Print Week articles from January 2004

Print Week archives from January 2004

Wyndeham to align web arms.(Heron and Impact)
January 8, 2004... Wyndeham is streamlining the management at Heron and Impact, its commercial and magazine web printing businesses. It plans to 'more closely align' the two companies. Maldon-based Heron produces weekly and monthly magazines and catalogues;...

Agfa buys Dotrix in a return to digital.
January 8, 2004... Agfa has made a surprise re-entry into the digital printing market and a move on the industrial printing sector with the acquisition of ink-jet press developer Dotrix. 'This acquisition fits our growth strategy,' said general manager for...

Southernprint role for Borton.(Ross Borton )
January 8, 2004... Southernprint has appointed NatMags' group operations manager Ross Borton as its new sales director. 'He has 12 years' experience on the print production side at Gruner+Jahr and NatMags and was the best candidate for us,' said...

Industry loses Cole to cancer.(Bob Cole)(Obituary)
January 8, 2004... Bob Cole, described as 'one of the great characters of UK print', has died from cancer aged 69. Cole was a staunch supporter of the Printers' Charitable Corporation where he was treasurer, and he was also almoner at the Stationers'...

Enhancements for PrintWeek.
January 8, 2004... PrintWeek begins the New Year with some new additions to its editorial team, a new senior line-up and a boost in circulation. Simon Creasey joins the magazine as features editor from CMP Information's Property Week with former features...

STOP PRESS: Tecno Group undertakes 'controlled receivership'.
January 8, 2004... Derby's Tecno Group has undertaken a 'controlled receivership' at the instigation of its bankers. TecnoGrav, TecnoLink and TecnoLabel are trading under a new holding company, Image Management Technologies. More at www.printweek.com.

STOP PRESS: Experian sells Lettershop.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... GUS subsidiary Experian has sold Lettershop, its US printing, packaging and services division, to a management team in a pounds 15.3m (dollars 28m) deal. The MBO was backed by equity company Sterling Capital Partners. The new business will be...

STOP PRESS: Admin receivers confident of selling Galloways Packaging.
January 8, 2004... Administrative receivers from Baker Tilly are confident of selling Cheshire-based Galloways Packaging as a going concern. Sister firm Galloways Printers is unaffected by the administration.

STOP PRESS: Richard Spearman trial begins.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... The trial of Richard Spearman, accused of conspiracy to defraud using information passed on by an employee of St Ives Burrups, has begun at Southwark Crown Court.

STOP PRESS: Polestar to confirm order.
January 8, 2004... Polestar is set to confirm the gravure presses order for its new superplant tomorrow (9 January). It has found possible sites in Hungary and Belgium and two in the UK.

US firm pays pounds 34m for BemroseBooth.(Appleton Papers Inc.)
January 8, 2004... Security print specialist BemroseBooth has been snapped up in a pounds 34m deal by US carbonless paper manufacturer Appleton. Appleton's corporate communications manager, Bill Van Den Brandt said the company had been looking to grow in the...

Williams Lea wins O2 POS work.
January 8, 2004... Print and facilities management company Williams Lea has been awarded the contract to handle O2's UK marketing and point of sale material. The deal was effective from December and was exclusively revealed in PrintWeek last year following...

FedEx snaps up Kinko's chain.(FedEx Corp.)(Kinko's Inc.)
January 8, 2004... FedEx Corporation has agreed to buy high street copy shop chain Kinko's for pounds 1.32bn (dollars 2.4bn). The deal, which should be ratified in the first quarter of this year, is for all 1,200 Kinko's shops worldwide, which produced an...

SHORTS: Appointment at Pindar.
January 8, 2004... Pindar has appointed David Jesson to the newly-created position of group marketing director. Jesson joins from the food industry and his new responsibilities will include establishing a more cohesive group of companies and a 'stronger more...

SHORTS: WRH Marketing to be UK agent for Hildebrand Systems.
January 8, 2004... WRH Marketing has become the UK agent for Hildebrand Systems, the leading supplier of press cleaning technology. The company will offer a full sales and after-sales support service to UK printers.

SHORTS: Smith & Ouzman welcomes new members.(Smith and Ouzman '25 Year Club')
January 8, 2004... Smith & Ouzman in Eastbourne welcomed three new members to its '25 Year Club' during its annual dinner. Machine minder and supervisor John Howard, finishing assistant Gordon Firth, and assistant production planner Barbara Putland swelled the...

SHORTS: Antony Rowe to install new Heidelberg Speedmaster.
January 8, 2004... Chippenham book printer Antony Rowe is installing its fourth Heidelberg Speedmaster this month, but intends keeping the older model that it had intended to replace to keep pace with demand for its short-run book production.

SHORTS: Keith Davidson receives award.
January 8, 2004... Prontaprint head of marketing Keith Davidson received the Business Superbrand award from Bill Colegrave, international director of the Brand Council for the second year running. Prontaprint was one of 600 brands shortlisted for the awards....

SHORTS: Xerox launches new marketing initiative.
January 8, 2004... Xerox has launched a new marketing initiative called 'Creative Wizard'. Partners who are registered with the Xerox Rewards programme will gain free access to a dedicated website containing numerous Xerox-produced marketing materials.

SHORTS: Fespa already sold 60% of floorspace at 2005 show.
January 8, 2004... Fespa has announced that its 2005 show has already sold 60% of its available floorspace. The event, to take place at the Munich Exhibition Centre in Germany from 31 May to 4 June 2005, will focus on screenprinting and wide-format digital...

SHORTS: New Fellow at the Institute of Direct Marketing.(Paul Holohan)
January 8, 2004... Paul Holohan, the chief executive of print merger and acquisitions specialist Richmond Capital Partners, has been elected a Fellow at the Institute of Direct Marketing. Holohan has been active in various industry bodies, particularly in the...

SHORTS: Appointment at Esko-Graphics.
January 8, 2004... Esko-Graphics has appointed Ian Blowers as regional sales manager for commercial printing, and John Elworthy as account manager packaging for the south of England.

SHORTS: Woodford Litho's new KBA Compacta C618 48pp web ..
January 8, 2004... Woodford Litho's new KBA Compacta C618 48pp web is in the first stages of commissioning, with powering up of the control systems taking place this week. The Essex printer is also recruiting an estimator/paper controller to handle additional...

MY Cartons invests pounds 10m to improve Leeds plant.
January 8, 2004... MY Cartons is investing pounds 10m to enhance its manufacturing plant at Cockburn Fields in Leeds, in a bid to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. MY Group chief executive John Monks said the investment was an expression of confidence...

Kodak wins bid to acquire SDP in pounds 130m offer.(Kodak Verwaltung AG)(Scitex Digital Printing)
January 8, 2004... Scitex Digital Printing (SDP) will now operate under the Kodak Versamark name after the completion of its pounds 130m (dollars 237m) acquisition by Kodak. Kodak announced that it intended to buy SDP last year (PrintWeek, 27 November),...

Fulmar shares fall following warning.
January 8, 2004... Fulmar's shares lost almost 10% of their value after the company issued a profit warning on Friday (2 January), before recovering some of their lost ground. In a trading statement the Croydon print group said that results for 2003 would be...

Recognition for BPIF's training improvements.(Adult Learning Inspectorate)(Performance-Based Incentive Funding)
January 8, 2004... The Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) has recognised the improvement in print training by awarding the BPIF's training arm its greatest single improvement score in a 12-month period. The ALI gave BPIF Training a score of three...

Goss to be hit by more strikes.(Goss Graphic Systems Inc.)
January 8, 2004... Goss Graphic Systems' Preston plant is likely to be hit by industrial action again this week, the union Amicus says, unless the company's management makes an improved pay offer. Around 180 press manufacturing staff, who are members of the...

Rolf Harris visits UEL.(University of East London's)
January 8, 2004... Do you know who it is yet? Australian all-round entertainer Rolf Harris paid a visit to students at the University of East London's (UEL) Fabric Print and Design Bureau, known as the Fab Pad, to pick up a new digitally printed shirt and a few...

Cranfield and UWE win DTI award for knowledge.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Cranfield Colours Printing Inks and Bristol's University of the West of England (UWE) have won a DTI-sponsored award for their work in increasing knowledge between the academic and business worlds. The team beat competition from 159 entries...

Sakurai claims SRA2 remains a practical press.(Sakurai Graphic Systems Corp.)
January 8, 2004... Sakurai extolled the benefits of SRA2 presses at its pre-Christmas London open house, attended by company president Yoshikuni Sakurai. 'We're trying to re-educate people about SRA2,' explained sales manager Colin Hewett. 'Why should people...

Printing.com hits pounds 1m sales barrier.
January 8, 2004... High street franchise chain Printing.com has announced that its total monthly sales to 7 December 2003 broke the pounds 1m barrier for the first time in the company's history. Chief executive Tony Rafferty said the figure was up 30% on the...

Debate: skill is still key to print.
January 8, 2004... The industry comprehensively voted against the suggestion that it no longer needed skilled workers at the Institute of Printing's 2003 Annual Debate, which was held at the House of Commons. Dalim Software director of marketing Gee Ranasinha...

KBA UK names sales manager.
January 8, 2004... KBA UK has appointed Terry Smith as South East area manager within its national sales team for sheetfed presses. He will report to sales director George Kendal and arrives following a two and a half year stint at consumables supplier Hydro...

Print features in Honours List.
January 8, 2004... Several print figures were bestowed with awards in the New Year Honours list, not least long-serving Newsquest director Jim Brown. Brown, who retired as the group's non-executive chairman in the summer, became a Commander of the Order of...

Cradley says rejig will spark profits.(Cradley Group)
January 8, 2004... Cradley Group chairman John Wheatley said he was confident the business was turning the corner, despite posting an operating loss of pounds 1.8m for the year to 30 June 2003. This was the company's third consecutive year in the red and the...

Independent News cuts staff.
January 8, 2004... Independent News & Media has announced 564 redundancies, which it hopes will save it pounds 13.2m (EUR 18.9m) annually. It is likely that the losses will be from the group's operations in the UK, Ireland and South Africa, as its businesses...

Baird arm snaps up CTP firm.(Corporate Document Services)(CTP Information Management)
January 8, 2004... The Baird Group is on the acquisition trail after its Leeds-based subsidiary Corporate Document Services bought the assets and name of CTP Information Management (CTPi). Cheltenham-based CTPi went into administrative receivership on 28...

Legal Notices.
January 8, 2004... 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.london-gazette.co.uk WINDING-UP PETITIONS Chrome Print Ltd RO:...

Polestar Wheatons installs second Agfa Xcalibur.
January 8, 2004... Exeter-based journal, directory and catalogue specialist Polestar Wheatons has installed a second Agfa Xcalibur thermal platesetter. The firm installed its first, a B1 Xcalibur 45 in June 2002, which has since delivered more than 70,000...

CC rebranding for TypeMaker with Europe bid.
January 8, 2004... TypeMaker has adopted the Colour Confidence name for all its colour management activities. 'Colour Confidence says what we're all about,' said managing director Geoffrey Clements. He added the move was in advance of the firm expanding...

Report highlights CTP costs issues.(computer-to-plate)
January 8, 2004... Canadian consultant John Zarwan has published a report on the costs of CTP platemaking, which highlights what a minefield the subject can be. According to the report 'a recurring theme in this white paper is printers' lack of awareness of...

New version of MarkzTools 5.5 for conversion.(from Markzware Software)
January 8, 2004... Netherlands-based graphic arts software firm Markzware has released version 5.5 of MarkzTools. The application allows the conversion of QuarkXPress 6 documents into QuarkXPress 4.11, or 5.x in Macintosh OS 9. Other additions include a...

Artwork predicts profits rise.(Artwork Systems Group N.V.)
January 8, 2004... Software firm Artwork Systems Group is confident that May's Drupa exhibition will provide a sales boost, as the company reported a decline in revenue and profit. In the year to 30 September 2003 the company's consolidated revenue fell 4%...

New pre-press equipment at Plymouth College of Art.
January 8, 2004... PrintWeek columnist Lawrence Wallis helped initiate the supply of new pre-press equipment at the Plymouth College of Art. Agfa donated the kit after Wallis linked up with the College's head of pre-press and printing David Gardner. They...

CIP4 to spotlight JDF in training initiative, Drupa.
January 8, 2004... CIP4 has announced the details of two initiatives to increase the understanding and implementation of JDF with a training programme in partnership with US trade organisation IPA and with its involvement at Drupa. IPA has become a strategic...

Agfa's project handling tools hit the market.
January 8, 2004... Delano, Agfa's JDF-based project management software, has started commercial shipments. It is available in two versions, Publish and the more powerful Production version. Prices range from pounds 20,000-pounds 35,000. 'Project...

MAN, Xeikon DICO partnership is off.(MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG)(Xeikon N.V.)
January 8, 2004... MAN Roland has left the toner-based digital print market with the end of its deal to sell the Xeikon made DICOpress and DICOpack machines. The firm will focus its digital efforts on developing its radical DICOweb concept and on expanding...

Philip Myers to lift output with 3 Xerox DP155s.
January 8, 2004... Warrington-based firm Philip Myers Press has taken delivery of three Xerox digital presses for an undisclosed sum. The company has purchased Xerox's DP155s and gives it the capacity to print documents and booklets. The company has changed...

M-real Q4 results hit by weak prices.
January 8, 2004... M-real has issued a profits warning ahead of the posting of its fourth-quarter results, as the group said it expected its profits for 2003 to be negative. The Finnish paper manufacturer said that reduced pricing levels for its main...

Sodra steps up spend on R&D.
January 8, 2004... Sodra Cell is to double its investment in research and development (R&D), and will build a specialist pounds 8.3m (EUR12m) R&D site at its Varo pulp mill in Sweden. Sodra Cell president Leif Broden said the company had looked at the money...

PAPER PRICEWATCH: Newsprint, January 2004.
January 8, 2004... The push for firmer newsprint prices remains tentative as the sector gauges 2004's chances for recovery, says John Davies. Newsprint manufacturers wanting a 5-6% increase in this year's round of negotiations may have to make do with less...

SHORTS: Robert Horne brings back Coated Guide.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Robert Horne has brought back its Coated Guide, highlighting the full range of coated papers and boards from the group. The guide is split into the categories of gloss, silk, matt and one-sided, and features all the main brands such as Hello,...

SHORTS: Portucel Soporcel aims to be Europe's largest paper producer.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Portucel Soporcel is aiming to be Europe's largest uncoated woodfree paper producer, with the construction of a new 500,000 tonnes per annum machine. The new paper machine, which will be built at its Setubal mill near Lisbon, Portugal, will...

SHORTS: Papierfabrik Scheufelen appoints Kim Jokipii.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Papierfabrik Scheufelen has appointed Kim Jokipii as its chief executive and member of its management board. Jokipii previously worked for South African fine paper producer Sappi for 14 years in a number of leading roles. Klaus Kreig, who was...

SHORTS: Antalis strengthens labelling range.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Antalis has strengthened its labelling range with the addition of new products and guides. Sticotac is a pan-European Antalis own brand product available in SRA2 and B2 sheets, while Communique labels are self-adhesive labels for use on major...

SHORTS: UPM Kymmene selected as RBI's annual supplier of the year.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... UPM-Kymmene has been selected as Reed Business Information's (RBI) annual supplier of the year. A panel of judges from RBI's production and journal management team selected UPM-Kymmene as the winner for three reasons: the quality of service and...

SHORTS: MD Papier Albbruck announces changes.(high brightness coated grade papers)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... MD Papier Albbruck has announced changes to its high brightness coated grade, ALPALux, for heatset web offset printing, and its sister sheetfed grade, ALPASol. The new features include a maximum brightness of 94 ISO, adjustments on shade, and...

SHORTS: PaperCo believes it has solved problem.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... PaperCo believes it has solved the paper merchant's problem of presenting hundreds of samples of printed products in an easy and compact way. PaperCo has managed to present its entire portfolio of coated, uncoated and speciality papers in four...

Pemberton takes top post at Argos.(Dominic Pemberton)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Steve Haithwaite is stepping down from his role as director of publications and new media at Argos Retail Group. When Argos parent GUS sold its home shopping division last year it effectively halved Haithwaite's pounds 150m print and paper...

Men's mag battle boosts print.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... Polestar and Cooper Clegg are set to benefit from the forthcoming battle for the men's weekly market between publishers IPC Media and Emap. Tewkesbury-based Cooper Clegg will produce Emap's long-awaited ZOO Weekly title, which will hit...

EU TENDERS.
January 8, 2004... Please read the important notes at the foot of the page, as PrintWeek cannot supply any additional information or pass on your details. The tenders below are abridged. It is essential that you obtain a full copy of the tender before contacting...

COMMENT: Resolutions and promises for the New Year.(Editorial)
January 8, 2004... A profits warning from what has traditionally been one of UK print's best performing businesses is hardly the most uplifting start to a year we'd all looked forward to with such hope. The news that Fulmar was predicting profits would be...

OPINION: It is profit, not volume that must drive print.(Column)
January 8, 2004... Up to 20% of turnover is lost in unidentified cost, according to a BPIF survey. Printers must ride the costs wounds. Identifying and curing waste is the route to a quick win in a challenging market. The first thing to assess is process...

TRIBUTE'S VIEW: Heidelberg's reputation will be enough.(Column)
January 8, 2004... Having conceded defeat in web and digital, the German giant can now shift its attention to the power of its brand and open up suitable third-party sales channels, writes Andrew Tribute. Over the past year I have been predicting that...

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.(printing industry executives)
January 8, 2004... Aside from resolving to bury 2003, all our industry icons are looking forward to a productive year, replete with healthy profits as well as quality time off. ANDREW PINDAR - Pindar Personal: To halve the amount of travel that I do....

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO: Product of the Week - Agfa Grand Sherpa Universal.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 8, 2004... Economical on short-runs and EU compliant with its ultra-low-solvent inks, it's no wonder the Grand Sherpa is proving a hit in the UK. Over the past five or six years Agfa has built up a useful head of steam in the wide-format ink-jet...

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO: Me & My Machine - Buhrs Zaandam 4000.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 8, 2004... With two 4000s on board, Scorpio can now move between polywrap jobs with consummate ease, writes Tony Brown. Scorpio Print Finishers has laid to rest the lie that finishing is the dirty man of the print industry. The company has spent more...

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO: Buyers' Guide - Guillotines & materials handling equipment.(Buyers Guide)
January 8, 2004... With the importance of health and safety on the rise, Darryl Danielli looks at programmable guillotines. The guillotine and materials handling market has been a hive of activity in the past few months. There have been changes aplenty in the...

JO'S HELP LINE: Jo Francis tracks down the solutions to your technical troubles.
January 8, 2004... What's the score? Some time ago you mentioned a bench top, hand operated scoring machine. Do you have a record on file of the manufacturer/supplier please? Lionel Crane, SBS Printing & Stationery, Greenwich Things might have moved...

INSITE: www.drupa.de.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
January 8, 2004... What better way to welcome in 2004 than with the realisation that the print giant that is Drupa, is a mere 119 days away. The strapline 'one world - one Drupa' just about sums it up. In terms of print exhibitions there is none larger than...

Diary Dates.
January 8, 2004... - Graphics of the Americas 2004; 23-25 January 2004; Miami Beach, Florida, USA; Contact: www.graphicsoftheamericas.com - On Demand 2004; 8-10 March; New York, USA; Contact: www.ondemandexpo.com - ePubLondon 2004; 11-12 March 2004; Olympia...

PRODUCT PORTFOLIO: Tried & Tested - Adast Dominant series.(Product/Service Evaluation)
January 8, 2004... With its no-nonsense style and Eastern Bloc durability, the Czech press' fanbase lives on. As far as Marmite or Adast Dominant presses go, you either love them or you hate them. According to UK agent Rotaprint's financial and commercial...

PRINT'S PAST: Army printing.(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... There is always a war going on somewhere, but that doesn't stop the need for printed material. In World Wars I & II, armies in the field used their own on-the-spot printing services to provide a large range of literature. Although...

POST SCRIPT: Romance put to pulp while the M6 toll road is made with love.(Mills and Boon romance novels used to make road)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... We've always known that print was the cement that held our world together, making all our lives run as smoothly as can be. But who would have thought that it was, in fact, the slushiest of all pulp fiction that was literally binding our...

POST SCRIPT: Who prints that then? - Terry's All Gold.(Terry's All Gold chocolates)(Brief Article)
January 8, 2004... It's fair to say that we've all piled on at least a few pounds this Christmas, chomping away on brazil nuts, trifle and, of course, barrel-loads of chocolate. It's all just too irresistible isn't it? Sitting there in its pretty purple...

POST SCRIPT: Memory Lane.
January 8, 2004... 1 year ago Montrose Press went into administration after a creditor of sister firm Hyway Press issued a winding-up petition... AGI Media Packaging announced it was closing its Swindon site with the loss of 50 jobs after EMI shut its CD...

POST SCRIPT: PPS.
January 8, 2004... How grumpy we are. According to research carried out by Close Invoice Finance, 77% of the 200 printing SMEs surveyed were not looking forward to the festive period. And a miserable 7% said they'd have preferred it if Christmas was cancelled....

POST SCRIPT: Profile - Graham Leeson, marketing manager at Fujifilm Graphic Systems.(Interview)
January 8, 2004... Graham Leeson is marketing manager at Fujifilm Graphic Systems and has been in printing for five years. Music and watching England stuff the Aussies at rugby feature heavily in his life. And he's honest - well admitting that his pay slip is his...

Lasham heads pounds 10m Multigraphics buy.(Gary Lasham)
January 15, 2004... Gary Lasham has returned to the industry at the head of a pounds 10m buy-in management buyout at Multigraphics. Lasham was formerly at Wyndeham and Z-Card. He left Z-Card last year to look at acquisition opportunities. The deal for the...

Polestar's pounds 100m spend under way.(Cerutti)
January 15, 2004... Polestar has ordered Cerutti presses and Ferag finishing equipment as part of a pounds 100m investment in its greenfield gravure facility and group binderies. The deal, announced at the end of last year, includes two 3.88m-wide gravure...

CIP4, IPA reveal details of talks.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
January 15, 2004... CIP4 and IPA have announced more details of their JDF seminar program, which will begin next Tuesday (20 January). The content of the sessions has been developed by the CIP4 Technical Committee. Session presenters include Heidelberg's head...

Spearman insider trading trial begins.(Richard Spearman)(Brief Article)
January 15, 2004... The trial of Richard Spearman, accused of conspiracy to defraud, heard how proofs originating from St Ives Burrups were found at a business address in Essex. A statement from St Ives Burrups operations director Elaine Jackson was read to...

STOP PRESS: RR Donnelley has issued a profits warning ..
January 15, 2004... RR Donnelley has issued a profits warning, as it expects its earnings for 2003 to fall below its previous forecast, due to weakness in the book and logistics business and higher one-time charges. The impairment charges are related to the firm's...