Printing World articles from February 2002

Printing World archives from February 2002

Corby cuts jobs as volumes fall.(Quebecor World)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Quebecor World in Corby is cutting 97 jobs as a response to falling magazine contracts. The job cuts, equivalent to 10% of the workforce, are "across the board", according to senior management sources and are in response to "over-capacity...

Heidelberg inkjet.(joins forces with Spektra to develop ink jet printer)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Heidelberg has underlined its interest in digital printing by signing a joint development agreement with Spektra, the leading US developer of piezo inkjet technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Heidelberg and Spektra will "work...

Spectrum Flair faces crunch.(future of 210 staff members looking bleak)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... The future for the 210 staff at Northampton printer Spectrum Flair is looking grim, following the appointment of receivers at the firm (Printing World, last week). Although the receivers refused to comment before Printing World went to...

Edotech goes beyond print.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Edotech, the Tewkesbury print management specialist formed through a buyout of the inplant of Barclays Bank, is expanding beyond print into outsourcing services covering almost all areas of a company's operation. The firm calls this...

Donnelley into loss.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... RR Donnelley has made a net loss of $27m after exceptionals in the fourth quarter of 2001, because of restructuring costs and the slump in financial printing, magazines and inserts. A year ago, the giant US printer made a profit of $116m. The...

Record for Canon.(profits)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Canon may have recorded record net profits of Y167.6bn in 2001, but sales of inkjet and laser printers have either fallen or seen low levels of growth. Business machine sales grew by just 1.5% in the US and 6.5% in Europe, but the computer...

Booming in Brum.(Ink Design hires four graphic designers)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Ink Design, the Birmingham printer and design house, has recruited four graphic designers since its move to larger premises at Holloway Head. The company is considering a ctp system and new presses having bought a new four-colour Heidelberg GTO...

Polestar Greaves staff poised for verdict.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Staff at Polestar Greaves will decide this week whether to accept the rescue plan negotiated between Polestar's management and a GPMU team led by deputy general secretary Tony Burke. The deal was due to be put to the workforce on Friday and...

Queen Mum's print charity plunged into uncertainty.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... A charity centre employing 48 disabled people in a range of services, including packaging, ceramics and direct mail fulfilment, may be forced to close because of a #3m shortfall in Government funding. Queen Elizabeth's Foundation in...

Deller on move.(Jack Deller Associates)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Jack Deller Associates, printing recruitment consultancy and strategic business advisor, is moving premises. From February 4, it will be located at 22 Lodge Avenue, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3ND. Tel: 020 8953 5176. Copyright: CMP...

Tyneside Aloha!(Print & Design Graphics receives Kahiki Foods contract)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Print & Design Graphics, Newcastle, has won a party sized order from Ohio company Kahiki Foods. PDG will print 60,000 stand-up merchandising sleeves across four designs for Kahiki's new Aloha! Party Platter range of Polynesian frozen meals. The...

Death of David Bradshaw.(AB Dick's sales manager)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
February 4, 2002... David Bradshaw, AB Dick's Midlands sales manager for supplies, died of a heart attack on January 15. Mr Bradshaw, 48, had been working with AB Dick since 1992 on the supplies side of the business looking after commercial and dealer...

End of an era for Jarvis Porter.(sold to CCL Industries)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... The Jarvis Porter name is set to disappear after about 80 years with the sale of the last of its operations to CCL Industries, a Canadian labels group, for #7m. Jarvis Porter's healthcare works in Lewes, its headquarters in Leeds, the Peha...

A year in the demise of JP.(Jarvis Porter)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Jarvis Porter had a year of upheaval in 2001 saying it was looking at all options, including sales and mergers. In April, it recorded an annual loss of #4.3m and moved its stock exchange listing to the AIM. JP then announced the closure of...

TypeMaker's Canon deal.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Birmingham colour management specialist TypeMaker is to offer colour management services to Canon customers. The distributor of ColorBlind and Praxisoft software will partner Canon to provide its direct sales staff with colour management...

Prolatus prepares for UK launch at Ipex.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... US software company Prolatus has opened a UK subsidiary in Leeds ahead of a launch at Ipex. The UK operation is headed by former NCS executives Tony Talbot and John Georgallis as sales director and technical services director respectively. ...

Woking accolade.(Repropoint)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Woking large format printer Repropoint has been awarded Investors in People status following an assessment by the Austin Bennett consultancy. Peter Fletcher of Business Link Surrey, which supported Repropoint in aiming for accreditation, says:...

Polestar people.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Polestar has added to its main board with the appointment of three directors. Philip Yea and Tristan de Boysson of Investcorp both join as non-executive directors, while Mike Walmsley, currently responsible for 12 Polestar businesses, joins as...

Palladio debuts.(AGFA Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Agfa has installed the first of its new Palladio entry-level B2 ctp systems at National Graphics, a $5m turnover printer in Stoughton, Massachusetts, after the system was unveiled at Print 01 in Chicago. `Palladio lets us get the efficiencies...

Scitex changes.(Scitex Vision)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Scitex Vision has named executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development Dov Ofer as the successor to David Reis as president and chief executive. After six years as president, Mr Reis is leaving the company and join...

Resistance is still rife.(in printing industry)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... There is still evidence however, of more resistance from print employers than in other sectors. If a company does not agree to recognise the trade union the case can be referred to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). Of just 20 cases...

Gubb to Wyndeham.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Wyndeham Press Group will cut jobs this year, having decided not to give any dividend to shareholders, and has brought in ex-Duncan Web Offset managing director Peter Gubb to run Impact, its magazine cover printer in Basingstoke. Chairman...

Print gets More Training.(More Training opens center in Staffordshire)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Print training provider More Training is opening a new #200,000 print learning centre in Staffordshire this month (February 19). The organisation, which has 15 training staff, has previously been using centres based in Manchester and...

Dublin 74Karat.(KBA sells printer)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Following the news of the first 46Karat sale in Ireland, KBA has sold a waterless 74Karat to Colour Repro in Dublin. The company handles colour repro for the major Irish newspapers and has a turnover of #1m. It also has a six-colour Indigo...

School helpers.(Repropoint to financially aid Willows Nursery School)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Repropoint in Portsmouth has come to the aid of Willows Nursery School, which is raising money for equipment and a new building. The Willows Special Kids In Portsmouth Appeal has a target of #1.3m but still has a long way to go. Repropoint...

Nuffield on course.(Nuffield Press)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... The Nuffield Press, Abingdon, has completed its #750,000 prepress investment (Printing World, May 28, 2001). The installation included Apogee workflow, a Galileo VXT ctp platesetter, Sherpa 2 and 43 digital colour proofers and Agfa's Digital...

Vio investment secures technology advance.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Vio has received additional funding to the tune of #3m, one of the largest amounts of venture capital forwarded to a new technology business this year. The money will be used to fund further development of the Vio platform, as it describes...

StoraEnso figures see sales rise.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Finnish papermaker StoraEnso saw sales for 2001 rise by 3.8% throughout the year to E13.51bn despite fourth quarter seasonal and market-related curtailments. For the full year 2001, operating profit excluding non-recurring items was...

Unfair dismissal case against Ultrachem continues.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Andreas Soteriou will appeal against an Employment Tribunal decision that he was not entitled for compensation when leaving Ultrachem where he had worked as an accountant. Mr Soteriou claimed that he had been unfairly dismissed in December...

Business opportunity.(Dudley Stationery received contract from the Association of Colleges and E-Government Solutions)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Dudley Stationery has become a supplier to the Feonline.net website operated by the Association of Colleges & E-Government Solutions. The system provides Further Education Colleges with E-purchasing, shared services and sector news. It also...

Common pricing.(DuPont Imaging Technology has introduced a common price list across all euro zone countries )(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... DuPont Imaging Technology has introduced a common price list across all euro zone countries for its flexo and colour proofing products Cyrel and Cromalin. This has led to price adjustments for both product lines and the list price for analogue...

Paper NTO takes SSC route.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... While the Print & Graphic Communication NTO is struggling to find partnering sectors to create a Sector Skills Council, the paper sector has joined an alliance of process and manufacturing industries. The Paper Education & Training Council...

Printing.com bags first deal.(The Color Co.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Printing.com has signed up its first franchisee in The Color Co. The independent digital print and copying specialist has signed an agreement to sell Printing.com products in six of its 22 print centres in Edinburgh, Bristol and four in...

Subsidised training offer.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Subsidised or even free training is on offer to print companies and skilled printers in Hertfordshire, thanks to a pilot scheme involving West Herts College, the GPMU and the PGC NTO. The Hertfordshire Learning & Skills Council funded...

All jobs saved at DocuMedia.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... All 134 jobs at stationery printer DocuMedia have been saved following its purchase by ControlP (Printing World, November 26), say receivers from KPMG Corporate recovery. The company had gone into receivership last October and 22 staff, now...

Blum for KPG vp.(Kodak Polychrome Graphics)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Peter Blum has been promoted to senior corporate vice president of Kodak Polychrome Graphics in addition to his current role as European president. Mr Blum had more than three decades with the Hoechst Group, starting as a management trainee in...

Command changes at Pershke Price.(Roger Cartwright is promoted)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Pershke Price Service in Mitcham has expanded Roger Cartwright's role in the company. Mr Cartwright, previously director of finishing, will now take responsibility for sales of finishing, digital printing and sheetfed presses. The change...

KPG builds new team with ICT.(Kodak Polychrome Graphics)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Following the acquisition of Imation's colour proofing business, Kodak Polychrome Graphics has formed a new colour proofing division including new recruits from what was Imation Colour Technologies. Based at KPG's Watford headquarters, the...

Training boost.(Print Media and Graphics Networks)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... The Print Media & Graphics Network has launched a #100,000 project to raise awareness of the skill shortages in the industry and deliver training to improve skills in Nottinghamshire. Commissioned by the GPMU and funded by the Learning &...

PCC calls for cash aid.(Printers' Charitable Corporation)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... The Printers' Charitable Corporation, which manages sheltered accommodation for aged or poor printers in Basildon and Bletchley, is appealing to the industry to help increase revenues. Chairman Alan Miller says: "Our investment portfolio...

Fujifilm in recruit mode.(makes nine new appointments)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Fujifilm Graphic Systems is building up its sales and customer services team with nine new appointments. Steve Snowdon and Chris Bellis are new sales managers for electronic sales in London and the south-east and the Midlands. The...

Jarvis Porter name disappears from annals of printing lore.(sold to CCL Industries)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... So the Jarvis Porter name finally disappears from the annals of printing lore. It has been a long time coming. JP has been on the ropes longer than it was healthy for any company and now, after selling to Canadian company CCL Industries, there...

A guide to creditors.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... R3, the new name for the Association of Business Recovery Specialists, has published a set of five new guides for creditors, advising them on how best they can recover bad debts. The forthcoming Enterprise Bill will strip the Inland Revenue and...

N Brown does well.(Pre-Christmas sales rose )(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... N Brown, the home shopping group, is proof positive that there is still money to be made out of printed catalogues. Pre-Christmas sales rose 12% year-on-year. However, merger or takeover talks with its competitor Littlewoods now seem to be off...

Haynes gets better.(returned to profit)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Haynes Publishing Group, the publisher and printer of car manuals, returned to profit in the six months to November 30 last year, having transferred its printing facilities from Sparkford in Somerset to Tennessee. Sales rose 22% to #18.7m and...

Smurfit sees slump.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, the Irish-owned paperboard company, has suffered an 80% fall in net profits, from $67m a year ago to $14m, in the fourth quarter of 2002. Sales were also down, from $2.242bn to $1.991bn, which president...

Wyndeham Press withholds payout.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Wyndeham Press Group, which six months ago announced a 5% fall in profits, has seen little improvement in the marketplace since then and has decided not to release a dividend to shareholders. When the interim results, which showed a...

Cradley forecasts #850,000 loss.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Cradley Group Holdings, parent company of Cradley Print, says that trading conditions "have not improved" and that it now expects a loss of #850,000 in the last six months of 2001, much worse than the previous year. More redundancies and...

Big Blue's blues.(IBM's profits have fallen)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... IBM's profits have fallen by 13% to $2.3bn in the fourth quarter of last year, with little sign of a recovery in PC sales. Total sales are down 11% to $22.8bn. IBM's hardware division, which includes PC sales and high-end production...

Xerox restructure pays off.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Xerox's restructuring, which saw 13,600 jobs cut worldwide last year, finally seems to be paying off. For the first time in more than a year, the firm made profits of $102m in the fourth quarter, or 15 cents per share, before exceptional...

Imation fluctuation.(fourth quarter profits )(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Imation, which recently sold its colour proofing business to Kodak Polychrome Graphics for $50m, says the sale will put it on a stronger footing as most of its sales growth is in data storage, not its colour technologies or digital solutions...

Appointment of receivers.(for CK Litho Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... * CK Litho Ltd Printer. Receivers: M Newman and N Jackson, Smith & Williamson, Holbrook House, 72 Bank Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1SN Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Shared stand.(CP Graphics and Brackett)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Two products will be making their debut on the shared stand between CP Graphics and Brackett in Hall 12. The Kansa automated padder will be showing for the first time. The Matador Automated back stripping and taping machine will also be on...

Professor's platesetter predictions.(Professor Frank Romano)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Sales of direct imaged presses will exceed platesetter sales within the next five years, says Presstek citing a report produced by Prof Frank Romano at Rochester Institute of Technology in the US. However, the new products from Presstek for...

Demonstration press already sold.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... A five-colour Print V-52 web press will be demonstrated on the Form All Edelmann stand in Hall 12. It has already been sold to an unnamed UK printer and will be delivered immediately after the show. Although the press was first shown at...

Pira notes problems.(in digital printing services)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... A Pira survey of digital printers in Europe has recorded that 30% noted problems in the printability of jobs, 24% in the runnability and 30% had experienced problems in finishing. Pira managing director Mike Hancock told the 140 delegates that...

Single charts.(Antony Rowe digital printer)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Antony Rowe's digital print operation at Gardners, the book wholesaler in Eastbourne, is accepting orders for single copies of books at a rate of 200 a day, among the 800 books produced on the site daily, says Andy Burns, Antony Rowe technical...

VersaMark fits the bill for British Telecom.(British Telecom installs inkjet printers)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... British Telecom's print operations are to gain a commercial print edge following the successful installation of Scitex VersaMark inkjet printers to replace a laser printing operation based on IBM technology. The VersaMarks operate at sites...

Online greetings.(Moonpig)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Digital printing is not restricted to those with a graphic arts background as the case study from humorous greetings card company Moonpig proves. Its founder Nick Jenkins said that the idea of the business, where customers personalise...

Website information.(from Institute of Packaging regarding mapping research project on packaging)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... The Institute of Packaging has set up a new website to help gather information for the DTI-funded packaging industry mapping research project. Through www.iopresearch.com, the Institute can collate a detailed definition of the industry in terms...

Jussi job.(UPM Kymmene selects Jussi Olkinuora vice president magazine paper and newsprint)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... UPM Kymmene has appointed Jussi Olkinuora to the position of vice president of magazine paper and newsprint sales across the UK and Ireland. He will also continue as managing director of UPM-Kymmene sales in London. Heikki Malinen is the new...

Research shares.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... CellMark Group, the marketing company specialising in pulp and paper, has bought OM's shares in Pulp & Paper Research. PPR holds all commercial rights to Pulpex, the only regulated derivative market for the wood pulp industry. Since 1997, about...

Arjo jobs axe falls.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Arjo Wiggins Carbonless Paper Operations is to cut 300 jobs at its European mills in a major restructuring programme. The company has mills in Dartford, Fort William and Nivelles and Virginal in Belgium. The manufacturer of Idem carbonless...

Global reach sparks Sappi.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... South African fine paper giant, Sappi, claims its geographic spread helped it through a difficult first quarter 2001. But a weak North American performance and the closure of the Transcript mill in Scotland hit profits hard. For the first...

Slight profit.(AssiDoman)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... After one of the most eventful years in its history, AssiDoman has recorded a slight increase in 2001 full year profit despite seeing its turnover fall by more than half. Net turnover for the year ending December 31, 2001 was #749m,...

IP to close US wood mill.(International Paper will close the Morton Lumber Mill)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Days after recording a profits slump (Printing World, last week), International Paper has announced it is making 185 employees redundant with the closure of its Morton Lumber Mill, Mississippi. The mill, which has a capacity of 140 million...

Rothmill range.(Tullis Russell debuts paper)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Tullis Russell has launched a new and improved Rothmill range of paper and board with more varied colours. The company has produced a direct mailer and a swatch with the line `Why try to hide' to demonstrate their vibrancy. Tullis says the...

Back to school.(press operator turns to teaching; leaves boring job)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Bored with watching EastEnders? Find that your life is in a rut? Try getting off the couch and doing something positive for a change By Alan Springett Six years ago, I was a demoralised machine minder running a six-colour Heidelberg...

Webb sets off.(Fujifilm Graphic Systems)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Fujifilm Graphic Systems' divisional director, Stephen Webb, has customer service at the heart of his plans, and is about to embark on a tour to find out what customers really want By Gareth Ward If Stephen Webb has any illusions about the...

Showroom condition.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Confused by stochastic? Frustrated by FM? More companies are using inhouse training to bridge the knowledge gap By Rod Hayes There are a number of pointers that lead to the suggestion that if there is a crisis within the industry regarding...

A3-plus guillotine.(Morgana Systems)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Morgana Systems (01908 608888) has launched a programmable guillotine for the small print and inplant environment called the EBA-430EP. It has an electro-mechanical blade drive and a cutting width just above A3. Its memory will store nine...

Internet ready.(IBM launches color printers)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... IBM (www.ibm.com/printers) has bolstered its Infoprint 1000 series with the introduction of two new Internet-ready colour printers. The Infoprint Color 1220 can print up to 20ppm at 2,400dpi in paper sizes up to 215x355mm. The 1228 can print A3...

Thermal lamination.(from Autobond)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
February 4, 2002... The new Compact 74T(P) thermal laminator from Autobond (01773 530520) aimed at printers looking to bring laminating inhouse (Printing World, last week) is being made available in two versions. There is the #65,000 machine, with a Heidelberg...

The ink spot.(various new printing ink equipment offerings)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Putting ink on substrates is no longer the simple task it once was, but there are a stream of developments that do help to exploit new technology within inkjet, flexo and offset. A number of companies are bringing new products to market....

Screen fills ctp gap with PlateRite.(Screen UK launches PlateRite 8000II, drum platesetter)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Screen UK has responded to what it sees as a demand for ctp devices which can handle a wide range of plate sizes by launching the PlateRite 8000II. This external drum platesetter can handle virtually all plates from the smaller end of the...

Land rolls out temperature measurement device.(Land Infrared)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... A new instrument for measuring the surface temperature of a rotating ink roller has been announced by Land Infrared, Dronfield. It is a well known fact that keeping control of the ink operating temperature will result in superior print...

Larging it and loving it.(very large format platesetting)(Industry Overview)
February 4, 2002... Growth prospects for the VLF sector are good but there are some unique factors to consider By Laurel Brunner Given the market's long-standing reluctance to take the computer to plate plunge, it is ironic that commercial platesetters are...

Deep ctp driver.(Purup-Eskofot)
February 4, 2002... Purup-Eskofot's internal drum ctp device, the PlateDriver, contains all the design features expected of the Danish firm By Rod Hayes There are enough distinctive features on the new Purup-Eskofot PlateDriver to suggest that the design of...

Purup-Eskofot Platedriver: Specifications.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 4, 2002... Exposure systems The PlateDriver supports four different laser types; silver halide, violet, thermal and photopolymer all of which are field upgradeable. The lasers are housed in an area of the machine outside the imaging drum and this...

Marketing force.
February 4, 2002... With Ipex fast approaching, printers should realise the benefits of marketing themselves properly By Alex Blyth Last year was tough for many industries and printing was no exception. As a market already suffering from overcrowding, it was...

Help is at hand: What the BAPC can offer.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... The BAPC offers its members assistance in selling and marketing themselves. Chairman Sidney Bobb believes that the industry needs this help. As he puts it: `We tend to be obsessed by what we do rather than by what our customers want. As a...

Investment is key to a bright future for envelopes.(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... John Waters, sales director of Pomeroy Pressroom Products seems to encompass the general feeling in the envelopes market when he says: "You can't bury your head in the sand if business is not so good. The world is changing. Although the market...

Smith & Ouzman - Appointment.(Tim Matthews, new business development manager)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Smith & Ouzman, the Eastbourne commercial and security printer, has created the role of business development manager, hiring Tim Matthews for the job. He has more than 16 years' experience in the industry, five at a print broker. ...

Boss Group - Appointment.(Micahel Cole joins Boss Group)(Brief Article)
February 4, 2002... Michael Cole, the former director of public affairs for Harrods and one- time BBC television correspondent has joined the Boss Group as a non- executive director. He will be advising Boss managing director Danny Mardell on the Stratford, east...