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.

The latest Power of Print webinar is set for 11am Wednesday, with Gordon Loch, managing director of The List Factory presenting.

Perth print businesses have been closed down by the police, with the city lockdown appearing to operate under different conditions to the rest of the country, where print remains open in lockdown.

Tonight’s SA/NT state PICA gala awards dinner has been postponed for six weeks, as Covid threatens an Adelaide lockdown.

The annual general meeting of the PVCA will be held in Sydney at noon on Friday 16 July as a hybrid in-person and Zoom event. The agenda will be released shortly.

Print and packaging businesses across the country are allowed to continue to keep operating, as new lockdown rules are implemented in states across the country to try and rein in the latest Covid-19 outbreak.

Printers in Sydney and NSW are on edge, as the growing Covid outbreak sends four LGAs into full lockdown, with premier Gladys Berejiklian so far avoiding closing the whole city.

New Zealand’s night of nights, the annual Pride in Print Gala Awards dinner event, is all systems go for tonight, unless you live in Wellington, or NSW.