Business

Stanford Marsh Group has been appointed as a wide format print 'Accredited Partner' by Canon (UK) Ltd.  This is currently the highest echelon within Canon's reseller channel programme and recognises Stanford Marsh's specialism within the wide format marketplace.  Canon has said it will announce a further tier status in 2013 which Stanford Marsh fully expects to attain.

Stanford Marsh Group was established in 1965 to provide wide format printing equipment, technical support and wide format consumables to anyone with a wide format output need.

On the Canon Accredited Partner status, Adrian Painter, Director at Stanford Marsh, comments, "We are delighted to be working with Canon and to have received this award in recognition of our success.  Canon has a great reputation and highly recognisable brand - especially within the photographic marketplace.  Since the acquisition of Océ, the company has also enhanced its CAD and technical skill-sets and as a result our relationship with Canon has gone from strength to strength.  We anticipate working closely with Canon and Océ at the highest level for years to come."

For more information on Stanford Marsh Group and its comprehensive range of wide format printers, please visit www.smgg.co.uk

PRINTCafé has announced that it is looking for franchisees to extend its 'profitable and exciting' brand to new locations across the UK.  PRINTCafé is a walk-in and on-line digital printing brand which offers 'unrivalled speed, advice and service' to customers.  The brand is owned by GDL, a group of successful print businesses with many years experience within the printing industry.

The franchise specialises in photo books, printed and bound dissertations, hard back binding, posters, brochures, business cards and graphic consultation for the student and SME markets.  It also has a bespoke “Personalise” service for unique one-off customer items.

According to PRINTCafé, "In today’s difficult trading climate it can be hard to justify investing in developing new income streams for your existing print business and it can be difficult to know if your marketing and promotion campaigns are really making the mark they should.     That is where being part of the PRINTCafé franchise network can be of a real benefit as all PRINTCafé franchisees will be joining an established brand with a proven business model and can expect first rate support."

Tony Barnett, managing director at John E Wright, adds, "For minimal investment, PRINTCafé has transformed all our old tired print shops.  The brand has direct appeal to the 18-30 age group and we have become quite trendy within the local design and University communities. People come to us because they associate the brand with new ideas and a "can help" attitude.  With sharply increased sales, the result on the bottom line has been very rewarding."

Already operating in five locations across the UK, PRINTCafé is soon opening in a further 13 locations.

For more information please visit www.gdlnetwork.co.uk/printcafe/

Hybrid Services is inviting sign and graphics professionals to 'ride the Wide Format Wave' next month and explore ways to add value to their digitally printed output by learning new skills and production techniques.  The company is hosting events on 5th and 6th February at its UK headquarters in Crewe where attendees will be able to join Mimaki’s exclusive distributor - alongside Soyang Europe, Solent Sewing & Welding Solutions, CADLink and Curvorama - for a free, learning experience where they can design, print and finish then take home a selection of interesting applications.

The Wide Format Wave event will give visitors the opportunity to find out how to get the most out of their digital printer, building new revenue streams with real application creation experience that they can take away with them.

“If you’re new to wide-format, or looking at expanding your existing setup, then this is a great opportunity to come and learn how to add new profit centres to your business,” says Martin Morrissey of Miller Weldmaster’s UK distributor, Solent Sewing & Welding.

During the event, print professionals will have the opportunity to use their own artwork to create finished products such as banners, iPhone covers or pull up displays, and will be able to utilise the knowledge and experience of a printer distributor, software company, materials manufacturer, finishing equipment supplier and applications experts so that they leave with real skills and ideas.

Hybrid’s marketing manager, Duncan Jefferies, comments, “In a tough economy, print companies need to look at ways of bringing in new customers as well as keeping their existing ones and this one-of-a-kind event provides wide scope for printers who want to give their customers creative options beyond their standard range.”

“In a competitive market, exciting new products with broad appeal give printers the edge,” says Curvorama’s Miles Harris. “Able to both free-stand and line shell schemes, only Curvorama ticks all the boxes for portable displays – and you can see how to create it for yourself at the event.”

By registering in advance, visitors will receive a free memory stick containing templates for them to save their designs in and bring on the day.

“Giving our guests meaningful projects makes the experience more valid,” says Soyang Europe’s MD, Mark Mashiter. “As a materials supplier, we’re keen to work with people to demonstrate how a broad substrate portfolio can help them win new business.”

Software experts CADLink is also involved in the event, revealing the productivity advantages of their SignLab package as visitors produce a set of stickers to their own design. "Utilising a single software application that is able to provide all of the required design and layout tools for a project, then also RIP, print and cut the completed project streamlines the entire process from start to finish" says Bernhard Nitsche of CADlink Technology Corporation. "The correct software can save the print provider a great deal of production time and costs in day to day operations".

For more information or to register for the event, please visit www.wideformatwave.co.uk

[Image shows Curvorama's display system]

In this bylined article, FM Brooks' Frazer Chesterman - and co-founder of the planned InPrint 2014 show - discusses the future of print and why he believes its future lies in the packaging and industrial print sectors...

"Just after Drupa, print guru Andy Tribute claimed that the future for print lay in the opportunities for Inkjet technology in both packaging and industrial print.  He explained "Inkjet technology has lots of potential in these areas. They are both getting better and better in terms of quality, and these markets are ones that will drive print forward. It is worth owning some intellectual property within the industrial space, at least."

I believe he is right and please let me explain why:

Most manufacturers agree that the huge growth of Digital graphics which probably began around between 2002 -2005 and has continued to grow, is now maturing - and some would even say stagnating.  The great migration from analogue to digital in sign and graphics has taken place and will probably level out by 2014/15. The manufacturers have watched their sales plateau and need to find their next opportunity.

The technology around Inkjet continues to develop towards more and more interesting applications. Advanced print head design is now allowing inkjet to become more main stream in industrial and manufacturing applications, fulfilling the demand for high quality, high productivity and increased reliability in advanced technological applications. This is supported by more sophisticated and complex, but more durable and flexible ink and fluid chemistries.

Combine this with developments in software which allow integration within production lines, product recognition, and print on curved surfaces and direct from internet opportunities and then options for use become really interesting.

So what can be printed on and where are the new possibilities?

Well it is clear that vinyl, paper and card are well established, but what is increasingly becoming more mainstream is the printing onto industrial plastics, ceramics, natural and synthetic textiles. And even more exciting is the growing demand for Architectural glass, automotive glass, packaging, metals and printed electronics.

What is really interesting is where the demand to understand the technology comes from. A couple of months ago, I was asked to attend a meeting of key print buyers from Unilever, Pepsi and Ferrero Rocher, who manage and control these businesses' print packaging. They understand Flexo printing, but were really excited by the possibilities of digital inkjet for short run, versioning, VDP and printing on delicate surfaces.  Forecasts from PIRA on Digital into packaging suggest that as much as 8% of packaging could be digital by 2016, but at the moment only 8% of 8% is being deployed, probably because there is a lack of understanding by the packaging industry on what the possibilities are.

So perhaps it is down to the manufacturers to educate the potential customers on how they can use digital inkjet? Certainly, we need to be ‘leading the horse to water’.  Our new event InPrint 2014 is designed to do just that by showcasing state of the art speciality print and the latest advances in industrial inkjet and 3D rapid prototyping and introduce inkjet technology to a whole new set of customers.

The event takes place in Hannover, Germany between 8th and 10th April 2014, alongside the Hannover Messe, the world’s leading tradeshow for industrial and manufacturing technology for production.  InPrint provides the perfect and unique platform to connect with manufacturers, developers, industrial print production companies and traditional print companies looking to develop new revenue streams and production processes.

This is not like the whole raft of other Print events around Europe. This is for the customer of the future; for them to experience Tomorrow’s World!'

As part of its strategy to increase its coverage of the digital market, Signmaster Systems has announced that Sarah Fenna joined the company on 2 January 2013 in the newly created role of sales and operations director. She makes the move from Robert Horne Group and will be responsible for developing new markets and strengthening the Shropshire-based specialist’s position as a leading supplier of sign-making and display solutions throughout the UK and further afield.

Fenna’s long history in the materials and consumables markets is complemented by her extensive technical knowledge of wide-format digital printing machines and all ink technologies. Her appointment at Signmaster coincides with the company’s growth in all areas of the ink-jet arena, expanding on its families of solutions from Mimaki and Roland to service a steadily growing customer base of sign-makers, display producers and specialist print service providers.

More than 20 years experience in sales within the print and paper industries has resulted in Fenna achieving an extremely broad knowledge of the wide-format arena, including software and consumables as well as machines and technologies. Her consultative approach gives her the ability to generate new business and overall growth for Signmaster Systems, and her appetite for inspiring new initiatives will benefit the company as it moves to the next level of meeting the future digital requirements for its customers.

“We wish Sarah every success in her new position at Signmaster,” comments John de la Roche, national sales manager at Hybrid Services, exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Mimaki. “Her comprehensive knowledge of the Mimaki portfolio complements her overall experience and we’re sure she will be an asset to Signmaster and its customers.”

Signmaster Systems was founded 16 years ago and has grown from being a supplier of sign-making equipment to one of the UK’s leading providers of digital solutions to display producers and commercial printers investing in the ink-jet arena. Priding itself on service, the company’s customer base includes high numbers of repeat clients as well as first-time users who need good value for money and reliability.

“The wide-format display arena is becoming increasingly diverse and the time is perfect for Sarah to be joining us in a new sales and operations role. This is a challenging position and one which will be welcomed by all of our suppliers and customers,” states Phil George, joint managing director and technical engineer at Signmaster Systems. “Her extensive knowledge of all the technologies associated with the digital market and her long-term experience in a large organisation mean that she will bring invaluable expertise to our company and play a major role in its continued growth.”

“Joining Signmaster Systems gives me the valuable opportunity of adapting and streamlining the expertise I have developed during the past two decades to a family run business,” adds Fenna. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of helping to shape the company’s ongoing success and continuing to develop its growth in the ink-jet sector.”

 

Spandex has extended its range of print and print finishing equipment with the addition of Epson's SureColor SC-S70600 wide format printer.  This 64-inch printer supports white and metallic ink simultaneously and enables creative print makers, specialist sign makers and professional display printers to expand their service portfolios.

High-quality prints are assured with the combination of Epson's UltraChrome GSX Ink and proven Micro Piezo TFP printhead, which delivers clarity, fine detailing and smooth blends at resolutions of up to 1440 x 1440dpi.

The UltraChrome GSX ink-set, featuring light magenta, light cyan, light black and orange as well as CMYK, gives the 8-colour SC-S70600 the widest colour gamut of Epson's SureColor range. The 10-colour model includes white and metallic inks to increase versatility. Both models achieve ultra-smooth tonal gradations thanks to the use of light inks, including light black ink for enhanced, neutral greyscales.

Users can cost-effectively print vivid colours, solid whites and special metallic effects on clear film, vinyl, canvas, photographic paper and a range of popular banner substrates, all at up to 64-inch (162.6cm) width. Prints are lightfast for up to three years outdoors without lamination.

For more information, please visit www.spandex.com