Label Makers is taking advantage of the generous hours of Perth sunshine – almost nine hours per day on average – by investing and installing a whopping 30kw photovoltaic solar power system on the roof of its factory in Karratha Street, Welshpool.

Book printing consolidation appears to have dealt a fatal blow to the venerable publishing industry production association as fewer professionals find the time to attend and contribute.

Reg Louden may be the oldest working printer in the world, and this Sunday 22nd December marks his 100th birthday. 100 years on and still working - raise the glasses, take to web, hit twitter, comment below and join the team at Print21 in wishing Reg Louden a very special happy birthday.

Women in Print ramps up for another series of business breakfasts, to run in March 2014. Now in its eighth year in Australia, this unique women’s-only industry forum will see a keynote address from renowned speaker and leading health commentator Dr Sally Cockburn, radio’s ‘Dr. Feelgood.’

We’ve all heard of the famous editorial, published way back in 1897 by the New York’s “Sun” newspaper, in response to a letter from a young girl, Virginia, doubting the existence of Santa Claus. Well, 116-odd years later, doubters and disbelievers still exist, about our very own printing industry.

Manufacturing in Australia is about to undergo the most significant upheaval since the 1940s. The announcement by GM Holden that it will stop making cars in Australia in 2017 is the latest in a series of blows to ‘traditional’ manufacturing that began with the 1980 exit of Chrysler.

Two new HP Indigo 7600s have cut out a niche in Blue Star’s Silverwater facility, with the high-speed digital engines driving business for the commercial printing giant. A $1.7 million investment for the business, capacity is already on the rise by up to 30% each month.

Richard Rasmussen continues his review of the year. In Part 2, he turns his attention to the major machinery that was reported as being installed or sold. This summary is by no means complete, but does provide a guide as to the volumes and type of machinery being sold.

There is more to improving productivity than simply running an engine faster. Reliability and continuous uptime can make all the difference. Paul McGarity is a convert to the improved performance of his new iGen4, not least because it gets him home earlier than expected.

Australia Post has lost its drawn-out legal stoush with online mail rival Digital Post Australia. The Federal Court has quashed an appeal lodged by Australia Post more than a year after it first dismissed the mail giant's allegations of trademark infringement against Digital Post Australia.

Rawson Graphics hits new speed and sustainability peaks with its latest prepress upgrades. Its switch to Fujifilm Brillia plates and a state-of-the-art Screen PlateRite CtP are set to triple the North Ryde-based printer’s platemaking speed and cut power consumption by more than 40%.

As 2013 draws to a close Richard Rasmussen, director of Ascent Partners, sits back from his monthly Market Watch and takes stock of the industry landscape. After another twelve months of market movements, Richard takes a look back over an exciting and turbulent year for print.

NSW printer Avonlea Labels has rated the image quality from its Rapid X2 narrow web press, with D2 finisher, as the best from all of its many presses.

Big name brands pile into the sector as a lack of transparency threatens to stymie bold growth predictions. Murky service level agreements could spell disaster for the global Managed Print Services (MPS) market, despite a forecast growth rate of 10.75%.

Who says there’s no money in printing? Young Samuel Moss, from NSW firm SBM, pocketed a cool $15K to further his education in the industry’s richest prize.

The strange marriage between industry magazines, ProPrint and Australian Printer, fails to entice editorial staff to remain with the title. Well-respected media types, Steve Kiernan, former ProPrint editor and Nick Bendel, journalist, will not be making the trek from North Sydney to Parramatta following the merger.