When ISO 16759 for calculating the carbon footprint of print media products was under development, we mostly had in mind paper based prints. It is interesting to see this standard being deployed for other types of print media, which is what a Taiwanese supplier of textiles has done.

Huge play in large format web offset (LFWO) will consolidate the sector into two players – IVE Group and PMP - once the mergers on the table complete. Phil Taylor, CEO Franklin Web (pictured), will run the Victorian part of the giant business.

Canon Australia and Konica Minolta will support PacPrint 2017 as Gold Sponsors, joining Currie Group, Graphic Art Mart, HP and Pozitive at that premium level of sponsorship. Roland is the event’s Platinum Sponsor, while Silver Sponsors include EFI, Mimaki and Spicers.

The final board meeting of Printing Industries held yesterday in Sydney brought the old and the new together. Ron Patterson and Peter Clark, the recently elected board members from Victoria and Tasmania, joined their future colleagues to review the year.

Dr David Cooke, Managing Director Konica Minolta, has joined business and religious leaders calling on the Turnbull government to pass laws against slavery-like conditions in Australia's trading partners, pointing to similar legislation on the books in Britain as a model for fighting modern slavery.

Increased consolidation and the growth of the wide format and digital sectors were hallmarks of the industry in 2016, says expert Richard Rasmussen of Ascent Partners (pictured) in his annual review.

Bauer Media will cease printing iconic teen magazine Dolly, shifting it to a digital-only format following its December 5 edition. The move comes seven months after Bauer relaunched Dolly as a mobile-first publication with a bi-monthly print edition. Ex-publisher Marina Go says the website is to blame.

NSW Police have warned that theft of mail from residential letterboxes fuels identity theft by international crime gangs, but industry professionals say printed mail is still safer than online. According to the ACCC, only 1.9 percent of identity theft scams reported in 2015 were due to direct mail.

Staff at IPG Connect in Brendale, near Moreton Bay, Queensland, say that a Daeho 116 guillotine installed by Currie Group last year has boosted their productivity - and reduced their back pains. The guillotine has increased the speed of IPG's operations by 60 percent over its old machine.

Printing Industries has announced the recruitment of two additional workplace relations advisers into the team. Both advisers are experienced operators and their recruitment will further strengthen the Association’s ability to service member needs, says CEO Andrew Macaulay.

Carsten Wendler, managing director, takes over the Australian and NZ printing and packaging supply business, renaming it Print & Pack Pty Ltd. This was the name of the original company that Wendler joined in 1996 as the packaging equipment business development manager.

Australia Post's New Year postal rate increase on commercial mailing of an average of 3.7 percent from January 3 next year is the latest in a series of price hikes inflicted on the direct marketing, mailing and printing sectors.

The tender process for printing next financial year's White and Yellow Pages phone directories is underway - but don't expect Australian printers to get much of a look in as printers in Singapore and China gobble up the lion's share of the work.

Happy holidays from Fujifilm Australia

Following the launch of its Domestic and Family Violence Support Policy, Konica Minolta now has a diverse group of employees across Australia trained by experts from the University of NSW (UNSW) to act as ‘go-to’ people for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.

As his first year as CEO of Printing Industries comes to a close, Andrew Macaulay says the association has come a long way since the beginning of 2016, but there is still much to be done. In a letter to members, Macaulay thanked them and the directors for their support and advice.