Retaining and growing a customer base are the most frequently quoted hardships in running a printing business in today’s tough environment, according to Ascent Partners principal, Richard Rasmussen.

Despite fire and financial hurdles, Sydney-based printshop, Pure Colours, has risen above the challenges to embrace a brighter future with Konica Minolta. Founder and owner, John MacLulich tells Print21 of the business' long and winding road to success.

UK-based Toby Marchant, CEO of the paper merchant company, is about to get a taste of what his Chairman, Harry Boon, has had to put up with when shareholder activist, Andrew Price, relocates to the UK to continue his campaign to unseat the board.

Offset Alpine’s promotion, Capabilities+ continues its award winning procession, picking up the only gold awarded at the Sappi Trading global competition in Sydney last night.

The identity of the bidder for Salmat’s business process outsourcing division (BPO) is shrouded in mystery but industry analysts point the finger towards Aussie Post.

Some major market movements took place in May across a large section of our industry - the web, large and smaller commercial printing, transactional and outdoor print markets. drupa 2012 certainly didn’t slow local market activity, with TMA identified as the bidder for PMP and Salmat receiving a $300 million bid for its mail division.

Printing Industries is piloting a training course to educate and skill printers to deliver marketing value-add services for their clients. Developed by the PIAA and ADMA, the workshop covers social media, data management and marketing campaign creation.

The Lithographic Institute of Australia (LIA) NSW and Printing Industries will present a non-commercial perspective of drupa through the eyes of printers at an upcoming review night in Sydney.

Top end shuffles continue at PaperlinX with the company announcing this week the appointment of its new Chief Financial Officer, Richard Barfield, replacing the departing Tony Kennedy.

Brett Foran prepress apprentice from the NSW Land & Property Information is the 2012 NSW Heidelberg LIA Apprentice of the Year, while Angus Scott becomes the state's 8th Life Member.

Well-known Victorian commercial printer, immij, has taken on Fuji Xerox Australia’s 100th high-speed press to help bridge the gap between its digital and offset printing. The milestone hit less than two years after the first install turned industry heads in Sydney.

Adam Savage from Hobart's Print Applied Technology wins the Printing Industries - Heidelberg 2011 Tasmanian Apprentice of the Year.

Printing companies should not be restricted by believing innovation comes from technical knowledge only and may be out of their reach because of cost or lack of expertise. According to Alan Ryan, executive director of the Hargraves Institute, innovation is not necessarily about creating anything new, but more about what you do with what you know.

At a time when the graphic arts is enthralled with the seeming miracles of solid-state digital technology, the importance of mechanical processes in the printing industry can often be overlooked. Patrick Howard travelled to the Swiss city of St Gallen to ask Ferdinand Rüesch of Gallus, one of the most significant machine builders in the industry, about the state of process control and the company’s venture into folding cartons.