Mark Daws, Currie Group Director – Labels & Packaging ANZ, took a dozen Aussie and Kiwi label printers to the world’s biggest digital reel-to-reel label plant All4Labels, as part of the Labelexpo event.

Industry analyst Smithers forecasts steady growth in demand for industrial packaging across the next five years, with market value rising from $56.2bn this year at a compound annual growth rate of 3.3 per cent to reach $66bn in 2024.

Melbourne-based company Corporate Office Supplies has gone into liquidation. Two years ago the printing consumables supplier was found to have harassed a Queensland farming couple into spending almost $80,000 on ink cartridges they did not need.

Ball & Doggett is launching its inaugural Graphics catalogue, which it describes as an easy-to-use buyer’s guide for pressroom consumables.

The latest environmental development among printer manufacturers is Kyocera’s Green Curtains programme, growing plants on the outer surfaces of external walls and windows, writes Laurel Brunner from Verdigris.

The Print Control Wizard software from Esko scooped the coveted Award for Innovation at the Label Industry Global Awards, presented at Labelexpo Europe in Brussels.

Australasia’s largest newsprint mill, the 265,000 tonne per annum Albury Mill (NSW) will close by the end of the year, writes Tim Woods at IndustryEdge. All of the mill’s approximately 185 employees will be made redundant.

The booming Out of Home (OOH) media industry has suffered its first reverse in seven years, with the third quarter figures coming off the boil, but year on year the trend remains up.

The world’s biggest printer has been slugged with a US$10m fine to settle bribery and sanction busting charges, although with revenue exceeding US$4bn the fine is seen as little more than a slap on the wrist.

Melanie Fergin of Winguard Paint Protect Specialists is the first woman to win the Continental wrap crown in Australia and New Zealand, topping the local field in the Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions Wrap Like A King Challenge.

In less than three weeks time, 23 October, PVCA (formerly PIAA) is hosting the second annual Print2Parliament! at Parliament House in Canberra, in partnership with Media Super, with tickets still available.

Plain cigarette packaging with graphic warnings is losing its impact and should be coupled with warnings on the cigarettes themselves, a study has found.

Label substrate supplier UPM Raflatac has partnered with digital press manufacturer Xeikon and serialisation platform Magic Add to enhance its RafMore intelligent label solution.

Craft beer Kosciuszko Pale Ale has added thermochromatic ink to its new cans, which will change colour when the beer is at optimal 4C temperature.

Having control over workflow, production processes and environmental impact can be the differentiator between profit and pain, in an industrial sector that still suffers from over capacity and squeezed profits, writes Laurel Brunner from Verdigris.

Next Printing is moving into the labels sector, with the company investing in a new HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press and an ABG Digicon Lite converting system, both supplied by Currie Group, to kick-start its new business.