Good news for the NSW sign and display industry, with the State Department of Education approving funding for training that will formalise the skills and knowledge of signage staff who lack formal qualifications, in a fee-free programme.

The Real Media Collective (TRMC) has secured a win for the industry, with the reinstatement of Schedule X for all printers, following submission during the recent lockdowns.

The print industry showed its generous heart, using a GoFundMe page to rally around the young family of Sydney printer Adrian ‘Aido’ McManis, who sadly succumbed to his cancer last Wednesday, raising $45,000 in just a few days.

TRMC says Woolworths' commitment to multi-channel marketing is a win for the retailer, which saw its net profit jump by a quarter during the pandemic, and for print, which continued to prove its value.

Print people around Sydney and further afield are being asked to come together and chip in through a GoFundMe page to support the family of popular local printer Aido McManis, as he sadly passed away today.

Print industry employers association PVCA saw its membership income fall by a third in the last 12 months, as Covid caused printers to keep all the cash they could.

Smart factories are on their way, with print set to be one of the beneficiaries from the coming together of data, the internet and robotics, reports Print21 senior journalist Jan Arreza.

Printers in locked down Sydney and Melbourne are continuing to print, operating under the essential services banner until told otherwise, as the government moves to slash the time it takes for lockdown business support payments to kick in.

Small and medium-sized printing and packaging businesses in the current lockdowns, whose turnover has been hit by 30% or more, will be entitled to govt support of between $1500 and $10,000 a week, providing they keep all their staff on the payroll.

Print and packaging staff who are among the 200,000 people who live in NSW's Fairfield LGA, and travel to work in print and packaging businesses outside it, need to be tested every three days from now on if they have no symptoms.

Abbie Graham, a printing and graphic arts apprentice at Spatial Services in Bathurst, has won the NSW Heidelberg Apprentice of the Year, pipping youngsters from Imagination and Ligare to the post.

As Naidoc week runs across the nation, Australia Post has added a new line in its address section on its packaging, providing space for the traditional place name to be included in the address.

TRMC is pushing the Fair Work Commission to reinstate Schedule X into the industry award, which allows two weeks of unpaid leave for self isolation, and double holidays for half pay.

Sydney will remain in lockdown for another week, although print and packaging businesses appear to be free to carry on manufacturing, providing they adhere to the five main caveats. Next Friday's NSW PICAs have been postponed to August.

TRMC has garnered industry support from its largest employing members to support an industry initiative for federal government to support the vaccination roll-out across the industry.

Print21 has a new national sales manager, with highly experienced publishing sales professional Marni Groves taking up the role across all the Print21 media platforms.