Printing World articles from September 2004

Printing World archives from September 2004

Buxton embraces change with Rapida.(Buxton Press, KBA Rapida 105)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Buxton Press is to install a further ten-colour KBA Rapida 105 long perfector fitted with a Mabeg cut sheet feeder. Delivery is expected early in the new year and will bring to five the number of long perfectors at the Buxton, Derbyshire...

Canon and Kodak pair up.(Canon Europe, Kodak NexPress Solutions)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Canon is strengthening its working relationship with Kodak NexPress Solutions in Europe, by signing a three-year sales, distribution and service deal for digital production monochrome printers. Under the agreement, Canon Europe will have...

Karat Plus's UK debut.(AB Dick UK)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The first of the new generation 46Karat digitally imaged presses is due to arrive in AB Dick's Glasgow showroom this week. Raymond Hillhouse, general manager for AB Dick UK, says: "The press coming in is 46Karat Plus version that was...

Steep rises in gas and electricity bills.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Printers are being warned of steep rises in gas and electricity bills as several major energy providers announce price increases for both home and business users. British Gas is bringing in a 12.4% rise in gas prices and a 9.4% increase in...

BBC Magazines switching to Adobe InDesign.(BBC Worldwide Ltd. BBC Magazines)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... BBC Magazines is switching to Adobe InDesign following a successful pilot with It's Hot! Magazine. By October this year, BBC Magazines expects to have most of its 40 titles migrated to the new application. It has paid for 350 licences.The tight...

Ashford Colour Press installing a Lithrone SP40.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Two years after a management buyout at Ashford Colour Press, Gosport, the company is installing a Lithrone SP40.The dedicated perfecting press joins a line up of Heidelberg presses at the #10m turnover company. The printer produces educational...

New Print Academy.(British Printing Industries Federation)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... BPIF's new Print Academy is to start this month. The academy has been set up to give all industry workers access to City and Guilds qualifications and NVQs. From August 1, 2003 it has been compulsory for all those on an apprenticeship scheme to...

Gilbert Hatch dies.(Xerox Production Systems Group)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
September 2, 2004... Gilbert Hatch, president of Xerox Production Systems Group, has died following a drawn out fight with cancer. Mr Hatch was widely known and respected in the UK, thanks to his last position of worldwide head of high end monochrome and colour...

Paper peace deal.(Confederation of Paper Industries, Graphical Paper and Media Union )(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Industrial action by 5,000 GPMU members in the UK paper industry has been averted after the union reached a settlement over pay increases with the Confederation of Paper Industries. Talks were held at CPI's Swindon headquarters on August 25...

Polestar Direct talks enter second week.(Graphical Paper and Media Union )
September 2, 2004... Polestar enters its second week of negotiations with the GPMU this week over the proposed closure of Polestar Direct Leeds. The company began a 30-day consultation process on August 24 after announcing that the site could be closed as a way...

Michelson hails verdict as `victory for the industry'.(Amos Michelson's opinion on court judgement on Creo Americas Inc.'s patent infringement case )(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... A US court has ruled that Creo has not infringed Agfa patents on automated loading of plates into a platesetter, not because the Creo system is radically different to Agfa's, but because Agfa failed to declare full details in its patent...

Olive magazine.(product information)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The October issue of BBC's Olive magazine will come complete with a 24- page supplement which is aimed at publicising Harrods' `Made in Italy' promotion which runs from September 6 to October 30. Polestar Chantry will print the glossy...

M-real's New Thames mill partnership.(Remarkable Pencils)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... M-real's New Thames mill is working in partnership with London based company Remarkable Pencils, a specialist in recycled stationery, to recycle plastic cups into pencils. It takes one cup to make a pencil and the mill has so far collected...

Self employment grows significantly.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Self employment grew significantly last year according to official figures released from the Trade Department's Small Business Service. Five hundred companies are started up per day, the fastest rate recorded since 1995. A breakdown shows that...

First Impression leaves lasting debt.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... First Impression, the trading name of Howden Litho, has left creditors owed #420,000 and with a limited amount due from assets, the estimate is that unsecured creditors will be almost #350,000 out of pocket. The creditors meeting this week...

Regional newspapers on the climb.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Regional newspapers are showing healthy circulation gains in spite of cutting down on bulk sales, which have previously been used to inflate headline readership figures. Joint figures from ABC and VFD show that more than 99% of regional...

Arvato on schedule.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Arvato says that it is on schedule to begin building its gravure plant in Liverpool early next year. The company, which confirmed in July that its E170m facility will be built in Speke, south Liverpool, is working with the city's council...

SGIA Imaging Symposium.(Screenprinting & Graphic Imaging Association International)
September 2, 2004... Vutek is sponsoring the SGIA Imaging Symposium in Brussels, from September 9-11. The symposium has been designed for European printers, offering attendees a close-up look at emerging imaging technologies in Europe. There will be a plant tour,...

Yorkshire printing companies offered help.(Printnet Path to Learning )(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Yorkshire printing companies are being offered help by the Printnet Path to Learning to find them local training courses in order to improve their staff's skills and help their business to progress. The Printnet Path to Learning or P2L project...

Hollinger International 400-page report.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Hollinger International, former publisher of the Telegraph Group of newspapers, is due to release a 400-page report detailing a year-long internal inquiry into the company's affairs. This could lead to further criticism of Lord Black of...

Paisley joins EfI's board of directors.(Christopher Paisley)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Christopher Paisley has joined Efi's board of directors and will chair the boards Audit Committee. Paisley is a member of the Financial Executives Institution and serves on the board of directors of Brocade Communications, Volterra Coroperation...

Flint introduces ArrowStar sheetfed ink systems.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Flint Ink has introduced ArrowStar sheetfed ink systems to commercial and package printers in North America. These include ArrowStar 8030, ArrowStar Fast Setting and ArrowStar High Strength inks. The three formulations will be featured at Graph...

Vertis in vanguard for five - colour NexPress.(Vertis Europe and Croydon's investments in machinery installation)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Vertis, Croydon, has been spending in both print and mailing areas as its strives to offer what managing director Linda Scott says are services that are up to the minute in terms of relevance, timeliness and accuracy. Last week it became...

Pyramid builds for B1.(Pyramid Printers moves)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Pyramid Press has moved to new 32,000sq ft premises in Nottingham and has crowned its move by investing in its first B1 press. The new unit was purpose built for Pyramid and is its fourth move in its 25-year history. "We simply outgrew what...

Not all Mail fails.(Royal Mail Datapost's services)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... In spite of criticism of its latest performance figures for delivery of letters, the Royal Mail is doing somewhat better when it comes to the delivery of printed matter. Quality of service figures for July 2004 show the magazine delivery...

Hickling & Squires adds to long suit with SM74.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Hickling & Squires has taken delivery of a ten-unit SM74 at its factory in Nottingham to add long perfecting to a line up of presses that already includes a five-, four- and two-colour version of the same Heidelberg press. It also runs a B2...

Closer look.(Digital Print World 2004)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Digital Print World 2004, London's only showcase event dedicated to the full digital print production process, is taking a closer look at recent large format trends with the debut of its dedicated Large Format Zone. It will present the latest...

Queen's Award for Enterprise.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Outstanding businesses from the printing sector have just weeks left to apply for a Queen's Award for Enterprise, UK's accolade for business success. This year nominations are also being invited from individuals felt to be worthy of a new royal...

International Co-operation release.(JDF Marketplace)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... International Co-operation has released a second edition of JDF Marketplace for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Post-press. The edition includes a more user-friendly design and a two- up listing format. JDF Marketplace is...

Institute's goal.(Information Management Institute)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The International Digital Printing Industry Directory will be published in the early autumn of 2004 by the Information Management Institute. The institute's goal is to include all companies that manufacture printers, supplies and related...

Inkjet overprinting capacity.(Mercury Packaging)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Mercury Packaging, Ashfield, is to increase its inkjet overprinting capacity after increasing demands from the UK and Europe for its Safe and Secure security products. Reducing lead times and increasing product performance, Mercury's additional...

Creative leads the way with PaperLinx online.(Superior Creative)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Superior Creative in Wiltshire has become the first printing company to be connected to PaperLinx's online purchasing system. The printing firm has used its Tharstern SQL MIS to interface with PaperLinx's Business Internet Trading Engine...

Millvale trusts Fuji for ctp.(Fujifilm)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Millvale Printing, Evesham, has invested in ctp as part of a five-year plan to bring all production inhouse. It prints business cards to brochures and high quality packaging. Its first ctp system, a Fujifilm Luxel Vx-6000 violet platesetter...

Javelin shuts as sale fails.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Catalogue and brochure printer Javelin Printers has been closed with the loss of all jobs after a buyer could not be found. Henry Shinners, joint administrator at Smith & Williamson, says: "Unfortunately we weren't able to complete a sale....

Quark's new ground in London's heart.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Quark is opening its first London office within days. Contracts on premises overlooking Trafalgar Square are expected to be signed this week with the company moving in almost immediately. "For the first time Quark will have offices in...

Funded to visit Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Five autistic customers and three members of staff from the City & Guilds Printing Group, Wirral, have been funded to visit Heidelberger Druckmaschinen. They received funds from George Clarke, md of Heidelberg, London, his personal assistant,...

Colin Lammie made commercial director.(AGI Media Europe )(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Colin Lammie has been made commercial director for AGI Media's UK operating companies. He formally worked as senior vice president for Southern Europe Finance and Operations. Mr Lammie is an economics graduate from Bristol University and is a...

Piers Morgan payoff.(Daily Mirror pays)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Piers Morgan has secured a #1.7m payoff from the publishers of the Daily Mirror after being sacked by the paper. The editor was told to leave after publishing fake pictures that appeared to show British soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners....

Duplo System 2000 installed.(Anglia Polytechnic University)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge, has installed a Duplo System 2000, comprising of a DC-10/60 Suction Collator, a DBM-120 Bookletmaker and Trimmer. The equipment was installed to cope with its growing A5 and A4 booklets inhouse...

Sherwood and Sicpa partner on DataLase.(Sherwood Technology, Sicpa Group)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Sherwood Technology has signed a global licensing agreement with Swiss ink manufacturer Sicpa for its DataLase colour change chemistry. The agreement means Sicpa can offer customers inks containing Sherwood's non-toxic additives, which...

CIP4 in JDF test.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... CIP4 has conducted its largest round of JDF interoperability testing yet with a 95% pass rate achieved. The work out in Vancouver involved 35 different products which resulted in 115 pairings. Just seven failed. This is the most...

Norprint is chosen as Arca reseller.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Norprint Labelling Systems has become one of only two UK resellers for the Arca range. Mike Aiken, managing director of Norprint's systems division, says: "In just the first few months of sales, products from the Arca range are accounting...

Professional job.
September 2, 2004... London digital printer Expocentric and Vail Printers of Hemel Hempstead are helping Westminster Council clean up the city's phone boxes. The printers were commissioned to produce 20,000 mock prostitute cards, as well as six-feet prop versions,...

Agfa goes large at fairs.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Agfa will showcase its large format digital printing systems at the Viscom/ProSign International Trade Fairs for Visual Advertising Techniques and Signmaking to be held in Paris, Madrid, Dusseldorf and Milan. It will demonstrate two Grand...

Second annual charity golf day.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... M-real hosted its second annual charity golf day at the Marriott Forest of Arden in July raising #17,500 from guests and sponsors in aid of two charities. Despite traditional English summer weather with high winds and cloud, 68 intrepid golfers...

Three new vinyls.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Seal Graphics has added three new vinyls to its range. Each is a white 80-micron monomeric vinyl designed for use with solvent printers and do not require an inkjet coating. Two of the vinyls have matt finishes and one a gloss finish. They are...

Kevin Beatty appointed.(Kevin Beatty)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Kevin Beatty has been appointed managing director of Associated Newspapers. He moves from his role as managing director of Northcliffe Newspapers Group, a position he has held since 2001. Prior to this he was a member of the launch team for the...

Jargon-free publication.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... More than 90% of British businesses have access to e-mail and Internet. The DTI has launched a new jargon-free publication called Internet and e-mail to help businesses use the services to their advantage. The advice includes how to reach a...

Floodlight to close.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Floodlight, the adult education listing publisher is to close after 68 years. Attempts to find a buyer for the four different directories have failed and the latest edition will be on sale until March. Competitive tenders were held for the...

Singh makes early exit from Blackburns.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Gurdev Singh has parted company with direct mail and print company Blackburns eight months after he was appointed group sales and marketing director. Blackburns' chairman Robert Atkinson says that Mr Singh will step down from the board...

P for B show is a sell out.(Print for Business Show)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Exhibition space for this year's Print for Business Show is sold out. David Sewell, chief executive at the IPIA, is delighted with the response and expects more than 1,000 visitors over the two days. "Our aim has always been to give...

Thieme 5060 proves to be Chars cup of tea.
September 2, 2004... Chars Display is making a bid for the large format point-of-sale and display market following the installation of a four-colour Thieme 5060 automatic uv screen line. The company, situated in London's Shoreditch area, claims the investment...

Stock in trade.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Chris Edgar, production manager of The Print People, gets it in the face at a fun day organised to raise money to send two-year-old leukemia sufferer Sara Thackray to the US for specialist treatment. The Daily Record in Scotland has been...

Mapcis charts new route with mbo.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... A buyout has saved the collapsed business of the Map 80 group of labelling technology companies. A new company called Mapcis is operating from the same premises in Wokingham and Halstead, Essex, and has taken on the operations from...

Trio of sites to host open houses.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Heidelberg is offering printers another chance to see some of the equipment it launched at Drupa, at its autumn open houses in Tamworth, Brentford and Leeds. Visitors will be able to see the Speedmaster CD74, the Suprasetter thermal ctp...

Mitchell aims to keep SE work in Scotland.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... David Mitchell, chief executive of Astron, the print management company which has won the #8m print contract for the Scottish Executive, says he intends to keep as much of the work as possible within Scotland. "I am very conscious of the...

The Short Run at cutting edge with Xcalibur 45.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Exeter book and journals specialist The Short Run Press has replaced a first generation Agfa Antares platesetter with an Xcalibur 45, moving the company from silver-based plates to thermal. At the same time the company has moved from...

COMMENT: We must embrace green future.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... It is a measure of this industry's unfailing ability to shoot itself in the foot that print is tarnished as environmentally unfriendly, when it is among the few modern businesses that can become almost self sustaining. Paper, the main...

IN MY OPINION: Sidney Bobb.
September 2, 2004... Sidney Bobb of the British Association of Print and Communications Whenever people in the industry get together they tend to talk about its depressed state and, despite words from the wise, nobody seemed to be able to do anything about it....

Yell's executives.
September 2, 2004... Yell's two top executives shared #15.8m when they sold almost half of their holdings in the telephone directories group. Ceo John Condron, who has worked for Yellow Pages for 24 years, netted almost #11m when he sold 3.2m shares at 340p, while...

Stock repurchase programme.(EFI Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The board of Efi has approved a stock repurchase programme in which up to $100m of the company's common stock may be repurchased. Repurchases will be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. Copyright: CMP...

Advertising revenues at the Tribune.(Tribune Co. (Chicago, Illinois))(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Advertising revenues at the Tribune in the US increased in July. The media company reports publishing revenues of $362m in July, an increase of 1.8% compared with the previous year. Advertising revenues increased 2.6% to $278m, compared with...

New York Times, ad revenues.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... At the New York Times, ad revenues grew by 2.2% to $169m in July, although strength in classified ads for the automotive sector was offset by continued softness in property advertising and a slight decline in help wanted ads. The NYT's New...

Eastman Kodak to buy imaging business.(National Semiconductor Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Eastman Kodak is to buy the imaging business of US chipmaker National Semiconductor. The acquisition will strengthen Kodak's ability to design and manufacture image sensors for digital cameras, camera phones and other consumer electronics...

Increase in fuel tax would cause problems.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... An increase in fuel tax would cause problems for countless small to medium sized businesses, says the Forum of Private Business (FPB), which is calling on the Chancellor Gordon Brown to abandon his proposed increase in fuel duty. ...

Johnston on the up as Sheffield site is found.(Johnston Press PLC)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Johnston Press has found a location for its new #40m printing plant in Sheffield, due for completion by 2006, says ceo Tim Bowdler. "We have identified a site that we like, conveniently located for the city and motorway network," he says,...

Reuters profit targets.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Reuters has set its top 100 managers profit targets that will be built into their bonus schemes and added to existing incentives built around sales performance. The scheme is part of the three-year Fast Forward programme that aims to...

Blackmore joins BPIF Business.(Julian Blackmore appointed)(British Printing Industries Federation)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... BPIF Business, the commercial business support arm of the British Printing Industries Federation, has appointed Julian Blackmore of Wilson, Lee & Partners as its associate for East Anglia. Mr Blackmore will help launch and implement BPIF...

AB Dick deal gets the nod.(A.B. Dick Co.)(Presstek Inc.)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... The US bankruptcy court has approved the acquisition of AB Dick by Presstek, though it is also seeking bids of more than $41.2m before October 29 from alternative bidders. Presstek remains in the driving seat with its decision to provide...

UBM rises in the US but ad levels drop.(United Business Media)(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... United Business Media (UBM), the parent company of Printing World, increased market share with its US technology publications in July, but the improvement did not prevent advertising volumes decreasing by 6.5% compared with July 2003. ...

Appointment of liquidators.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... * Select Media Ltd Previous company names XXX Publications Ltd and Daywhiz Ltd Magazine publishers. Liquidator: JM Brennar, Trafalgar House, Grenville Place, Mill Hill, London NW7 3SA * Majestic Promotions Ltd Previous company name...

Meetings of creditors.(Calendar)
September 2, 2004... * Communicating Print Ltd at 109 Swan Street, Sileby, Leicestershire LE12 7NN on September 1 * Printek Printing Services Ltd at 100-102 St James Road, Northampton NN5 5LF on September 7 at 11am * FFBP Print Direction Ltd at 60-62 High...

Final meetings.(Calendar)
September 2, 2004... * Holmfield Prints Ltd at CBA, 39 Castle Street, Leicester LE1 5WN on September 24 at 2.30pm for members and at 2.45pm for creditors * Thames Valley Print Finishers Ltd at BWC Business Solutions, 8 Park Place, Leeds LS1 2RU on August 27 ...

The trends: Colour management.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... From Print on Demand.com Demand up for printers 12% of all print and prepress firms plan to invest in colour management capabilities - the highest response for this question in the history of the surveys. Colour management on the...

The size of the industry.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... From the British Printing Industries Federation * In monetary terms the printing industry has grown by an average of 1.5% per annum since 1998. * Net capital expenditure within the printing industry was approx #815m in 2001. * It...

The Top Ten Paper producing countries.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Despite 2003 being another difficult year for the paper industry with unused capacity, production of paper was up by just over 2% on 2002 in Western Europe and totalled 95 million tonnes. Germany tops the table, taking 22% of the share, with...

Outdoor types in top form.(Outdoor Advertising Associates )(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Figures from the Outdoor Advertising Association show that revenues from the medium increased 9.1% in the first quarter of 2004 year on year. The total income was just under #200m and follows on from a 10.4% overall rise registered in...

UK manufacturer sales in the printing industry 2001.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Advertising literature, with sales of almost #3.2bn, remains print's largest market sector. However, for the first time in seven years it has shown a decline in sales. A 5.9% drop in value is a significant fall and comes largely from poor sales...

ENVIRONMENT: The landscape is changing.
September 2, 2004... Faced with the twin pressures of ever tighter environmental laws and customer confidence, printers need to adapt now and for the majority there is much to be done By Gareth Ward Printers that do not adapt to environmental pressures and...

Cestrian and Highlight bring mines into open.(Brief Article)
September 2, 2004... Graphic designer Mark Lester won over the Mines Advisory campaign with a cold call. Irena Kuszta, MAG's head of communications, says: "He has the sort of talent you can spot a mile off. With 90% of funds raised spent on MAG's clearance...

Q&A Getting the key facts on PDFs.(Portable Document Format)
September 2, 2004... What is a PDF? PDF is an acronym for Portable Document Format, a proprietary file format developed by Adobe Systems for the display and printing of electronic documents. PDF files contain all the text and graphic elements present in a...

Getting there: Richard Williams.(interview)(Interview)(Biography)
September 2, 2004... RICHARD WILLIAMS What has been your career high? Two spring to mind. Northern Whig getting the contract for the ballot papers for NI Assembly elections is one. And working in Laos under the Communists as the only European. What...

The danger of spoiling the printed job for a ha'penny worth of sealer.(Pomeroy Pressroom Products )
September 2, 2004... In the next few months there is the potential for a significant rise in the price of inks and varnishes as the oil price rises begin to kick into the economy. Paul Sprechley, coatings manager for Pomeroy Pressroom Products, says: "It is...

Q&A Dealing with waste really matters.
September 2, 2004... After washing up the press, I throw the slops from the wash up tray into the drum holding the dirty cleaning rags. I have always done this but someone told me that new regulations will put a stop to this. Is this true? It certainly is, and...