Printing World articles from April 2001

Printing World archives from April 2001

Gretag sheds jobs as losses hit.
April 2, 2001... Swiss imaging company Gretag Imaging warns it will lay off 340 jobs in Europe and the US mainly in its minilabs business, due to unforeseen 2000 losses of SwF46m (#18.6m). The firm says: "The problems encountered in the second half of 2000...

Canon links with NexPress.
April 2, 2001... NexPress is to collaborate with Canon to extend open standards intended to enable a more seamless exchange of digital data between office and commercial printing markets. The aim is to allow large commercial printers together with inhouse...

Small print signing up for ctp.
April 2, 2001... In a sign that smaller printers are starting to embrace computer to plate technology, HighWater has supplied its 100th ctp device. The buyer was Ortek Colour Printers in Walsall. The company has expanded its print capacity with a five-unit...

Nuffield goes digital in preparation for ctp.
April 2, 2001... Nuffield Press in Abingdon has decided to prepare a digital workflow before moving to ctp. It has spent #60,000 on a management information system from Tharstern and has allocated #500,000 to future prepress investments this year which...

Zeta for Beswick.
April 2, 2001... Zanders Fine Papers has made FJ Beswick official stockist of the Zeta range. The uncoated paper is available in weights 70-260gsm for stationary and text and cover applications. Zeta is available in wove, laid, linen, fibres and hammer finishes...

Cropper's ISO14001.
April 2, 2001... Kendal papermaker James Cropper has been awarded with the environmental management standard ISO14001. BSI area manager John Kirkham (second left) made the official presentation of the award to chairman James Cropper (second left) and...

Swatch teaser.
April 2, 2001... Sappi Nash Mills has launched a pearlescent finish in its Vanguard range. The portfolio comprises 20 different finishes. Nash Mills' marketing manager Paula Birch says: "The pearlescent mailer was designed to act as a teaser to the swatch. The...

Norske Skog buys Pacifica.
April 2, 2001... The Canadian arm of the second largest newsprint producer in the world has announced its intention to acquire Pacifica Papers to further North American expansion. The bid from Norske Skog Canada indicates a value of around $700 per tonne...

Publication paper set to slow down.
April 2, 2001... Annual growth in mechanical publication papers is set to slow down over the next three years, according to Cepiprint's Demand-Supply Report for Newsprint & Magazine Paper Grades. Over the past decade, the capacity of newsprint, SC magazine...

Translucent paper Xpose.
April 2, 2001... Arjo Wiggins Fine Papers has developed a new range of translucent papers to meet the increasing demand for interesting direct mailers and tactile coloured brochures. The Xpose range comprises 12 colours, including three metallics and an...

Praise from Abbey.
April 2, 2001... Abbey Press in Halstead claims that thermal is the right route for ctp. The company has taken delivery of a Kodak 3043 inkjet proofer and a Heidelberg Trendsetter 3230 with Delta workflow. Managing director Mick Smith has chosen Electra thermal...

Hampton Sakurai.
April 2, 2001... Hampton commercial printer Aquatint has celebrated its 20th anniversary with the installation of a new Sakurai perfecting press. The Oliver 258 EP11 was chosen for fast makeready and auto wash-up features. Owner Roger Severn (pictured) says the...

Halcyon invests.
April 2, 2001... Halcyon has continued to invest in direct mail with the purchase of two Buhrs BB300 eight-station enclosing machines supplied by Computermail, Basingstoke. Halcyon direct mail general manager Neil Pike says: "Since their installation they have...

Dicopress takes Studio One into digital print.
April 2, 2001... Studio One Origination has expanded from prepress to print with the installation of a Dicopress 500 from MAN Roland. The London company has been running for 12 years and had become a specialist in a range of design and repro activities....

Rip critical to digital printing says Aston.
April 2, 2001... Aston Digital Print in Belfast has installed Northern Ireland's first Xerox DocuColor 2045 to be driven by an EfI Fiery controller. The company was established last year by Taggart Aston, a man with a background in traditional print. He...

Taiga aids imposition.
April 2, 2001... Lynhurst Press, a small specialist commercial printer in Romford, has installed a Screen PlateRite 4000B2 external drum thermal plate recorder, driven by a TaigaSpace workflow. Operations manager Steve Samuels says: "With powerful Taiga...

Invest or die warns DWO.
April 2, 2001... Duncan Web Offset's factory manager John Gissing has issued a stern warning about the need to bring in new equipment. He says: "Print companies need to invest wisely now or they won't be around in five years' time." The Maidstone magazine...

Hunt is on for laminator.
April 2, 2001... Hunt Graphics Europe has just finished extensive beta trials of a two- directional laminator. The Seal 6500 can laminate out to widths of almost 2m at speeds of 4.5m per minute. The beta site testing has been carried out at Lea Valley...

FAE's Accent on automation.
April 2, 2001... After a number of years working with prototypes, the German narrow width web press manufacturer Form All Edelmann has decided to launch the Accent, a B3 sheetfed press. No stranger to sheetfed presses, FAE manufactured the Practica press...

Abbess integrated by IT.
April 2, 2001... Integration Technology, widely known for supplying uv curing within general industry applications has decided to expand into the graphic arts. To do this, it has taken over much of the product range of Abbess Dryers, which went into voluntary...

Tempatron flexible tower lights go digital.
April 2, 2001... A new range of digitally driven tower lights have recently been launched by Tempatron, Reading. The lamps can be supplied for pole, flange or bracket mounting and feature a range of five easily exchangeable modules. Tempatron believes...

Waste not, want not.
April 2, 2001... With waste volumes growing by about 2% a year, companies need to be more careful than ever to comply with the law By Tim McGuire One man's meat is another man's poison, a truism of the waste management industry. The Key Note research...

There may be trouble ahead.
April 2, 2001... Pay at all levels, industry changes and the threat of recession - Printing World opens up part one of its exclusive Salary Survey 2001 By Catherine Carter Discussing salaries with your colleagues is still very much a taboo subject. After...

Muddy waters.
April 2, 2001... Image capture encompasses a barrel load of technology. Which way now for images to reach the printed page? By Laurel Brunner As we hurtle through the binary time space continuum, our obsession with all things digital is becoming...

Lines of communication.
April 2, 2001... While the industry may not have fallen in love with managed file transfer, awareness is growing By Gareth Ward Despite the great efforts of Wam!Net, Vio and the like, the vast majority of digital files in this country are transferred by...

Big boys buoyant while bottom end is left short.
April 2, 2001... It is a tale of two industries in varnishing and encapsulating, with the larger operators enjoying longer and longer runs, leaving the smaller jobs to the local, back street finisher. The Encapsulating Company, one of the larger players in...

St Ives - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... Chris Cowley has joined St Ives Direct as northern sales director for commercial web reporting to Neil Pigot, who has overall responsibility for sales for the division. Mr Cowley joins from the Pindar Group where, in addition to sales, he was...

De La Rue - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... A career path which has included a number of large multinational companies has culminated in the role of group director of human resources at De La Rue for Graham Maundrell. Jobs at APV and Perkins Engines led to Mr Maundrell's previous...

Pims - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... Gary Kimberley, former sales director at The Stationery Office, has signed for London N1 print, fulfilment and distribution company Pims as sales and marketing director. He joins from Haymarket Publishing where he was sales and publishing...

Plastotype - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... Promotion within Plastotype sees Andy Beesley become technical sales director for the photopolymer plate division within the UK. He will work with fellow directors Mel Hancock and Derek Pomeroy. Copyright: United Business Media...

Litho Supplies - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... Litho Supplies has a new non-executive director in Bernard Clark, former investment director of Lloyds Bank group pension schemes and a director of Lloyds Merchant Bank. Copyright: United Business Media International Ltd.

Jac - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... Self-adhesive labels producer Jac, Slough, has hired Keith Scott as area roll label sales manager covering the north of England and Scotland. He joins from Blue Star Printers where he served as general manager. Mr Scott has almost two decades...

C&R Printing - Appointments.
April 2, 2001... C&R Printing Services, Leicester, part of the Printing People Group, has promoted Lee Parkin to marketing manager after eight years with the company. Other appointments include Elizabeth Ashford as a marketing general assistant, Tim Parker as...

Image Colourprint - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... The repro department of Image Colourprint, Willerby, has a new man in charge. Graham Stamp becomes repro manager responsible for a staff of 11. Mr Stamp has been an associate director of City Ensign, Hull, and was latterly repro manager for...

MAN Roland - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... MAN Roland has appointed Ingo Koch to the post of deputy member for financial management, information technology and legal affairs. Dr Koch has been in charge of financial reporting throughout the group and for the commercial management of the...

Indigo Europe - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... John MacFarlane is the new customer relationship management director for Indigo Europe, being promoted from UK national sales manager. Prior to joining Indigo, Mr MacFarlane, a member of the Picon council, was UK managing director for Kodak...

UPM-Kymmene - Appointments.
April 2, 2001... Three top appointments have been announced by paper company UPM- Kymmene. Vesa Vainio becomes chairman, with Gustaf Serlachius and Carl Amon III assuming the roles of vice chairmen. Another change sees Heinz- Hermann Behrens being made...

Baldwin Technology - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... Shelton, Connecticut company Baldwin Technology has a new president and chief operating officer in John Heald, a former Sappi executive vice president. Copyright: United Business Media International Ltd.

Presstek - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... A move from CreoScitex to Presstek in the US has been completed by Stan Njamr. He is now director of direct imaging marketing having previously been advanced products' marketing director. Copyright: United Business Media International Ltd.

Net-link Publishing Solutions - Appointment.
April 2, 2001... US dotcom Net-link Publishing Solutions has taken on Ron Stephens for the role of national sales director, North America. He heads a 12- strong sales team. Copyright: United Business Media International Ltd.

The cv.
April 2, 2001... David Wilson, General manager at Colourbus How long have you been in your present job? Since February 1999. Before that I worked for Xerox developing the market for colour printing based on laser technology. From 1997 to 1998 I was in...

Purup-Eskofot in black.
April 2, 2001... Purup-Eskofot is back in the black, with a 30% increase in turnover thanks to ctp products. Turnover at the Danish pre-press company has increased by DKr200m (#16.5m) from DKr679m (#56m) in 1999 to DKr884m (#73m) in 2000. President and...

Carwin diversifies.
April 2, 2001... UK print management company Carwin is branching out into promotional merchandise marketing in a bid to increase turnover by #10m a year. The firm already produces #40m in revenues but plans to add CD replication, merchandising and direct...

Hainsworth in charge.
April 2, 2001... Harland Simon has a new managing director, Mark Hainsworth, who has been at the company for four years and currently runs its US operations. Deputy managing director is Peter Cox, in charge of IT for the last ten years. The new...

Brown resigned.
April 2, 2001... Darren Brown, owner of print broker Uni-Form and Forms Direct, has resigned as chairman of Chesterfield FC, which is being investigated by the Football Association for "financial irregularities." Vice-chairman Paul Grafton, a director of the...

Millions of magazines.
April 2, 2001... Wyndeham Press Group has signed a 27 million run magazine contract with C&B Communications, the contract publisher which recently underwent an mbo. Most of the work will go to Argent Colour and ET Heron. Copyright: United Business Media...

Maxwell report points finger of blame.
April 2, 2001... The Robert Maxwell saga could finally be laid to rest next week with the publication of the DTI's report into the Mirror Group Newspapers flotation and how an estimated #400m disappeared from pension funds. Commissioned in 1992, the 1,200...

Smurfit accused of excess.
April 2, 2001... Jefferson Smurfit has rejected accusations that chairman and chief executive Michael Smurfit's #4.1m pay packet is excessive, as the packaging company talks to the GPMU about job cuts in Dublin, on top of 200 redundancies in the UK last year....

Yale Press comes in with The Ark.
April 2, 2001... Yale Press has completed the printing of a 16 page brochure for The Ark in Hammersmith, London, as part of a major marketing initiative for the building. The brochure, printed on Novatech Silk, was designed by GKA and designer Kevin Andrews...

Health check up.
April 2, 2001... TPL Printers, part of the Times Publishing Group's print division, has awarded occupational health company Performance Through Health its health inspection contract. Performance Through Health will help TPL Printers to establish an...

Charity trekker.
April 2, 2001... Paula French, a part-time sales administrator at Newton Press, Spalding, hopes to raise at least #2,500 in seven months to win a place on a Himalayan charity trek. Ms French, 33, wants to raise money for Whiz-Kidz which buys mobility aids for...

Inveresk update.
April 2, 2001... The latest round in the battle for Inveresk has seen Scottish Widows' Investment Partnership having a "material notifiable interest" in 3.321% of the ordinary share capital of the company accounting for 3,301,000 shares. Meanwhile, Klippan of...

Kent Litho expands with KBAs.
April 2, 2001... Kent Litho, currently located in Rochester, is expanding with a #1m move into a larger factory that will house two new KBA presses. When the move to an 8,500 sq ft factory at Gillingham Business Park is complete, the company will change its...

M&S catalogues axed from Axel.
April 2, 2001... A contract for almost 50 million catalogues a year is to be scrapped following Marks & Spencer's decision to close its Direct catalogue business. The main loser will be Axel Springer, a German company with a gravure factory in Hamburg that...

Donside rescue bid.
April 2, 2001... Rescue could be at hand for the troubled Donside paper mill near Aberdeen which has been in receivership since December. Neither receiver Iain Bennet of PricewaterhouseCoopers nor Mike Duckett, managing director of Donside, would say...

Johnston to retire after 28 years.
April 2, 2001... Fred Johnston has announced his decision to retire from the Johnston Press group after 28 years in the chairman's seat at the annual meeting on April 27. Mr Johnston has been instrumental in building Johnston Press into a powerhouse of the...

Printer in lilo killing.
April 2, 2001... A printer from Chelmsford has been sentenced to four years' imprisonment for killing his transsexual brother-in-law and chaining the body to a lilo and casting it out to sea. Charles Halfacree, 37, killed Bryan Hooley by accident in an...

MIS for the WSJ.
April 2, 2001... Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal has begun installing a new MIS to its 17 printing sites in the US. The Prima.net system has been supplied by Milton Keynes newspaper system specialist Harland Simon. The WSJ claims the system will...

Papermill jobs go.
April 2, 2001... Papermaker James Cropper plans to cut 20 jobs as it foresees significant losses for the full year due to "adverse trading conditions in the fourth quarter". The papermaking division has been suffering from the weak euro and import penetration....

Goss scores.
April 2, 2001... To meet demand for stylish new colour supplements, the Liverpool Daily Post & Echo has installed six four-colour Goss presses at a cost of #10m. The newspaper claims that the recent launch of its weekend supplement Daysix called for new colour...

MPs call for BT ads ban.
April 2, 2001... Thirty-two MPs have signed an Early Day Motion calling for local authorities to be given the power to ban advertising on telephone kiosks. A campaign against the adverts is being led by the Civic Trust which, if successful, could spell bad...

Oce on track for short run papers.
April 2, 2001... Oce made a surprise entrance into the short run newspaper market last week, unveiling a digital system that can produce newspapers on normal newsprint, and for the first time allow publishers to sell them at the same price as the offset...

WH Smith signs up with Microsoft for e-books.
April 2, 2001... E-books made a major advance last week, with the signing of a deal between book chain WH Smith and Microsoft at the London Book Fair that will put hundreds of downloadable e-books on sale through the WH Smith website. At least 1,000 titles...

Heidelberg shares sale.
April 2, 2001... Heidelberg plans to bring more shares into the international marketplace following the news that RWE is to sell up to 6.15% of its 56.15% holding. Chairman Bernhard Schreier says the company "is well on the way to becoming a candidate for Dax"...

Money wanted.
April 2, 2001... US inkjet manufacturer Accent Color Sciences is looking for additional funds to expand but cautioned that conditions would make 2001 a more difficult year. For 2000, revenues doubled to $14.58m. The net loss for 2000 was $1.88m, compared to a...

Ascot acquired.
April 2, 2001... US inkmaker Ascot has been bought by Dow Chemical in a deal thought to be worth #320m. Ascot operates in a number of sectors but has recently been expanding its printing inks business. Copyright: United Business Media International Ltd.

Pitch for postcards.
April 2, 2001... The ownership of Cornwall postcard and brochure printer Beric Tempest has been transferred to its management team in an undisclosed deal. As the HH Tempest Group has decided to concentrate on its core photography business, chairman and...

Celloglas goes big despite slump.
April 2, 2001... Despite a recent decline in sales, Celloglas, the varnishing and lamination group, is pressing on with an acquisition programme and is concentrating some of its operations in larger, more modern premises. "Sales were 3% down in January and...

Omnia changes tack.
April 2, 2001... With a new B-format Timson press due to go into production in the next couple of weeks, alongside the Variquik installed towards the end of last year, Omnia Books in Glasgow is changing its business strategy. The first sign of the new...

Polton Press provokes plenty of interest.
April 2, 2001... There have already been a number of enquiries to receiver Arthur Andersen from parties interested in taking over Polton Press in Lasswade, near Edinburgh. The business, which employs some 30 staff, went into receivership on March 20. Joint...

Polaris for China.
April 2, 2001... China's Yangcheng Evening Newspaper Group has bought four additional Polaris ctp systems from Agfa, following a first installation in 1998. The deal includes three Polaris 200 and a Polaris 100 machine. Copyright: United Business Media...

O'Shea for Indigo.
April 2, 2001... Indigo has announced that Pat O'Shea has been appointed the digital printing specialist for Ireland. A well known figure in the Irish marketplace, Mr O'Shea has worked for Agfa for five years and The Repro Centre Group. Copyright: United...

Pride of place.
April 2, 2001... Xerox has named the Rochester Software Associates in the US as its Software Partner of the Year. The award was presented for 2000 sales and quality achievements and recognises the significant contribution of a partner to the Xerox digital...

Pink Pelican.
April 2, 2001... Pelican Press in Manchester has won the contract to print the time- critical Manchester Evening News' Sunday Pink football flyers. Pelican can run off 10,000 Sunday Pink flyers within an hour of receiving artwork via ISDN. Copyright:...

Donnelley jobs at risk in US economic downturn.
April 2, 2001... RR Donnelley insists that restructuring in the US, which may put up to 1,000 jobs at risk, will not affect the Flaxby factory in the UK. Although RR Donnelley in the US claims it has been affected by a softening economy, forcing the company...

Pollution guides.
April 2, 2001... The new pollution prevention law for paper mills has received a 100% response from the industry. The Environment Agency has been working with the paper sector for nearly three years on the introduction of the Integrated Pollution,...

Consignia starts trading under a cloud.
April 2, 2001... The Post Office began trading under the Consignia name last week amid doubts as to how much competition the company will have in a deregulated market. The company faces the prospect of competition for the first time in 350 years over mail...

Cream of the crop.
April 2, 2001... A new shade of Hello paper is now available from the Robert Horne Group. Hello Silk Creme is an off-white silky paper for a wide range of applications. The paper is available and is triple-blade coated. Robert Horne marketing manager Steve...

BPI reeling from loss.
April 2, 2001... British Polythene Industries, having seen off a takeover bid by Macfarlane, has something new to worry about: a pretax loss of #24.6m in 2000. The loss contrasts with a profit of #19.3m in 1999. Sales are also down, from #451.8m to...

Bloomsbury blooming.
April 2, 2001... Bloomsbury Publishing has been receiving a lot of good publicity recently and most it thanks to Harry Potter. The company's share price and profits have grown as rapidly as sales of JK Rowling's four novels, helping the group win the vote...

UPM-Kymmene records record profits in 2000.
April 2, 2001... Profits at Finnish forest products group UPM-Kymmene reached record levels in 2000, and its North American and Chinese expansion plans are proving successful, the company has reported. Profit was E1.717bn in 2000, compared with E1.4bn in 1999....

Bowater first quarter to be down.
April 2, 2001... US newsprint producer Bowater has announced that it expects first quarter profits to be in the range of 50 to 60 cents a share, below the first call consensus of 76 cents a share. Results will be hit by production curtailments in newsprint...

Compulsory winding up.
April 2, 2001... The following cases are due to be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL * RDL Printing Ltd 62 Beresford Street, Woolwich, London SE18 6BG on April 4 at 10.30am. Petition by Inland Revenue * Northgate Press Ltd...

Appointment of liquidators.
April 2, 2001... * And Cartographic Publishers Ltd Book publisher. Liquidators: R Keyes and F Wessely, Chantrey Vellacott, 81 Station Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire SL7 1SX * The Links Photo Lab Ltd Reprographic filming. Liquidator: P Gotham, Begbies...