Printing World articles from January 2006

Printing World archives from January 2006

ESP senses #2m boost in productivity.
January 5, 2006... ESP Colour has ploughed #2m into a series of investments designed to increase productivity and print quality. Heading the shopping list is a highly automated 10-colour Heidelberg SM102 Speedmaster featuring convertible ink/coating units and...

Mosaic looks real picture at McLaren.
January 5, 2006... Emap McLaren is installing JJays' award winning Mosaic repro system and will use it for all titles from February. The publisher installed hot folders on its computers this week and will initially use Mosaic for ads before rolling it out...

Kodak unveils UK supply plan.
January 5, 2006... Kodak has revealed plans to supply Creo customers from its UK warehouse. Creo consumables will join stores of KPG products at the firm's Watford site. Kodak said the arrangement would shave a day off some former-Creo customers' delivery...

In brief: Fuji Photo Film buys Avecia.
January 5, 2006... Fuji Photo Film has snapped up UK chemical manufacturer Avecia for #150m. Avecia is an inkjet and electrophotography business that employs 340 people across sites in Manchester, Scotland and the US. It has annual sales of #70m and claims a 40%...

In brief: Printbylaser contract.
January 5, 2006... Printbylaser has installed a 5-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 with CP2000 after being awarded a #1m per year sole supplier contract for NHS print with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear Procurement Confederation. The Washington company is also...

In brief: Graphic Repro increases.
January 5, 2006... Graphic Repro has increased capacity by ordering a second MAN Roland press. The 2-colour B2 format Roland 202E will work alongside the Nottingham company's existing Roland 305P. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Standard Life offers millions.
January 5, 2006... Polestar is in negotiations with Standard Life to secure what could be the year's largest single print order. The Edinburgh insurance firm is planning a share flotation. This will include a prospectus (up to 120pp) sent to seven million...

Job loss threat at web offset firms.
January 5, 2006... Quebecor and New Jarrold Printing have launched into talks with their respective workforces over possible job cuts at the web offset printers. On Tuesday, Tony Burke, Amicus assistant general secretary, and East of England secretary Vernon...

Polestar Purnell closes its doors.
January 5, 2006... Polestar Purnell closed its doors for the final time on 31 December, leaving over 400 people out of work. The historic site was set up in 1849 by the Purnell family. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Winters springs back to business.
January 5, 2006... David Winters is back in business with new premises and presses, after the Dundee firm was devastated by a fire last year. A #1.3m insurance payout has allowed the brochure, magazine and stationery printer to rebuild its premises. Winters...

In brief: Networking forums.
January 5, 2006... PrintYorkshire is hosting three networking forums this month covering teamwork, process management and waste management. The events are held on 18 January at Elland Road, 19 January at the Country Park Inn, Humber Bridge, and 26 January at...

In brief: Centre for Industrial Collaboration established.
January 5, 2006... The University of Leeds has established a Centre for Industrial Collaboration to help printers exploit digital imaging. Research areas, led by Dr Long Lin, include anti-counterfeiting, food packaging and the printing of chemicals on blood...

In brief: Prestige Printing claims.
January 5, 2006... Prestige Printing, Northamptonshire, claims to have increased new business by 25% following the purchase of a 4-colour B3 Shinohara perfecting press and Mitsubishi Eco ctp system with CIP3 workflow from Graphic Arts Equipment. Copyright:...

Pictures of the Buncefield oil depot explosion.
January 5, 2006... Printing World would like to make it clear that the two pictures of the Buncefield oil depot explosion featured in the issue of 15 December 2005 were taken by Tim Stockley, managing director of Colourbyte. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Posting a revolution.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Document Outsourcing is offering a revolutionary postal management service in response to postal market deregulation, which came into effect this week. The firm, located in Hamilton, Scotland, is consolidating volumes of daily mail from...

#1m new year boost for Cardiff's HartleyWilprint.
January 5, 2006... HartleyWilprint has entered the new year with an injection of capacity after a spend of over #1m on equipment. The Cardiff firm installed a Mitsubishi Diamond 1000LS B2 5-colour press in December and a Screen thermal plate B2 ctp system in...

Cromwell's #1.3m on large format sheetfed.
January 5, 2006... Cromwell Press is to move into large format sheetfed printing, giving a major fillip to West Country book printing. The Trowbridge firm is spending #1.3m on a perfecting 2-colour KBA 130a Rapida. The press replaces a 2-colour Heidelberg...

Ultra violet ctp gets the nod at BPMG.
January 5, 2006... BPMG has opted for a uv ctp system from basysPrint to back a switch from manual to automated platemaking. The Aylesbury printer has purchased a B1 format uv-setter 743. Director John Priest claimed the system was the most cost-effective...

SR at the double with #1m injection.
January 5, 2006... SR Communications has ambitious plans to double its turnover in 2006 - by injecting #1m into its facility in Deptford, London. The direct mail specialist's investment includes four Buhrs enclosing lines (installed over the festive period),...

Prontaprint Stafford in Park move.
January 5, 2006... Prontaprint Stafford has moved from its town centre location to a nearby 2,000 sq ft site at Greyfriars Business Park. The high street copy shop has expanded into trade printing following a #400,000 investment in new equipment and premises....

Dickinson threat from Amicus.
January 5, 2006... Amicus has threatened to take strike action over plans to cut jobs at one of the UK's leading stationery manufacturers. The union condemned last month's proposals to make 45 staff redundant at John Dickinson's Washington, Tyne and Wear...

Digital matters.
January 5, 2006... PrintIT! chairman Martyn Elmy (above, top right) returned to the Sir John Leman School in Beccles, Suffolk, last month, after an absence of a third of a century. Elmy, joined by Ian Foyster (top left), managing director of local...

After the fire.
January 5, 2006... After the 11 December explosion at the Buncefield oil depot, Hemel Hempstead firms faced uncertainty. Richard Heap reports on how optimism is rising as they get back on their feet. The carnage of the Buncefield blast has been tempered by...

Comment: Accentuate the positive.
January 5, 2006... This week most of us will have enjoyed a break from work, yet the festive season is already becoming a distant memory. Our concerns now are to wrestle with whatever 2006 is to throw at us. I am optimistic that this year is going to be...

LETTER: Improve training before it's too late.(Letter to the Editor)
January 5, 2006... I was interested in your article `BPIF in crisis talks over training future' (Printing World, 15 December). Not only is the BPIF facing problems but every printing college or training establishment for the delivery of print training is...

Why buy...Unlock font creativity.
January 5, 2006... New compliance requirements mean that printers must have licenses for all typefaces they use, Rod Hayes reports on the pros and cons of Fontwise Printers have enough to worry about in the coming year, but I am going to raise the anxiety...

How does Fontwise benefit me?
January 5, 2006... For a modest fee to Monotype, Fontwise can trawl through your library and create an audited trail of all the fonts, the various weights available and whether you have the licensed right to be use them. There is an element of `Big Brother'...

Finance - In brief: Kodak expands sales alliance with Danka.
January 5, 2006... Kodak has expanded its sales alliance with Danka to increase sales of Kodak's Digimaster black and white and Nexpress colour digital presses in corporate, print-for-pay and government printing departments. The extended agreement is effective...

Finance - In brief: RR Donnelley buys Critical Mail Continuity Services.
January 5, 2006... RR Donnelley has snapped up Critical Mail Continuity Services for an undisclosed sum. The Droitwich Spa firm, which provides business continuity print and mailing services, will operate as part of Astron, which was acquired by RR Donnelley in...

Finance - In brief: Independent News & Media advertising revenues rose.
January 5, 2006... Independent News & Media, parent company of `The Independent', said advertising revenues in the UK rose last year but that growth levels slowed. The group confirmed that it has sealed a 15-year contract with News International to print `The...

Finance - In brief: Future of Global Printing study.
January 5, 2006... Growth of the Chinese and Indian printing industries will lead to Asia usurping Western Europe as the second largest printing region in the world behind North America by 2010, according to Pira International's `The Future of Global Printing'...

Finance - In brief: Adobe revenues.
January 5, 2006... Adobe achieved record revenues of $510.4m in the fourth quarter of 2005. The figure was up from $487m in the third quarter and represents a 19% increase compared with the $429.5m in the fourth quarter of 2004. Copyright: CMP Information...

Finance - In brief: Favini will look to increase prices.
January 5, 2006... Speciality paper manufacturer Favini said it will look to increase prices to offset the higher cost of energy. In its third quarter results, Favini reported a turnover of E153m in the year to date and pre-tax earnings of E10m. Copyright:...

Finance - In brief: Snap award.
January 5, 2006... Print and design company Snap, located in Retford, has been awarded the Employers Award for most progressive training at South Nottingham College's Student Printing Awards. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Scotsman Group sold for #160m to Johnston Press.
January 5, 2006... Johnston Press has bought `The Scotsman' and sister newspapers from the Barclay brothers' Press Holdings, owners of `The Daily Telegraph'. The price was #160m. The planned #22m reinvestment in Caledonian Offset remains on hold following...

EAMA report: #33k pa on red tape.
January 5, 2006... #33,000 is the average annual bill that companies are footing for government red tape. A review of engineering businesses - carried out by the Engineering and Machinery Alliance (EAMA) - found that filling out paperwork for employment,...

Good news from the taxman.
January 5, 2006... Husband and wife companies have been spared thousands in backdated tax after a u-turn on a test case. On December 15 the Court of Appeal ruled that HM Revenues and Customs could not tax dividends paid to non-or lower-earning spouses, who...

Cradley fights through trough.
January 5, 2006... Cradley Group cut 21% of its print workforce last year as part of restructuring measures designed to stem widening losses. Some 62 jobs were axed mainly during June and July at the group's printing division, taking the head count down to...

Legals: TWGA sounds alarm over ads.
January 5, 2006... Trendwatch Graphic Arts (TWGA) has warned printers that they need a "cogent strategy" to stop advertisers losing interest in printed marketing products in 2006. In its annual print forecast, it warned "marketers and advertisers [are]...

Legal notices: Compulsory winding up.
January 5, 2006... The following case is due to be heard at Leeds District Registry, 1 Oxford Row, Leeds LS1 3BG * Red Hot Publishing Ltd c/o Baptiste & Co, 13 Austin Friars, London EC2N 2JX on 10 January at 10.30am. Petition by Citysprint (UK) Ltd ...

Legal notices: Appointment of liquidators.
January 5, 2006... * Barco Graphics Ltd Previous company names Barco Ltd, Bridgefort Ltd Manufacturing computers and process equipment/software consultancy and supply. Liquidators: EA Bingham and PJ Brazzill, Ernst & Young LLP, 1 More London Place, London SE1 2AF...

Legal notices: Appointment of administrators.
January 5, 2006... * The Walsall Print Company Ltd Specialist printers. Administrators: IJ Gould and BJ Hamblin, PKF (UK) LLP, New Guild House, 45 Great Charles Street, Queensway, Birmingham B3 2LX Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Legal notices: Meetings of creditors.
January 5, 2006... * Avalon Mailing Services Ltd at Suite B1, White House Business Centre, Forest Road, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 8NH on 21 December * Coloursmart Print Solutions Ltd at 63 Walter Road, Swansea SA1 4PT on 23 December * Direct Mail Products...

Legal notices: Notices to creditors.
January 5, 2006... * The Oaktree Press Ltd Creditors to send claims to JB Stephenson, Third Floor, 3 Field Court, Gray's Inn, London WC1R 5EF by 31 January * Primary Image (Graphics) Ltd Creditors to send claims to S Cork and J Milner, Smith & Williamson...

Legal notices: Final meetings.
January 5, 2006... * Majestic Envelope Company Ltd at BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency, 100-102 St James Road, Northampton NN5 5LF on 13 January at 2.00pm for members and at 1.25pm for creditors * Media Web Offset Ltd at Portland Business & Financial...

News analysis: Two sides of the Channel.
January 5, 2006... Maybe the UK industry is in a mess. Yet in France printers are in turmoil. Thomas Doliwa, md of Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses UK, reports UK printers seem to be a complaining lot. A typical catalogue of moans would include the economic...

Making a difference: Lobistics hum.
January 5, 2006... PaperlinX's pooling of logistics operations means voluntary redundancies and eco benefits, Tom Hawkins reports The number of eyebrows raised following last month's news that PaperlinX is to pool the logistics operations of its UK...

Making a difference: Delivery Co.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Delivery Co facts * Board comprises of: - Alistair Gough, md, PaperCo; - Andrew Towle, md, M6 Papers; - Dave Allen, md, Robert Horne; - Malcolm Lane-Ley, md, Howard Smith Paper Group; and - Toby Marchant, regional president,...

News analysis: Vertical lift off.(Interview)
January 5, 2006... Heidelberg has shed its digital and web offset skins to emerge as a cradle to grave supplier for sheetfed. Andy Cook asks ceo Bernhard Schreier how it will affect the industry Vertical markets: but what are they? This is a question that...

Get your hands on the folding stuff.
January 5, 2006... Even the most advanced folder is only as good as its operator, Rod Hayes reports Some sounds cause your ears to prick up instantly. Sometimes with fear, sometimes because of familiarity. Is there any printer alive who, when walking down...

Agfa will find friends with its latest :Amigo.
January 5, 2006... Agfa, at the end of last year, launched the :Amigo thermal plate, the first addition to its portfolio of ThermoFuse plates. ThermoFuse is a patented imaging technology - which forms the image during exposure - made popular by the success of...

Q&A Font modification.
January 5, 2006... Modifying typefaces can improve readability and give printed matter a stronger look. Andy Benedek looks at how to make changes Q: Can fonts be modified? Yes they can, but some features of fonts can be lost unless the modifications are...

Production CV: Tim Lee.(Interview)
January 5, 2006... Biography Tim Lee is sales manager at Bristol's Fanatic Design (www.fanaticdesign.co.uk). As a full-service design company they create powerful designs across all areas of marketing. Clients include Becks beer, Castrol oil and Lloyds TSB....

Digital: Collection debut at Ipex 2006.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Shuttleworth has announced it will showcase their browser-based Shop Floor Data Collection module at Ipex 2006. The MIS manufacturer's module carries on the process of gathering and presenting real-time shop floor data. But it...

Digital: Strategies of rising ink prices.
January 5, 2006... I.T. Strategies have announced that their research shows worldwide ink jet revenues will grow 7% by 2009. Results from Massachusetts firm said the growth would chiefly be driven by the rising price of ink. The American research firm put...

Digital: Pitstop promotion to speed up process.
January 5, 2006... Enfocus Software has teamed up with Prepress Training Solution to offer free online Pitstop Professional Training with purchases of its Enfocus PitStop Professional 6 and Enfocus PDF Workflow Suite software. This training offer, which would...

Digital: Art of r1m deal for Eire HP Indigo.
January 5, 2006... Label Art has become the inaugural Eire firm to install an HP Indigo ws4050 digital label press. The Tallaght-based company has invested e1m at its digital division, which includes the purchase of Omega Digicon finishing equipment. ...

Digital: Pleased as XMPie.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Positive Focus has launched version 2.5 of XMPie's Udirect Standard and Udirect Professional programmes. The Middlesex firm are the sole UK distributor of XMPie's personalisation software, which was first launched Udirect in 2004 as an...

Paper: Trust plays its cards to public.
January 5, 2006... The Woodland Trust has joined forces with two retail giants to salvage 60 million Christmas cards . Environmental pressures have prompted Tesco and WH Smith to expand their recent recycling schemes in store for the mass of festive paper ...

Paper: Tools for tracking emissions.
January 5, 2006... The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released a report recommending ways for the industry to reduce emissions. It recommends that the forest industry supports the ongoing recognition of biomass as a...

Paper: UEFA champions an image rebrand.
January 5, 2006... Robert Horne's Hello Silk has been chosen to kick-off UEFA's rebranding. UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) has launched its latest identity with a high gloss, high impact publication called `Competition and brand book'....

Paper: WRAP up before EC.
January 5, 2006... The European Commission (EC) is investigating a proposed UK grant scheme aimed at increasing recycled office paper production. Under scrutiny is WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), which was planning to invest #20m to encourage the...

Paper: Feeling blue.(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... The Robert Horne Group has produced a Creative Product Sampler to keep designers and printers abreast of demand. Paper and printing substrates are fashionable, like almost everything else these days, but now it's the turn of the Blues and...

Finishing: Severnprint prepares to compete with the best.
January 5, 2006... Severnprint has expanded its bindery by investing over #150,000 in the latest equipment to compete with the best. The Gloucester commercial printer is refurbishing a unit to accommodate the new purchase, with Brian Clifton appointed as...

Finishing: Linney's perfect pass.
January 5, 2006... Linney Print has installed a Tri-Creaser and Multi Tool unit from Leicester manufacturer Tech-ni-fold. The Mansfield firm said the Tri-Creaser, fitted to the cover feeder on its two Muller Martini saddle stitching lines, has removed the...

Finishing: Sharp eye on the market.
January 5, 2006... Sharp Print has invested #50,000 in a range of Morgana finishing equipment to back up its Heidelberg 6-colour Speedmaster and Xerox 250. The Kent printer has installed an AutoCreaser, Citoborma 190 drill, EBA 721 programmatic guillotine,...

Finishing: Laser adds BQ-270 for touch.
January 5, 2006... Laser 2 Mail, a direct marketing printer has installed a Horizon BQ-270 Touch>Perfect binding system as part of its #200,000 investment plan. The West Yorkshire firm said that the machine, purchased from Graphic Arts Equipment, was...

Finishing: Pit Stop a winner for Walsh.
January 5, 2006... Encore Machinery's high-speed Pit Stop creaser has completed caressing and scoring 5.5 million sheets in just a single year. Walsh Colour, who installed the machine, was primarily using the creaser to score greeting cards. Tony Walsh,...

Environment: Lesta's EA #18K fine.(Lesta Packaging)(Environment Agency)(Brief Article)
January 5, 2006... Lesta Packaging has been hit by an #18,000 fine from the Environment Agency (EA) for failing to recycle waste. The charges were bought against the Leicester firm under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations...

Environment: Growing trend.
January 5, 2006... Torraspapel employees recently participated in the paper firm's inaugural volunteer day. Some 30 staff helped restore the banks of the Spanish Todera River, which runs through Barcelona (above), by planting 400 trees and bushes. In...

Environment: Enviro Power-Pipe should save energy.
January 5, 2006... Envirozone is urging printers to save energy from hot water with its new Power-Pipe. The firm claims the device can recycle over 60% of the heat in waste hot water and can triple electric water heater capacity. Envirozone said that 50%...

Environment: Impact warning for paper mills.
January 5, 2006... Jeff Cooper, producer responsibility policy manager at the Environment Agency (EA), has warned of the impact of new rules for overseas paper mills using UK-sourced recyclables in packaging materials. Under the regulations, which came in on...

Environment: Recycling conference.
January 5, 2006... The Environment Agency (EA) will hold a conference on 17 January at One Great George Street, Westminster, London to advise firms on hitting new packaging waste recycling goals. The event will feature key speakers from compliance schemes,...

Packaging: Flexfilm's #1m reel CMG deal.
January 5, 2006... Flexfilm is due to start running a #1m blown film extrusion line at its plant in Cheshire this week. The new equipment was installed by Italian manufacturer CMG and raises Flexfilm's capacity by 54% to 10,000 tonnes. The line will also...

Packaging: Invercote G holds key to Iggesunds improvement.
January 5, 2006... Iggesunds Bruk, Sweden, is to upgrade its KM2 paperboard machine at a cost of more than #30m. On completion KM2 will have a new wire section and increased capacity for chemical water purification. This machine produces Invercote G packaging...

Packaging: Barrier technology.
January 5, 2006... Tetra Pak is poised to sell the world's first high barrier, totally clear aseptic packaging across its global market. Tetra Wedge Aseptic Clear is 100% transparent to allow product viewing, employs patented barrier technology to protect the...

Packaging: New targets focus on recycling goals.
January 5, 2006... New recycling targets under upgraded packaging producer responsibility regulations come into force this month. The changes have been introduced to help the UK achieve European targets. While targets for recycling glass and plastic have...

Packaging: Specialist aim at AIS.
January 5, 2006... A DVD packaging firm is now in full production thanks to financial backing from UK Steel Enterprise and Finance Wales. When the expansion plans are fully implemented as many as 50 jobs could be created. Alliance Integrated Solutions will...

Fury over debt trail.
January 12, 2006... Furious printers have been left high and dry by a man believed to be trading illegally. Several printers claim that Mark Tudhope, company secretary of Ash Marketing, has left them with outstanding invoices for work completed this year. ...

Prinect caps HSW Print's #1.7m investment.
January 12, 2006... Prinect Image Control equipment worth #160,000 is set to revolutionise Welsh firm HSW Print as part of a spend that tops #1.7m. The printer from Tonypandy, Rhondda, has spent #1.5m on replacing a Speedmaster SM102-5L like-for-like but...

Mills drive paper price hikes.
January 12, 2006... PaperCo and Antalis are among merchants increasing paper prices following a series of cost hikes from mills. PaperCo announced increases of between 4 per cent and 8 per cent effective from 30 January. The firm sent letters informing clients...

In brief: Below expectations.
January 12, 2006... Order levels and sales margins at UK printers fell below expectations in the run up to Christmas, according to the BPIF's `Directions' quarterly survey. Most companies managed to pass on significant increases in costs. Copyright: CMP...

In brief: Dick Tilanus dies.
January 12, 2006... Dick Tilanus, ceo of Punch Graphix, has died suddenly aged 56. Tilanus, who ran the firm since March last year, suffered complications following a routine surgical operation. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

B&T tonic in #6.5m new funds.
January 12, 2006... Butler & Tanner has laid the foundations for its future in the global colour printingmarket after completing arefinancing plan. The two-year deal gives the company funding of #6.5m from a sale and leaseback of its Frome site and a proposed...