Print Week articles from May 2008

Print Week archives from May 2008

Sherwood and Loxleys strike 'stability' deal.
May 1, 2008... Two rival greetings card printers are aiming to secure the future of their sector in the UK after forming a pounds 15m strategic alliance. The tie-up between Sherwood Press and Loxleys Print will allow them to pool buying power for...

Masterange bought in pre-pack.(Blue Printing Group acquired Masterange Business Services Ltd.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Masterange Business Services is set to be bought out of administration for the second time in two months in a pre-pack sale to Blue Printing Group. Hackney-based Blue has handed over a cheque to administrator Vantis to buy the goodwill,...

Top staff leave Premier Paper.(resignations of )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Three senior members of Premier Paper's management team have resigned following the company's pounds 19m acquisition by independent merchant Beswick Paper. Managing director Fred Haines has resigned, while financial director Robert...

Dip in sales hits Agfa Graphics.(Agfa Graphic Systems UK )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Agfa-Gevaert has blamed a strong euro and poor US trading for a drop in sales in fourth-quarter results. The Belgian firm's Graphics division reported a 6.3% year-on-year drop in sales to EUR416m, while EBITDA was down 12.5% to EUR29.5m....

Butler and Tanner: MPI closes Butler and Tanner as 287 jobs go.(Media & Print Investments)(Butler and Tanner)
May 1, 2008... Strike threats, uncertainty and an increasingly acrimonious war of words brought to an end as all 287 staff receive redundancy letters by post. Mike Dolan has held true to his threat to close historic book printer Butler and Tanner (B&T)...

Sad end for book printing institution after 145-year run.
May 1, 2008... Saturday was a sad end to an illustrious history for Butler and Tanner, which traces its roots back to 1840 when William Langford set up a small print shop to produce his labels. Langford was joined four years later by William Butler, who...

Stunned sector speaks out on drama at Frome.
May 1, 2008... Book printers have reacted with shock to last weekend's closure of Butler and Tanner (B&T) and the very public row with Unite that preceded it. Rod Willet, managing director of Norfolk-based Biddles, said: 'I was staggered quite frankly...

Dolan 'confident' suppliers will be paid in full.(Butler and Tanner)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Staff and suppliers are facing an agonising wait to learn how much of their debt they will recover in the fall-out from Butler and Tanner's closure. Unite national officer Ann Field claimed that the total owed to staff is in the region of...

Official opening for NI print site.(News International)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... If last weekend signalled the end of an era for News International with the closure of its Wapping site, this week brought the beginning of a new one. Newsprinters, the company's print subsidiary, held the official opening for its upgraded...

Harmsworth aims for contract newsprinting.
May 1, 2008... Newspaper printer Harmsworth Printing is aiming to launch itself as a contract printer as it moves to branch out from work for owner Associated Newspapers. The firm has taken on its first two newspapers for other publishers after...

Trinity to close Midlands titles.(Trinity Mirror Newspapers)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Trinity Mirror Midlands is closing eight of its newspapers following a review in Derby and Peterborough. According to the company, closing its loss-making titles in the area would allow the company to refocus attention on the remaining...

Howitt braced for court decision as tribunal upholds Olwen claims.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Howitt is facing a court settlement that could run to hundreds of thousands of pounds after it lost an employment appeal tribunal against at least 30 employees of its defunct former subsidiary, Olwen Direct Marketing Services, it has emerged....

Sussex staff cut after Newsquest India deal.(Express KCS )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... More than 30 Newsquest prepress staff in Sussex and Wiltshire are facing an uncertain future after the newspaper publisher signed a deal with Express KCS to outsource their work to India. Newsquest Sussex, which publishes Brighton's Argus...

Alcan develops eco packaging.
May 1, 2008... Alcan Packaging has launched what is said to be Europe's first fully compostable printed laminated packaging. It has been developed in the firm's Dublin plant on behalf of UK-based Jordans Cereals and is being used for the cereal...

PrintIT! gets PM backing as Printroom awarded.
May 1, 2008... Printroom was named Best Twinner at the third annual PrintIT! Awards, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown endorsed the competition. The Surrey-based company was honoured for its work with schools at a ceremony at Stationers' Hall, London,...

Pindar blamed for Glasto leak.
May 1, 2008... Pindar Tewkesbury has been blamed for leaking the line-up for this year's Glastonbury. Emily Eavis, the festival's organiser, told reporters that part of the line-up given to Q magazine, which is produced at Pindar Tewkesbury, was leaked...

Reader Reaction: Can European direct mail firms challenge the UK market?(Industry overview)
May 1, 2008... With Mohn Media targeting business in the UK, we ask how big is the threat from the continent. DM COMPANY, Gurdev Singh, managing director, Howitt 'Mohn's plan to move into the UK market doesn't worry a company like Howitt. With a...

Legal notices.
May 1, 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 DPN Ltd T/a:...

Keramikos pumps pounds 2m into Europe expansion.
May 1, 2008... Ceramics and glass printing company Keramikos is investing close to pounds 2m in a new site and bespoke equipment to drive its European expansion. The Matlock, Derbyshire-based company has bought new premises in Alfreton for more than...

Ashley House kit spend 'slashes makereadies'.
May 1, 2008... Ashley House Printing Company has taken delivery of a five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster, a move it says has cut its makereadies in half. The commercial printer, established in 1987, has also invested in a Suprasetter A74, which it will run...

Company Cards eyes digi boom.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Company Cards has spent pounds 345,000 on a new HP Indigo 5500 press in a bid to strengthen its presence in the UK's short-run digital colour market. The St Helens-based company, which specialises in the production of short-run plastic...

Prism relaunch at Sign Digital.( Sign Digital UK)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Prism, the specialist imaging association, underwent a relaunch last week at a bustling Sign Digital UK. The organisation, previously known as DSPA, has extended its membership to include all suppliers within the digital, screen and pad...

IPIA part of alliance to take on media rivals.
May 1, 2008... The Independent Print Industries Association (IPIA) is to play a key role in the latest scheme to promote print as a key element in the marketing mix. The Marketing Association Alliance (MAA) has been set up by the British Promotional...

Creative Space.(PrintCity )(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... PrintCity is to target print buyers, brand owners, designers and publishers with its Print4Life attraction at Drupa. The special area of its stand in Hall 6 will demonstrate opportunities for creative new uses for print and packaging, with a...

New account manager for Everydayprint.
May 1, 2008... Everydayprint, the Macclesfield-based digital print specialist, has appointed Mel Maksymuk as a new account manager (pictured). She has previously worked in a similar role with Stanley Green-based B&P Screenprint. She said: 'I'm delighted to...

Epson recieves awards.
May 1, 2008... Epson has been awarded two of Europe's photo and imaging prizes at the Technical Image Press Association Awards. Epson's Stylus Photo R1900 A3 photo printer was named Best Expert Photo Printer in Europe 2008 and its flagship wide-format photo...

BAPC relocates.
May 1, 2008... The British Association for Print & Communication (BAPC) has relocated to a premises in Hertfordshire as a result of its expanding membership and facilities. The association can now be located at Catalyst House, 720 Centennial Court, Elstree....

ID Data Group wins contract.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... ID Data Group, the smart card firm, has won a contract expected to be worth more than pounds 3m to supply bank and co-branded cards to a financial services company. The contract, understood to be for more than three years, includes the...

New director of marketing for Pitney Bowes.
May 1, 2008... Pitney Bowes, the mailstream technology firm, has appointed Ronald van Hees as director of marketing, document messaging technologies. He joins from HP Indigo, where he was category manager, supplies and media for Europe, Africa and the Middle...

Rollem launches AutoLay system.
May 1, 2008... Rollem has launched the AutoLay system (pictured), which is said to improve accuracy by compensating for printing processes where the image can wander on the sheet. The system allows precision finishing with a gutter between images of less than...

Party for workers.
May 1, 2008... Peter Scott Printers in east Lancashire is throwing a party for loyal workers who have clocked up more than 300 years between them. Of the workers, 11 celebrate 15 years or more with the printing firm this year. Staff are now gearing up for a...

System Brunner to exhibit at Drupa.
May 1, 2008... System Brunner and its partners will be exhibiting at Drupa Products include CCS-Instrument Flight with the new SpectralCam system, okBalance, the integrated upgrade for all MAN Roland sheetfed presses, and the ProcessPilot MAN Roland, the new...

RSDB keeps its focus on print.(Roto Smeets de Boer N.V.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... RSDB, the parent company of Roto Smeets, has reaffirmed its intention to lead pan-European consolidation and said it is prepared to divest its marketing communications companies to focus on print. In its annual report, the company said its...

Credit woes and poor planning send company failures soaring.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Corporate insolvencies across the economy have risen to their highest levels since the fallout from the dot-com crash, according to statistics compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The research found that insolvencies in the first...

End of relief for empty properties.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Changes to the rules governing business rates on empty properties which came into effect last month could hit any printers with currently unused premises, a business adviser has warned. Accountant and business adviser PKF said changes to...

Euro fall means good news for suppliers.
May 1, 2008... Dramatic falls in the value of the euro have eased the currency exchange pressures on European press manufacturers. Having witnessed the euro soar from pounds 0.68 to pounds 0.81 over the past 12 months, manufacturers on the continent were...

EskoArtwork targets display and sign market with nesting program.
May 1, 2008... EskoArtwork is attempting to muscle in on the sign and display market after its new integrated nesting application for sign and display production was unveiled at Sign and Digital UK 2008 last week. Paul Bates, UK and Ireland sales manager...

FlightCheck gets v6.11 release.
May 1, 2008... Markzware has announced the release of version 6.11 of its flagship FlightCheck preflighting software. The US-based company said the maintenance release would fix reported issues, improve upon 'several features', and include 'other...

Slow inkjet sales and tough US market hit EFI Q1 sales figures.(Financial report)
May 1, 2008... Pre-media and inkjet manufacturer EFI has recorded a significant drop in both revenue and pre-tax income in its first-quarter results. Turnover at the US-based company fell dollars 11.2m (pounds 5.7m) to dollars 136.7m, while a similar...

Alwan donates colour software to institute.
May 1, 2008... Alwan Color Expertise has donated a suite of its advanced colour management software to students at the US-based Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The software suite, which includes CMYK Optimizer, LinkProfiler and ColorPursuit, has...

Xaar targets a central position in the Drupa inkjet revolution.
May 1, 2008... Xaar is aiming to promote inkjet as the 'serious digital print application for the future' when the company showcases a range of Xaar-enabled presses at this year's Drupa. The Cambridge-based firm has announced that at least six Xaar...

Inc Direct hires sales director.
May 1, 2008... Inc Direct has continued its recruitment drive with the appointment of Dialogue Solutions sales head Andy Bailey as sales director. Bailey will oversee sales and marketing at the Enfield-based firm, the 2008 PrintWeek Printing Company of...

Danwood and Apex aim to show benefits of combined production.
May 1, 2008... Danwood has tied up with Apex Digital Graphics to launch a showroom displaying Danwood's range of digital machines. The companies are pitching the joint facility, situated within Apex's Hemel Hempstead offices, as a way to demonstrate how...

Keep on trucking.
May 1, 2008... AstSigns, the Penrith, Cumbria-based sign print specialist, has invested in a raft of wide-format kit from Roland DG to carry out its work for, among others, logistics company Eddie Stobart

Muller Martini tight-lipped as grand plans for Drupa emerge.
May 1, 2008... Muller Martini will officially launch a new saddlestitching line at Drupa, PrintWeek can exclusively reveal. Details of the line are being kept tightly under wraps, but it is understood to be an upgrade to BravoPlus, one of the company's...

1,000th Buhrs wrapper sold.
May 1, 2008... Mailing equipment manufacturer Buhrs is to ship its 1,000th paper and polywrapping system, a Buhrs 4000. The machine will go to DIAM, the logistics division of French company La Redoute, and is due to be installed later this month. ...

Continua claims PageMailer 18000 is its fastest finishing kit to date.
May 1, 2008... Finishing equipment supplier Continua has launched what it claims is its fastest one-piece mailing line to date at this week's International Direct Marketing Fair. At the event, which took place at Earls Court from 29 April to 1 May, the...

ProCo's Horizon spend 'halves binding times'.(Horizon VAC-Turbo Power-Collating)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... B2 and digital specialist ProCo Print has installed a Horizon VAC-Turbo Power-Collating line from GAE. According to the Sheffield-based company, the new machine has helped it 'slash' bindery production times by around 50%. It has also...

Mills seek more hikes as strong euro hits Q1.(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Paper's biggest mills are looking for further price rises after a strong euro and the rising cost of raw materials hit their first-quarter figures. Stora Enso posted a 66% drop in first-quarter profit excluding non-recurring items for...

Work standstill at fire-hit mill.
May 1, 2008... Production at St Regis Paper Company's Kemsley mill has not yet resumed after fire-fighters were called out to tackle a major blaze at the site last week. More than 100 firefighters were called out to the fire, which broke out at one of...

Arjowiggins ups price of carbonless sheets.
May 1, 2008... Arjowiggins Carbonless Papers will increase the price of its Idem Superior carbonless sheets products by 6% as of 1 June. The firm said strong and continuous increases in pulp, raw materials and energy costs were behind the rise. The...

Arctic Paprer launches upgrade.
May 1, 2008... Arctic Paper has launched an upgraded Amber Preprint, with higher whiteness and opacity, to the European market. The firm has upgraded the whiteness of the woodfree, uncoated paper from 160 CIE to 167 CIE. An FSC certified option is also...

New products to be launched at Drupa.
May 1, 2008... Mitsubishi HiTec Paper will launch a number of new products at Drupa 2008. Exhibiting in Hall 9, stand C04, the firm will cover the full graphical workflow with proofing, software, CTP and printing products. The carbonless, inkjet and thermal...

Prizes awarded.
May 1, 2008... PaperCo's Dixon & Roe and Southern Paper managing director Keith Davies has awarded prizes to this year's Brief Encounters students. Gold winners include Shunjiro Miyaki for a packaging brief, Daniela Di Franco for a calendar brief, and a...

Keeping it in the family.
May 1, 2008... James Cropper has appointed Mark Cropper as deputy chairman. He joined the board in 2006, and is the sixth generation of the Cropper family to be involved in the business

The James McNaughton Group adds HannoArt ..(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... The James McNaughton Group has added the HannoArt triple blade coated range to its FSC portfolio, following an increase in demand for chain of custody-certified products. The range is available in silk and gloss finishes, in sizes SRA2 to B1,...

Clarifoil gains OK Compost Certificate.
May 1, 2008... Clarifoil, the cellulose acetate film for carton windows, print lamination and labels, has gained the OK Compost Certificate as a home compostable material. It already holds DIN EN 13432 and ASTM D6400 biodegradable accreditation. Clarifoil is...

Contract update.(English Heritage)
May 1, 2008... English Heritage is on the hunt for five litho and two web-offset printers to handle its print work in a four-year contract worth pounds 1m per year. The organisation's marketing, educational and guidebook materials will be produced by B1...

Client audit: Gensler.
May 1, 2008... Gensler is a design firm with 34 offices around the world. It was established in 1966 and its London office was opened in 1988. Kirsten Rothey is the company's print buyer. She is responsible for outsourcing the company's print, which...

Editorial: Workers pay the price in B&T's battle of wills.(Editorial)
May 1, 2008... Sad news this week; after 145 years Butler and Tanner printed its final sheet last Friday. Although the closure was sudden, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise - the relationship between Unite (the union) and B&T chairman Mike Dolan...

Comment: Premeditations on the printed word.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Few people would disagree that a world of difference exists between the spoken and written words. It is a truism that still has the ability to shock from time to time. My most recent shock occurred after giving an interview for an oral archive...

Comment: Talking business - Bringing your workforce up to speed should be a question of when, not if.
May 1, 2008... PrintWeek readers are familiar with the ongoing debate on how print should tackle its skills shortages. While I think the industry is generally united on key issues such as the need to embrace the best technology and to become more...

Comment: Technically Speaking - Agfa must keep its options open as major shareholder demands action.
May 1, 2008... There is no doubt that times are tough for suppliers to the graphic arts market, but for one major supplier, Agfa, times appear particularly tough. This is not just shown in its recent financial results, but also in public speculation and...

Analysis: Print and elections - Postal vote system needs overhauling.
May 1, 2008... William Mitting and Simon Nias investigate how the system can become a credible election tool. If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it may also be littered with postal votes. Conceived to encourage voters to have their say...

Better business: Sales and marketing - United or divided?
May 1, 2008... Philip Chadwick reveals why sales and marketing should work together to get the most out of their disciplines. On the face of it, you might think that sales and marketing departments are very different. Sales is packed full of go-getters...

Drupa Preview: Paper & Consumables - Making the most of your materials.
May 1, 2008... The soaring price of natural resources has weighed heavily on the print industry, but this year's show will highlight just how you can rein in some of those costs and prosper, writes Philip Chadwick. With the print industry under intense...

Product Portfolio: Product of the week - Ibis Smart-Binder.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2008... With its robust, high-quality British engineering, this multi-tasker is one of the binding sector's best-kept secrets, says Karen Charlesworth. The Ibis is a strange bird. A saddlestitcher that can also adhesive bind? Or a saddlestitcher...

Product Portfolio: Me & My ... Heidelberg Anicolor.
May 1, 2008... Neil Alderson of Alderson Brothers Print Group believes fast makereadies, reliability and colour consistency put this press in a league of its own. - What does the machine do? It prints four-colour process with a coat up to B3. -...

Product Portfolio: Tried & Tested - Bobst SP 102-SE.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2008... Built with simplicity in mind, this die-cutter incorporated the flexibility to integrate the latest technological advances, discovers Nosmot Gbadamosi. Accessibility is an important word to manufacturers. How accessible a product is to the...

Product Portfolio: Buyers' Guide - Secondhand dealers.(Buyers guide)
May 1, 2008... Secondhand dealers are working in increasingly small teams, but their main market remains global export, discovers Nosmot Gbadamosi. The benefits of buying used machines have never been greater, according to Mark Sheldrick, managing...

Product Portfolio: Joanne's help line - Newsprint quality & scanning images.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2008... Joanne Gardner tracks down the solutions to your print problems. Q: I've just taken on a job producing a small regional newspaper and it's our first time printing on newsprint. We've noticed that our photographic output, particularly in the...

Product Portfolio: Technical Tutorial - Credit checks.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Credit checks should be performed regularly, usually once a year, on all of the companies that you are extending credit to. Unfortunately, the printing industry is rife with serial credit abusers, so it is essential that you know the companies...

Product Portfolio: Diary.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2008... MAY Cost reduction through lean workshop Date: 7 May Venue: Heidelberg, Tamworth Cost: pounds 195+VAT; pounds 175+VAT (BPIF members) Contact: Vision in Print www.visioninprint.co.uk 020 7915 8320 Buying or selling a print business...

EU tenders.(Public notice)
May 1, 2008... Please read the important notes below as PrintWeek cannot supply any additional information or pass on your details. These tenders are abridged. It is essential that you obtain a full copy of the tender before contacting any of the...

Post Script: Q&A - Sam Neal.(Interview)
May 1, 2008... Sam Neal is managing director of Geoff Neal Litho. He followed his father, the company's founder, into print, and says, given the chance, he would travel back to ancient Rome - by the sounds of things in a Land Rover. - Why did you get...

Post Script: Business meeting puts printer out in the cold.
May 1, 2008... This week Post Script was reminded of Cool Runnings - the 1993 film based on the first Jamaican bobsleigh team trying to make it to the winter Olympics - when news broke that Scott Allaway, sales director at London-based Xenith Document...

Post Script: Memory Lane.
May 1, 2008... ONE YEAR AGO: West Ferry faced further woes as the Telegraph planned to move its printing to News International... Stora Enso was rumoured to want to merge with or buy M-real... Consultation over 30 redundancies at Wyndeham Impact began......

Post Script: Print's Past - Cooper Black.
May 1, 2008... It is just over 75 years since Cooper Black first rolled off the printing presses. It is a prime example of a contemporary Fat Face, designed by Oswald B Cooper for the American Typefounders in 1921. An extra bold face with blurry serifs...

Prinovis reaches peak capacity at Speke site.
May 8, 2008... Europe's newest gravure supersite, the Prinovis plant in Speke, Liverpool, is now in full production. Printing officially started on 1 July 2006, eight months after construction began. As of 1 May, all four presses at the Speke...

Ex-Communisis chief joins HH board.(HH Associates appoints Guillaume Feuillette)(Brief article)
May 8, 2008... HH Associates has bolstered its overseas team with the appointment of Guillaume Feuillette, the former head of Communisis in France. He joins the Surrey-based print management company's board and, in his role as managing director for...

Fujifilm boasts turnover increase.(Financial report)(Brief article)
May 8, 2008... Fujifilm's Graphic Arts division reported a 7% increase in turnover in its year-end results last week, beating the group-wide rise of 2.3%. In the UK, Fujifilm Graphic Systems exceeded the division's results in terms of both volume and...

Funds raised for Prince's Trust.
May 8, 2008... The newspaper industry has raised over pounds 11,000 for The Prince's Trust at the 2008 Newspaper Awards held at the London Hilton on 22 April. The fundraising event was organised by Fujifilm. Prizes for this year's charity draw were picked by...

Christian Schwarzejoins GMG.
May 8, 2008... GMG, the German supplier of high-end colour management, has taken on Christian Schwarze as sales director. He has previously worked for Heidelberg, NexPress and Kodak

UK Minuteman Group installs Presstek DI.
May 8, 2008... The UK Minuteman Group has installed its first Presstek DI digital offset press at its franchise operation in Edinburgh. Richard Dinnes, principal of the Edinburgh branch, said: 'We hope to introduce a second shift to have the press in...