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Amcor Flexibles was forced to shut down its factory in Port Melbourne for two days this week after a worker tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Eight more staff then tested positive. The food, beverage and pharmaceuticals packaging print plant is now back up and running. Read more
The latest issue of the nation's biggest and best-read print industry magazine Print21 is arriving on the desks of print business owners and managers around Australia and New Zealand.
Show specials, latest technology, panel programmes, all from the comfort of your office – the world’s first virtual print trade show has opened, as the Australian Print, Sign, Display & Graphics Virtual Trade Show goes live, and sees 1600 visitors on its first day.
Clarke Murphy Print is filling NRL grounds with crowds, albeit corflute ones with the Fan in the Stand, a new and winning initiative for the innovative Sydney print business, which saw it featured on Channel 9 News.
The Australian Sign & Graphics Association has issued a five-point action plan, and other guidance, under a bulletin entitled Chaos Reigns, to help sign and display printers deal with the fallout from the new casuals double dipping ruling.
Publishing giant News Corp is stopping the presses for the majority of its regional and community titles, with 76 moving online, and several dozen folding completely, as it takes the strategic decision to pivot into a digital media business.
NSW trade binding house Twin Loop has moved into bigger premises, which owner Wayne Rubin says will enable the business to continue with its steady growth trajectory.
PacPrint, the local four-day print solutions exhibition held in conjunction with Visual Impact and the Label & Packaging Expo, will now be held from 28 September through 1 October next year, in its usual Melbourne home.
Ovato NZ is launching a new publishing arm, aiming to resuscitate the Kiwi magazine industry, following the devastating closure of the country's biggest publisher Bauer Media NZ last month.
Technology innovator Screen GP is launching new print solutions for the packaging sector for folding carton, corrugated, and wide web flexo, setting itself up to be a major player in the field.
The Melbourne print industry is reeling as a plunge in sales due to coronavirus sends high-profile print business Bambra Press into voluntary administration. The business is trading on, with administrators looking to sell it as a going concern. Owner John Wanless says a restructure is necessary.
The April horror month for print saw two thirds of commercial printers experience falls in sales of at least 30 per cent, with a quarter experiencing falls of between 50-70 per cent, and 15 per cent seeing sales plummet by more than 70 per cent.
Casual staff who are paid a 25 per cent loading are also now entitled to receive leave and other benefits associated with full time staff, in a court ruling that means print businesses may be liable for back pay.
The print industry's campaign to have all government and taxpayer funded print produced on Australian presses received a boost, when a Queensland state minster raised the issue in Parliament, calling on it to pressure the Commonwealth to buy Australian.
Trade employers association Print & Visual Communication Association has seen its figures move into positive territory for the first time in three years, CEO Andrew Macaulay commending the board for their focus.
Dandenong-based Perfection Packaging has scooped the prestigious (North American) FTA Best in Show wide web category Award for Print Excellence, crediting the use of the Kodak Flexcel NX plates in large part for the award.
Brendan Hill, CEO of magazine giant Bauer, has signalled its intention to have its furloughed print magazines back on the presses by September, with big hitters NW, OK! and WHO all currently suspended.
Currie Group sales and marketing director Phillip Rennell says the closure of trade house Sydney Binding is an opportunity for more printers to bring binding back inhouse.
The federal government has told all its departments and agencies to pay suppliers more quickly than they are doing, and says invoices for less than $10,000 must be paid immediately. PVCA CEO Andrew Macaulay hailed the edict as “great news” for printers.
Bright Print Group has started a new trade perfect binding business, Twenty 20 Binding, stepping into the gap left in NSW when Sydney Binders decided to close its doors last week.
Amcor has raised its full year earnings per share outlook, as it released robust third quarter profits it said were due to virus-induced supermarket panic buying.
HP is launching an inline coating system for its high-speed inkjet webs, developed by Harris & Bruno and capable of both aqueous and UV coating, as part of its drive into the commercial market.
Imaging giant Kodak is doubling down on its investment in digital printing for its growth prospects, as its March quarter figures reveal its Sonora processless plates are experiencing surging demand.
Two perfect binding trade houses have written to Print21 to let the industry know they are open for new business in the light of the closure of Sydney Binding.
The German owner of Australia's biggest magazine publisher, Bauer Media, is reportedly in talks to offload the business, following a troubled few weeks for the company.
The Covid earthquake smashing the regional and community newspaper industry is seeing News Corp looking at restructuring all its non-metro titles, but the proposed deal to sell them to ACM is off.
Trade printer Sureprint is in liquidation, the move bringing to an end the eight-year-old business that came to attention in the collapse of the Media Options trade printer, which went down with multimillion-dollar debts in 2013.
With expos being postponed Visual Connections has stepped up to bring the trade show experience to the industry’s desktops, launching a new, online expo for print, sign, display and graphics.
The print industry is in shock as Sydney Binding closes its doors, the owners pulling the pin on one of the only two major perfect binding trade houses in the country.
The centrepiece Muller Martini Acoro A7 perfect binding line at closed Sydney Binding is heading overseas, but the buyer says it has smaller binders that would be well suited to the Sydney market.
The country's biggest trade printer CMYKhub has all five of its print sites up and running again, and is on the front foot with ideas and solutions for its resellers to drive print sales.
Online print giant Cimpress, which owns Vistaprint in Melbourne, saw its print orders plunge by 65 per cent at the end of March and beginning of April, recovering to 40 per cent down by the end of the month.
Shares in major heatset printer Ovato are in a trading halt, after they jumped by 81 per cent in morning trade. No reason has yet been given, nor any further details.
Major newspaper publisher News Corp has called in management consultants Deloitte to review and cut its costs, with printing, and its smaller and regional newspapers, in the spotlight.
The country's biggest publisher, Bauer Media, is suspending printing of some of its magazines and cutting 70 jobs as it deals with a fall in advertising revenue.
Orora has finalised the sale of its Australasian Fibre business to a subsidiary of Nippon Paper Industries for $1.72bn, with Orora's net proceeds after tax and costs amounting to $1.55bn.
Armed with a near 5000 strong Bring Back Print petition, Print and Visual Communications Association CEO Andrew Macaulay met with deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, with McCormack asking for a written submission, which Macaulay said will be submitted shortly.
The New Zealand print industry is open for business again, emerging five weeks after the country went into total lockdown to see off the coronavirus, but now facing a challenge in finding work for the presses.
HP is launching a new Brilliant Ink inkset with the new PageWide T250 HD continuous feed printer, which comes with inline coater, which it says will enable it to compete directly for offset work.
Close to 4000 printers have now signed the Bring Back Print petition, less than a week after it was launched with the aim of returning the $150m-$200m worth of government print back to Australia. It goes to the PM today.
The spend on outdoor print in Australia dipped by $10m to $86m in the first quarter as the Covid-19 virus hit March marketing budgets, which will likely continue to be depressed in the current quarter.
Machinery manufacturer Bobst has acquired a majority stake in Cito-System, a company that specialises in manufacturing creasing systems for fibre-based packaging.
Controversial signage operation Skope Group will have its second creditors meeting on Monday, which could spell the end for the tangled business, which at one point had revenues of more than $40m and operations across the country.
The New Zealand print industry will be operational again next Tuesday, with the Kiwi government easing restrictions from the heavily criticised Level 4, which closed down the industry, to Level 3.
Nine Media is reporting that national mail monopoly Australia Post was considering axing most of its mail delivery service, with a one day a week option on the table.
Heidelberg is launching a robot loading system for its Diana folder gluers, upgrading the speed, and launching a new version of its auto packaging system.
Chili publish has launched Chili publisher Online, a cloud-based software as a service solution for document creation and editing for web-to-print systems.
The AMWU, the PVCA, and Marvel Bookbinding & Finishing are joining forces to launch a campaign to call for all levels of government to immediately shift all the $150m+ printing it is sending overseas back to Australian print businesses.
Australian Community Media is suspending printing at four sites, halting production of many of its non-daily local newspapers. ACM publishes around 160 titles. Its 14 daily papers will continue.
Industry super fund CEO Graeme Russell has come out swinging against critics of super funds investing in illiquid assets, describing the comments as “politically motivated rubbish”.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has updated the Fair Work Act to enable employees to take at least two weeks of unpaid pandemic leave. It also enables employees to take double their annual leave at half their normal pay, if their employer agrees. PVCA is welcoming the move.
Frank Hilliard, founder of Eastern Press and one of Melbourne's best known and respected print identities, has suddenly passed away, leaving family, friends, colleagues, customers and the wider industry in shock.
Rent relief is now available for hard pressed printers, with the Commonwealth government announcing a mandatory code of conduct for commercial landlords and tenants that allows commercial renters to pay reduced rent during the Covid-19 pandemic, if turnover falls by 30% or more.
Australia Post is temporarily relaxing some its rules governing Print Post, in particular insert weights, frequency, and volume, following representations from The Real Media Collective.
Heidelberg is launching two new high-performance die cutting systems, as well as a short run solution for smaller printing companies that may use Heidelberg jobbing and cylinder presses.
Xeikon is unveiling its new-generation dry toner technology, which it says delivers higher speeds, reduced cost of ownership and further improved quality. It is also launching two new digital presses.
PVCA CEO Andrew Macaulay wants printers to know there is no government essential service list, with the association nonetheless lobbying government to ensure that the critical nature of print and packaging to all supply chains in our economy is known, and should form part of policy planning.
Canon Production Printing Australia is launching its new varioPrint iX-series, an advanced sheetfed inkjet press which will print 9,000 SRA3 images per hour, or 320 A4 images per minute, on a wide range of media including offset coated paper from 90 to 350gsm.
Heidelberg is launching robots and Push to Stop for its Stahlfolders, which it says increase efficiencies and address high labour requirements.
Printers looking to add a high margin revenue stream to their business will be more than interested in the Dimense one pass digital textured wall covering printer, now available in ANZ through Stick on Signs distribution channels.
The country's two big paper merchants say the rapidly falling value of the Australian dollar will inevitably mean paper price rises in the coming months if the value does not lift.
The world's biggest offset press manufacturer, Heidelberg, is launching a new Speedmaster range, which it describes as the most intelligent and automated ever produced.
Wagner Prestige Labels is now producing a third of its labels on its new Durst Tau 330 RSC E inkjet label press, and enjoying dramatically reduced waste levels.
The coronavirus pandemic is continuing to wreak economic havoc around the world, and the Australian print industry is not immune, with printers seeing a drop in trade.
The country's two big printers, IVE and Ovato, will now be working for the same major client, as the country's two big magazine publishers are joining forces on 9 April.
The country's biggest trade printer CMYKhub is outlining its virus plans to the trade as print comes under pressure in the Covid-19 pandemic.
TLC boss Barry Webster has told Victorian premier Daniel Andrews to back print in the current crisis, as Andrews looks to impose further restrictions on the population in order to battle the virus.
Regional newspapers are closing as they battle a fall-off in advertising since the coronavirus got serious, with fears also raised over the future of some of the major metro papers.
Small and medium-sized businesses can get up to $100,000 to help with cash flow so they can keep operating, pay their bills, and retain staff during the coronavirus pandemic.
The government is increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $30,000 to $150,000, it is also expanding access to the scheme to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million).
The federal government is introducing a scheme that allows businesses to deduct 50 per cent of the cost of an eligible asset straight away, as part of its efforts to combat the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian government will make available loan guarantees for some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as part of its effort to combat the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
To help businesses through the coronavirus pandemic, the Australian government is offering to pay half of an apprentice or trainee’s wages at an eligible business for the first nine months of this year.
As the coronavirus sweeps the globe and efforts to contain it cause economic stress, Australian printers are just beginning to feel the effects. But there is optimism and comfort in the knowledge that the crisis will end.
The country's two big paper suppliers Ball & Doggett and Spicers both say they have more than enough stock to cover all demand for commercial grades in the coming months.
Print & Visual Communication Association is running a series of crisis management sessions designed to enable printers to meet the myriad demands of the coronavirus environment.
Flood ravaged Imagination Graphics will be back up and running, with chuffed owner Emmanuel 'Budgie' Buhagiar successful in an insurance claim, which will see all kit reinstalled, including a new Konica Minolta B2 digital inkjet KM-1.
Xerox has put its hostile takeover bid for HP on ice, citing the need to focus on the coronavirus, and saying the pause in action has nothing to do with the plummeting stock prices of both companies.
Currie Group managing director Bernie Robinson says the company has a host of Horizon finishing, Foliant laminating and Cron CTP systems all available for less than the new $150,000 instant asset write down limit brought in to help business through the virus.
Two former Waratah Group execs caught up in a front-page World Vision print contract exposé, Stephen Kernahan and Brett Chalmers, have resigned from their roles at Finsbury Green. Monday was their last day.
Digital print solutions developer Durst is closing its factory in Italy until the end of the month as the coronavirus blitzes through the country, which is currently the worst affected in Europe. Supplies, ink and support will be unaffected.
The giant trade show drupa 2020, which would have attracted 250,000 printers, has been postponed – for the first time in its history – and will now run next April instead of this June, the move the inevitable result of the growing coronavirus scare which is closing down the world.
The federal government has unveiled a raft of packages created to help small and medium sized business – which includes the vast majority of printers – carry on working through the coronavirus scare, including a massive uplift in the instant asset write off.
Industry association PVCA is issuing advice to print businesses to enable them to minimise risk of their staff becoming infected, which in the main says don't panic and take sensible precautions.
Under-pressure controversial signage business Skope Group has seen trading entity Scream Visual issued with a winding up order, and Skope Group Holdings is now also in external administration.
Print21 wishes to clarify that Express Print & Mail on the Sunshine Coast is not in liquidation, contrary to the story that was on today's Print21 newsletter.
Konica Minolta chairman and managing director Dr David Cooke is set to move on from the business, seven years after breaking the mould and becoming the first non-Japanese to head one of the big Japanese tech companies.
HP says drupa will see the "most exciting launches in the history of Indigo" announcing a raft of new print solutions with eight new presses that include a 6000sph B2 press, an entry level SRA3, and software for its new range of label and packaging presses that will enable them to hit any spot colour within three minutes.
HP is launching a B2 6000sph duplex press that pumps out up to a million sheets a month, as it identifies two key markets for B2 printing – premium quality, and high volume, and releases two presses for those two markets.
With the labels and packaging market set for continued growth, HP is launching new presses for labels, flexibles, and cartons, including a narrow web digital press the V12 which will compete on speed with analogue presses, running at 120 metres a minute.
Controversial signage business Skope Group director Ann Orren registered a new trading name Skope Group Wholesale Manufacturing, just four days before placing Skope Group into voluntary administration at the end of last month.
The world's major wide format expo Fespa Global 2020, due to take place in Madrid in three weeks time, has fallen victim to growing coronavirus fears and been postponed.
The increasing global nervousness over the coronavirus is starting to impact print, with ink and equipment manufacturers among those dependent on China now looking at dealing with the looming Covid-19 shadow.
Print businesses in the areas most affected by Covid-19 are struggling, unable to get consumables in and jobs out, in what could be a precursor for the situation in Australia if lockdown is ordered.
As fears over the coronavirus sweep over the world, causing cancellations of major events in affected areas, giant international trade show drupa says it is all systems go for the June event, with no plans to cancel.
The Printing Industry Creativity Awards deadline has been extended by one week to next Friday 13 March, as printers focus on preparing their businesses for the impact of the coronavirus.
Controversial signage outfit Skope and its various associated entities are in administration, just six months after it managed to transform a $2.3m debt in a closely related manufacturing arm into a favourable DOCA, leaving rivals fuming.
Growth slowed in the out of home industry last year, with 2019 showing a total increase of 1.5 per cent on net media revenue last year – but spend on print fell by eight per cent, according to the figures from the Outdoor Media Association.
National print business Ovato (formerly PMP) struggled to make headway in the first half, with all figures on the slide on the back of the softer economic environment in Australia. Its share price fell by a quarter on the results. Outside advisors have now been brought in.
Sydney signage and large-format printer Easy Signs will move into a larger factory in April, tripling its floorspace, just a few years after its previous massive upgrade.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is approving Orora’s sale of its Australasian fibre business to Nippon Paper subsidiary Australian Paper.
Diversified marketing communications group IVE – which includes one of the country's biggest print operations – saw its half year performance metrics slip back from last year, but it still achieved a solid $40.1m EBITDA and paid out an ‘attractive’ dividend to investors.
National mail monopoly Australia Post group revenue for first half of 2020 was up four per cent year-on-year, but letters revenue plunged again, down by nine per cent, with CEO Christine Holgate warning “the time has come to transform these services".
Press manufacturer RMGT (formerly Ryobi) will present a cloud-connected smart factory concept at drupa, where the presses, post press, and other processes are all integrated with automated guided vehicles moving the paper around.
BGS Printing has upgraded its finishing capability with investment in new Horizon kit, including a bookletmaker and three-sided trimmer, both supplied by Currie Group.
The owner of press giant manroland Sheetfed GmbH is instigating an aggressive pricing strategy for its Roland offset presses, in a bid to boost sales and keep the factory humming.
Avon Graphics is buying the assets and business of troubled laminating outfit Protectaprint, which went into administration at the back end of last year.
High profile print identity Theo Pettaras has sold his Digitalpress business to marcomm services outfit Bridgestone Investments in a strategic move, which will also see it enter wide format production.
An artists' collective is vandalising JC Decaux bus shelter printed posters across the east coast capital cities, pulling them out and replacing them with their own climate-change messages, in an attack on the quarter-of-a-billion-dollar sector.
The world's biggest offset press manufacturer Heidelberg is launching what it says is a new generation of Speedmaster presses, which it calls 'the most intelligent and most automated' to date.
Top Ovato executives, including chairman Michael Hannan (l) and CEO Kevin Slaven (r) welcomed customers to tour the expanded NSW printing site, one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, and unveiled the company’s latest $20m manroland Lithoman 80-page high-volume web press.
Soar Print has taken out the World Label Award best printing of Digital Labels – Wines & Spirits, its entry beating off gold winning competition from around the planet.
The Covid squeeze on commercial print jobs, combined with new and inexpensive digital technologies, presents opportunities for hard-pressed printers in new areas. What are your thoughts? Take the Print21 60-second survey (no data required).
Mail Boxes Etc (MBE) Manuka is celebrating twenty-five years of ‘making business easier’ for the Canberra community; the long-standing MBE store opened its doors on 19 June 1995, with original franchise owners Arthur and Marilyn Gray still at the helm.
Manroland will launch a new version of its large format Roland 900 press in the next few weeks, based on the B1 R700 Evolution technology.
Spandex says car wrapping is now less costly, with its new ImagePerfect 2578PA 2D Wrap SuperGlide printable wrap film enabling single-person application of vehicle wraps.
Nascent digital technology developer Landa has a new CEO, as the company begins to ramp up its installation programme for the nanographic print technology.
Among the raft of new stimulus packages that came in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis is the $150,000 instant asset write-down. But it runs out in just four weeks, on 30 June.
Local newspaper the Canterbury Bankstown Torch is back in print following a seven-week shutdown that began when an ad sales rep contracted Covid-19, and just in time to celebrate its 100th anniversary next week.
Epson is allowing the virtual show attendees to view its latest range of solutions for signage, dye sublimation, direct-to-garment, and technical printers.
Lamson Paragon boss Rodney Frost will be among the CEOs sleeping outside for the night as part of the Vinnies CEO Sleepout, and he is encouraging other print bosses to do the same.
Print, processing, and converting giant Bobst is implementing a new customer experience strategy, which will see it focus on its own competence centres and eschew the traditional industry trade shows.
Esko has unveiled its Innovation Hub, an interactive always-on tool to enable the industry to explore the Esko 2020 portfolio of new and upgraded products in a virtual environment.
Chili publish is releasing Version 6 of Chili publisher, the software to simplify and automate graphics, which comes with new features that facilitate the online editing user experience and speed up what it says is the flawless production of on-brand visuals.
Imagination Graphics is back up and running, three months after the summer floods ravaged the premises, with the country's first Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000 taking centre stage at the Marrickville business.
Nine has sold its former Fairfax NZ newspaper business Stuff for the princely sum of $1, and a Kiwi dollar at that, but is keeping its printing plant, which it will lease back to Stuff.
The Real Media Collective has gained a major win from AusPost, lobbying the mail monopoly to agree a relaxation of terms across Charity Mail, with Promo Post concessions next in the association's sights.
GJS has signed a deal with Schulze to begin distribution of its German-engineered, automatic pre-treatment solutions for direct-to-garment (DTG) digital textile printers, with two models available.
Sandra Duarte is the new CEO at Centrum Printing, saying she is proud to accept the high profile role at the large format, display and packaging printer, and says she will use the role to promote young women into print.
Personal videos of this year’s PrintNZ Apprentice of the Year Top 5, recorded while they were in lockdown, have been progressively uploaded to the association’s Facebook page this week.
Currie Group is the latest leading industry supplier to confirm its participation in Australia’s first virtual trade show for print, sign, display, and graphics, taking out the largest presence at the online show.
The CorruJet digital carton press from the joint venture between Koenig & Bauer and Durst has been voted the winner in the prestigious Drucker des Jahres (printer of the year) awards for the manufacturer category at Druck & Medien magazine in Germany.
Cactus Imaging took out an Honourable Mention in the OMA Big Bold and Bright quarterly awards for its Schweppes roadside job.
Perceptions that flexo is bad for the environment and produces grubby output are changing, and rising numbers of print buyers embrace this print method, writes print environmentalist Laurel Brunner.
Agfa saw its first quarter plate sales hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and says the remaining quarters are also likely to see lower levels of production, while inkjet system hardware sales fell, but ink sales remained steady.
Innovative award-winning Sydney print business Carbon8 is using its technology and expertise to produce thousands of protective face visors for front-line workers.
Bob Gardner, one of the founding directors of pioneering Sydney company SOS Print + Media has passed away at his home in Perth following a long illness.
The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) has released its 2019 Annual Report, which reflects on the out of home industry’s achievements and contributions to Australian communities last year – the final one before the Covid crisis.
As Covid-19 restrictions begin to lift across Australia, printers are turning their attention to helping business get back into operations, with Cactus Imaging one of those looking forward, coming up with a Social Awareness Pack.
Focus Print Group CEO Mark Singh Shergill is finding a new way to release the tensions of running a business in the Covid era, taking up boxing – and fighting his way to a national title.
Currie Group is helping labels and packaging printers that use its HP Indigo presses up-skill their sales practices during the Covid downtime, through a series of small group webinars.
Digital inkjet solutions developer Durst is back in production, following the Italian government's introduction of Phase 2 of its lockdown.
Ravenwood Packaging is establishing a new subsidiary in Australia, appointing Sam Aloschi to be the company’s Asia-Pacific managing director. The UK-based packaging and labelling company specialises in linerless labels and pack inspection systems.
Press manufacturers Komori and KBA have both taken a hit from the effects of the virus, with both recording losses in the March quarter.
AB Graphic International (ABG) will provide Digicon Automation modules to deliver high-speed finishing in both nearline or inline configurations for the new high speed HP Indigo V12 Digital Press.
The Bring Back Print petition is gaining traction, as the Print and Visual Communications Association takes it to government and opposition figures, aiming to get them to take government and taxpayer funded print off Chinese presses and into Australian printshops.
Press giant Heidelberg is expanding its subscription model, which sees printers not pay for the press but rather the sheets they produce, to create four distinct contract packages.
The rush to buy supermarket products has seen demand for Jet Technologies' label and packaging materials for FMCG goods skyrocket by 500 per cent.
The latest drupa global Spotlight report says a survey of printers and suppliers revealed challenging conditions – and that was before the impact of the coronavirus.
Shrinking print volumes combined with the housing affordability crisis may send some printers to new areas, with one US company developing a 3D house printer.
Business insurance premiums are on the rise for printers, and the Print and Visual Communications Association (PVCA) wants to hear from you about it.
Print & Visual Communication Association is opening a mental health support line to help under-pressure printers receive support in these difficult days.
The Real Media Collective is hosting a series of webinars, Re-Build Together, aimed at helping printers to get back on their feet, and deal with various aspects of the coronavirus crisis. They will run throughout May and June.
Digital print solutions developer Durst is releasing the IP on the masks to its Rhotex users around the world, including those in Australia. It has been producing masks in its demo centre at its Italian headquarters, using its filter technology developed for its inkjet presses.
PVCA and virtually every other business grouping is backing the government's new downloadable CovidSafe app, which indicates when you have been in contact with an infected person, as a key tool to get the country working again.
Sign industry associations Asga and Fespa are running the first of their webinars tomorrow (Thursday). It will cover the JobKeeper allowance and associated topics.
Franchise print group Minuteman Press is launching a Covid-19 initiative aimed at engaging with the local business community, offering a free poster, and a free advert on its newly created Bounce Back website.
Procter & Gamble is launching an all-paper, plastic-free deodorant packaging for its Old Spice and Secret brands, as the pushback against plastic packaging grows.
Print environmentalist Laurel Brunner is calling on drupa to show its green colours during the 11 days of the mega show next April, to provide leadership to the global industry.
In this time of pandemic, printers such as Guru Labels are adapting to the shifting business environment and helping in the fight with the coronavirus at the same time.
Fujifilm Australia is moving into new headquarters in Macquarie Park, leaving its past digs on Old Pittwater Road in Brookvale, with the graphic arts division included in the move.
The one-year countdown to drupa is back on, with the reset show now slated to open its doors on April 20 next year, and the organiser saying virtual shows that are attempting to muscle into the gap don't cut the mustard.
Clarke Murphy Print has put its POS expertise to new use and come up with an innovative solution to a big problem for some who are self-isolating in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic: the new recyclable Build-a-Desk.
EFI is hosting a series of global live streams this evening and tomorrow, highlighting applications from its range of wide format printers with experts on hand to answer all questions.
The Print and Visual Communication Association is continuing through next week its popular series of webinars that outline advice for printing and packaging industry players.
Advance Press based in Perth was one of the winners of the Kodak Sonora Green Leaf, joining a record number of printers around the world in what is a growing recognition of green printing.
GSP Print, the company responsible for printing ads for leading out-of-home advertising company JCDecaux, is marking 50 years of operation.
Epson has established the Epson X Investment Corporation (EXI), a new CVC subsidiary to accelerate collaboration and open innovation, grow existing businesses, and create new ones, with ¥5bn ($72m) to invest.
PostNet Broadway in Sydney has become the first store from PostNet to join forces with MBE (Mail Boxes Etc), rebranding to become part of the larger more successful MBE network.
Len Lauer, CEO of innovative inkjet developer Memjet, has passed away unexpectedly at his home in California. He was 62 years old. Former Fuji Xerox Australia CEO Sunil Gupta is taking over the role.
The Print & Visual Communication Association (PVCA) is set to run webinars every day this week on the government's rent relief mandate, also covering the FWC's new edict. Today's webinar is oversubscribed already.
Foxcil, a leading Sydney label manufacturer to the print trade, has taken up the call by the Australian government to manufacture PPE, specifically face shields, and which are available to the trade.
Large format and display printer Coleman Group is using its new 3D Massivit printer to produce coronavirus visor masks to supply to various services.
PrintNZ has announced the Top 5 finalists in this year’s prestigious Apprentice of the Year Award, with each of the five now set to make an introductory video about themselves, as the awards ceremony has been cancelled.
The Print & Visual Communications Association is up in arms over taxpayer-funded print that is still going to China while Australian presses sit idle as a direct consequence of the coronavirus Covid-19.
With the Covid-19 virus impacting around the world Konica Minolta managing director Dr David Cooke will remain in his post past his scheduled departure date, until his replacement from Japan can make the journey down under.
Inkjet specialist Regis Thienard says we are at a clear tipping point for inkjet to become a dominant technology, and says its certain success is down to the nature of its process.
Sista Girl Sign & Print is launching today, with its co-founder Raquel Todd making it clear she has a determination to do great things for the Aboriginal community.
Demand for the $1500 assistance webinar run by PVCA yesterday was strong, causing the association to run it again today, with repeat sessions planned for next week.
The Real Media Collective is releasing its 28-page report it submitted to government this week, it provides key evidence that supports the paper, print, and mail industry as an “essential service supply-chain provider” during the coronavirus pandemic.
The largest magazine publisher in New Zealand, Bauer Media, is closing its business with immediate effect, following the government's refusal to undo its Covid-19 ban on magazine printing.
CPH Group is launching Blue Sky, a free, online resource centre that provides signwriters and the digital print industry with creative concepts, different thinking, and new potential target-market opportunities.
The PVCA is running a special webinar today (Thursday) which will focus entirely on the government's new $1500 employee wages assistance package.
The New Zealand government has banned the printing of non-daily newspapers and magazines, leaving print association PrintNZ “gobsmacked” with the decision, made as the country goes into lockdown in its attempt to thwart Covid-19.
The Real Media Collective has published research which shows that the coronavirus is unlikely to live long enough on mail to be transmitted, and which shows cardboard carries the virus for much less time than plastic packaging.
All Blue Star sites in New Zealand are now Toitū enviromark gold certified. The prestigious certification confirms that a business has developed a comprehensive plan to help it achieve its environmental goals.
Xerox has dropped its unsolicited US$35bn bid to buy HP, citing the coronavirus as the reason for pulling the pin on the strongly opposed takeover.
The mega-merger between the two biggest magazine publishers in the country may not go ahead after all, with Bauer reportedly looking to restructure the deal and slash the buy price.
The latest issue of the nation's best read print industry magazine Print21 is arriving on desks, delivering a host of rich content covering key issues in the ANZ print industry, with exclusive interviews, analysis and insight.
The public's enormous demand for hand sanitisers is causing a shortage of IPA press alcohol as dampening-solution providers find their alcohol suppliers switching to meet unprecedented need.
The packaging industry has been classified as an essential service by the US department of Homeland Security, while printers and packaging companies here are being urged to tell their MPs that their industry should likewise be classified as essential.
Print production kit from Australian Community Media and EPM Central Coast is up for auction, with the auction dates set for March 30 and April 15, on site and live streamed.
The HP board says the Xerox deal could be “disastrous” and is asking its shareholders to give the Xerox bid short shrift to enable the management team to focus on dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aldus Graphics has appointed industry veteran Shaun Pullen as its general manager for South East Asia. He will be based in Malaysia to serve the whole region.
Nippon Paper Industries has received approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board to go ahead with the acquisition of Orora’s Australasian Fibre Business.
Packaging demand across the world reached US$917.1bn in 2019 and is expected to grow in the coming four years, according to the latest data from industry analyst Smithers.
The state PICAs will be presented online this year, with the dinner events scrapped, and the National Print Awards postponed, as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic.
The director of drupa Sabine Geldermann is on the front foot explaining why the print mega show had to be postponed, and why it has been rescheduled to next April.
The world’s premier wide-format expo, Fespa Global Print Expo 2020, will take place 6 - 8 October, but not everyone thinks the rescheduling for just six months time is such a smart move.
A free business seminar for small and medium sized business will be running this Friday, at which the organisers say, Australia's best business experts will be uniting to help SMEs conquer the Covid-19 crisis.
Iconic men's magazine Playboy is ceasing its US print edition with immediate effect, bringing to an end a near 70-year odyssey that reflected changing society across the decades.
Global and regional print trade shows organisers are scrambling to reschedule their events planned for for next year, all of which will be impacted by the rescheduling of drupa to April, including PacPrint.
New Zealand print business owners' association PrintNZ has issued a comprehensive guide for Kiwi companies to access support and assistance during the growing coronavirus crisis.
With print business owners and managers operating in a high-pressure environment, and now the coronavirus Covid-19 to contend with, mental health advocate Steve Gamble says there are simple steps we can all instigate to ensure we are well grounded.
Print environmentalist Laurel Brunner says the industry needs an overarching method for quantifying the carbon footprint of print media production systems, in order to highlight the remarkable sustainability strides made by print.
Print industry association PVCA is issuing members with business continuity guidance, which it says will enable printers to keep supplying jobs to their clients if their staff are sick with the virus and unable to work.
Pride in Print has been postponed, the New Zealand print awards night falling victim to the coronavirus scare which has seen gatherings of more than 500 people banned.
The Visual Impact Expo which was to be held at the Gold Coast at the end of April, has been postponed in light of the Federal Government’s response to the rapidly evolving coronavirus.
Melbourne-based Bambra Press has become the only Australian print business to be certified by the Arjowiggins Academy of Certified Printers.
Creative software solutions provider Workflowz is launching version 12 of the Elpical auto image software, which comes with auto enhancing, auto deep etch and auto tagging.
Australian supplier for the print, finishing, food packaging, and industrial manufacturing industries, Jet Technologies, has made the switch to renewable energy at its Sydney HQ, reducing its carbon footprint and slashing its energy consumption.
Printers need to get their skates on if they want their best work considered for State PICAs and National Print awards, with deadline day for entries today, and the first one free to members.
The Australia & New Zealand Photobook Award 2019 winners were announced at the opening night celebrations of the Photobook/NZ festival. The awards are sponsored by Sydney printer Momento Pro.
Finsbury Green has suspended its former Waratah executives Brett Chalmers and Stephen Kernahan over the World Vision corruption allegations, which claim Waratah Group paid a World Vision advisor $3000 a month for the contract, unbeknown to the charity.
Nine Media is reporting that collapsed Waratah Group was paying major charity World Vision's printing advisor a hidden $3000 a month kickback in return for its annual $2.5m printing contract.
Durst is ramping up the ink and parts it is sending its distributors around the world, including to the newly opened Durst Oceania, in order to be ready for any tightening of supply lines in the wake of the ongoing and unpredictable coronavirus outbreak.
Print shows around the world are being pulled as the coronavirus spreads, with expos in the US, UK, and Thailand the latest to be postponed, although a major Chinese sign show, slated for February but cancelled, has now been rescheduled for July.
Industry software developer Chili publish, known for its Smart Templates, has cancelled its presence at drupa on fears of the coronavirus, becoming the first company to do so.
Printing press manufacturing giant Koenig & Bauer is heading to the flagship trade fair of the print and media industry with a raft of digitalisation solutions, product innovations, and a completely new machine design.
Waratah Group businesses Embassy Print, MW Assets and Waratah Digital are officially in voluntary liquidation, four months after the group went under with debts of at least $12m.
A US research report showed that many American printers saw revenue growth last year and many are optimistic about prospects in 2020.
Konica Minolta is launching a new digital embellishing system, the MGI JV 3D One. It is targeted at commercial printers, and it enables them to bring embellishing in-house. General manager Sue Threlfo describes as 'perfect for our Aussie market'.
Australian Associated Press (AAP), the national news agency supplying stories to national and regional newspapers, is closing, unable to compete with the free information on the internet used by newspapers as they all struggle with costs.
Xerox has officially launched its hostile takeover bid for HP, asking HP shareholders to sell their stock at $24 a share, and giving them seven weeks to do so.
Plans for local trade show Visual Impact on the Gold Coast next month are progressing unabated, with organisers saying that the Covid-19 outbreak is not expected to prevent the industry’s largest sign and display expo opening as planned 30 April – 2 May.
Penrith Print Museum finds a safe haven for its overflow of printing exhibits with the industry’s largest paper merchant able to store the heritage items in Sydney, writes James Cryer.
Flexible packaging printer ePac has broken the production record on its fleet of HP Indigo 20000 digital presses operating around the world, pumping out 20 million impressions in January.
Australian company Aldus has acquired foilmaker API Foils Europe (excluding its Dutch and Asian subsidiaries), creating a new company, API Foilmakers.
The Gold Coast is proving a popular choice of venue for the first Visual Impact expo for 2020, with visitor pre-registrations for the show up 50 per cent on the last iteration of the event, the 2018 Brisbane show.
Techkon’s ChromaLT – a lite version of the Chroma software – is now available in Australia, from the local distributor of Techkon colour-measuring instruments, Colour Graphic Services.
Fujifilm is launching a new flatbed LED UV print system, the Vybrant UF10, which has been designed for printers looking for a cost-effective entry or capacity upgrade to flatbed printing with Fujifilm quality.
Currie Group label and packaging exec Wayne Quayle was among the 50 global distributors who went to the UK for a week-long training and workshop session with AB Graphic International, during which they were also privy to the new drupa releases.
Komori is acquiring the MBO Group, the German company specialising in post-press equipment, it will be "business as usual" in Australia and New Zealand.
The Real Media Collective is to sponsor the Cannes Young Lions Australia, Marketing category, which calls on young marketing professionals to develop campaigns that include print as a powerful marketing tool in the broader marketing mix.
PVCA CEO Andrew Macaulay says simple attention to hygene will help stop any spread of the deadly coronavirus in the workplace, based on his experience of Sars and the Bird Flu while working in Asia at the time.
The rapid growth of digital textile printing will see the drupa launch of Touchpoint Textile, a new special show for digital textile printing applications, in Hall 4 of June’s giant show, complete with micro digital textile factory.
The first Print21 magazine of the year is out and arriving on desks this week, with the bumper issue packed with compelling engaging content for the nation's print business owners and managers.
The team at Soar Print is supporting the Waste-Not Kitchen by printing their soup packaging for free.
Currie Group has a new special offer for print businesses looking to implement HP Indigo digital print technology, offering a bundled deal with a reconditioned HP Indigo 7r, and free Horizon creaser folder or perfecting binding system.
The industry’s media hub Print21 is growing, appointing a deputy editor, Ian Ackerman, to join the senior editorial team of editor Wayne Robinson, editor-at-large Patrick Howard, and publisher Lindy Hughson.
Digital wide format solutions supplier Roland DG Australia has announced the dates around the country for its rip software training course, VersaWorks: Beyond the Basics.
Several industry events in China, including Sign China 2020, have been postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus in the country. The event was to be held from 24 – 26 February at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The Head Above Water 24-hour Swimathon is returning to Sydney’s Northern Beaches, after raising more than $80,000 for mental health programmes at the inaugural 2019 event.
The drupa Cube forum for 2020 will include 40 sessions, including keynotes from star designer James Sommerville and digital transformation influencer Michael Gale.
Registrations are now open for Visual Impact Gold Coast 2020. The event will be held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from 30 April to 2 May.
Mimaki is offering zero interest repayments on a range of printers including roll-to-roll, flatbed, and tabletop UV, available through Spicers.
Epson Australia is set to debut its first industrial direct-to-garment (DTG) printer, the SureColor F3060, in Melbourne next month.
Entries are now open for the 2020 Printing Industry Creativity Awards, which will culminate at the National Print Awards in July and incorporate a number of new categories.
The Australian Sign & Graphics Association (ASGA) and Fespa Australia have launched a conference for sign and display professionals, with the inaugural event to coincide with Visual Impact on the Gold Coast.
Melbourne print community The Papyrus Club is throwing its doors open as the venerable 60-year-old club seeks to welcome new members.
The battle for control of HP is in full flow, with a war of words between the HP and Xerox boards as they attempt to coalesce HP shareholders to their respective sides, but what does it mean for local printers?
The man behind the Xerox bid to buy HP, and the same man who blocked the Fujifilm bid to buy Fuji Xerox and then effectively sacked the Xerox board, is 83-year-old billionaire Carl Icahn – one of the kings of corporate raiders.
Gary Starkweather, the man who invented the laser printer, which then linked into the emerging desktop computers and enabled desktop publishing, wreaking havoc on the print industry, has passed away aged 81.
All the latest jobs in print are on the Print21 website, hit the button top right on the menu bar.
A successful entry into the Asian market for the rapidly growing HP Indigo packaging printer is a forerunner for an attack on the local flexible packaging sector.
Currie Group has won a global WorldStar 2020 Award for its industry-first #rhinosdownunder printed execution that featured on the PKN Packaging News magazine cover in March last year.
Joey Bacic's ambitious signage company OMG! is acquiring Adherettes, the Ernst-family-controlled 40-year-old signage business that hit the skids six months ago, as part of a major expansion plan.
