Earlier this week, a dozen dubious-looking characters assembled outside what looked like a replica of one of Glenn Murcat's award-winning corrugated-iron sheds, out in the back-blocks of Penrith. James Cryer was there.

Konica Minolta has opened entries for its second annual National Specialised Print Awards that recognise customers who achieve excellence in print with the help of a Konica Minolta digital press system. 

IVE Group hiked earnings by 23% to $55m and launched a $55.6m raising to fund the acquisition of data business SEMA and the purchase of a second 80-page LFWO press at its Franklin Web plant in Sydney.

PMP posted a net loss of $126 million in FY17, dragged down by $105 million in costs related to its merger with IPMG, but CEO Peter George says Australia’s largest printer is now well positioned for the next two years.

Marketing services company Salmat has recorded its first profit since 2014 after launching a business transformation program that focused on key strengths including digital and traditional direct mailing.

Wide format printers wanting to boost their presence in soft signage and industrial textiles have the opportunity to see production first-hand this week at Starleaton’s Textile Open House at Mount Waverley, Melbourne.

Andy McCourt was at the foothills of the Blue Mountains on the weekend for the ‘Old Friends’ tour of the newly re-opened Museum of Printing at Penrith, NSW.

Industry leaders PMP and IVE Group’s Franklin Web took home major awards at the 26th annual Australasian Catalogue Association (ACA) awards event held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

Print DNA’s Chloe Rudd has been named the South Australia winner in the LIA 2017 Graduate of the Year awards and will go on to compete for the national title later this year.

Konica Minolta Australia is launching its industrial print technology line-up into the New Zealand market following its success in this specialist area in Australia.

With Coca-Cola alone producing over 100 billion plastic bottles every year, graphic supply chains have a key role to play in the campaign to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles more suitable for recycling, writes consultant Laurel Brunner.

EFI's white paper on LED 'cool curing', such as in the VUTEk LX3 Pro hybrid flatbed/roll printer, shows how the process can increase performance and lower total cost of ownership for wide-format production.

The idea that an Australian printing company could be recognised as a top-level investment stock on the ASX seems to fly in the face of industry sentiment and investor opinion. Peter George is determined to change that perception with a plan for 2019.

The federal government has awarded the multi-million-dollar printing contract for the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey to Fuji Xerox Document Management.

Paper merchant Spicers has reported a statutory profit after tax of $1.7 million in the 2016-17 financial year, a drop of $3.6 million from its result in 2015-16. In its full year results, the company posted sales revenue of $380.7 million for the financial year, a 3.1 percent decline from the previous year.

Gold Coast label house Super Labels has upgraded its platemaking capabilities with the addition of a new computer-to-plate machine from Screen GP. The Screen PlateRite FX870II, supplied by Jet Technologies, is capable of digitally producing flexo, offset and letterpress plates at up to 4800 dpi.