Archive for February, 2008
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Industry must promote paper, says expert
The paper industry cops a bad wrap in an age where going green is on everyone’s conscience. In the latest issue of Pulp & Paper Edge, Robert Eastment argues that the industry must promote itself better to balance these misconceptions.
Responding to a corporate Australia’s push for environmentally sustainable ‘green’ practices, and claims that e-publishing is less detrimental to the environment than paper publications, Eastment pointed out a number of facts proving otherwise, such as a study commissioned by the British Government into climate change, revealing that 25 per cent of CO2 emissions caused by human activity result from motor vehicles.
"The paper industry must seriously undertake a coordinated approach to counter the many comments and statements made by those who are vilifying it for their own ends," Eastment wrote. "It is becoming critical that the paper industry, which is responsible for the employment of over 300,000 employees directly and indirectly, promote paper as a sustainable industry and product."
The Australasian Paper Industry Association, along with other industry organisations, are currently working on producing an information brochure detailing the merits of both paper and the extended paper industry. Recently, a new book, See Me, was launched to show the exclusive opportunities which paper and print can deliver. Eastment believes that while such campaigns are important, they must be furthered through ongoing industry support.
"This and other campaigns will require a united backing from across the industry," he concluded.
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Epson and Fuji Xerox plan to print for the large format market
The two companies have signed off on an agreement that will see them working together to deliver plan-printing solutions to both the CAD and print-for-pay market segments, including Xerox Business Centres and Xerox Shops.
Under the agreement, Fuji Xerox will purchase direct from Epson large format printers which include Epson’s Stylus Pro 4450, Stylus Pro 4880, Stylus Pro 7450, Stylus Pro 7880, Stylus Pro 9450, Stylus Pro 9880, the Stylus Pro 11880 and Epson’s UltraChrome pigment-based inks and compatible Epson media.
Craig Heckenberg (pictured), Epson’s business solutions manager, said that the partnership was a result of a global agreement between Epson and Xerox that allows Xerox to provide its customers with the opportunity to purchase Epson’s colour imaging technologies.
"This partnership builds on Epson’s global relationship with Xerox and will provide advanced large format colour printing solutions for architects, engineers and print service bureaux," Heckenberg said.According to Allan Livings, Fuji Xerox business development manager for wide format systems in Australia, the deal will offer further benefits for customers.
"The introduction of the Epson range into our non-metro TXS dealer network will add another dimension to the very successful B&W wide format range of products The Xerox Shop dealers have to offer from the Fuji Xerox range," he said.
"In the past five years Fuji Xerox wide format business has grown ten-fold because of state of the art and leading edge B&W technologies offered to the market, and the addition of the Epson range will further strengthen The Xerox Shops’ offering to their wide format customers." -
Jobs of the week: Business Development Executive
Dalton Paper is a major supplier of paper products to the printing industry in Australia and is a division of PaperlinX, the world’s largest Paper Merchanting business.
An exciting opportunity exists to join the Dalton QLD team as a Business Development Executive, responsible for promoting the company’s products to Government departments, Corporations direct and Advertising & Design agencies.
The successful applicant must have flair and imagination with a sales/marketing background ideally within paper merchanting or the print industry. An ability to communicate and network to all levels of a company is required. Initiative, analysis and commercial skills are essential to enable value propositions to be created and explained to customers.
Other key criteria include strong presentation & time management skills, excellent communication and negotiation experience.
If you possess these necessary skills and are keen to join this dynamic team, please forward your application including resume to:
Kieron Potts
HR Advisor
7 Dalmore Drive
Scoresby Victoria 3179
Tel: +61 3 9765 0810
Email: Kieron.Potts@paperlinx.com.auEnquiries can be directed to Ross Smith, Dalton Manager QLD on 07 3326 6800
Applications should be received no later than the 7th of March 2008.
PaperlinX is an equal opportunity employer
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Avon Graphics lures Redback into its web
Only two years after its establishment, Redback Finishing has been taken over by Melbourne-based Avon Graphics.
Redback still has plenty of bite, and lots to offer Avon, according to Trevor Hone, managing director. Hone believes that combining the resources of both firms across the two plants in south-east Melbourne will expand the range of capacity that Avon is able to offer.
"By combining the extensive expertise, experience and facilities already available at Avon with Redback’s modern plant, leading-edge solutions and skilled staff, we can provide a more comprehensive range of options," he said.
The takeover now gives Avon the opportunity to offer spot and all-over UV varnish, acqueous coating and glitter along with expanded services in areas such as laminating, foiling and embossing.
"Avon Graphics has been providing the highest quality finishing services to the Australian graphic arts industry for more than 30 years," said Hone. "This expansion will allow for us to offer an even stronger and more comprehensive range of services to our clients."
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Ferag gets a handle on new markets
Three new products in the JobFolio range from Ferag Australia are aimed at mid-sized and small printers.
Mailroom and finishing systems supplier, Ferag Australia, has launched a raft of new products in its JobFolio range of ancillary equipment designed to help small- to medium-sized print businesses automate their finishing and handling operations in order to improve efficiencies and increase productivity.
The JobFolio suite of products now includes the JobFeed, JobStrap and JobStack models for a variety of conveying and bundling applications.
Introducing the new products, Thomas Klumpp, Ferag Australia MD, said the JobFolio range had originally been launched with a one machine and had now grown to include a range of equipment, with more to be added later.
"All these machines have one thing in common and that’s the philosophy behind them," he commented.
Pictured (L-R): Thomas Klumpp, Ferag Australia MD, and Adam Newman, product manager for the JobFolio range with Ferag Australia.All machines in the JobFolio range are designed to be suitable for long and short runs, are simple to operate, incorporate the renowned Ferag guarantee of quality and are economically priced to suit everybody’s budget. A novel feature is that all prices for the equipment are advertised up-front so there is no haggling over cost with the customer and no hidden extras.
"We think this is a new approach to the market today," added Klumpp.
Ferag is well-known in the newspaper and commercial webfed sector as a supplier of advanced mailroom and publishing equipment but this is the first time the company has targeted the small- to mid-sized commercial sector with its finishing equipment.
All JobFolio products are proven pieces of equipment that have been shown to deliver reliable, robust operation. By simplifying and streamlining the number of product variations in the range, Ferag is able to offer the equipment at a very competitive cost which includes installation, spare parts, consumables and local support.
René Luchsinger, marketing director at WRH Marketing, (pictured) the marketing division of Ferag’s European parent company in Switzerland that developed the JobFolio concept, said the products had been very successful overseas with hundreds of stackers and feeders already operating. In some cases JobFolio investments have paid for themselves practically "on the spot" he said, "because with manageable investment sums, these companies were able to re-engineer certain processes to massively improve efficiency and increase their earning power." -
BRW praises Worldwide Online
The hub-and-spoke model keeps rolling out the recognition for Worldwide Online Printing.
For the fourth year in a row, the group has been named Australia’s fastest-growing design and print franchise group in BRW magazine’s Top 50 Fast Franchises study.
CEO, Mark Mendelson (pictured) welcomed the listing as more positive news for the company. "We knew we’d had a great year, but it’s always tremendously thrilling when all our efforts to bring so many talented entrepreneurs into the system are recognised independently," he said.
Manderson also attributed part of this success to the hub-and-spoke model, which he believes has proved a real winner for all involved. "We were the first print communications group in Australia to introduce a ‘hub and spoke’ production model, and invested around $4 million last year to further develop our production and technology capabilities," he said."It means Worldwide’s franchisees can focus on sales, marketing and business development instead of getting bogged down with the intricacies of managing printing presses. Our investment is clearly paying dividends."
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Press Release Almanac: February 28, 2008
Keep up to date with Print 21‘s selection of the latest industry press releases received this week.
Advanced Inkjet Technology launches Digital Inkjet label press lines
Adobe AIR and Adobe Flex 3 Now Available
Monza Recycled – Environmentally Sound
Admiral Print dispels the Myth: Slow and Steady Wins the RaceAdvanced Inkjet Technology offer a range of digital inkjet solutions for label and graphics applications as well as industrial print applications. The range start from the DDK machine at AUS$145,000-00.
AIT digital inkjet solutions can be configured to suit the customers application and standard configurations are as follows:
DDK digital development machines in narrow web format. Unwind, CMYK print, UV cure, Rewind or loop to finishing press.
DPE digital print engines, either stand-alone CMYK print unit, or as add on to existing presses. CMYK digital print engine, pin and full cure cool UV options, digital varnish, digital cold foil.
DOP digital over-printer, a modular unit for single colour variable embellishment of pre printed labels.
DLP digital label press, a single pass press to convert from roll stock to finished labels in one line. Features include, Roll unwind, web guide, servo driven tension control, CMYK digital print, pin or full cure cool UV, digital varnish, digital cold foil, up to 10 conventional servo driven flexo or varnish heads, conventional hot foil, RFID insertion, security print, over lamination, up to 6 rotary die stations, inline slitting and rewinding, IML ( In-mold label) stacking, shrink sleeve converting, and in-line carton packing.
AIT machines are capable of printing at speeds between 5 and 60 metres per minute with 360 x 360 dpi resolution.Advanced Inkjet Technology is currently working on three industrial digital projects.
For more detail visit www.advinkjettech.comAdobe Technology Platform for RIAs Propels Innovation on the Web
Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced the availability of Adobe(r) AIR(tm) and Adobe(r) Flex(r) 3 software, furthering the Adobe technology platform for rich Internet applications (RIAs). Developers and designers use Adobe RIA technologies to rapidly create and deploy rich, branded content and applications. The release of Adobe AIR signals the next wave of Adobe RIA innovation by bridging the real-time, dynamic capabilities of the Web with the computing power and data capabilities of the desktop. Businesses that leverage the Web as a platform are now
using the latest Adobe RIA technologies to build and deploy more engaging applications with the widest reach across browsers, desktops and operating systems."For 25 years, Adobe has delivered technology innovation for our customers, beginning with desktop publishing and extending to multimedia and the Web," said Kevin Lynch, chief technology officer at Adobe. "Now, we continue to advance the future of digital experiences by enabling our customers to create highly interactive, expressive applications. This is an exciting time for Adobe, for innovation in
software, and for designers and developers who are driving the Web forward."Industry Leaders Embrace Adobe RIA Technologies
Leading companies across industries such as entertainment, finance, media, retail and social networking are embracing Adobe RIA technologies. Deutsche Bank, The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., and The New York Times Company, among others, use the Adobe technology platform for RIAs to help ensure customer interactions are engaging and effective."Adobe has been focused on improving the Web experience and delivering the underlying technologies to produce more interactive and expressive Web sites and applications, and the Adobe technology platform for RIAs hits right at a key need companies have today," said Al Hilwa, Program Director at IDC. "The ROI
of RIAs is real. A more engaging product visualisation experience in eCommerce applications for example, helps customers understand what they are buying, which leads to less online abandonment and increased average order size through cross-sell and up-sell visualisation."Running H/F 1
Adobe is also delivering new applications built with Adobe Flex and deployed on Adobe AIR, such as Adobe Media Player, now in beta release, which is a fusion of TV and the Internet that allows users to watch their favorite shows anytime and anywhere, as well as Buzzword, an elegant online word processor that has built-in collaboration capabilities.Adobe Technology Platform for RIAs
Adobe AIR, Adobe Flex and Adobe Flash(r) Player software are the foundation of the Adobe technology platform for RIAs. Adobe RIA technologies include tools, frameworks, servers, services, and runtimes that work together seamlessly, enabling the creation of engaging experiences with the greatest reach. There
are a variety of learning resources at the Adobe Developer Connection (developer.adobe.com) to help developers immediately start building RIAs for the browser and the desktop.Adobe AIR enables developers to create RIAs on the desktop using the skills and Web technologies – such as HTML, Ajax, PDF, Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex – they already employ. Applications deployed on Adobe AIR have the advantages of browser-based RIAs, such as speed of development, ease of use,
and access from virtually anywhere. Yet they also have the benefits of desktop applications, such as the ability to read/write local files, work with other applications on a user’s computer and maintain local data storage on the desktop.Flex is a free, open source framework for building highly interactive, expressive RIAs. Adobe Flex Builder(tm) 3, an Eclipse(tm) based development tool, accelerates Flex application development and includes new capabilities for deploying RIAs on Adobe AIR. Adobe Flex Builder 3 integrates with Adobe Creative Suite(r) 3 software making it easy for designers and developers to work together more efficiently.
Powerful new testing tools, including memory and performance profilers and integrated support for automated functional testing, speed up development and lead to higher performing RIAs.Adobe Flash Player, which reaches over 98 percent of Internet-enabled PCs and hundreds of millions of mobile and set-top devices, delivers unparalleled creative options, highly engaging user experiences, stunning audio/video playback, and virtually universal reach.
Major portions of Adobe AIR, such as the WebKit HTML engine, Tamarin ActionScript(tm) Virtual Machine, and SQLite local database functionality, are open source. Adobe is committed to contributing to the open source community on multiple fronts, including the release of the free open source Flex framework and
open source BlazeDS for high-speed data connectivity, as well as active membership in the SQLite Consortium. Visit opensource.adobe.com for more information.Running H/F 1
Pricing and Availability
Adobe AIR and the Adobe AIR SDK are available immediately as free downloads in English and offered for both Windows(r) and Macintosh operating systems. Upcoming versions are expected to be available for Linux and other languages. For more information, please visit www.adobe.com/go/air.The Adobe Flex 3 product line is available now in English and Japanese, and offered for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. The open source Flex 3 SDK is available free of charge and a beta version of Adobe Flex Builder 3 for Linux is freely available on Adobe Labs (labs.adobe.com). Adobe Flex Builder 3 is available as a standalone product or Eclipse plug-in, with the Standard edition priced at
US$249 and the Professional edition at US$699. For more information about system requirements and supported platforms, please visit www.adobe.com/go/flexIt might sound like a tenuous parallel, but Monza Recycled and music are actually in perfect harmony. Music sampling is the art of ‘recycling’ bits and pieces of old or existing recordings and using them in new compositions, regenerating sounds for the consumption and appreciation of new audiences. Boasting 55% recycled content (25% post-consumer and 30% pre-consumer fibre), Monza Recycled does the same thing with paper.
The campaign was developed and designed by Walterwakefield in Sydney. It features a series of vibrant posters and cards of various recording artists such as Madonna, David Bowie, The Verve, Nina Simone and the remixing and sampling of several classic songs. The campaign also touts the benefits that recycling music can bring to new audiences, alongside the significant benefits that using Monza Recycled can bring to graphic designers, printers, corporate customers and sustainability officers.
While its strong environmental credentials are widely celebrated, Monza Recycled is also defined by its outstanding print qualities, which are showcased throughout the imagery, printing and embellishing techniques of the new campaign. Some of the highlights include a record card featuring a disco ball printed with dense black, magenta and a silver pixels foil. One of the posters features the image of Bob Marley constructed from the lyrics of his famous song "The Sun is Shining the Weather is Sweet", which was remixed under the name ‘Bob Marley vs. Funkster De Luxe’ and became a Number 1 on the US dance chart. All of the posters and cards draw parallels between the recycling and sampling of music and Monza Recycled.
Monza Recycled’s FSC Mixed Source Certification ensures that it complies with the most stringent environmental, social and economic forestry management standards worldwide. It is Australia’s trusted and reliable first choice for those who demand environmentally sound paper.
Monza Recycled is available in weights from 90gsm to 400gsm in Hi-Gloss, Satin and Ivory finishes. The new Monza Recycled Digital range provides paper solutions for all iGen, Xeikon, Nexpress and HP Indigo requirements.
To get your hands on the promotion, call your local Spicers Paper office now or visit spicerspaper.com.au.
The game designed by How Graphic Design in Sydney, draws parallels with Media Prints proven speed to meet printing deadlines and dispels the myth that ‘slow and steady wins the race’. Media Print has exceptionally high print runnability and speed on the press. With that in mind, the on-line game challenge was for the hare to beat the tortoise in the fastest possible time. The winner picking up an Apple iMac computer. The online game featured illustrated graphics and many obstacles which provided an added challenge to those trying to complete it.
Over 2,000 printers and designers nationally entered the on-line Dalton Media Print game. Many of these clients were driven to the website via a direct mail campaign featuring the hare and tortoise characters from the original campaign. The direct mail piece was a very effective tool for driving traffic to the Dalton website.
Congratulations to Mick Tesser of Admiral Print in Hilton, Western Australia who was the winner of the Media Print on-line game. Mick recorded the fasted time in completing the game, with the Hare finishing first and clearly dispelling the myth that slow and steady wins the race. Mick will utilize the Apple iMac computer in his small family printing business in Perth.
Media Print disproves many myths about coated paper. For your copy of the Unsustainable Myths brochure please contact your local Dalton office.
Although the competition has finished, you still can play the Media Print game, just go to dalton.com.au/mediaprint, Beat that tortoise! See if you can beat the best score of 17,550.
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ACP mags lag behind competition
Readers could be fed up with gossip and celebrity news if the latest magazine circulation figures are anything to go by.
A number of ACP publications all experienced significant slumps in circulation and readership, such as Woman’s Day (down 12 per cent), TV Week (down 15 per cent), Cosmopolitan (19.3 per cent), Cleo (down 24.2 per cent), NW (down 11.6 per cent) and Dolly (down 25.3 per cent).
Former Emap titles acquired by ACP in September last year experienced a mixed bag. Some, like men’s magazine, Zoo, have continued to prove popular, while New Woman‘s readership dropped to 31.6 per cent, and FHM to 11 per cent.
But these results seem to have fazed ACP little, as it prepares to launch a local version of Italian fashion magazine, Grazia, later this year. While some within the media industry seem dubious as to the title’s success, group publisher of women’s lifestyle magazines, Pat Ingram, believes otherwise: "It will become a significant star in our stable," she said.
Rival publication, Pacific Magazines, also felt the blow of readers turning away, particularly in the case of New Idea, which was down 15.1 per cent. The acquisition of Time Inc publication, Who, has also proven shaky with readership falling 7.3 per cent.
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Who gives a rat’s? – Print 21 magazine article
2008 is the Year of the Rat in the Chinese calendar and a year for renewal, fresh starts and – product launches. With whiskers a-twitching and a nose for sniffing out the faintest aroma of change, Andy McCourt presents eight things to look out for this year.
Getting shot down in flames for making cliff-edge predictions that may be uncomfortable for some people is a risk I have taken many times in 22 years of research, writing and presenting in the graphic arts industry. It’s not something I do to annoy and stir up; I believe we must get our heads out of the sand and be fully aware of what influences the various sectors that make up the graphic communications business in order to future-proof ourselves.
Neither have I always been 100 percent on-target. In 1987 I studied the first commercial digital camera, the Sony Mavica, at ANPA in the USA and came away convinced that film, scanning and prepress as we knew it had five years life left in it at the most. Well, it happened but has taken 20 years so I get the booby prize, but in a way I have no regrets because the most important aspect of futurism is to be prepared for it, not to predict it. ‘I told you so’ is a useless phrase and demonstrates a failure to show, as well as tell.So here goes with my ‘Ratpicks’ for the year of the Rat. It’s appropriate that we chose the Chinese lunar calendar as symbolism since that country is so much on the ascendancy. India too, where the same animal calendar is widely used.
1) Super-greening of the printing industry
If you thought the limits of ‘greening’ our industry had been reached – think again. 2008 will see immense pressures to further reduce emissions, water usage, VOCs, and the most visible of our alleged sins – wasted paper. The most prolific cause of wasted (as opposed to waste) paper is over-production of non-targeted printed products. Shotgun blasts of hopeful marketing pieces with little if any demographic input. It’s an echo of the mass-market ‘big bang’ consumerism of post-war years. The producers of this type of printing will either be made accountable for its recycling, or will be forced to move further to short-run, targeted, on-demand non-wasteful models. Super-greening will not be purely a ‘top-down’ initiative born of legislation. Major corporate print buyers will be saying ‘show us your green credentials’ and if you don’t have any, you won’t get the work.2) Processless violet plates
Previewed at IPEX 2006, it seems full-steam ahead for Agfa and Fuji with violet-imaged plates that require no chemical processing, just a water wash-out to remove a preservative gum. Agfa already has controlled-sales beta sites in the newspaper sector while Fujifilm is citing a drupa May 2008 launch for its Brillia HD Pro-V chemistry-free violet plate. The promise of processless violet plates is one of less expensive plates and platesetters since they should image on most installed 400-410nm wavelength violet platesetters. It remains to be seen if this will portend the demise of thermally-imaged plates as most users of them sing their praises. Other aspects to consider are: what power laser is required to satisfactorily image the violet plates and is it really processless or just chemistry-free?3) Plummeting cost of digital colour
Always a controversial topic since 40-50 cents per A4 colour sheet is considered de rigueur by many digital print operators but 2008’s pricing will be down to improved production efficiencies, not customer pressure. In fact, Xerox is already touting its 8860 30ppm Phaser colour printer as ‘colour output for the price of black and white.’ But that’s the office market. New digital presses like the Océ JetStream (up to 2,052 A4ppm @ 600 x 600dpi inkjet) and ColorStream 10000 (up to 172 A4ppm, toner-based higher resolution) and no doubt offerings from Xerox, Canon, Kodak and the like will drive cost-per-digital page down. Which leads me to …4) Digital presses at offset litho speeds
Speaking of the new Océ Jeststream 2200, in its two-tower configuration, it’s rated at 2,052 A4 full-colour pages per minute. That’s 123,120 A4s per hour. Divide by 8 to compare with an 8-up imposition on a B1 offset press and you have 15,390 A1 sheets per hour equivalent. That’s as fast as the latest Speedmasters! Okay, we’re talking two-up duplexed on a web and lower resolution but the results are plenty good enough for ‘trans-promo’ print, direct mail and maybe even newsprint. Kodak will preview its fast Stream inkjet (continuous-droplet versus drop on demand) technology at drupa and even toner-king Xerox has signaled its move into inkjet. A new UK company, Inkski, is developing ink droplet (not jet) printing that can operate at faster speeds than the fastest web offset press. Not everyone needs speed – 65ppm is enough for most SME digital printers, but it’s a trend and one that could shake the foundations of, first, the flexo and in many years, the litho offset market.5) Digital paper’s great leap forward
For years we have heard about e-paper, digital paper, e-book readers and so forth, with little impact on the printing industry. Cost, content and flexibility have been big issues but all this is about to change as electronics companies race to see who can be first to commercialise thin, portable displays. One year ago, a Cambridge University spin-off company (as is Inkski), Plastic Logic, raised $100 million to commercialise its active-matrix displays that offer ‘take anywhere, read anywhere’ flexibility and ‘enable a reading experience closer to paper than any other technology.’ A huge production plant is under construction in Dresden, Germany, and it plans to make a million thin flexible displays a year. Plastic electronics use polymers instead of silicon, so are cheaper, more versatile and above all flexible. <www.plasticlogic.co.uk>. Will they be at drupa?6) Last drupa for graphic arts film
In 1998 I addressed a GASAA post-IPEX gathering at the Kirribilli ex-Services Club in North Sydney. As a result of what I’d seen and heard at IPEX (or not seen – there were no new film imagesetters on show), I suggested that we would see the end of silver-halide film use in the printing industry by 2010. I’m basically sticking to that prediction. By drupa 2012, in all but perhaps screen printing and parts of flexography, we will no longer use film and it will be unviable to mass-produce for the likes of Kodak, Fujifilm and Agfa. Kodak has already imploded film production plants in Rochester and other places. The biggest barrier to the efficiencies of an all-digital workflow is where it is interrupted for an analogue process. Film was such an interruption and, one day in the far future, plates will be regarded as such too.7) A local company to watch – Wellcom Group
Remember the Sidwell family of Show-Ads Omega fame? Since Show-Ads was swallowed up inside the PMP corpus maximus, Wayne Sidwell has been steadily building a dynamic company with strong links to corporate and retail brand managers who need pre-media digital asset ‘brand custodians’ to manage their priceless brands across several media platforms including print. Wellcom was started in 2000 and floated on the ASX in 2005. Its FY 2007 revenue was up 56.5 percent to $53 million over 06 and 08 looks just as promising. Wellcom owns presses, both digital and offset. It operates the only KBA Karat 74s in Australia plus an HP Indigo 5000. It owns 50 percent of Cadillac Offset in South Australia, a major heatset web offset printer with the other 50 percent owned by Wayne Sidwell’s private company. It operates Heidelberg presses in Queensland by virtue of its acquisition of Image Studios, has opened up in NZ and moved into the UK market last October by buying Keene’s Repro. Now, if a scratch start-up can kick off eight years ago and create a profitable, growing group that focuses on pre-media, graphic arts and print – what really is the problem in our industry? Wellcom has shown the way forward and will continue to do so. <www.wellcom.com.au>8) Even more print management
If you’re a printer who is still bemoaning the ascendancy of print management companies…get ready for more, but different. Everyone wants in on the act. Overseas, TNT – Peter Abeles’s old courier company now a Dutch-owned conglomerate – has signaled its intention to get into print management. Germany’s Deutsche Post is already in it. Some may say our own Australia Post is flirting with the idea. A brilliant UK firm that began by offering web offset quotes on the world wide has started www.freeprintmanagement.com – try it, you get an instant estimate and great pricing and it’s going global. Why is this happening? The answer is service; the PMCs recognise that what print buyers want is service not merely production of a product. The concept of passionate, no-compromise service has seemed foreign to so many printers for so many years, and that’s why they’re losing it to PMCs. The light on the horizon could be services such as freeprintmanagment.com – because it is more on the printer’s side. Even Britain’s equivalent to our PIAA, the BPIF, endorses it.That’s my eight for ’08. There are more exciting things happening, of course, and with drupa in May, probably some we don’t even know about. Without making a ninth Ratpick, 2008 is the last year of Heidelberg’s no-compete agreement with Kodak regarding digital presses. I wonder what digital strategy Heidelberg will have for 2009, leading into IPEX 2010 and drupa 2012?
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Bob makes the Honour roll
The environment and printing industry don’t often go hand in hand. But an on-going commitment to both has earned Bob Snedden an Order of Australia in the New Years Honours List with the citation, "For service to conservation and the environment and to the printing industry".
"It was quite an honour," Snedden said. "I’m the sort of person who likes to get involved in issues, see where I can contribute and then get on with the job. I never really expected to be measured alongside of people who have won these awards."
Snedden began his career in printing as an apprentice photomechanical camera operator at NM Dixon in Sydney. Upon completing his apprenticeship, we worked for trade house, Alfred Johns, before working in Europe and the USA as the recipient of an award from the Services Canteen Trust Fund.
48 years later, he has still maintained many of the friendships developed throughout the years and stays involved with what’s going on in the industry. "As an industry, printing is dynamic and constantly changing so there’s always a challenge," Snedden said.Printing is only one side to Snedden’s life. Over the last 35 years he has been responsible for recording Aboriginal sites for the NSW National Parks Service, along with an involvement in the extensions to Morton National Park and the establishment of Mimosa Rocks National Park.
In the 28 years that Allan Wetherill, LIA secretary, has known Snedden, his dedication to work and family has been unwavering. "Bob has always remained committed to his tasks," he said. "I consider myself fortunate to have shared some of Bob’s life over the past few decades."
Guiding Snedden is the sage advice of his father. "He always said to me, ‘If you’re getting something out of something then you should give something back’," Snedden said. "That has always come naturally for me."
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The winds of change; people moving, leaving, news: 21 February 2008
The printing industry has more people coming and going than an airport. This week, Print 21 takes a quick look at the flurry of changes that has occurred.
Frances Zhang’s days of sitting solely in front of a computer screen are gone now that she has joined DES as marketing and communications coordinator.
The one-time graphic designer (pictured) found it a bit tedious having only her computer for company and is now enjoying networking and communicating with others in the world of printing. "I enjoy the variety that comes with this job, from PR to helping organise trade shows," she said.
Zhang has been with DES for just over a month, and while the printing industry is still new to her, she’s enjoying learning all about it. "It’s interesting because there is so much to learn and discover," she said.According to Russell Cavenagh, sales director, Zhang’s background in both marketing and the graphic arts made her an appropriate choice. "She has the creativity, organisational skills and the discipline that is required for this role," he said. "We are very pleased to have Frances as part of our team."
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Letters, feedback, get it off your chest: 28 February 2008
As expected, Gordon Towell’s resignation sent shock waves throughout the printing industry.
Re: GEON sweats as Gordon throws in the towel
Brett Gullan, one of the guys I started D2P with, has a favourite saying, "When you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail." From Gordon’s perspective what he is saying is absolutely true. Big business has the economies of scale, ability to service national clients etc. But because he is a big printer there are thousands of printing opportunities that don’t even get on his radar. To suggest there is only rooms for 4 large printers is ludicrous and ultimately his attitude shows his printing naivety and has a lot in common with the arrogance I have seen in Private Equity and Venture Capital groups.
Long after Gordon has left there will still be thousands of printing companies in Australia making good money from printing.Regards
John Weichard
Managing Director
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PrintNZ hits the road for national book launch
PrintNZ kicked off its centenary book launch tour for Ink In Our Veins this week with an opening celebration in Christchurch.
Drawing over 80 print industry members, the launch saw people from all sectors of the industry gather as PrintNZ president, Warren Leslie, spoke about the challenges that have affected the industry over the last 100 years and the work that PrintNz carries out for the industry.
Guest speaker, John Waller, chief executive of the Canterbury Manufacturers Association, then spoke of the CMA’s long relationship with PrintNZ and the importance of print to the economy.
"We were really pleased with the turnout," said Joan Grace, PrintNZ chief executive (pictured below). "We have had a lot of positive comments about the book and the importance of recording this history."
Ink In Our Veins: PrintNZ 1908-2008 is a 96-page case-bound book that takes a look at the issues and events affecting the industry over the last 100 years and features interviews with 19 industry personalities, from the most recent Apprentice of the Year to the founder of Wickliffe Press, Stuart Sidey who sadly has since passed away.The official book launch in Christchurch was held at a venue close to where the first Federated Master Printers Association meeting was held in 1908. The book launch tour will now travel to the regions following the schedule below, with all members having received an invitation.
Grace said she expected the following book launches to be just as successful. "I think it will be an important celebration in each of our centres," she said.
"It goes back to taking our organisation out there to members so they can each attend."The PrintNZ Centenary Book Launch Tour makes its way across New Zealand on the following dates:
Date Region
29 February Nelson
3 March Wellington
4 March Palmerston North
5 March New Plymouth
6 March Napier
7 March Tauranga
10 March Hamilton
11 March Auckland
12 March Whangarei
Pictured: Grant Chellew (PrintNZ Board) and Graham Fear (PrintNZ Training Board
Chairman) with the centenary book. -
Drupa – home to everything print – and seven-minute beer pouring
Members of the Printing Industries supa drupa tour will receive all kinds of advice and support for their trip to drupa 2008 – but none more important than a lesson in ordering German beer.
This gem is an extract from the publication drupa, beer and Germans – don’t say we didn’t tell you . . . which is currently being prepared for distribution to supa drupa tour participants.
German beer
All German states have adopted the Bavarian "Beer Purification" laws dating back to 1516. The only ingredients allowed are water, hops, malt, barley or wheat. If the drink contains anything else, it cannot be called "beer" (No Australian beer meets this standard.)Beer brewed in this tradition does not travel well. As a result, there are still hundreds of small breweries around and each region has their own brand and sometimes even their own type of beer.
The local beer in Düsseldorf is "Alt" (old), a dark bitter beer produced by top fermentation. The pubs in the Altstadt serve different brands; some of them even brew their own. Alt is one of the few beers served without a large head.
Other beers you may come across are the Pilsner ("Pils") style beers and lagers from the Ruhr area and "Kölsch", the beer from the great rival Cologne. (Do not tell a Düsseldorfer that you prefer Kölsch to Alt. That is worse than telling a Queenslander that XXXX is no good and can only be rectified by ordering – and paying for – large quantities of Alt and Schnaps for all).
Let’s drink to drupa 2008.
Do not order a "Pils" when you are thirsty. It takes seven minutes to pour. Otherwise the distinctive high head will not build. Do what the Germans do: order a "Bier" and a Pils at the same time. Drink the Bier while you wait for the Pils.It’s easy to get involved in the supa drupa tour and packages are still available featuring a range of airlines and hotels. Most packages include a ticket for the Aussie Night BBQ (except the three night tour option tours) along with invitations to attend the Happy Hour supplier functions.
To discuss supa drupa tour options and your flight requirements contact Gerd or Helmut at Landmark Travel on (02) 9977 7100.
BBQ tickets for functions during both weeks of drupa must be purchased ahead and are available to all Aussie and New Zealand visitors. These can be booked online here or by contacting Theresa at Printing Industries on (02) 8789 7300 or by e-mail supadrupa@printnet.com.au.
Drupa is held from over two weeks from 29 May – 11 June 2008 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Amcor’s new plant not so run of the mill
Amcor’s plan for a new recycled paper mill in Botany also spells the end of jobs for some Victorian employees.
The new $400 million paper mill will be installed on a vacant section at Amcor’s Botany site and is expected to operational between 2010-2011. Once it is up and running, both the current Botany mill and mill in Fairfield, Victoria, will be remediated.
However, Greg Beatty, managing director of Amcor Australasia, remains confident that the new mill will not pose a serious threat to the future of employees.
"We realise that aspects of this decision will be difficult for some of our employees at Fairfield and Botany. It will be business as usual for the next three years, at the end of which employees will receive their full entitlements as well as opportunities to retrain, professional career advice and an outplacement support program," he said.
The current Botany site has 116 employees, and Fairfield 90. Approximately 60 employees will be offered ongoing employment at the Botany site from 2010-11.
"We will work closely with employees and the unions on transitional arrangements, which balance the needs to keep these mills until 2012-11 while helping employees to make a new start after that," Beatty added.
Beatty described the new facility as one of the biggest single investments in the company’s history. "Building the new mill at our existing Botany site will substantially improve Amcor’s value proposition to customers by delivering a superior lightweight product," he said.
Beatty also pointed to a number of environmental initiatives such as the use of recycled and bore water in the production process. "The new mill will significantly improve environmental impact," he said.
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The Fuji Xerox DocuColor 8000AP digital press – taking the print market by storm
There’s a digital colour boom in the print industry, with franchise operations and commercial printers amongst those flocking to embrace the flexibility of the Fuji Xerox DocuColor 8000AP digital press.
"The DC 8000AP has been a resounding success since its launch late last year. We currently have 24 orders, 19 of which are already installed. This has been achieved in a third of the time expected, demonstrating the technology fits a niche in the digital print market, particularly with its ability to run heavy weight stocks, duplex, at its full rated speed," said Henryk Kraszewski, production marketing manager, Fuji Xerox.
To date, the majority of DocuColor 8000AP installations have been in franchise operations, followed by commercial printers and corporate print rooms. The remainder is split equally between mailing houses and printing services.
Campbell Hare, Snap Printing Dandenong, installed a new DocuColor 8000AP late in 2007. An offset hub, servicing three shops and taking overspill from others, Snap Printing Dandenong realised productivity benefits from the new digital press in less than a month."The colour quality, consistency and ability to print at the rated speed on heavier card stocks are all huge benefits. The price point also means we are able to migrate those longer runs – up to 5000 – away from the offset presses. With digital we don’t have the makeready time, so our ability to deliver jobs quickly has now increased. By the end of 2008, I would expect to have grown our colour volume by at least forty per cent as a direct result of the new DC8000AP," said Hare.
Pictured above, (L-R): Sue Anne and Campbell Hare, Snap Printing Dandenong, with output from the Fuji Xerox DocuColor 8000AP.
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Just the ticket for travelers?
International Air Transport Association (IATA) ploughs ahead with its push for electronic ticketing.
"On June 1, 2008 we will achieve 100 per cent electronic ticketing," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO.
IATA began the drive to 100 per cent e-ticketing as part of its Simplifying the Business programme in June 2004 with the dual goals of making travel and shipping more convenient and more cost efficient. The programme began with five projects-Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP), Common Use Kiosks for Self Service (CUSS), RFID for aviation, e-ticketing and e-freight with annual industry savings of US$6.5 billion. It has since expanded to include the self-service oriented Fast Travel project and an industry Baggage Improvement Programme.
"E-ticketing is the flagship project of Simplifying the Business. While a paper ticket costs US$10 to process, e-ticketing reduces that cost to US$1. The industry will save over US$3 billion each year by offering the passenger a better service. There is no better win-win proposition," said Bisignani.
When the programme began in June 2004, only 18 per cent of tickets issued globally were e-tickets. Today e-ticketing penetration is over 93 per cent. "It is an incredible industry success story. When we began over 28 million paper tickets were issued each month. We have reduced that number to less than 3 million," said Bisignani.
"We are entering a new age for air travel. The consumer has spoken. They love the convenience of e-ticketing and now want to combine it with self-service options to have more control over their journey."
