Diversified printing group OPUS has posted a $12m profit for 2015 as cashed-up major shareholder 1010 Printing backed the acquisition of new assets including Adelaide laminating and foiling business Protectaprint.

Australian packaging group Orora has paid $107.8 million ($US77m) to acquire US marketing and print company IntegraColor and expand its North American footprint. The move comes a couple of weeks after Orora recorded a half year profit of $88 million in the six months to December 31.

Andy Preece, chief executive and managing director of paper merchant Spicers, has resigned from the board, effective immediately. Spicers - formerly PaperlinX - this week posted a profit of $6.3m for the six months to December 31, compared with a loss of $90m pcp.

Swiss manufacturer Lüscher AG Technologies will showcase latest updates to its XPose! Flex line and the MultiDX! Computer to Plate system at this year’s drupa. Lüscher - acquired by Heliograph Holding in August 2015 - also announced plans to redefine its corporate design.

Jill Cowling has been named to a new chief operating officer role at print communications group Blue Star Print in New Zealand. Cowling has been with Blue Star in various roles since 1998, starting out as Group IT manager responsible for New Zealand and Australia.

Canon has been awarded the coveted 2016 A3 MFP Line of the Year award from US-based global researcher Buyers Laboratory (BLI). Researchers said the Canon line produced ‘remarkable’ results in a rigorous two-month laboratory evaluation.

In the first major revamp of its Acuity range of flatbed UV printers used in POP, signage, display and photo markets, Fujifilm is launching eight new models at the upcoming FESPA expo in Amsterdam, with Fujifilm Australia offering them to the local market shortly after.

Exhibitors are focusing more on software devlopment, communications and workflow rather than printing hardware innovations at the drupa media conference in Düsseldorf this week.

Spicers, formerly PaperlinX, has recovered from the collapse of its European operation to record its first group profit in eight years, despite concerns about the decline of the commercial print market in Australia. Spicers posted of half-year net profit of $6.3m, compared to a loss of $90m previously.

Revitalised manufacturer to showcase its Evolutionary press with more than 250 incremental enhancements and improvements as it pursues its goal of future-proofing offset printing. Patrick Howard visits the Offenbach foundry and factory.

A new Superia range of prepress products from Fujifilm will help printers adapt to increasing cost and environmental pressures by reducing wastage, emissions, water use, energy use, labour and materials in the offset litho printing sector.

The latest drupa survey has found that printers around the world are increasingly optimistic about the year ahead. "…the biggest increases in positive feelings are in Africa, Australia/Oceania, Middle East and Asia," according to the 3rd drupa Global Trends report.

The adphos Group has developed the next generation of its dryer range that is aimed at boosting performance and quality for digital printing presses. The new adphosNIR® technology provides near instantaneous drying and enhanced print quality, said the company.

Spandex Australia’s latest ImagePerfect Material Guide features many new specialty products aimed at lucrative markets for sign makers and graphic producers. "This new guide clearly illustrates the many possibilities available to wide format sign and display businesses."

The Circular Economy, which aims to reshape business models so that we stop trashing resources, can be a tough sell for many printers. But everyone can contribute in their own way, writes sustainability consultant Laurel Brunner.

The PIAA board will meet next week to address a range of issues raised in an emergency meeting between board members and the Members Action Group over the direction of the peak industry body. "I have committed to conduct a review in a number of key areas," said acting president Kieran May.