Printing World articles from October 2005

Printing World archives from October 2005

Scanlon scoops Boxstar, but Vertis has to wait.
October 6, 2005... Former Adare director Mark Scanlon plucked Boxstar from administration last week for #7.5m. But he was still waiting to hear whether his bid for Vertis' UK direct marketing business had been successful. Former Polestar subsidiary Boxstar...

Kall Kwik deal.(sold in an mbo)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... On Demand Communications, the business behind Prontaprint and Kall Kwik, is poised to be sold in an mbo. Senior market sources said the deal was nearing completion as Printing World went to press. Andrew Michael, chairman of the Kall Kwik...

Xerox eases access.
October 6, 2005... Access to Xerox printers and technology will be freed up under new plans announced by Anne Mulcahy, Xerox chairman and ceo. Ms Mulcahy, speaking in London last week, said Xerox will actively pursue opportunities to sell off or license to...

MPC nears sale.
October 6, 2005... The Magazine Printing Company said three large corporations have emerged to acquire the short run magazine printer, despite rumours of a struggle to sell the business. The Enfield printer has been actively seeking a buyer for the last four...

IN BRIEF: Fuji's claim.
October 6, 2005... The head of Fuji's printing business claimed the manufacturer will be number one in the global ctp market. Kazuto Sameshima said Fuji is aiming to increase its market share to 40% within two years at the expense of rivals Agfa and Kodak. ...

IN BRIEF: Microsoft to support Adobe PDF format.
October 6, 2005... Microsoft will support Adobe's PDF format in the next edition of Office despite revealing earlier this year that it was developing its own open file format, codenamed Metro. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Robert Horne brings operating companies into one business group.
October 6, 2005... Robert Horne has brought together three of its standalone operating companies into one business group to be called Robert Horne Sign and Display. The new division is headed up by David Allen who said: `This move will offer our customers...

IN BRIEF: Staffordshire Newspapers to boost colour capacity.
October 6, 2005... Staffordshire Newspapers is to boost colour capacity by adding a Goss Universal 70 four-colour tower at right angles to its Goss Urbanite. The plant in Burton prints the Burton Mail, Heartland Evening News in Nuneaton and the weekly...

IN BRIEF: Burns and Harris Printers goes into liquidation.
October 6, 2005... Burns and Harris Printers, Dundee, has gone into liquidation after more than a century in business. The firm's 20 employees are waiting for forms to apply for a redundancy package from the government. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Production levels.
October 6, 2005... Production levels in the printing and paper industries fell to its lowest level for more than a decade in the summer months. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that output from the sector fell to 93.9 in the second quarter....

IN BRIEF: East Sussex Press investment.
October 6, 2005... East Sussex Press is investing #3.5m on a ten-colour B1, ten-colour B2 and six-colour B2 with coater. All presses will run alcohol free. The company, which purchased Beacon Press in December 2004, will also add workflow, proofing and a 12,000sq...

Quebecor runs rule over Polestar.
October 6, 2005... Speculation is mounting that Quebecor is finalising a takeover bid for Polestar. Industry insiders said executives from the Canadian printing giant have been spotted inspecting Polestar plants across the country. Polestar's chief...

Hot property.
October 6, 2005... Cooper Clegg has won the contract to print Property Ladder, a glossy monthly magazine based on the popular Channel 4 series. Published by Brooklands Publishing Group, the initial print run is 160,000 and the title will have a trial price of #2....

Government targets council lists scam.
October 6, 2005... Government has launched a crackdown on a scam where printers are being fleeced by procurement brokers. The Office of Government Commerce urged printers to report instances where they are being charged by unaccredited third-party firms to...

Emap tests offshore scheme.
October 6, 2005... Emap is set to pilot trials with low cost offshore prepress suppliers. Group production director Andy Franks said the publisher, which has contracts in the UK with companies including Wyndeham, is undertaking pilot projects in Latvia,...

Booker returns at CIT.(Murray Booker, C.I.T. Financial Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Murray Booker is making a comeback in the UK print finance business with former Close colleague Mary Powell. They are heading a new specialist division for US finance group CIT, the global asset management firm that handles $60bn in 30...

NexPress for James.
October 6, 2005... Lloyd James Group, the direct marketing company headquartered in Welling, Kent, is beefing up its digital division after a major boost in production. The company has invested more than #280,000 by ordering a second five- colour Kodak...

Industry braced for Govt pension insurance levy.
October 6, 2005... Printers are anxiously awaiting the outcome of a pension protection consultation that ended this week. A new levy proposed by the Pension Protection Fund consultation would cost UK printers millions of pounds per year and even push some...

PDI goes Continental with six-colour.
October 6, 2005... Colchester B2 printer Print & Design Integration is installing a new press and moving to Continental shifts in a bid to extend its specialist marketing materials work. The company has removed an ageing two-colour MO and is replacing a...

NI splashes #10m on Aurosys.
October 6, 2005... News International announced a #10m deal to use MAN Roland's Aurosys automatic reel handling system as part of its massive Colorman press order. MAN Roland's own reel handling system will be installed at the new printing site at...

Danwood e-trading.(e-trading)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Digital print equipment reseller Danwood has developed a website that allows customers to book and track service calls. The website is also intended to provide full e-trading, so that bills will be issued and payment received online. ...

IN BRIEF: Sex Discrimation regulations.
October 6, 2005... The new Sex Discrimation regulations, which could make it easier for claims to succeed, came into force this week. The latest definition says sexual harassment will be found where a woman finds her workplace is intimidating, hostile, degrading...

IN BRIEF: Stationers and Newspaper Makers Company offering awards.
October 6, 2005... The Stationers' and Newspaper Makers' Company is offering awards of up to #2,500 through its Educational Charity for people under 25 working in printing, papermaking and allied trades. Francis Mathew Scholarships usually of #750 for people...

IN BRIEF: Curtis Fine Papers restructuring programme.
October 6, 2005... Scottish speciality papermaker Curtis Fine Papers has completed the restructuring programme it began last year in which the Dalmore Mill closed with 125 redundancies and plant was transferred to Guardbridge in Fife. Copyright: CMP...

IN BRIEF: DMA conference.
October 6, 2005... The Direct Marketing Association will hold the industry's first annual conference for the #1.2bn inserts market on October 20 in London. The conference will discuss pricing, print, paper, circulation trends and door drops. Copyright: CMP...

IN BRIEF: Engineering company cuts times.
October 6, 2005... An engineering company has cut times for repeat orders from five days to 15 minutes with an Oce document management system. Waukesha Bearings stores CAD images and scanned drawings within the new system ready to make them available at its...

IN BRIEF: Guests of the Prince of Wales.(Julie Pearce and Andy Bahado )(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Adare Halcyon IT manager Julie Pearce and IT director Andy Bahado were guests of the Prince of Wales at Highgrove during a day arranged for reservists called up for the Gulf War and their employers. Julie, a TA sergeant, had been in the middle...

Europe pushes for print eco-labels.(labeling to be eco-friendly)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Book, magazines and direct mail are among the printed products that will be labelled according to how environmentally friendly they are, if a new European directive is adopted. The eco-labelling directive for printed products was first...

Give printers the power.
October 6, 2005... Printers are being given the chance to slash their energy costs by implementing a radical plan to overhaul the UK's energy supply network. Environmental campaign group Greenpeace has put forward plans for printers to generate energy at the...

Black and white but green.
October 6, 2005... Trader Media Group has kicked off a group-wide campaign to promote good practice in health and safety, production and environmental matters. The initiative, called Realise the Vision, follows the company's recent accreditation to the ISO 18001...

Eclipse is first printer in Wales with Azura.
October 6, 2005... Cardiff commercial printer Eclipse Printing has become the first in Wales to run the Agfa Azura chemistry-free ctp system. Director Tony Thorne said the company works on very tight deadlines and was looking for time and cost savings, as...

ADG unveils new HQ but Ryobi Japan steals the show.
October 6, 2005... Sharron Davies MBE may have been the centre of attention at the opening ceremony of Apex Digital Graphics new headquarters, but she was eclipsed by a couple of announcements from Ryobi Japan. Koji Ishii, director of Graphic Systems for...

Mako grows.
October 6, 2005... ECRM Imaging Systems has launched two new additions to its Mako ctp family of commercial products, the Mako System4 and Mako System4x. ECRM said the Mako System4 has been designed with the need for flexibility in mind as a modular ctp that...

TripleArc woe mounts with #1.7m half-year loss.
October 6, 2005... Print procurement firm TripleArc had more bad news for investors last week after revealing days before that financial errors during the merger of AccessPlus resulted in an extra #1m of costs and forced it to restate the accounts. Half-year...

Labour peer calls for H&S rewards.
October 6, 2005... A Labour Lord has backed industry calls for insurance companies to cut premiums for printers with good health and safety records. Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, the peer responsible for the Health and Safety Executive, commented on the failure...

HSE launching a phone helpline.
October 6, 2005... The HSE is launching a phone helpline next year designed to provide small businesses with health and safety advice. The service complements the existing HSE Infoline by putting more emphasis on business advice than regulatory guidance. ...

St Ives seeks boss for Clays.
October 6, 2005... St Ives is searching for a new chief for its Clays book business following a management shake up at the listed printing group. The company is yet to find a replacement for Patrick Martell, who has stepped up to become managing director of...

Wide boys.
October 6, 2005... Viscom Europe 2005 was held in Dusseldorf last week. Originally targeted at the sign production sector it is fast growing into a major wide format show in its own right. A feature of this present show was the significant percentage of Chinese...

Stars are quick on the draw for Pitney Bowes charity campaign.
October 6, 2005... Top actors, writers, illustrators, musicians, sportspeople and personalities will once again design envelopes for the 2005 Pitney Bowes `Pushing the Envelope' charity auction. The event is part of the Stamford based firm's global campaign...

Paper Style invests in Printmaster QM46.
October 6, 2005... Paper Style, Manchester, has purchased a Printmaster QM 46 two-colour to mop up stationery and spot colour work. Supporting two Speedmaster SM 74 six-colours, the company ordered the press after visiting Heidelberg's mobile trailer, which...

COMMENT: Caught up in the web?
October 6, 2005... The Internet: good or bad for printers? More news this week to add fuel to the fire. Emap reported in its annual results that one of its flagship titles Nursing Times has lost 30% of its recruitment revenue in the past year. Why? Because the...

Letter: We practice what we preach.(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... Just a quick note to say thank you to Rod Hayes for showing our new recruit, Carl Schooley, the different printing technologies exhibited at Print 05. As a would-be engineer, he was impressed by the equipment on display, both digital and...

Letter: Where has the Clarus PL gone?(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... Your article `Processless plates on the move' (Printing World, September 22) lists the available processless plates and those in development. One of the most promising of these plates is the Creo (now Kodak) Clarus PL, a totally chemical...

Letter: Putting the record straight.(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... I read with interest the letter from Leeds College of Technology about the Skills Academy and feel I need to put the record straight. Any skills academy proposal has to be led by the SSC for the sector, i.e. Proskills, with BPIF in this case as...

Letter: Recession risk is reality.(Letter to the Editor)
October 6, 2005... I refer to your article "Risk weighed" (Printing World, August 4) on Plimsoll Publishing's assessment of sales and profitability of the top 2,000 companies in the UK over a two-year period. In this you state "More than one-quarter of...

IN BRIEF: Northcliffe Press contract.
October 6, 2005... Cardiff City Council Financial Services has awarded Northcliffe Press the contract to print 150,000 copies of a civic newspaper. The contract is worth just under #500,000. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: Korsnas appointment.
October 6, 2005... Korsnas, the Swedish board and paper manufacturer, has appointed Glenn Robertson as business development manager. His role will be to manage and develop the launch of Supreme, a new, superior quality coated Kraft backboard. Copyright: CMP...

IN BRIEF: Insolvency Service's website.
October 6, 2005... Online access to the reasons for a director's disqualification is available from today in a database on The Insolvency Service's website. The `matters of unfit conduct' for disqualified directors can now be found in the `Disqualified Directors...

IN BRIEF: UPM's Raflatac to double filmic production capacity.
October 6, 2005... UPM's Raflatac is to double the filmic production capacity of its Tampere factory in Finland. The investment by the manufacturer of pressure-sensitive labelstock is part of a long term investment programme and will see the modernisation of a...

IN BRIEF: Kalamazoo Security Print contract.
October 6, 2005... Kalamazoo Security Print, has won a contract to supply corporate incentive vouchers to Capital Incentives and Motivation. The company supplies vouchers for organisations to use as part of their staff, customer, or supplier incentive schemes....

IN BRIEF: Ruukki Group mill.
October 6, 2005... Ruukki Group, Finland, is to build a E1bn greenfield pulp and paper mill in Russia's Sverdlovsk region. The mill will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes of pulp and is expected to be commissioned during 2008. Copyright: CMP...

Fulmar looks to second half for boost.
October 6, 2005... September has not been a great month after a pretty depressed July and August, according to Fulmar chief executive Mike Taylor. Commenting on interim results for the first half of 2005, Mr Taylor said that commercial and financial printing...

Inveresk profits take hit.
October 6, 2005... Increased costs of oil-based raw materials and energy hit the operating profits of troubled paper manufacturer Inveresk. The company posted an operating loss of #109,000 for the first half of 2005, compared to an operating profit of...

Maclennan lands NPA chairman post.
October 6, 2005... Former Associated Newspapers chief Murdoch Maclennan, who last year moved to the Telegraph Group under the Barclay Brothers, has secured another high profile appointment. Mr Maclennan has been elected chairman of the national newspaper...

Internet attack on magazines hots up.
October 6, 2005... Further evidence emerged this week that magazine paginations are under siege from the Internet. In a trading statement, Emap said that its recruitment advertising fell 14% in the six months to the end of September 2005. Recruitment...

Compulsory winding up.
October 6, 2005... The following case is due to be heard at Manchester District Registry, 184-186 Deansgate, Manchester * Merricks Media Ltd 3-4 Riverside Court, Lower Bristol Road, Bath BA2 3DZ on October 3 at 10.00am. Petition by the Media Network The...

Appointment of liquidators.
October 6, 2005... * GCP Design Ltd Previous company name Gordon Clark Publicity Ltd Design of catalogues. Liquidators: GM Weisgard and JP Oddie, Mitchell Charlesworth, 6th Floor, Brazennose House West, Brazennose Street, Manchester M2 5FE * Tresises Ltd...

Appointment of administrators.
October 6, 2005... * Boxstar Ltd Manufacture of Corrugated Cartons, Boxes and Cases. Administrators: M Horrocks and R Cash, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 101 Barbirolli Square, Lower Mosley Street, Manchester M1 3ED, S Maddison, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,...

Meetings of creditors.
October 6, 2005... * The Used Printing Machinery People Ltd at Gable House, 239 Regents Park Road, Finchley, London N3 3LF on October 6 at 11.00am * Media Printing Company (Hants) Ltd at Torrington House, 47 Holywell Hill, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 1HD on...

Final meetings.
October 6, 2005... * JDM Print Ltd at Allum Lane Community Centre, Manor House, 2 Allum Lane, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3PJ on October 31 at 2.15pm for members and at 2.30pm for creditors * Oakdale Printing Company Ltd at Tenon Recovery, Highfield Court,...

The online advertising threat to print is not about to go away.
October 6, 2005... On Wednesday September 28 this year Emap stated that over the last six months it had experienced a 30% decline in advertising sales at the Nursing Times. Also, recruitment advertising within its trade magazine and exhibitions division fell...

Q&A Making the most of an exhibition.
October 6, 2005... Reg Peplow says it pays to plan well ahead before greeting prospective suppliers and possibly doing good business at a trade show How should I make an entry in my diary? If you have simply pencilled the date of a forthcoming exhibition...

Getting there: Emma Topp.
October 6, 2005... Biography Emma Topp is customer service and development manager at Checkprint, a member of the Tall Group of companies. Checkprint is based in Hinckley, Leicestershire What was your first industry job? I joined the company as a...

Why buy: Ryobi 780E.
October 6, 2005... The print the Ryobi 780E produces is first rate. So it should be an excellent investment. Shouldn't it? By Rod Hayes When the first four-colour version of the Ryobi 520 B3 series presses came out in the early 1990s, I had the privilege...

How does the Ryobi measure up?
October 6, 2005... Where does the Ryobi 780E sit in the market? I have no doubt this press has been launched in response to the Komori Spica and the Roland 200. All share a reduced footprint, each are about 40% less than a conventional styled press. The...

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Get the Knowledge, get power.
October 6, 2005... A London cabbie is useless without knowing all the back doubles. Workshop 05 gives a printer a roadmap for the future By Rod Hayes Digital Print World and Workshop 05 have equally strong claims to be the two most important graphic arts...

WORKSHOP 05: Key issue.
October 6, 2005... Paul Coggin, md of Print Finance spoke of his reasons for deciding to have Print Finance as a major sponsor. He said: `One of the issues facing our industry in the immediate future is for printers to take a much broader view of evaluating...

Loads to think about.
October 6, 2005... Yes, Workshop 05 clashes with Digital Print World and overwhelming `Making a Difference' arguments could be stacked up for visiting both. Workshop 05 is not specifically a Komori event: a group of four major players in the printing industry...

This is vital: read it now.
October 6, 2005... The most fundamental difference between a printer who is making good money and one who isn't is knowledge. And this is knowledge in the same way as a London cabbie must do his test. The cabbie doesn't do a test, he does `the knowledge'. ...

NEWS ANALYSIS - RYOBI: Brave new world.
October 6, 2005... Ryobi's decision to make eight-page litho presses means one thing: digital systems are reshaping the press investment landscape By Rod Hayes Very clear signs are beginning to emerge that printing press manufacturers are at last...

DIGITAL PRINT WORLD OVERVIEW: The whole world in your hands.
October 6, 2005... Digital Print World has moved with the times. Make sure your business does too by going there By Rod Hayes There is little doubt that Digital Print World 05 is a trade show and seminar forum whose time has come. DPW has moved from...

MAILING: The shape of things to come.
October 6, 2005... How will the Royal Mail's Pricing in Proportion policy affect you? And how are the big finishing players reacting to the change? By Mark Foxwell After months of debate, discussion and stand offs, Pricing in Proportion is set to be...

MAILING: What do you think?(privte postal services come up creating a competitive market)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Imminent postal deregulation has heralded jockeying among both private posts and smaller public operators for opportunities to grow market share. Certainly, the area of sorting represents an important battleground, with operators aiming to...

IN BRIEF: Encad christens new headquarters.(Hemel One)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Kodak wide format arm Encad christened its new headquarters for Europe, Middle East and Africa last week. The Mayor of Hemel Hempstead assisted the company in opening Hemel One, which provides home for the Encad team led by general manager...

IN BRIEF: AIT International develops dot placement technology.
October 6, 2005... AIT International has developed a dot placement technology for the Shiraz large format Rip that it claims produces a display output that appears to double the physical resolution of the inkjet printhead. The software will be displayed for the...

IN BRIEF: Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions ties up with Adobe-Gretag Macbeth.
October 6, 2005... Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions has tied up with Adobe and Gretag Macbeth to launch a series of seminars on digital colour management using Adobe Photoshop. The tour will reach London on November 1. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

IN BRIEF: PDF tool incorporated into print training curriculum.
October 6, 2005... Enfocus's Certified PDF tool has been incorporated into the print training curriculum at Rotterdam's Grafisch Lyceum. Design, media management and prepress students will use the software's Status Check, Instant PDF, Pitstop Professional and...

IN BRIEF: Primary Colour forecasting rise in profits.
October 6, 2005... US printer Primary Colour is forecasting a rise in profits from its superwide print offering next year. The company said that the sector has grown rapidly since it installed its first wide format machine two years ago. The company now runs a...

Vision takes control with Dimension 425.
October 6, 2005... A commercial printer has dramatically reduced job turnround times by bringing platemaking inhouse with an investment in ctp. Vision Print, County Dublin, has installed the Dimension 425 Excel ctp system from Presstek through distributor...

Xerox gives latest Nuvera 20% speed injection.
October 6, 2005... Xerox has ratcheted up the top speed on its range of Nuvera monochrome printers. At 144 pages per minute, the latest edition to the line up prints 20% faster than the next closest Nuvera model. It is designed to handle a range of documents...

Screen debuts `no frills' Ultima.(Screen Graphics Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2005... Screen is offering printers a cheap `no frills' version of its 16-page ctp device. The Japanese manufacturer said the PlateRite Ultima 16000S has been developed to meet customer demand for a cost-effective, simplified version of the 16000,...

Canon pair add to wide format presence.
October 6, 2005... Canon has extended its presence in the wide format market with the introduction of two dye-based ink printers. The products are based on the ImagePrograf W8400 and W6400 large format machines launched this year at Sign UK but employ...

Stora Enso goes Latino.
October 6, 2005... Stora Enso is stepping up its South American expansion with the acquisition of land in southern Brazil and Uruguay as part of a $100m spend. In the papermaker's second-largest investment in South America after the successful completion of...

Finn bosses demand to know where they stand.
October 6, 2005... Following this Spring's Finnish paper mills strike, industry employers are demanding clarification of the law. Three investigation requests have been made with the police. Arto Tahtinen, the senior vice president responsible for labour...