Print Week articles from June 2004

Print Week archives from June 2004

Surprise as Aspen calls administrators.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Gloucestershire-based print firm Aspen Preprint has gone into administration and laid off 'the majority' of the 54 members of staff. Kroll has been appointed as administrator and according to a former employee, the move has come...

Print takes rap for postal vote fiasco.(local and European postal vote)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The validity of the 10 June local and European postal vote could be in doubt after printing problems forced more than 500,000 ballot packs to be hastily reprinted over the Bank Holiday weekend. Ballot packs for the election, affecting 14.8m...

DHM is unlikely to continue as a trading firm.(David Hulme Machinery)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... David Hulme Machinery (DHM) is 'no longer operating as a fully operational business' according to its administrator, David Cockshott of BWC Business Solutions. Cockshott said: 'The administration will continue for some time, until...

Antsalo prompts paper rejig.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The forthcoming retirement of Myllykoski Sales UK managing director Ari Antsalo has triggered a merry-go-round of high profile managers in paper. Stora Enso's Nigel Day will replace Antsalo when he retires next year (PrintWeek, 20 May)....

Stop Press: A new company, Onform reels, has been established.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... A new company, Onform reels, has been established which will combine the reels divisions of paper merchants James McNaughton, Premier Paper and Modo Merchants.

Stop Press: Voting for the PrintWeek Power 100.
June 4, 2004... Voting for the PrintWeek Power 100, the list of the 100 most influential people in the UK printing industry, ends at the close of play tomorrow (4 June). The list will be published in PrintWeek and at www. printweek.com on 24 June.

Stop Press: St Ives' Caerphilly plant on a one-week shutdown.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... St Ives' Caerphilly plant is on a one-week shutdown. It reopens on Monday (7 June).

Stop Press: De La Rue has posted annual results.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... De La Rue has posted annual results in line with forecasts. Profits before tax and exceptionals were up 21% at pounds 58.7m on sales up 17% at pounds 683m.

Stop Press: Vutek receives 'huge interest'.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Vutek says it has received 'huge interest' in its new PressVu UV 200/600 SC. The machine took an 'unprecedented' number of orders at Drupa.

Stop Press: Free daily email news.
June 4, 2004... Free daily email news direct to your desktop, register at www.printweek.com.

Curtis to shut mill with GPMU assent.(Graphical Paper and Media Union )(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Curtis Fine Papers has reached an agreement with the GPMU to close its Dalmore mill, shedding 100 jobs - around a quarter of the company's entire workforce. Discussions began last month, when the Scottish independent papermaker announced...

First half reveals loss for API.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... API has posted a first-half operating loss due to the poor performance of its metallised paper divisision. The group has also parted company with chief executive Derek Ashley. API said last Thursday (27 May) that Ashley had resigned...

Delivery debut for Lettershop.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Direct Mail specialist The Lettershop Group has installed the first UK Palamides beta two-up fully automatic delivering system. The new unit will operate with one of its Scheffer multi-function web finishing lines and includes a Palamides...

Alpha Colour Printers to install Speedmaster CD 74 perfector.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Alpha Colour Printers is to become the first UK company to install Heidelberg's new Speedmaster CD 74 perfector. The five-colour with coater will go in alongside its straight CD74-5. Director Jeff Willams (pictured) - who may look familiar...

Shorts: The Polestar Group acquires recruitment partner.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The Polestar Group has made Rebecca Holloran and her consultancy Holbrook Associates its recruitment partner. She joins three other preferred recruitment companies at Polestar - Adderley Featherstone, Michael Page and Harrison Scott. Holbrook...

Shorts: Medica Packaging to install a Komori Lithrone LS640C.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Medica Packaging is to install a six-colour Komori Lithrone LS640C with coater. The Crewe-based company is a supplier of cartons, booklets and leaflets for the pharmaceutical and healthcare markets. It has been operating a Lithrone L428 and...

Shorts: Repro City orders a Ryobi 250 Series B2-format press.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Repro City has ordered a Ryobi 250 Series B2-format press. The six-colour machine will be installed in July and is the first actual installation of a Ryobi 750 in the UK. London-based Repro City currently runs five Heidelberg presses and the...

Shorts: Bahson Colour Print to invest in Heidelberg machinery.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Leeds-based commercial printer Bahson Colour Print is to invest pounds 3m in Heidelberg machinery. The deal was signed at Drupa and includes a 12-colour SM102 and ancillary finishing equipment. The new press will be linked to the firm's...

Shorts: Herts & Essex Printers to install a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM52-6.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Herts & Essex Printers is to install a Heidelberg Speedmaster SM52-6 featuring the new expandable transfer cylinders. The press will allow the firm to handle stocks of up to 0.6mm and is also equipped with Vario dampening and short-path inking....

Shorts: NB Group to install an MBO T800/44 folding machine.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... NB Group is to install an MBO T800/44 folding machine with an OMG Eco 700 stacker delivery, at its print and direct mail production facility. Based in Gateshead, the company specialises in the printing of brochures, newsletters, leaflets and...

Shorts: Thomas Swan & Co launches new division.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Colour chemicals specialist Thomas Swan & Co has launched a division as part of its programme to develop proprietary technology with Casamid polyamide and Casathane systems. Swan's Performance Colours will launch products under the Casaperse...

Oxuniprint names Thomas as Slade's successor.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Oxuniprint has appointed George Thomas as its director of printing services, to replace Martin Slade, who is retiring. Thomas was previously with Goldcrest (Adhesive) Products for eight years as general manager. To ensure a smooth...

PaperCo finds substitute for defunct Carrs.(Autocopy Xtra carbonless grade )(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Merchant stockist PaperCo is to sell the M-real Zanders-manufactured Autocopy Xtra carbonless grade as an alternative to Carrs Paper's Signal Plus. Signal Plus ceased production following the move into administration of Birmingham-based...

Times brings print deadlines forward.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... A 'shortage of presses' to print both tabloid and broadsheet editions of The Times has led to a change in editorial deadlines. Editor Robert Thomson told staff in an e-mail that as of 1 June he would be moving the deadlines forward 'to...

DMA launches junk mail solutions site.(Direct Mail Association)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The Direct Mail Association (DMA) has linked up with environmental group Planet Ark in a campaign to end the public's 'junk mail misery'. Both parties have launched a website, www. controlyourpost.co.uk, urging people to log on if they are...

Abbot in trials for new online company tool.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Hertfordshire-based printer Abbot (Kings Langley) has become one of the first companies in the UK to use a new company diagnostics tool. The trade-only print group was among three small companies to test the Axa Business Persona-lity...

German regulator fines cartel firms.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The German competition authority Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines totalling pounds 38.4m (EUR57.6m) against 12 paper merchants and 46 individuals. The news comes after raids by European Commission investigators on a number of major paper...

Stewarts bought in MBO deal.(Management Buy-Out )(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Edinburgh-based print firm Stewarts has been bought out by its management for an undisclosed sum. The MBO was led by Stewarts managing director Terry O'Hare and was funded by Clydesdale bank. The company has an 80-strong workforce and...

Lawrence Wallis publishes latest book.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... PrintWeek columnist and print guru Lawrence Wallis has published his latest book, George W Jones: Printer Laureate. In what is the first ever biography of the printer, Wallis tracks the life of Jones (1860-1942), who entered the print...

Clays adds its sixth Lithrone.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Book printer Clays has ordered a new Komori press at Drupa to run alongside its other Komori B2 and B1 presses. The Suffolk-based St Ives subsidiary will take delivery of a six-colour Lithrone LS640 with coater in September. Clays...

Shorts: Thomasson's Print Finishers completes deal.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Manchester-based Thomasson's Print Finishers has completed a Drupa deal with MAN Roland GB for a GUK folding machine. The GUK K54 4KL with Autopockets is a B2 combination folder featuring an automated set-up. It will handle 18,000 copies per...

Shorts: BABS International unable to support machines that pre-date 1995.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... BABS International, the distributor of IDEAL guillotines has warned that, from next year, it will be unable to support electric machines that pre-date 1995 EC safety guidelines. The company said that maintenance of 10-year plus machines would...

Shorts: Bezier in Euro 2004 drive for supermarket Asda.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Bezier will produce in-store print for a Euro 2004 drive for supermarket Asda. England and Liverpool striker Michael Owen will be the face of the campaign, which will incorporate floor graphics depicting aisle-sized football pitches in over 220...

Shorts: Print firm John Watson to invest in Heidelberg Polar DC 12.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Glasgow print firm John Watson is to invest in a Heidelberg Polar DC 12 line. The new kit will put B1 sheets in and get boxed and banded wet labels of the end in an automated production workflow. Last year the company installed a new Heidelberg...

Shorts: HB Label Print installs a Mark Andy 2200 flexo press.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Dublin-based HB Label Print has installed an eight-colour Mark Andy 2200 flexo press. The kit includes turner bars, a laminating unit and full UV curing.

Shorts: Labelsco commissions its fourth Nilpeter FA-3300.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Barwell-based Labelsco has commissioned its fourth Nilpeter FA-3300 modular combination press to boost its UV-flexo capacity. The firm has also installed a narrower six-unit FA-2500 flexo press of similar open design. Both moves are part of a...

Shorts: The Printing House invests in a Sakurai 566 SIP press.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The Printing House, in Crewe, has invested pounds 400,000 in a new five-colour Sakurai 566 SIP press. The SRA2 sized press is the second to be installed at the company and will run alongside existing two-colour and single-colour presses at The...

Shorts: GMI releases two additional features.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... GMI has released two features that can be added to its ColorQuick on-web, closed-loop colour control system. Multi Bar allows the printing of multiple colour bars when space is available. Extra tone value patches can be printed as part of print...

Petty site is sold in leaseback deal.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The Polestar Group has made a sale and leaseback deal of its Polestar Petty plant to US-based investment firm WP Carey for pounds 15.5m (dollars 27.7m). The property, which includes offices, warehousing and manufacturing facilities, will...

Scotsman printer hit by blaze.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The printroom of The Scotsman and the Edinburgh Evening News has suffered severe smoke damage after a fire. Firefighters spent five hours tackling the blaze which began in the Caledonian Offset ventilation ducting last Tuesday afternoon....

Power 100 gathers the greats.
June 4, 2004... The countdown to PrintWeek's best-read feature, the Power 100, has begun and several of those candidates known to have made the list assembled at Stationers' Hall last week for a special photoshoot. About 30 of the most influential...

Legal Notices.
June 4, 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 ORDERS City & Islington News RO:...

Impressive sales seal Creo's Drupa.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Creo has closed Drupa with impressive sales in both pre-press kit and consumables, on the back of a plethora launches. Creo chief executive Amos Michelson said: 'We have surpassed our pre-press kit sales targets and far exceeded our...

Agfa upgrade for Cambridge.(Cambridge Evening News )(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Cambridge Evening News has invested pounds 300,000 in Agfa technology to boost its pre-press division. The printing house, which prints runs of the Daily Express and the Daily Star, and the Evening News itself, is set to install the Agfa...

Creo's Preps 5.0 debuts in UK.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Upgraded Workflow imposition tool Creo Preps 5.0 is now available in the UK. The system, launched this month, will be distributed by Positive Focus. It has a new interface and more power. Features include SmartMarks, which position...

Shorts: McGurk Group to upgrade its RealTimeProof.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... McGurk Group is to upgrade its RealTimeProof online proofing system to the new 5.0 version. The Drupa investment will see the Yorkshire printer integrate the software into its OMNI system. Pictured L-R are Steve Cheetham, Alex Granat and John...

Shorts: The Colour Quest Group upgrades its Screen CTP.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Hemel Hempstead printer The Colour Quest Group has upgraded its Screen CTP and workflow systems in a move which it claims was driven by customer demand. The company's four-year-old Screen FlatRite 1050 B2 CTP system and Taiga workflow are to be...

Shorts: CIT Printing Services installs proofing system.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Pembrokeshire commercial printer CIT Printing Services has installed a KPG ink-jet Matchprint Color RIP proofing system. The company replaced its old colour proofing system after complaints about drifting colours on proofs produced by the...

Shorts: Perivan London installs a Presstek Dimension 400.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Financial printer Perivan London has installed a Presstek Dimension 400 platemaker. The machine will run alongside a DPM 2610 polyester platemaker at the printer's East London plant. Production manager Alan Bullock said that the Dimension 400...

Shorts: Artwork Systems second-quarter profits have risen.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Second-quarter profits at Belgian pre-press software group Artwork Systems have risen by almost a quarter year-on-year. Profits were up by 23% year-on-year, to pounds 2.69m (EUR4.04m) for the quarter. The company, which has branches in the UK,...

Shorts: Pindar launches a programme of user forums.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Pindar has launched a programme of user forums to help improve its catalogue software. The printing group hopes that the forums, which begin in July, will shape the future development of its information management software products including...

Shorts: The Colour Collective to provide training.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Colour management specialist The Colour Collective is to provide training and profiling software to the British Museum. The one year-old company will install the GretagMacbeth colour management system and give onsite training and support at the...

Shorts: Industry mourning the death of Sean Barnes.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
June 4, 2004... The industry is this week mourning Sean Barnes, who has died aged 42 after a six-month battle with cancer. Barnes' career included sales roles at IGP, Linotype, Hyphen, Cascade and Fuji. Openshaw national sales manager for electronic imaging...

Digital generates marketing power.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Printers will have more influence on marketing campaigns if they move towards digital print technology according to two marketers at a Hewlett-Packard (HP) event last week. The event, which was held at the Honourary Artillary Company in...

JDF 'highway' team formed.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Heidelberg UK has linked up with print MIS developers Shuttleworth and OCSL to establish JDF links. Discussions with Kettering-based Shuttleworth were held at Drupa and both parties have agreed to press forward with JDF tie-ins. ...

Shorts: Priority Newstrade & Mailing launches new print service.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Priority Newstrade & Mailing, the Wiltshire-based mailing house, has launched a new colour digital print service, Priority Digital. The firm claims to offer a 'one-stop design and print service' for business material including short-run...

Shorts: Oce UK appoints business development director.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Oce UK has appointed Steve Berney to the newly created role of business development director for its enlarged print management company. Berney has print management experience in the financial and retail sectors and was previously business...

Shorts: Multigraphics launches consumer website.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Large-format screen print specialist Multigraphics has launched a consumer website, thebannerpeople.com. The site gives people the opportunity to either design their own bespoke banner or create a personalised banner from a selection of...

Shorts: Encad takes ship of NovaJet 1000i printer.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Encad has announced that it has taken its first volume shipment of the NovaJet 1000i printer. The machine has been jointly developed by Encad and Kodak and debuted at the PMA trade show in Las Vegas in February. UK distributor Colourgen has...

Shorts: Presstek exceeds business and strategic objectives.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Presstek has said that it exceeded its business and strategic objectives during Drupa. New CTP And DI products featured Presstek's ProFire Excel, SureFire and ProSpot imaging technologies. 'We worked closely with our dealer network and...

Shorts: Oce DNN to linkup with international newspapers.(Oce Digital Newspaper Network)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Oce Digital Newspaper Network (DNN) is to link up with several international newspapers to print daily issues at the Olympic Games in Athens. A digital production site is to set up in the city and Oce has teamed up with print and distribution...

EC steps up probe into cartel claims.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... More paper companies have been the subject of European Commission investigation raids into price fixing and cartel allegations, as the net has spread wider and into the US. The latest raids follow last week's simultaneous swoops by...

Paper Pricewatch Carbonless, June 2004.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Another UK manufacturer has suffered at the hands of the carbonless sector in the past two weeks, writes Andy Scott. The move of Solihull-based Carrs Paper into administration on 10 May (PrintWeek, 20 May) followed speculation earlier this...

Shorts: FutureBrand receives design award.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... FutureBrand has received a design award for its Favini corporate identity work. Publico, an Italian magazine for the marketing, advertising and communication industries, honoured the project at its Pubblicita & Successo award ceremony.

Shorts: Pira holds conference on improving machine runnability.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Pira is holding a conference on improving paper machine runnability on 9-10 June. Taking place at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Brussels, it aims to help delegates to improve machine speeds and get the maximum productivity - without...

Shorts: James McNaughton adds new selection of colours.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... James McNaughton has added a new selection of colours and tints to its Challenger tinted offset and pulpboard ranges.

Shorts: Fedrigoni offers free seminar.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Fedrigoni is offering a free seminar for buyers, designers and printers on new developments in packaging. The event, to be held on 2 July, will cover topics such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) advanced packaging security. Contact...

Shorts: Elliott Baxter updates its EBB Colour Selector grade.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Elliott Baxter has updated its EBB Colour Selector grade. It now offers 135 colour-sequenced waterfall qualities, to aid comparison and selection of its range of tinted products.

Shorts: ArjoWiggins launches second generation of Idem Digital.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... ArjoWiggins has launched its second generation of Idem Digital. The new grade extends its approval across leading edge digital presses to encompass the HP Indigo 3000 range.

Shorts: The Neusiedler Group reaffirms its commitment.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... The Neusiedler Group has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainability in the sourcing of pulp and timber products. Paying particular reference to its Syktyvar site in Russia, which it purchased in 2002.

Shorts: Tullis Russell receives substantial order.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Tullis Russell has received a substantial order for its premium uncoated Naturalis grade from FNAC. The Spanish book chain chose Arctic White Matt to produce a diary featuring drawings by Spanish writers and journalists.

Shorts: Conqueror sponsors golf championship.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Conqueror has built upon its pounds 2.5m television and print advertising campaign by sponsoring the 50th Volvo PGA golf championship at Wentworth. Thirty-second advertisements will be screened on 60 plasma screens placed around the Surrey golf...

Shorts: Sappi used Drupa to launch promotion.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Sappi used Drupa to launch 'life with print', promoting the efficiency and importance of print in effective brand promotion. Copies are available at www.idea exchange.sappi.com.

Shorts: Robert Horne extends range of dtec v.4.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Robert Horne has extended its size range of dtec v.4 digital printing substrates. It's now available in silk, gloss and super smooth (uncoated), from 100gsm to 200gsm in both sheets from A4 to 320x460mm and either 320mm or 500m digital reels.

Documedia lands more new clients.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Documedia Solutions has signed eight contracts with new and existing clients, each with the potential to be worth over pounds 500,000 a year. Marketing services director James Marsland said the company had signed Citroen as the first...

Adare Halcyon seals PIN deal.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has hired Adare Halcyon to be the sole supplier of secure PIN mailings to customers. The Huddersfield-based company will print the material for NS&I's easy access savings account. The long-term contract...

Bezier InfoShade a success.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Bezier has incorporated its InfoShade product into point-of-sale campaigns for Dulux Weathershield and Allied Bakeries. The cylindrical plastic gadget can be fixed to printed display units or shelf edges. The system was developed and...

EU Tenders.
June 4, 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: Is it price fixing when prices have plunged?(Paper industry)
June 4, 2004... Simultaneous surprise swoops by European Commission officers on paper manufacturers throughout Europe (see Analysis, p23) certainly make for great alliterative headlines and indeed exciting news stories, but they have to be the last thing the...

Opinion: Productivity steels the limelight from cost.(Printing industry)(Drupa)(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... As the dust begins to settle following Drupa there will be many schools of thought regarding its success. From the MAN Roland GB perspective, I have to say that, personally, I feel both exhausted and delighted at the events of May. While...

Wallis: The management 'experts' leave a lot to be desired.(Brief Article)
June 4, 2004... Over the years I have attended several management courses: some in colleges of further education and others in corporate settings. Most I found to be unsatisfying, with simple concepts couched in grandiloquent phrases and much of the material...

Profile: Charterhouse - Visionaries aim to offer print management with personality.
June 4, 2004... Gary Mahoney and Mike Newman have a strategy for keeping Charterhouse out in front, writes Andy Scott. A quiet revolution in print management is taking place a few hundred yards from Hatfield station. Charterhouse, founded 34 years ago,...

Analysis: Firms speculate on outcome of EC probe.
June 4, 2004... The EC has swooped on the paper industry again - but has anything changed since the last raids? The European paper industry is once again the subject of an investigation into allegations of price collusion and cartels. The proceedings got...

Rapid response: Major world events demand quick turnaround print Philip Chadwick investigates this growing trend.
June 4, 2004... The war in Iraq, famine in Africa, last year's earthquake in Iran and England winning the Rugby World Cup. Although at first glance these things appear to have very little in common, they are part of a growing phenomenon in the direct mail (DM)...