribution staff at...

Buoyant EBB eyes 2011 growth as it boosts northern presence.(Elliott Baxter Ltd)
December 10, 2010... Independent paper merchant Elliott Baxter (EBB) has expanded its operations and bolstered its presence in the north of England after opening a storage and distribution branch in Newcastle. The London-headquartered company now has 11 branches...

Presidential Print.(Brief article)
December 10, 2010... Arctic Paper's Munken Pure 120gsm has been used for the first-edition print of Nelson Mandela's book, Conversations with Myself Printed by Kent-based CPI Mackays, 182 tonnes of the uncoated paper grade have been used to produce the book, which...

Editorial: 'La Rue-sistance' fights off Norman conquest.(Editorial)
December 10, 2010... There's never a dull moment in print. As the year creeps towards a close, I find myself fascinated by the continued saga of De La Rue, which is playing out like many a good three-part drama from the BBC's yuletide repertoire. For those...

Comment: Seasonal giving on a print theme.
December 10, 2010... Print gifts How about a hands-on printing present? Mandy Long at ImageData Group suggested a screen printing set from the London Graphic Centre. Hours of fun, surely, and perhaps a chance to get ahead with production of next year's Christmas...