Print Week articles from July 2007

Print Week archives from July 2007

Union 'delivers grievances' to W3 Litho.
July 26, 2007... Creditors of W3 Litho are lining up to reclaim debts two weeks after former staff delivered formal grievance letters to the firm over a failure to pay wages. Three suppliers have claimed they are owed a total of more than pounds 60,000...

TPF shrugs off RBS loss with new financial services scoop.(Royal Bank of Scotland)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... TPF Group has responded in typically bullish fashion to the loss of around pounds 6m of work, with the announcement of a new deal worth more than 'twice' that amount. TPF revealed the win after it emerged that the firm was one of eight...

Stop Press.
July 26, 2007... HP has claimed three out of four consumer photobooks in Europe are printed using its Indigo digital presses. The company said that 7m photobooks and calendars were printed on its presses in 2006... Pitney Bowes has said colour digital...

Mitsubishi ups B1 ante with Diamond V3000.
July 26, 2007... Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses is set to launch its first new sheetfed press for seven years, with a B1 machine claiming to offer the market's fastest simultaneous plate change. Full details of the 16,000sph Diamond V3000 are expected to...

CFH picks up four-colour iGen3.
July 26, 2007... CFH Total Document Management has become the latest firm to invest in a Xerox iGen3 110 four-colour digital press. The Midsomer Norton-based firm hopes that the press, which cost pounds 500,000 and will be used for promotional and...

Stehlin Hostag develops eco inks.
July 26, 2007... Stehlin Hostag Ink UK is to launch a range of sheetfed offset inks based on eco-friendly raw materials this September. Inkredible, which has been developed by Stehlin's parent group Hubergroup, will run alcohol-free and will use the...

In brief: PrintIT! wins two awards.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... PrintIT!, the educational scheme to attract young people to print, has won two awards. The first, from the Electronic Document Systems Foundation, was for innovation in secondary education, while the Design and Technology Association handed...

In brief: Fujifilm Dimatix reveals breakthrough technique.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Fujifilm Dimatix, the inkjet technology firm, has revealed a breakthrough technique allowing food, including chocolate, to be decorated with white text, graphics and patterns. The technique uses a kosher white compound, which has been...

In brief: NP Design and Print achieves accreditations.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... NP Design and Print in Wallingford has achieved ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accreditations. The company was awarded both last week after several months of work. NP Design, which prints on two- and four-colour Heidelberg machines, works...

In brief: Agfa Graphics' wins first prize for sustainable manufacturing in awards competition.
July 26, 2007... Agfa Graphics' plate production facility in Leeds has won first prize for sustainable manufacturing in an awards competition organised by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. The award recognised an initiative at the plant to improve its...

In brief: Xerox throws weight behind newly formed pan-European association.
July 26, 2007... Xerox has thrown its weight behind a newly formed pan-European association for public sector print. The European Public Sector Print and Document Solutions Forum will have its first meeting at Unesco's offices in Paris on 13-14 September. For...

In brief: Gallus to show its Gallus RCS servo-driven press at Labelexpo Europe.
July 26, 2007... Gallus, the label kit manufacturer, is to show its Gallus RCS servo-driven press at Labelexpo Europe in Brussels on 26-29 September The machine is, according to the firm, the world's only fully direct servo-driven press. It will be shown...

In brief: Halstan Printing Group presented with award.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Halstan Printing Group's environmental management system has been awarded ISO 14001 compliance. The pounds 8m-turnover company, which is based in Amersham and has 90 staff, was presented with the award by Cheryl Gillan, MP for Chesham &...

Printers in damage limitation mode as floods wreak havoc.
July 26, 2007... Printers were left reeling this week after the UK was hit by some of the worst floods in modern history, leaving many businesses and homes submerged. Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which was one of the worst-hit areas, virtually became...

PCC fast-tracks cash to victims.
July 26, 2007... The Printers Charitable Corporation (PCC) has moved quickly to make pounds 100,000 available for printing families that have fallen victim to the recent floods. Money is being sourced from the PCC's welfare fund, in the form of 400...

Regulator rejects zonal pricing as mail strikes build momentum.
July 26, 2007... Royal Mail has been dealt a double whammy with Postcomm dismissing its calls for zonal pricing and postal workers planning to escalate its strike action over pay. The decision from Postcomm follows Royal Mail's proposals to charge mail...

Impress predicts sales boost following MBO.(management buyout)(Impress Print)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... A management buyout (MBO) team has taken over Impress (Leicester) and set its eyes on boosting turnover to pounds 5.5m. Ex-owners Martyn and Sandra Kemp were bought out as they were looking to retire after 28 years running the business....

Advertisers remain faithful to DM.
July 26, 2007... Direct mail still outstrips electronic media in terms of its grip on marketing spend, new figures show. A report by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) showed direct mail spending is currently pounds 8.6bn annually, representing 26.1%...

In brief: New Printing.com franchise to open in Lincoln.
July 26, 2007... A new Printing.com franchise is to open in Lincoln. The franchise will be run by For Colour, which has operated the Newark outlet for the last four years. For more details call 0870 855 0288

In brief: Queen's Awards for Enterprise calls for applications from print industry.
July 26, 2007... The Queen's Awards for Enterprise has called for applications from the print industry for this year's awards. Printing and publishing companies that excel in international trade, innovation or sustainable development should apply. The...

In brief: Thurnams moves print operations to factory in Kingstown Industrial Estate.
July 26, 2007... Thurnams, the Carlisle-based office supplies firm, has moved its print operations to a purpose-built factory in the town's Kingstown Industrial Estate. Its printing arm joins the company's commercial stationery and office furniture sales...

In brief: CGI Europe moves to chemical-free platemaking.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... CGI Europe, part of the CGI Group, has moved to chemical-free platemaking with an investment in an Agfa Avalon. CGI Europe operations director Ian Conetta said: 'The Agfa system will mean a reduction in chemical consumption of 68%.' The east...

In brief: Sherwood Press Group posts information from seminar on website.
July 26, 2007... The Sherwood Press Group has posted information from its 'Environmental Matters?' seminar on its website, www.sherwood-press.co.uk/events. Included on the site is information on the seminar's presentations, including one from Trees for Life,...

In brief: Appointment at Signode Packaging Systems.
July 26, 2007... Signode Packaging Systems has taken on Mark Fielden as key account manager for UK north at its graphics and paper division. Fielden has more than 17 years of experience as an end-of-line packaging expert

In brief: Appointments at CFH Total Document Management.
July 26, 2007... CFH Total Document Management in Radstock, Somerset, has expanded its national contracts team with the appointment of three new team members. Cynthia Verdugo (l) and Victoria Nettleton (r) will be trainee account managers, while Victoria...

In brief: Appointment at Watt Gilchrist International.(James Rudd appointed )(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Watt Gilchrist International has taken on James Rudd to lead its sales team. Rudd has more than 30 years' experience in the printing and reprographics industries and was commercial director at Wyndeham Pre-Press for three years. The firm,...

Roland 900 XXL boosts format.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... MAN Roland has claimed a 20% increase in page impressions on a new version of its 900XXL press after adding 60mm to the sheet length. The 7B-plus format of the Roland 900XXL handles a sheet size of 1,260x1,620mm, only slightly bigger than...

Rylance loses job after Chesapeake reshuffle.(Neil Rylance)
July 26, 2007... The head of Chesapeake's European arm, Neil Rylance, has lost his job after a shake-up at the packaging giant. Rylance, executive vice president, and Richard Scully, European finance director, have both been made redundant and, according...

Trinity to print titles after sale.(Trinity Mirror Newspapers)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Trinity Mirror is to continue printing 14 Berkshire Regional Newspaper titles after selling them to Dunfermline Press Group (DPG). DPG paid pounds 10m for the 14 titles, which include the Reading Chronicle, Slough Express, Bracknell News,...

Reader reaction - Should printers have compulsory eye checks?
July 26, 2007... COMMERCIAL PRINTER Aaron Archer, group technical manager, Pureprint Group 'Any attempts to better control the conversion and reproduction of colour is welcome, but we must realise that even with eye tests in place, we will still...

Prison Service unveils print arm in Preston.
July 26, 2007... The prison service has opened a new print workshop near Preston following a pounds 600,000 investment. Around 30 prisoners will work at the new facility, in the process gaining valuable work experience for when they are released. ...

Lithograve re-equips after site relocation.
July 26, 2007... A printer in Birmingham has used an enforced move by the city's council to give itself a fresh start. Lithograve has had to leave the premises it has occupied for the past 20 years due to regeneration in the area, which is close to Aston...

Paragon names Stapleton as FD.(appointment of Glen Stapleton)(financial director)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Paragon Group has bolstered its management team following the appointment of Glen Stapleton as its new financial director. He was previously commercial and finance director for the architectural division at glass manufacturer Solaglas....

Legal Notices.
July 26, 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 Print Interface Ltd...

Wyndeham's IPC repro deal brings eight titles.
July 26, 2007... Wyndeham Pre-Press (WPP) has revealed details of last week's IPC contract win, which meant it became sole pre-press supplier for the publisher's Connect, Ignite, Southbank and TX divisions. Not only did the firm retain its current...

Breckland goes eco with Brillia.
July 26, 2007... Breckland Print has adopted Fuji's Brillia HD Pro-T thermal processless plate in a bid to up its environmental credentials. Breckland, which said it was the first commercial printing company in East Anglia to successfully achieve ISO...

Newsquest opts for Atex system.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Newsquest's Herald & Times division has signed up to UK software developer Atex's cross-media content management system to replace its aging Macintosh-based QPS publishing system. Newsquest, which announced a pounds 4m press investment at...

Kall Kwik Slough completes test of HighWater ink presetting tool.
July 26, 2007... Kall Kwik in Slough could become the first customer for HighWater Designs' InkMonitor Connect software, after carrying out beta testing on the new ink key presetting system. InkMonitor Connect, which forms a bridge between the RIP and the...

EFI software removes Adobe-Kinko's link.
July 26, 2007... EFI has stepped in to the ongoing row over the 'send to FedEx Kinko's' button, found in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader, by offering printers a means to remove the link. EFI is planning to release updated drivers for its PrintMessenger...

FMM buys Xerox flagship mono press to round off pounds 10m spend.
July 26, 2007... Formpro Mail Marketing (FMM) has become the latest UK firm to install Xerox's flagship mono cut-sheet printer, the Nuvera 288. The Bristol-based DM and transactional mail specialist bought the machine as part of a pounds 10m investment in...

Xaar hires HP's Borrell for R&D.
July 26, 2007... Printhead specialist Xaar has appointed HP's Ramon Borrell as director of its R&D division. Borrell takes over on 27 August and current technical director Steve Temple will step down from the board. He will provide consultancy services...

Fujifilm signs reseller agreement with Xerox to sell its kit in Europe.
July 26, 2007... Digital and pre-press giants Xerox and Fujifilm have signed a reseller agreement that allows Fujifilm to distribute Xerox kit in Europe. The deal currently excludes the UK, but covers France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Sweden and Finland....

Ricoh and EFI to target web-to-print sector.
July 26, 2007... Ricoh is making its first foray into the web-to-print market after linking up with EFI. The EFI Digital StoreFront (DSF) product will work on Ricoh devices and target the print-for-pay market and in-house central repro departments The...

BPR boosts job options with Muller Martini kit.
July 26, 2007... BPR Finishers in Accrington has invested pounds 180,000 in finishing kit from Muller Martini. The firm bought a new six-station plus cover Prima with counterstacker and a secondhand six-station plus cover 321 line, which it said would...

East Lindsey DC installs Perfecta.(East Lindsey District Council purchased Perfecta 76 TVC guillotine)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... East Lindsey District Council has purchased a Perfecta 76 TVC guillotine with 10.4in touchscreen and intuitive programming from Graphic Arts Equipment. John Box, print and design manager, said: 'The latest addition will further slash...

Kensett binds with new CP Bourg.(Kensett Bookbinders and Finishers)(clamp perfect )(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Kensett Bookbinders and Finishers (KBF) has installed a new CP Bourg BB3002 automated single-clamp perfect binder from Terry Cooper Services. The pounds 1.75m-turnover Hove-based firm had increased the amount of digital print that it...

In brief: Renaddress launches table-top DA607 addressing unit and 616 advanced printing unit.
July 26, 2007... Renaddress has launched the table-top DA607 addressing unit and the 616 advanced printing unit. The machines are sold with Hewlett-Packard fast-drying ink cartridges and are supported by full training and ongoing service support

In brief: Baker Goodchild launches new environmental policy to reduced carbon footprint.
July 26, 2007... Baker Goodchild has launched a new environmental policy to reduce its carbon footprint. Under the new policy, members of staff will recycle all leftover materials from their customers' mailings. This will include leftover letterheads,...

In brief: PFE enhances its Automailer 5 system.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... PFE, the mailing kit manufacturer, has enhanced its Automailer 5 system. Its integrated PC unit now features a larger screen and adjacent keyboard. The access covers also now open in pairs, allowing for quicker access to the and internal...

In brief: BGL Group makes pounds 31,000 investment.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... BGL Group, in Peterborough, has made a pounds 31,000 investment in a new KAS Mailmaster 565HS. The three-station envelope inserter has been purchased following the installation of a similar system in February this year. BGL Groups' new...

In brief: API to exhibit at Labelexpo event in Brussels.
July 26, 2007... API, the foil manufacturer, is to exhibit at this year's Labelexpo event in Brussels 26-29 September. At the event, API will be unveiling a new cold foil, TD. The company already offers gold, siver and metallic colours, but the new TD is...

In brief: Priority purchases two Sitma W18 F-WRAP systems from Integra.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Priority in Salisbury has purchased two Sitma W18 F-WRAP systems from Sitma's UK agent Integra. Priority managing director Terry Turner said: 'The selective inserting capability of the W18 is a big plus for our direct marketing clients, in...

Ecco agrees site terms for UK newsprint mill.
July 26, 2007... Ecco Newsprint has moved closer to building the UK's first new newsprint mill in 10 years after agreeing building terms in Teesside. The company announced plans to build a pounds 325m recycled newsprint mill early last year. The...

Howard Smith achieves PEFC.(Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification)(Howard Smith Paper)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Howard Smith Paper Group (HSPG) has become Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) accredited. The Northampton-based paper merchant now offers products that are certified under Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and...

In brief: Robert Horne hosts Gold Driving Day.(Robert Horne Group PLC)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Robert Horne has hosted a Gold Driving Day at Rockingham Speed Way, in Northampshire, to support the new-look Soporset Premium range of offset and pre-print papers and Soporset's Superior Performance. As well as go-karting, customers had the...

In brief: Metso paper acquires Bender Holdings and subsidiary companies.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Metso Paper has acquired the UK's Bender Holdings and its subsidiary companies. The firm offers mill site services, thermal spraying, grinding of cylinders, and workshop services for paper machine rolls and ancillary equipment. The main...

In brief: Premier Paper introduces new environmental certification consultancy service.
July 26, 2007... Premier Paper has introduced a new environmental certification consultancy service. Headed by Paddy Byrne, Premier's corporate social responsibility manager, the consultancy service is available to all customers which want to gain FSC and...

In brief: Stora Enso cleared of price-fixing.
July 26, 2007... Stora Enso has been cleared of price-fixing in North America by US anti-trust authorities. Allegations over anticompetitive conduct in connection with the sale of coated magazine paper in the US in 2002 and 2003 were first made in December...

In brief: Tullis Russell introduces trucard 1 gloss recycled.
July 26, 2007... Tullis Russell has introduced trucard 1 gloss recycled. It contains a minimum of 50% post-consumer recycled pulp and carries the National Association of Paper Merchants recycled award

In brief: Antalis extends its large-format paper range.
July 26, 2007... Antalis has extended its large-format paper range to include Altitude coated paper and board. Altitude is recyclable, biodegradable and chlorine and acid free. The Leicestershire-based paper merchant has also extended its range of Idem...

Print buying: Contract update.
July 26, 2007... St Ives Andover has produced the re-launched Performance Publishing's Complete Kit Car, the new incarnation of Which Kit Car? The re-designed title has a larger format of 300x230mm with 20% more pages. Now 116pp, it is printed in 32pp...

Editorial: Darryl Danielli - The dangers of falling foul of flash flooding.(Editorial)
July 26, 2007... As I write, the country is in the grip of what is expected to be the worst flooding for 60 years. To that end, we're already getting reports that the operations of some printers in the Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Gloucestershire,...

Comment: Lawrence Wallis - Images given care of 1,000 words.
July 26, 2007... One of the pleasures at the end of the academic year is the opportunity to review the work of students, especially at colleges of art and design. It tends to be a variable experience according to the particular aptitudes and achievements of...

Comment: Talking business.
July 26, 2007... Only a return to thriftiness will save us from another interest rate increase. The amount of economic data published every month is mind-boggling. It comes not only from the Office for National Statistics, but also from a plethora of...

Comment: Technically speaking.
July 26, 2007... Troubled carton sector can rest assured innovative products will see it through. In June, a group of UK carton printers were invited to Radeboul, close to Dresden, to explore innovations from KBA, Bobst, Robert Horne, Sun Chemical,...

Profile: Formpro mail marketing.
July 26, 2007... DM specialist counts on cutting-edge technology to keep it competitive. A central site and a raft of new kit have laid strong foundations for the firm's future. Ask anyone who's been part of a merged company and they will tell you that...

Product Portfolio: Product of the week - Sun Chemical SunCure Display.(Product/service evaluation)
July 26, 2007... Sun's inks for super-large format presses boast superior adhesion on multiple surfaces. The rise and rise of offset litho as a technology in the large-format display sector is provoking much interest - specifically from the developers of...

Product Portfolio: Me & my ... Komori Lithrone S40.(Product/service evaluation)
July 26, 2007... SEM Envelopes works manager Tony Larkin's new S40 can be left unmanned for up to five plate changes and diagnoses potential problems by itself. - What does the Komori S40 do? It's a 40in sheetfed, lithographic offset press, which is...

Product Portfolio: Tried & tested - KBA Rapida 74.(Product/service evaluation)
July 26, 2007... Although almost a decade old, it offers automatic calibration and doesn't require settings changes for different substrates. At the beginning of the 18th century - the day before Napoleon blockaded the English Channel, in fact - Friedrich...

Product Portfolio: Buyers' guide - Platesetters.(Product/service evaluation)
July 26, 2007... CTP has come of age and the result is a plethora of specific technologies to suit every process and most business needs, reports Nosmot Gbadamosi. With CTP imaging being a mature technology employed by virtually every B1 operation, and...

Post Script: JMC backs big battle of Beavers vs Blues.
July 26, 2007... Chelsea footballers have been more used to the glamour of Hollywood or their beloved Stamford Bridge in recent weeks than the Blue Square Southern Conference, but that's exactly where they played a pre-season friendly yesterday (25 July)...

Post Script: Memory Lane.
July 26, 2007... 1 YEAR AGO Papermakers warned of price rises of up to 10% after an increase in production costs at mills... Graphoprint was bought by Chris Bramley a year after its Deeside factory was destroyed by fire... A report revealed that only...

Post Script: Print's Past.(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Revolutions July is a time for revolutions: first the Americans, then the French, were at it. Both generated large quantities of printed literature, both ephemeral and significant. It is curious to note that a British printer was...

Post Script: Q&A.(dialogue with Andrew Hinton )(Interview)(Brief article)
July 26, 2007... Andrew Hinton is in charge of business development at Showcard Print Group. Aged 43, he hopes to marry his partner Nicola sometime very soon and to one day run his own print company. He's not a fan of reality TV shows and once chauffeured...

Product Portfolio: Joanne's Help Line - Press up-sizing & cloth-lined boards.(Product/service evaluation)
July 26, 2007... Joanne Gardner tracks down the solutions to your print problems. Q: We are equipped with a Heidelberg 102 perfector. Lately we have started printing 246x189mm sized books and it is not possible to fit 16 pages on one side and 12 on the...

Product Portfolio: Diary.
July 26, 2007... JULY Print procurement summer school Date: 31 July-2 August Venue: IntertechPira, Leatherhead, Surrey Price: pounds 940 Contact: 01372 802051 SEPTEMBER Proskills - Profiling Success Conference 2007 Date: 25 September Venue:...

FMG stripped of IPC contracts as Wyndeham wins bulk of repro.
July 19, 2007... Wyndeham Prepress has beaten Fresh Media Group (FMG) to become the sole repro supplier for IPC's Connect, Ignite, Southbank and TX divisions. IPC Media manufacturing director Jasper Scott revealed this week that he had decided to drop...

St Ives wins in Redactive review as PM arm is formalised.(St Ives Plymouth)(Redactive Media)(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... Contract publisher Redactive Media has launched a print management service and handed St Ives its first print contracts. St Ives will print Realise, Heyday and The Marketer, following a review of all three titles. They were previously...

Survey reports missed profits.(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... UK printers are wasting pounds 528m of profit every year, according to a new report from market and industry analyst Plimsoll. The company researched 1,500 print firms over several years to establish whether they could take any measures...

Stop press.(briefs)(Financial report)(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... Communisis has entered negotiations over proposals to stop further contributions to the 'defined benefit', or final salary, section of its pension scheme. The group, which published a pension deficit of pounds 17.3m in its accounts for 2006,...

Royal Mail carbon plan wins sector support ..
July 19, 2007... Royal Mail has received a rare show of support from direct mail printers after it launched a carbon neutral mailing programme targeting businesses that are frequent DM users. The scheme, Carbon Neutral Door to Door, is intended to make it...

... as union pay dispute intensifies.
July 19, 2007... Postal union bosses have threatened to escalate their dispute with Royal Mail after a second strike went ahead last Friday. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) executive met on Tuesday to discuss further action with the union claiming...

PPG grabs stake in Envelope Works.(Printing Partners Group)(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... Dutch envelope specialist Printing Partners Group (PPG) has made its first move into UK-based production after buying a major stake in The Envelope Works. The deal was completed on 9 July and the combined group will have a turnover of...

In brief: Five Core Group launches series of publications.
July 19, 2007... The Five Core Group has launched a series of marketing publications for the printing industry. Operating under the banner 'Adventures in Print', the firm is hoping to raise its profile and show that print can be as ambitious, colourful and...