At Labelepxo 2015, Epson will demonstrate the largest range of digital label printers and presses it has shown to date, and unveil several new products (on booth 9A50 from 29th September – 2nd October at Brussels Expo).

Former Printing Industries Queensland Board member and industry identity, Bruce Petfield, died last weekend at his family home in Brisbane. Mr Petfield was one of the first five owners to buy into Kwik Kopy.

Market survey and FESPA report highlights wide format innovations and utilisation in packaging sector as well as signage industry. This year’s FESPA exhibition in Cologne was the largest ever and showcased the latest technology in wide format technology.

The undisclosed health problems of Heidelberg CEO Gerold Linzbach has forced the press giant to appoint CFO Dirk Kaliebe as a temporary deputy chairman who will take on CEO duties. Linzbach has been on sick leave and his recovery is “likely to be delayed longer than expected."

Ricoh NZ will recycle all of its e-waste - including discarded computers, printers, phones and other electronic equipment - in a nationwide deal with ink and consumables recycler Croxley Recycling. "We’re proactive in the way we seek to handle all of our waste,” said Ricoh's Charley Peace.

Australian packaging giant Amcor has acquired a publicly listed specialty packaging company in India for $US26.4 million ($A35 million) to expand its presence in southern India. “India is a very attractive market for flexible packaging driven by strong economic growth," said Amcor.

Former Waratahs CEO Jason Allen will replace Bill Healey as CEO of Printing Industries, effective 20 July 2015. Healey, who is retiring after four years in the job, said Allen’s background would complement the board’s vision for the future of the association.

Heidelberg says its new partnership with Chinese manufacturer Masterwork Machinery (MK) is part of a plan to extend its reach into the folding carton market. Heidelberg dismissed suggestions it might be ‘diluting its brand image’ by allying with an Asian manufacturer.

Blue Star is pressing ahead with its aggressive expansion strategy in the wake of last month’s cancelled ASX float by parent company IVE Group and has signed a Heads of Agreement deal to acquire leading Sydney digital and sheetfed printer Oxygen.

Looks count and first impressions matter. It will probably be a spot color, a distinctive font, or the artful application of a metallic ink on the exterior of the pack that initiates the relationship between a brand and a consumer, says industry analyst Des King, in the latest expert article from drupa.

Fairfax has sold its former newspaper printing plants in Sydney and Melbourne to property fund manager Charter Hall Group in a deal worth $55 million. The deal reflects 'a strategy to pull back from print as the main distribution platform for the company’s papers,' according to a newspaper report.

Sydney printer Innovative Print Solutions has bucked the shift to digital by ordering a new Heidelberg XL 75 six-colour offset press to compliment its digital and wide format work. "It is going against the current industry trend somewhat but there’s a huge amount of offset work out there."

Digital readership of Australian newspapers has exploded over the past year with more than 450,000 additional readers, according to a new survey. Mobile readership is heaviest among people aged 25-39, with 38% consuming newspaper content on their mobile in the last four weeks.

Xerox has unveiled the iGen5 colour press, its latest digital colour cutsheet press that features an expanded colour gamut with an optional fifth colour. The machine is the first in the iGen range to offer a fifth colour option alongside CMYK. The optional fifth colours are orange, green or blue dry ink.

Mimaki and Esko have teamed up in a joint project to simplify digital packaging production for converters and commercial printers. The Original Good Package System aims to streamline digital packaging production for samples, small packing runs and personalised packaging goods.