Print Week articles from July 2008

Print Week archives from July 2008

Mystery surrounds Capital's collapse as LDA gets involved.
July 4, 2008... Administrator Begbies Traynor faces an uphill battle to sell failed large-format printer Capital as a going concern after rival companies distanced themselves from a possible purchase. David Hudson and Mark Fry of Begbies Traynor were...

Dennis lifeline secures Sarney's B&T buy-out.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Butler and Tanner could reopen within 10 days after maverick magazine publisher Felix Dennis stepped in to support Kevin Sarney's pounds 500,000 eleventh-hour bid to save the company. Sarney shocked the industry last Friday when he came up...

RSDB owner eyes up French group.
July 4, 2008... HHBV, the Dutch investment group, is looking to expand its European print empire with the addition of French group Maury Imprimeur to its recent acquisitions of Roto Smeets and Quebecor World. The group revealed this week that it was in...

Pensord scoops Excellence double.
July 4, 2008... Almost 500 print luminaries celebrated the best in print business at the BPIF/Printing World Excellence Awards earlier this week. Monday night's big winner was Wales-based B2B magazine printer Pensord, which collected two awards from host,...

Polestar launches calculator.
July 4, 2008... Polestar has launched a carbon footprint calculator for its clients. The online tool is designed to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of the print supply chain and was unveiled at the group's first environmental conference held on Monday...

Communisis completes sale.
July 4, 2008... Communisis has completed the sale of its Bath Business Forms business to the site's management. The pounds 12.8m deal was approved by the print and print management group's shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting on Monday (30 June)

Neon Graphics installs press.
July 4, 2008... Neon Graphics in Walthamstow, east London, has installed a Presstek 34DI press in a move to bring litho printing in-house. Joint owner Javed Dadabhoy said: 'We wanted to expand the litho side of our business and take control of it in-house. We...

MDP UK hails Drupa a success.
July 4, 2008... MDP UK, the distributor of Akiyama presses, has hailed Drupa as a major success and revealed two new sales staff. Steven Gorrard-Smith, formerly of KBA and Komori, has joined the Staines-based company as area sales manager, while James Seymour...

Cambrian and C&R fly the flag for UK.
July 4, 2008... Cambrian Printers and C&R Printing Services have flown the flag for the UK in HP's first international HP Indigo Progressive Printing Competition. Welsh sheetfed magazine specialist Cambrian won the Publications category in the event, beating...

Adare wins national award.
July 4, 2008... Adare has won a national award for its internet marketing technology MC2. The group was placed first in the B2B Internet Marketing category of the European Retail Solutions Awards, which were held last week, for an online marketing set-up it...

Training windfall after Proskills secures pounds 62m of public funds ..
July 4, 2008... Print training has received its biggest boost in years after being awarded a pounds 62m government windfall. The funds, secured by print's sector skills council Proskills, will be made available to support the training efforts of companies...

... while BPIF, industry and skills bodies wait to see the fine print.(British Printing Industries Federation)(National vocational qualifications )(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Print education experts have reacted with cautious optimism as they await the finer detail of Proskills' windfall. Michael Johnson, chief executive of BPIF, said: 'We've seen the government make grand gestures before, but there is a great...

Proskills banks on Academy.(National Skills Academy)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Proskills is hoping that the National Skills Academy will act as a springboard to help deliver its pounds 62m training funds to the industry. The Sector Skills Council is awaiting the green light to set up the academy, which would...

Postcomm rules on Royal Mail.
July 4, 2008... Under-fire Royal Mail needs to reduce costs and look to more competitive prices for its customers, postal regulator Postcomm has said. In its annual report, Postcomm chairman Nigel Stapleton said Royal Mail should make more effort to offer...

Sky moves bill printing but TPF keeps PM role.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... TPF Group has lost the pounds 2.5m-a-year transactional mail contract with Sky on which its direct marketing and transactional mail division, TPF Direct, was built. Sky's transactional work, which has been produced by TPF Direct since...

Smurfit suffers Snodland fire.
July 4, 2008... Firefighters have successfully stopped a blaze at Smurfit Kappa's Snodland mill in Kent. Kent Fire and Rescue Services were alerted to the incident at the recycled containerboard plant at 5.30pm last Thursday (26 June). At its height,...

The Sunday Times goes full-colour thanks to pounds 650m press investment.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... The Sunday Times will relaunch this weekend with a new full-colour design made possible by publisher News International's (NI) new pounds 650m presses. All but two sections of the paper, which sells around 1.2m copies every week, have been...

Join Our Club.
July 4, 2008... Print Club, the Dalston-based screen printers collective, is holding an exhibition titled 'Blisters on my fingers' of 35 hand-pulled, screen-printed posters from 11 to 13 July. Visit: www.printclublondon.com

Trinity gets new Carbon award.
July 4, 2008... Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has become one of the first companies to receive a new environmental credential from the Carbon Trust. The Carbon Trust Standard, launched last week, is awarded to organisations that prove they are...

Colorscan in Croxsons buy to boost turnover.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Large-format printer Colorscan is targeting a 70% increase in turnover after acquiring Croxsons' digital printing business. In addition to a Xeikon DCP 500 and a raft of finishing kit, the High Wycombe-based company has taken on Bradley...

Scottish print show starts.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Celebrations marking five centuries of print in Scotland have continued with the opening of a major new exhibition. Imprentit: 500 Years of the Scottish Printed Word has opened at the National Library of Scotland. Highlights include the...

Reader reaction: Is there room for short-run litho print in the digital age?
July 4, 2008... With Think Colour set to challenge digital, we ask if litho can really take on the digital market. DIGITAL PRINTER, LAWRENCE DALTON, managing director, 1st Byte 'Speed of service is paramount and the benefit of digital is that we can...

Heidelberg gives litho support to Total Print!
July 4, 2008... Heidelberg has handed a major endorsement to Total Print! Expo, becoming the first litho press manufacturer to confirm its attendance at the show formerly known as Digital Print World. The German press giant has revealed that it will be...

Screen hails strong Drupa showing.(Screen UK)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Screen UK has said this year's Drupa was the best for UK visitor numbers since 1982. The CTP and digital press manufacturer's UK division has revealed sales of pounds 8m at the show and reported particularly strong interest from the UK,...

Merry Men of Sherwood.(Sherwood Press)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Employees of the Sherwood Press Group have helped to build a floral Robin Hood to support this year's Nottingham in Bloom campaign. Printer Dave Clark, business development manager Simon Lowe and repro manager Mark Robbins are pictured in...

Legal notices.
July 4, 2008... 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 Appointment of Administrators Beeprint Ltd...

Communisis announces major new PM and DM contract wins.
July 4, 2008... Communisis has revealed it is providing print management for coffee chain Starbucks and direct mail for the Woodland Trust in a trading update released to the stock exchange last week. Starbucks, one of a number of new print management...

Investors back Johnston issue.
July 4, 2008... Shareholders at regional newspaper group Johnston Press are supporting a move to issue more shares to reduce debt levels at the company. Johnston Press issued 320 million shares to its current shareholders at a 61% discounted value of 53p...

DS Smith pre-tax profits soar as price increases pushed through.(Financial report)
July 4, 2008... Packaging group DS Smith's 2007/08 results have revealed a pre-tax profit rise of 39% to pounds 109m after it managed to push through its price increase programme. However, the company warned the current financial year's operating...

Kodak set to buy back 25% of its own stock.
July 4, 2008... Kodak has announced a massive dollars 1bn (pounds 500m) share buyback that will lead to the repurchase of around a quarter of its stock. The imaging giant is planning to use a dollars 581m tax rebate and cash it earned when it sold its...

Press-sense secures loan from Plenus Venture to fund growth.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Press-sense has secured a dollars 5m (pounds 2.5m) loan from Plenus Venture Lending Fund as part of a financing round, the proceeds of which the company plans to use to boost its business. The loan, which brings Press-sense's total...

ICANN extends 'www' options.
July 4, 2008... Internet regulators have brought the curtain down on the 'dot com' era, paving the way for companies to apply for a wide range of new domain names. Following a decision last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers...

Former Adobe chief brings fresh approach to rival RIP developer.(appointment of Gary Fry at Global Graphics S.A.)(Adobe Systems Benelux)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Global Graphics has appointed Gary Fry, former managing director of Adobe Systems Benelux, as its new chief executive officer, with effect from 1 July. Fry, who has worked for rival RIP supplier Adobe since 2001, has been tasked with...

Making The News.
July 4, 2008... Fujifilm has launched its Brillia LP-NNW newspaper plate, which is designed specifically to work with platesetters with a lower laser power. The plate, which is manufactured at Fujifilm's Tilburg, Netherlands facility, is a high-speed...

Short Run Press triples digital capacity with VarioPrint duo.
July 4, 2008... Book printer Short Run Press has bolstered its digital offering after transferring more than 40% of its mono litho work onto its new dual Oce set-up. The investment, which included a mono VarioPrint 6160 and colour CS650 machine, has...

Eurostand fills new sales role.(appointment of Sam Mooney in Eurostand Display)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Eurostand Display has announced the appointment of Sam Mooney as national account manager. Mooney is leading a raft of new business development initiatives for the Essex-based graphic display specialist as the company seeks to aggressively...

CS Labels adds second Xeikon 330 to move further into digital arena.
July 4, 2008... CS Labels is anticipating digital work will account for 50% of its turnover by the end of the year after the printer invested in its second Xeikon 330 label press in a little over 18 months. The new machine will allow the West...

Ravensworth targets growth in DM market.(direct mail)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Ravensworth Digital is hoping to add pounds 3m to its turnover over the next 18 months as the company continues to expand its direct mail arm. The Northumberland-based digital printer, which was bought by Tangent in March last year for...

Polar loses Otto to retirement.(retirement of Klaus Otto)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Finishing equipment manufacturer Polar has paid tribute to one of its stalwarts who said goodbye to the company at Drupa this year. Klaus Otto made the Dusseldorf event his tenth and final Drupa, retiring after an impressive 48 years with...

John Good buys Muller Primera saddlestitcher.(Muller Martini UK)(Primera C130)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Specialist printer for the arts John Good is set to capitalise on demand for theatre programmes and memorabilia from this year's pantomime season, following an investment in Muller Martini's latest saddlestitcher. The Coventry-based...

Power unveils Tecbond 265.
July 4, 2008... Adhesive manufacturer Power Adhesives has developed a new product it claims will help packaging companies with difficult bonding. TecBond 265, a hot-melt adhesive, can be used to bond smooth and shiny varnished stocks to other difficult...

KAS creaser makes big impact at Netherne.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... A printing company that offers employment for disabled people has installed a digital creasing machine from finishing equipment distributor Ashgate Automation. Dorking-based Netherne Printing Services has bought a KAS CreaseMatic CM150...

Celloglas launches new laminates after Mirri range developments.
July 4, 2008... Specialist finisher Celloglas has announced a raft of new developments, following the launch of its reflective lamination product range Mirri. The latest developments include new sheet sizes, faster production speeds and an extended...

Robert Horne to move Cardiff base to Bristol.(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Robert Horne has announced it will close its Cardiff branch and move all operations to its Bristol site as part of its drive to create larger regional centres. In the Midlands, the paper merchant has also said its Nottingham branch...

UPM appoints Oldham as UK sales manager.
July 4, 2008... Paper giant UPM has appointed Will Oldham as general manager for sales in the UK and Ireland. Oldham replaces the current managing director of UPM-Kymmene, Kevin Lyden, who will retire on 14 September this year. Lyden ranked number 45 in...

Fedrigoni nets pounds 24.7m profit.(Financial report)
July 4, 2008... Paper manufacturer Fedrigoni Group has announced a 9.4% increase in turnover for the last financial year. Total turnover for the year was up to pounds 485m (EUR625m), resulting in a net profit of pounds 24.7m (EUR31.2m) for the 2007...

Navigator becomes FSC-certified.(laser pre-print grade Navigator )(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Elliott Baxter's (Ebb) white laser pre-print grade Navigator has become FSC-certified. Available in 80 to 120gsm, A4 to B1, it is made using eucalyptus pulp by Portugal-based producer Soporcel Portucel. The mill will be running an advertising...

James McNaughton launches Allsortz.
July 4, 2008... The James McNaughton Group has launched Allsortz, a new range of colour envelopes available in 22 colours and six sizes. The range is made from 120gsm paper and is suitable for laser and digital print McNaughton's new C5 swatch contains example...

Norske Skog enters into agreement.
July 4, 2008... Norske Skog has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Korean operation for pounds 423m (NOK 4.3bn) to Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and Shinhan Private Equity. The transaction includes its two newsprint mills, Jeonju and...

Stora Enso start board plant at Lukhovitsy.
July 4, 2008... Stora Enso's Russian subsidiary Stora Enso Packaging BB has started up a pounds 42m (EUR53m) corrugated board plant at Lukhovitsy, southeast of Moscow. Executive vice president, industrial packaging Veli-Jussi Potka said: 'Demand for...

Donald Murray Paper appointment.
July 4, 2008... Donald Murray Paper, part of paper merchant PaperCo, has appointed David Boothby as sales director. Boothby has previously worked at PaperCo's Newcastle operation, before becoming managing director of Europrint Display. Mark Taylor has...

PricewaterhouseCoopers predict uncertain outlook.
July 4, 2008... PricewaterhouseCoopers has predicted an uncertain outlook for M&A activity in the forest, paper and packaging industry for the rest of 2008 despite deals worth a huge dollars 27.6bn being completed in 2007 In its 'Branching Out' report, the...

Contract update.
July 4, 2008... Warners Midlands, the Lincolnshire-based magazine printer, has been chosen to print Total Politics, a new political lifestyle magazine. The 64pp title launched on 20 June. Features this month include armed forces voting, the cars...

Client audit: The Fairtrade Organisation.(Fairtrade Organisation )(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... The Fairtrade Organisation was established in 1992 by CAFOD, Christian Aid, Traidcraft and the World Development Movement, and was later joined by The Women's Institute. Emma Huntley is the organisation's print manager. She joined two...

Editorial: Capital collapse throws up funding questions.(Editorial)
July 4, 2008... Two bits of surprising news this week: firstly, Kevin Sarney's bid for Butler and Tanner has been accepted and secondly, administrators are in at Capital. Over the past few weeks, there had been some murmerings that all was not well at...

Comment: Blooks blast out of blogosphere.
July 4, 2008... Blook is the name for a new and special kind of book. It is a paper product, printed conventionally or digitally, and bound traditionally, but the content originates from an internet blog. Blog is a portmanteau word formed by fusing web...

Talking business: Direct mail - Comment.
July 4, 2008... Postal instability could scupper direct mail's attempt to put its house in order. Direct mail has come in for a lot of public criticism over the past couple of years, but the industry is reinventing itself and answering its critics, with...

Real Digital: Direct mail - Profile - Digital direct mail innovator proves its critics wrong as transpromo takes off.
July 4, 2008... Managing director David Laybourne tells William Mitting why a new way to target clients is changing print. Back in 2005, when two ex-Olwen Direct Mail partners announced plans to invest pounds 20m in a purpose-built state-of-the-art digital...

Direct mail: Analysis - Data handling - Software takes key role in DM survival.
July 4, 2008... Direct mail is now better targeted and more cost effective thanks to AIT, discovers Simon Nias. Rumours of direct mail's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Despite the rise of alternative communication channels, such as email and SMS,...

Letterpress revival: Offsetting litho's print dominance.
July 4, 2008... In the UK, letterpress has been cowed into near extinction by the dominance of litho offset. But the few stalwarts still pulling the Adana levers are pushing for a revival, discovers Karen Charlesworth. In the US, hot metal is hot. The US...

Better business: Investors in people - Working for your workers.
July 4, 2008... To ensure your business is successful, you need to have a motivated and loyal staff. Philip Chadwick finds there is an accreditation that helps keep employees happy. A third of the UK workforce is de-motivated. If that's not a shocking...

Technology report: Electron beam curing - Molecular magic.
July 4, 2008... Standard drying and UV techniques had better watch out - electron curing professes to be cheaper, less wasteful and more flexible in packaging applications. Over the past two years, rising energy costs coupled with demands for faster...

Product Portfolio: Product of the week - Epson Stylus Pro GS6000.(Product/service evaluation)
July 4, 2008... Epson's first 1.6m-wide solvent offering is aimed at signage printers looking to crack the premium market. Launched at Fespa earlier this year, the Epson Stylus Pro GS6000 is the firm's first solvent model and its widest printer to date and...

Product portfolio: Me & My... Maverick High Speed Placing System.(Interview)
July 4, 2008... Greg Hutchby, managing director of The Digital Media Company, can place any number of items on a range of substrates at high speed and accurately. - What does the machine do? It accurately places a wide range of products, including...

Product portfolio: Tried & tested - HighWater Platinum 2218.(Product/service evaluation)
July 4, 2008... This 2-up violet platesetter proved very successful when first launched and it is still popular with smaller printers, finds Nosmot Gbadamosi. After the successful launch of an entry-level 4-up violet platesetter, Highwater introduced a...

Product portfolio: Buyers' guide - Pre-flighting, workflow and RIPs.(Product/service evaluation)
July 4, 2008... A finely tuned front end is essential in keeping your presses running smoothly. Nosmot Gbadamosi outlines the latest developments. Making sure a range of devices handle data correctly to deliver a quality printed product can be a tricky...

Product portfolio: Joanne's help Line - Xeikon request & box tube designs.
July 4, 2008... Joanne Gardner tracks down the solutions to your print problems. Q: We are trying to find some digital printers with Xeikon presses as a client has requested some very short run 6pp A4 roll-fold printing. We have tried 1st Byte, but they...

Product portfolio: Diary.(Product/service evaluation)
July 4, 2008... JULY pira print procurement summer school 2008 Date: 28-30 July Venue: Leatherhead, Surrey Price: pounds 940 Contact: 01372 802051 paul.squire@pira-international.com SEPTEMBER The Print for business 2008 exhibition Date: 16-18...

Product portfolio: Technical tutorial - Flat-topped dots.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... The face of a flexo printing plate is the surface that receives ink from the anilox roll and transfers it to the substrate, and the more precise the halftone dot, the better the print quality. On the plate, ideally each individual halftone dot...

Post script: The pizza opportunism topping the ad awards.
July 4, 2008... Post Script's prize for Most Irritating Print Innovation goes to pizza company Papa Johns. Its trendy marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi came up with the (admittedly clever) idea of placing a sticker depicting a faux pizza delivery boy...

Post script: Memory Lane.
July 4, 2008... ONE YEAR AGO Terry Smith Group, the POS specialist, was bought by Realisis after it went into administration... Rapid Response (Europe), the east London company, was sold to Rapid Response Press, a new company founded by former director...

Post script: Print's Past - Type and trains.
July 4, 2008... I love the new St Pancras Station, particularly its typography. In addition to the letterforms built into Sir George Gilbert Scott's original station, there remain traces of the Design Research Unit's British Rail corporate identity of 1964,...

Post script: Q&A - Ian Picken.(Interview)(Brief article)
July 4, 2008... Ian Picken, 23, is a sales executive for Cambrian Printers. In his spare time he enjoys rugby, keeping fit and scuba diving. He also hates 'girly' mags. Quite the lad's lad, then. However, shaving his eyebrows and working as 'security' at an...

Pindar sells directories division to sole client Yell after 28 years.
July 11, 2008... Pindar's turnover could fall by around pounds 40m following the agreement to dispose of its directory repro division Pindar Set to Yell, the international directories business. The surprise deal, which was announced this week, will see the...

PaperlinX shuffles UK merchant management.(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... Merchanting giant PaperlinX has undergone a major reshuffle with a change in managing director at its UK operations, Robert Horne and PaperCo. PaperCo managing director Alistair Gough will become the new managing director of Robert Horne...

China could lose edge as costs rise, study says.(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... Rising oil prices and wage inflation could see China lose its competitive edge in print exports, according to a study by CIBC World Markets. The study has found that the cost of shipping a standard 40-foot container from the Far East has...

FST in talks with transferred staff.(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... FST Technologies is understood to have started a consultation with up to 27 former TPF staff whose employment transferred to FST this week under TUPE regulations. The news follows last week's revelation that FST and Summerhall had been...

ICE merges with Arets' UK operation.(Brief article)
July 11, 2008... Ink firm ICE has merged with the UK sales operation of Belgian UV ink specialist Arets Graphics to create a consumables group with sales of around pounds 6m. In a deal signed on Tuesday, ICE Arets UK has been formed after Arets' Belgian...

In Brief: Southwold Press installs platesetter.
July 11, 2008... Southwold Press, situated on the Suffolk coast, has installed a Presstek Vector TX52 platesetter with the help of a government grant The print and publishing firm, which produces the monthly Southwold Gazette and fortnightly Aldeburgh Gazette,...

In Brief: Print Library installs Heidelberg XL 75.
July 11, 2008... Print Library has become the first Northern Irish printer to install the new Heidelberg XL 75, in an investment that also marks a move into full B2 production. Director Geoff Truesdale said the machine 'will increase our pounds 2m turnover...

In Brief: Mosca Direct appointments.
July 11, 2008... Mosca Direct has expanded its sales team with the appointments of Paul Drysdale, hired from MSK Packaging, as business development manager and Lisa McMenamon, formely of Prolog, as customer service representative

In Brief: Wheelden Print first ever investment.
July 11, 2008... Wheelden Print, in Bradford, has made its first ever investment in a new offset press with the installation of a Komori Lithrone S29. The company, which previously only used secondhand presses, also runs digital kit. Managing director Peter...

In Brief: Danwood relaunches website.
July 11, 2008... Danwood has relaunched its website in a move aimed at offering better advice on how to reduce costs, save energy and improve print quality. 'This is what our customers are interested in,' said Danwood marketing manager Marian Thomasson. 'We are...

In Brief: John Watson and Co starts production on press.
July 11, 2008... John Watson and Co, the Glasgow-based whisky label specialist, has started production on the world's longest B2 Heidelberg press, a 15-unit monster with nine printing units and a host of coating options. Chairman John Watson said the press,...