Print Week articles from September 2008

Print Week archives from September 2008

Heidelberg to close Leeds site as part of restructuring plans.
September 26, 2008... Heidelberg is set to close its Leeds site with the loss of 20 jobs as part of a UK-wide restructuring plan designed to reposition the company and 'set it up for the next stage of development'. From early next year, the UK arm of the...

Lloyds/HBOS merger prompts consolidation fear.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Lloyds TSB's proposed merger with HBOS will 'inevitably' lead to a consolidation of the companies' print operations, according to industry experts. While the banks' in-house print sites would likely be most affected by a strategic...

Next is latest to bring print buying in-house.
September 26, 2008... Clothing retailer Next has become the latest big brand to bring its print management in-house, ending a nine-year deal with Internext Associates. The move has come just two months after broadcaster Sky brought its contract in-house from...

Axe falls on Rowe and its 50 staff.(Cornwall print company)(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Almost 50 staff are believed to have lost their jobs following the closure of a Cornwall print company. Hayle-based Rowe the Printers ceased trading on 12 September, with a 'closed' message left on the gates to the site. According to...

Trinity plan sparks Unite campaign.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Unite has launched a campaign to stop Trinity Mirror's plan to relocate its Liverpool print site to Oldham. Trinity announced earlier this month that it would close the plant, moving its North West portfolio, which includes the Liverpool...

In brief: MP of Islwyn tours company Pensord.
September 26, 2008... Pensord welcomed Don Touhig, MP of South Wales Valleys constituency Islwyn, earlier this month for a tour around the facility. Touhig said: 'From what I've seen and heard on my visit, Pensord is an excellent company that has a fantastic team...

In brief: Sixty Mile Publishing Company to launch Greenwise, a new B2B title.
September 26, 2008... The Sixty Mile Publishing Company is to launch GreenWise, a new B2B title discussing developments, opportunities and sustainable solutions for businesses. The quarterly publication will appear in the first quarter of 2009 with an initial...

In brief: Appointment at Buxton Press.
September 26, 2008... Buxton Press has appointed James Marsden as its new commercial manager. Buxton's chairman and chief executive Bernard Galloway said: 'We are creating a challenging and exciting business environment for our senior management so they can...

Fastsigns Chelmsford manager named national finalist in annual Franchisee of the Year Awards.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Fastsigns Chelmsford manager Jenny Boreham has been named a national finalist in the annual British Franchise Associations Franchisee of the Year Awards. Boreham, who acquired the Chelmsford digital and signage printer in 1996, is in line for...

Flint Group announces successful first-year sales for its Varn Pro-Web Titanium silcone emulsion.(Financial report)
September 26, 2008... Flint Group has announced successful first-year sales for its Varn Pro-Web Titanium silicone emulsion, following its launch in 2007. The emulsion is designed to remoisten the web on presses and has been used at Garnett Dickinson on some of...

Appointment at Roland DG (UK).
September 26, 2008... Roland DG (UK) has placed 'the final piece of its UK jigsaw' after appointing Martin Phillips in the newly-created position of director of sales. Phillips, previously European sales and marketing director at Samsung's supplies division, is...

Clearpoint Print Services in no way associated with VCS (Clearpoint).
September 26, 2008... PrintWeek would like to make it clear that Clearpoint Print Services is in no way associated with VCS (Clearpoint), which traded as Clearpoint Colourprint and went into administration last week (PrintWeek, 19 September). Basford,...

Abbotts saved in TWRM deal as VCS sister companies are closed.
September 26, 2008... VCS Abbotts Creative Print has been sold out of administration to newly-formed company TWRM Print, as sister companies VCS (Wayzgoose) and VCS (Clearpoint), which traded as Clearpoint Colourprint, close. Abbotts was initially spared...

Administrator claims Gills owe Capital pounds 1.6m.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... The insolvency practitioner dealing with the administration of Capital Print and Display has frozen the assets of the company's former owners - David Gill and eight members of his family. Begbies Traynor's David Hudson, who is Capital's...

Blue hires former Colin Clapp staff to boost DM.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Recently relocated Blue Printing has increased its direct mail capacity by taking on former staff of failed mailing house Colin Clapp. Blue has taken on around 20 staff from Colin Clapp, which went into administration last month. ...

ImageData completes pounds 6m site development.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... ImageData Group has targeted 'steady growth' in its digital division following the completion of a pounds 6m investment in a purpose-built 6,225m2 facility in East Yorkshire. The development of the new site is part of an ongoing push to...

Fry tipped for Johnston job.
September 26, 2008... Archant chief executive John Fry has been tipped to replace Tim Bowdler at the helm of Johnston Press when he retires next year. Bowdler announced his plans to retire in 2009 last year and Johnston has said that a successor will be...

Payout for laid-off B&T staff.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Workers who lost their jobs when Butler and Tanner (B&T) closed earlier this year have been awarded pounds 1,200 each by an employment tribunal in Bristol. Almost 290 staff were put out of work when the book printer was closed by Media &...

Photobox signs photo-printing deals with Boots and Cdiscount.(online retailer Cdiscount )(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Photobox has signed two new mega-deals with UK high street chemist Boots and French online retailer Cdiscount to become both companies' exclusive online photo printing partner. Both deals are the culmination of lengthy relationships, as...

Record Breakers.(Base3)(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Base3, the Argentina-based printer, has been commended by Guinness World Records for producing the world's biggest printed digital image The company celebrated with photographer Robert Ruiz, its partner in the scheme. The 60mx20m poster...

ID card production cut back amid union unrest.
September 26, 2008... The controversial national ID Cards scheme has been hit by further setbacks following widespread union unrest and the curtailing of the initial production run. The scheme would lead to the biggest security printing run ever completed if...

Windles averts major disaster.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Swift action by the fire brigade coupled with an early warning alarm has saved an Aylesbury printer from disaster. Firefighters were called to Windles Printers on the Long Crendon Industrial Estate at 2.45am on Thursday 18 September. ...

Theft charge for Typolac worker.
September 26, 2008... A man has been charged with the theft of more than pounds 780,000 from the Lancashire-based printing company where he worked, police have said. David Moore, 40, of Segars Lane, Southport, was arrested on 30 June and has subsequently been...

Reader Reaction: What is your reaction to HS Printers' purchase of MPI firms?
September 26, 2008... We gauge the response to the Goodman Baylis and Borcombe buyouts by industry newcomers. LARGE-FORMAT PRINTER John Grogan, managing director, grgprint.com 'I understand the owners of HS Printers are new to the industry and,...

Burman best-placed to expand media division.
September 26, 2008... FE Burman managing director Michael Burman has said the company is 'where it needs to be' after investing in an HP Indigo 7000 digital press. The London-based printer said it was aiming to grow its communications division, which produces...

Charity turns to printing for help.
September 26, 2008... A homeless charity in Aberdeen has launched a print shop in a bid to raise funds. The Cyrenians, which provides services from advice to relocation to Aberdeen's homeless, has launched Iceberg Arts Design and Print Studio as part of a...

Legal Notices.(Public notice)
September 26, 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 Borcombe SP...

ON TOP OF THE WORLD.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Flag printer Hampshire Flag has supported explorer Lewis Gordon Pugh in his latest mission to the Arctic. The Waterlooville company donated 192 flags which Pugh planted near the North Pole following a 135km kayak through the Arctic ice packs....

Lending to small businesses up defying economic slowdown.
September 26, 2008... High street bank lending to small businesses has increased over the past year, in defiance of the credit crunch and economic slowdown, according to statistics released by the British Banking Association (BBA). The UK banking association...

Creditors plan to sue Quebecor.
September 26, 2008... Creditors of battered print giant Quebecor World have taken legal action to reclaim dollars 376m (pounds 206m) paid to 14 private lenders in the run up to its bankruptcy. The claim, which is seeking permission from US bankruptcy judge...

Difficult trading conditions see 2% dip in Domino's like-for-like sales.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Domino Printing Sciences has reported 'difficult trading conditions' leading to a 2% dip in like-for-like sales for the four-month period to 31 August 2008. While revenues were up overall, thanks to acquisitions completed over the past...

Interest rates are set to drop, say experts.
September 26, 2008... An interest rate cut could come as soon as next month as the price of oil falls and pressure grows on the Bank of England (BoE) to ease the pressure on the UK economy. Minutes from the BoE monthly Monetary Pricing Committee meeting...

Fuji Brillia launch targets green agenda of newspaper houses.
September 26, 2008... Fujifilm has officially launched the newspaper version of its Pro-V chemistry-free digital violet plate, the Brillia Pro-VN, ahead of next month's Ifra Expo. Fujifilm said that the plate's launch was part of a wider strategy to introduce...

YaWah boost to Adobe's Scene7.
September 26, 2008... Adobe has bought the dynamic imaging software developer YaWah to boost its Scene7 graphic asset management workflow. Adobe said the acquisition of the Denmark-based business, which was announced on 15 September, would accelerate the...

Vio set to become browser-based after signing deal with Websend.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Vio Worldwide has signed an exclusive agreement with Websend to place its browser-based platform at the heart of Vio's ad-delivery technology. The deal, which will make Vio's software entirely web native, marks a fundamental departure...

Study finds inaccuracy in colour measurement.(Flemish Innovation Center for Graphic Communications)(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... VIGC, the Flemish Innovation Centre for Graphic Communications, has published the results of its study into the accuracy of spectrophotometers, in which it found deviations of up to a delta E of nearly four. VIGC managing director Eddy...

Xerox launches flagship iGen4 and names first European user.
September 26, 2008... Xerox has officially launched its flagship iGen4 digital colour press to the European market at its 'Aim Higher' event for the iGen User Group and Digital Print User's Forum. The two-day event, held in Barcelona last week, attracted 900...

Perspektiv adds Herbert to staff.
September 26, 2008... DM firm Perspektiv Direct has appointed Karen Herbert as operations manager to oversee the company's targeted direct mail campaigns. Her appointment comes just two months after the business, part of Perspektiv Marketing Group, took on...

Newtech SRL launches debut digital press with four-colour KeraMagic.
September 26, 2008... Newtech SRL has unveiled its debut digital machine, the four-colour KeraMagic, designed for printing directly onto ceramic tiles. The inkjet printer is to be launched in Italy on 30 September at the Tecnargilla 2008 show. It uses...

Roland's VersaUV to get UK debut at TPE.
September 26, 2008... Roland DG has announced its line up for next month's Total Print! Expo (TPE), where it will give UK debuts to its VersaUV LEC-300 printer and cutter and its 64in VersaArt RS-640 printer. The firm said VersaUV LEC-300 is the world's first...

Purfect boosts site move with third Wohlenberg PUR binder.
September 26, 2008... Trade finisher the Purfect Binding Company (PBC) has invested in a Wohlenberg binding line to support its move to larger premises. The Wembley-based company bought its third binder from the German finishing manufacturer, a Master E...

GBC announces its TPE line-up.(GBC Commercial Laminating Solutions Group )(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... GBC Commercial Laminating Solutions Group has announced its line-up for this year's Total Print! Expo. The company, which specialises in on-demand laminating equipment, said the current rising demand for short-run work will help boost...

Questbond buys Horizon binder to support immigration charity deal.
September 26, 2008... Commercial printer Questbond has invested in its first new piece of equipment in years, following a contract win with the Immigration Advisory Service (IAS). Questbond, which has historically bought second-hand kit, bought a new Horizon...

Morgana hails market response to creasers.
September 26, 2008... UK finishing equipment manufacturer Morgana Systems has hailed the global response to its latest DigiFold and DigiCoater machines. The DigiFold 5000P combined creaser/folder has already sold 100 units following its launch at this year's...

Buyers found for ailing Italian paper producer.
September 26, 2008... Private equity houses Orlando Italy and Vepafer have bought struggling Italian papermaker Favini out of administration. Under the terms of the deal, which awaits final approval from a court in Bassano, Italy, Orlando Italy will control...

Mitsubishi HiTec ups paper prices.
September 26, 2008... Mitsubishi HiTec Paper UK has said it will increase the price of its Giroform carbonless paper for both sheets and reels. The coated paper manufacturer said the price of its Giroform sheets will increase by 6% and its Giroform reels by...

Targets shredded.
September 26, 2008... Europe is on target to reach its voluntary 66% paper and board recycling rate by 2010, according to the European Recovered Paper Council (ERPC). In 2007, recycling in Europe reached 64.5% after 60.1m tonnes of paper was recycled. This was an...

In brief: PaperCo's 9lives recycled grade used to produce programme for Barclays Scottish open golf tournament.
September 26, 2008... PaperCo's 9lives recycled grade has been used to produce the 110pp full-colour programme for this year's Barclays Scottish Open golf tournament. The programme was managed by Glasgow-based Solution M, which used four tonnes of 130gsm 9lives 55...

In brief: Robert Horne launches Sustainable Action Group.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Robert Horne has launched its first organisation dedicated to internal and external sustainability initiatives. The Sustainable Action Group has implemented schemes including installing motion sensors that switch off lights automatically when...

In brief: Mondi's colour laser paper Color Copy comes first in three of four markets surveyed by Nielsen.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Mondi's colour laser paper Color Copy has come first in three of four markets surveyed by marketing information company Nielsen. These were for brand image, popularity, recommendability and value for money The survey, which was carried out in...

In brief: Lenzing Papier launches Impact, produced from 100% recycled fibre.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... Lenzing Papier has launched Impact, which the company said is a carbon-neutral grade of papers produced from 100% recycled fibre. The Austrian-based company said the grade is manufactured without chlorine bleaching and is available for laser...

In brief: Arctice Paper's national sales manager for merchants retires.
September 26, 2008... Arctic Paper's national sales manager for merchants, John Lee, has retired at the age of 64, after 44 years in the paper industry. He has spent the last 28 years with Arctic Paper and has also worked at Reeds and Ekman and Cleave. To...

Contract update.
September 26, 2008... - OKI Printing Solutions was, for the second year running, the official print supplier to the International Pairs World Golf Tournament at St Andrews, Scotland. The kit supplier provided on-site, on-demand printing services for the...

Client audit: The National Gallery: The grand tour.
September 26, 2008... The National Gallery was founded in 1824. It houses more than 2,500 paintings - dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 - in Trafalgar Square, London. The gallery has recently undertaken some ambitious print projects that it hopes will...

Editorial: Moral hazard is evident in the rise of pre-packs.(Editorial)
September 26, 2008... With the world's economic problems caused by short-sighted, over-zealous bankers, the occurrence of 'moral hazard' is attracting a lot of analysis. Moral hazard - when an individual or business takes excessive risks because it is not fully...

Comment: Printer's devil - Mergers, deals and depression.
September 26, 2008... - Mega-merger to spark short-term print gain The Lloyds TSB/HBOS deal is bound to generate a lot of printing for someone, what with weighty documents needing to be sent out to their joint customer base of close to 3m people, and that's...

Talking business: Newspapers Comment.
September 26, 2008... News International's supersites could result in a news-printing monopoly. Twenty years ago, the print unions went to battle with News International over a proposed move out of Fleet Street. There is currently massive overcapacity in the...

Newspapers Profile: Trinity mirror - Newspaper print group looks to new business to continue its evolution.
September 26, 2008... Production chief Rupert Middleton tells Adam Hooker how Trinity is rising to its many new challenges. These are changing times for Trinity Mirror. Facing a decline in newspaper circulations and battling against a falling share price, the...

Newspapers Analysis: West ferry - Desmond weighs up his Express options.
September 26, 2008... As the sun sets on mono newspapers, Adam Hooker asks what might become of the iconic site. Upon the completion of its move from West Ferry Printers to News International-subsidiary Newsprinters earlier this month, The Daily Telegraph was...

Show preview: Total print! expo - Wider remit adds a new dimension.
September 26, 2008... Total Print! Expo's organisers promise the show will be bigger and better than any previous London print show. Barney Cox checks out what's on offer and examines if it can live up to the hype. The new Total Print! Expo (TPE) show takes...

Show Preview - Stand guide.(Buyers guide)
September 26, 2008... Addressing and Mailing Solutions (AMS) - Stand 240 www.ams-gb.com AMS is showing the established Challenger production inserting machine with an inline aj3800 eight-head inkjet address printer. Also featured will be the AMS automatic...

Product Portfolio: Product of the Week - Baumann BASA.(Product/service evaluation)
September 26, 2008... By removing paper friction without human intervention, the BASA automatic jogger saves production time, finds Karen Charlesworth. For manufacturers of guillotine flow line equipment, the question of jogging has been an insoluble problem...

Product Portfolio: Me & My ... MB Prestige Foldnet 52.(Y Lolfa)(Interview)
September 26, 2008... Paul Williams, production manager at Welsh-language printer Y Lolfa, has found the new MB folder has upped his firm's competitiveness and output. - What does the machine do? The MB Prestige Foldnet 52, distributed in the UK by Encore...

Product Portfolio: Tried & Tested - Vutek FabriVu.(Product/service evaluation)
September 26, 2008... EFI's dye-sublimination textile printer was well received on the continent but it's still an 'emerging market' over here, discovers Nosmot Gbadamosi. When Nur launched its FabriGraph dye-sublimation press it signalled a change for the...

Product Portfolio: Buyers' Guide - Screen process presses.
September 26, 2008... While screen printing is generally accepted to be in decline it's still big news in some sectors, especially the arts, writes Nosmot Gbadamosi. Suggestions that the screen printing process is on its last legs may be wide of the mark; the...

Product Portfolio: Joanne's help line - Book restoration & mouse matters.(Product/service evaluation)
September 26, 2008... Joanne Gardner tracks down the solutions to your technical troubles. Q: While rooting around in the attic, I found some old encyclopaedias. They're lovely old books and it would be great to have them restored to something like their...

Diary.
September 26, 2008... OCTOBER Total Print! Expo Date: 14-16 October Venue: Earls Court 2 Contact: www.totalprintexpo.com PrintWeek Awards 2008 Date: 20 October Venue: Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London Price: pounds 220 Contact:...

Post Script: Home truths: building a message from print.
September 26, 2008... We all know the story of The Three Little Pigs, and their regrettable choices of house building materials, but this week Post Script is pleased to introduce Sumer Erek, a man who has boldly ignored the moral of the children's tale after...

Post Script: Memory Lane.(Brief article)
September 26, 2008... ONE YEAR AGO Capita poached Communisis print supremo Paul Simpson FIVE YEARS AGO Eclipse Colour Print made its first move into the web market with a 16pp Heidelberg M600... Komori launched a perfecting version of its Lithrone S40 at Igas...

Post Script: Print's Past.
September 26, 2008... Tarte au citron I have to confess to hearing the present story from James Moseley, a fellow typographic historian and retired librarian from St Bride; but as I liked it so much I thought I'd pass on my pleasure. Letterforms can be...

Print newcomers buy MPI firms as group falls to administrators.
September 19, 2008... HS Printers, an investment vehicle formed by two entrepreneurs, emerged last week as the surprise buyer of the operating companies of beleaguered print group Media & Print Investments (MPI), safeguarding the jobs of more than 250 staff. ...

Direct mail sector braced for postal disruption.
September 19, 2008... The direct mail sector was this week bracing itself for three days of strikes by workers at Royal Mail maintenance and security supplier Romec, which the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said could have a 'massive impact on the mail...

Unite warns of news printing monopoly.(Brief article)
September 19, 2008... Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke has voiced his fears for the newspaper printing industry, which he said is heading into a monopoly dominated by publishers that are 'no longer interested in quality journalism'. In a damning...

PAS 2020 results are pushed back.(Brief article)
September 19, 2008... Publication of the consultation results for the controversial PAS 2020 proposed DM standard has been delayed due to the massive response. Alex Walsh, head of postal affairs at the DMA, said it had initially hoped to publish the results of...

HH in pounds 18m extension of IHG deal.(Brief article)
September 19, 2008... HH Associates has signed a three-year contract extension worth pounds 18m with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), amid what it said was a surge in demand for outsourced print. The deal, which is worth three times the value of the...

In brief: Appointment at ESP Colour.
September 19, 2008... ESP Colour has appointed former Friary Press sales director Dawn Ray as associate director. Ray quit her previous job last March after parent company MPI moved Friary into Butler and Tanner's Frome site. In her new role as associate director...

In brief: ODC reveals re-sale and franchise deals signed.
September 19, 2008... On Demand Communications (ODC) has revealed that 25 re-sale and new franchise deals have been signed across its Kall Kwik and Prontaprint franchise networks so far this year. ODC said that this equated to pounds 3.5m of new investment. ODC...

In brief: Graphic Arts Equipment hails open house a success.
September 19, 2008... Graphic Arts Equipment has hailed the success of its open house, held earlier this week at its expanded showroom in Perivale, west London. Joint managing director Bryan Godwyn said: 'All our visitors were very impressed and many found...

In brief: Maincolour rebrands under new identity.
September 19, 2008... Maincolour, the Macclesfield-based digital and litho printer has rebranded under a 'vibrant new identity'. As part of the rebrand, the company produced a boxed hardback puzzle book to accompany a series of colour-coded data-sheets explaining...

In brief: QI Press Controls announces launch of IQMobile.
September 19, 2008... QI Press Controls has announced the launch of IQMobile. The control equipment specialist has teamed up with Apple to launch a mobile version of its management information system. iPhone users will be able to access real time information about...

In brief: Digital Ad Lab's next meeting on 15 October.
September 19, 2008... Digital Ad Lab's next quarterly meeting will be held on 15 October, at 10.15am, at Total Print! Expo in Earls Court 2. The agenda is likely to include an update of DAL's colour initiative and an introduction to the Stationers Digital Group....

In brief: Apex Digital Graphics to hold open house.
September 19, 2008... Apex Digital Graphics will hold a three-day open house next month entitled 'Solutions for Profit - Workshop 3'. The event, which will take place at Apex's Hemel Hempstead headquarters from 7-9 October, will feature a wide range of new and...

'Disintegrating' market forces VCS firms into administration.(BDO Stoy Hayward )(Wayzgoose and Clearpoint )
September 19, 2008... Administrator BDO Stoy Hayward has been appointed to print firms Wayzgoose and Clearpoint following a 'disintegration' of market conditions in the B1 sector. The two businesses are part of pounds 12m-turnover company Visual...

Administrator hopeful for TL Visuals' future.(Brief article)
September 19, 2008... TL Visuals collapse could yet be reversed according to administrators, despite the forced closure of the Bristol-based printer last week. Tim Ball of Mazars, who was forced to cease trading TL Visuals immediately following his...