Business

2009 was HP's first year exhibiting at FachPack and the event was a great success.

HP presented innovative packaging solutions from HP Scitex, HP Speciality Printing Systems (HP SPS) and its partners at the show.

Visitors were fascinated by the solutions that demonstrated the flexibility of digital printing in POP industry and were keen to find out more about HP Indigo digital presses for labels, flexible packaging, shrink sleeve and folding carton applications. For instance, the new HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press has an enhanced thick substrate capability and can handle materials from 12 - 450 microns, making folding carton production on final substrates, for short-runs or trialling, cost-effective.

End-to-end rigid substrate production

The HP Scitex FB6700 Printer with inline laminator was in operation at FachPack. This six-colour printer uses standard format artwork files to print a range of rigid applications including POP/POS displays, samples, short-run packaging and exhibition graphics. Using water-based inks, the HP Scitex FB6700 Printer produces up to 29 1.6 x 3.2m (5.2 x 10.5 feet) sheets per hour. Inline lamination takes advantage of the printer's full automation capabilities. A Kongsberg XP 24 digital cutting table, from EskoArtwork was also on the stand to demonstrate the versatility and productivity of a fully digital production line.

Teams from two HP Scitex FB6700 Printer owners, Pankarte PLV, of Strasbourg, France, and STI Group (STI - Gustav Stabernack GmbH), of Hessen, Germany, printed six real jobs from customers in a "Tower of Production" demonstration on the stand. This provided a powerful illustration of the quality and production capabilities of the printer.

Thermal inkjet solutions for packaging

HP SPS OEM partners were exhibiting with HP at FachPack, demonstrating solutions for 2-D barcode printing using HP thermal inkjet (TIJ) technology.

Weber Marking Systems and Mark-O-Print (both part of the Bluhm Weber Group) were printing on non-porous substrates using UV-curable ink from Triton Ltd.

Wolke Inks & Printers GmbH was demonstrating its solution for printing on primary packaging using HP Universal Black ink.

HS Automatic ApS presented its solution for printing on secondary corrugated packaging.

Visitors to Ipex 2010 can expect to discover an impressive line up of new wide format products with a number of wide format suppliers already committed to launching new technology at the show. Wide format companies already confirmed on the floor plan include Agfa, Canon, Durst, EFI, Epson, Fotoba, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Mimaki Engineering, Océ, Roland, Screen, Vivid Laminating and Xerox.

The growing number of wide format technologies on display at Ipex 2010 clearly reflects the exciting and buoyant nature of the sector and highlights the importance that these suppliers place on Ipex as the number one international graphic arts exhibition in 2010.

Trevor Crawford, Ipex 2010 Event Director says that, “Over a quarter of the commercial printers that visited Ipex 06 were in the business of printing posters and billboards and we would expect that number to grow significantly in 2010. In a climate where market conditions are tougher than ever, the wide format sector has continued to exceed expectations so we foresee much interest from a broad spectrum of visitors who will use the event to explore the technical advances and stunning applications achievable with wide format technology.”

He continues: “The current climate is providing a massive opportunity for printers to diversify, with a world of options awaiting them in the wide format sector. With the high proportion of major large format vendors committed to Ipex this makes the event unmissable for businesses looking for growth.”

Tim Taylor, marketing manager, Screen Europe comments: "Large format printers are an important element of Screen's full range of digital 'print on demand' solutions that will be demonstrated at Ipex. Commercial printers are increasingly investing in large format printers and many of them who are familiar with Screen quality and reliability trust us to provide the right products. In turn, display graphics specialists are looking to invest in more general digital printing products, such as our B2 Truepress SX digital colour press coming to market in 2010 which allows fast, quality printing onto substrates up to 400 gsm. Ipex is the ideal opportunity to show a broad range of equipment to a broad audience - which is the special nature of the event.”

Mimaki Engineering Co., Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting machines for the sign/graphics, industrial and textile/apparel markets has increased its stand space by 35% compared to 2006. Gert Jan van Hilten, manager marketing communications at Mimaki Europe explains that, “Ipex is a key highlight in the 2010 calendar and will provide an excellent international stage to show Mimaki’s fast growing digital printing and cutting solutions, especially for industrial printing markets.”

A dedicated wide format trail finder is being produced to provide visitors to Ipex 2010 with a sector specific route map around the exhibition and to make their visit as effective as possible.

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes is delighted to announce that Alun Watkins has been appointed as the new National Secretary for PEFC UK. Alun Watkins will take up his post in January 2010.

He will take over the reins at PEFC from William Walker who announced his intention to retire earlier this year. 

Watkins has been working in the timber and furniture industries for the past 25 years, the last 15 of which has seen him strengthen his involvement with environmental issues.

Before joining PEFC UK, Alun Watkins worked for The Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) as Health, Safety & Environmental consultant where he provided services including offering advice and guidance to the furniture industry on all aspects of environmental compliance including chain of custody, as well as managing the industry specific initiative - Club Green. He was also instrumental in the development and promotion of the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP) and chaired the Furniture Industry Environment Committee.

Commenting on the appointment, PEFC UK Chairman Peter Latham said, "William has done a splendid job as National Secretary for the past five years in getting the PEFC programme to its current position. When he took on this role in 2005, there were only 70 companies with PEFC chain of custody certification and the figure currently stands at over 1,300.  The Board recognises the immense contribution that he has made to the organisation and we now look forward to his successor building on the firm foundations that William has laid down. We are confident that Alun's previous experience in the timber and furniture industry and knowledge of certification will be invaluable in helping PEFC to strengthen its position in the UK market".

Continuing its initiative to recognise ‘Champions in Print’ who have made a significant contribution to the printing and graphic arts industry, the Ipex 2010 Advisory Committee has named Lord Bob Gavron as the sixth Ipex 2010 winner of this accolade.

Having founded St Ives in 1964, Lord Gavron took the company public in 1985. It consistently outperformed the market over the next ten years, establishing it as one of the largest and most admired printing companies in the industry.

Ipex 2010 Event Director, Trevor Crawford, says, “We are very pleased to give this award to Lord Gavron. As the founder of one of the largest print powerhouses in the world, he’s an avid ‘Champion in Print’ who combined a unique vision for St Ives with his outstanding business acumen. 

“Gavron drew praise from his peers and competitors not only for his achievements but also for his fair and generous dealing with staff, customers and competitors. I’ve no doubt that he will continue to inspire many others in our industry to lead their businesses on the path to success.”

Lord Gavron retired as the Chairman of the St Ives Group in 1993.  He served as a director of the Royal Opera House and a trustee of the National Gallery, and was also the Chairman of the Guardian Media Group between 1997 and 2000.  He continues to contribute his wealth of printing experience to the publishing industry.  As the Chairman of The Folio Society today, he oversees its activities in creating beautifully printed editions of great works of literature for its members.  He received his peerage in the House of Lords in the UK in 1999 and continues to support the arts.

Lord Gavron says, “I feel deeply honoured to have been given this award. I look back on my years with St Ives with pleasure and with pride.  The printing industry was in almost every respect a wonderful environment in which to work.  It was a privilege to spend one’s life directly or indirectly in spreading the printed word.  We all felt that we were in a rather special business, and I think we had every right to feel that.

“I must also pay tribute to the people with whom I worked.  Both those in the wider industry and those, closer to me, in St Ives.  From all of them I learnt a huge amount.  The St Ives bunch deserve the credit, all the credit, for such success as we had.  I was lucky to be supported by such wonderful people.”

The Ipex 2010 ‘Champions in Print’ Awards were launched to honour individuals who have influenced and shaped the printing industry across the world. There will be ten ‘Champions’ in the run-up to Ipex 2010, which will take place from 18th - 25th May at the NEC, Birmingham, UK. Previous winners were Indigo founder and industry pioneer Benny Landa; J.K Rowling, author of the top-selling Harry Potter novels; Professor Frank Romano at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the co-founders of Adobe Systems Incorporated - Dr. John Warnock and Dr. Charles Geschke.

To nominate a living person for the next ‘Champions in Print’ award, complete a nomination form on-line by visiting www.ipex.org/cip. If a nominee hasn’t yet been selected as a winner, he or she can be nominated again. Entries must be supported by a brief summary of the nominee's achievements.

Sign & Digital UK will be held at Birmingham’s NEC on the 13th, 14th and 15th April 2010. This unrivalled opportunity is a ‘must attend’ event for anyone who is already in, or wants to be in, the sign & digital industry.

 

Show Update

Following the success of the 2009 show, exhibitors and visitors are already looking to Sign & Digital UK 2010. Coming at the start of the show season, Sign & Digital UK 2010 offers the unique opportunity to get ahead of the game by seeing the latest products, services, innovations and launches in the market, not to mention benefiting from the wealth of other show features onsite.

With high demand for floor space, exhibitors are being encouraged to book their stand now to ensure that they don’t miss out on the best stand positions.
Exhibitors already booked include: Alcan Composities, Axyz Automation, Doro Tape, Expand International, Fujifilm Sericol, Graphtec, Harman Technology, Hexis UK, Hybrid Services / Mimaki, InkTec Europe, Plex Display, Robert Horne Group, Signwaves, Touch Systems, Triangle Wide Format Inks, Ultima Displays, William Smith, Xpres … to name a few.

With over 70 exhibitors already booked, Sign & Digital UK 2010 is set to be a big hit!

The show is already attracting a high number of NEW exhibitors such as; AgripaFlex, Elements Trade, Eurobond Adhesives, Isik Plastik, Keramikos, Print United, The Allsigns Group, Trade Sign Supplies and Vistech Technical Services.

Also exhibitors that are looking to build on their success at the 2009 show by taking bigger stands than previously include: Crown Norge AS, Harman Technology, Innova Solutions, Fujifilm Sericol, Laserite, Lion Picture Framing Supplies, Print One, Rose Plastics UK, Sign Up Systems, Signmaster Systems, Signwaves Trade, Silver Screen UK, Triangle Wide Format Inks UK and William Smith.

New Website

Sign & Digital UK are delighted to announce the launch of the new show website…

With the re-structure of the website, this new and improved service is geared towards bringing the introduction of new show features, such as the NEW Demo / Software theatre to your attention. The site will continue to bring the latest exhibitor news / launches, and information on the FREE seminar programme - including the return of the popular ADOBE and Corel sessions along with other important show information at your fingertips. 
ADOBE will again be loaded with new innovations for print design and publishing, web authoring and mobile delivery – the Adobe workshops promise to save you money, simplify tired workflow's, improve efficiency, deliver high-end results and prevent costly and unnecessary production errors. The question is... Are you ready to take advantage of its true potential? Make sure you’re there early to get a seat! Terry Steeley from Iridius comments “Adobe CS4 allows designers to explore new creative disciplines with ease, saving money and more importantly saving time”

In addition the new website features that have been added will help you make the most of your visit to the show – see the NEW ‘Special Offers’ page, where visitors can come to the show to get the best deals, a link so you can follow us on the social networking site Twitter and an improved ‘plan your day’ section that offers the visitor more in depth search criteria to allow them to personalize and plan their visit.

Visitor Pre-registration is now open

Alan Caddick, Marketing Manager, Sign & Digital UK comments on the need to pre-register now:
‘Sign & Digital UK 2010 is the ONLY place in the UK where you will see a wide-reaching range of products on display for the sign and digital industry. Visitor Pre-Registration for free entry to the show has just gone live on our website and already we have seen some high level visitors registered from: Waitrose, Ikea, Derbyshire County Council, Signs Express, Hampshire County Council, Crown Paints, NHS Trust, Hawes Signs, Halbro Sportswear, McCann Erickson, Victoria and Albert Museum, C3 imaging, Fast Signs, Alphagraphics, Apollo Screenprint … with many more signing up each day.’

Registration is FREE and only takes a minute to complete at www.signanddigitaluk.com

All pre-registered visitors will benefit from regular updates on show news and features, special offers, exhibitor launches and promotions.

 

MegaPrint operates out of Plymouth, NH., a small college town of 4000 in the Lakes Region, close by the skiing and hiking of the White Mountains. Lots of rock climbers, skiers, and hikers work here! It's a really happy place, too. We've been in business for 15 years.

The movie "On Golden Pond" was filmed just a few miles from our shop. We think we're very fortunate to live in such beautiful surroundings. Our company employs 16 people, four have been here for 10 years or more. We have a 17,500 square foot facility designed specifically for wide format printing. It's all we do, and we are really good at it.

This is our third building, and we've added on three times since we built it in 1998. Having a specific purpose, climate controlled facility allows us to produce your job beautifully, quickly, and efficiently.

What makes us really special is our people. Our output team of eight graphic designers has a combined 58 years in the business. The four people in our finishing department have 32 years! We have the experience to do your work on time, affordable, and beautifully.

Try us once - we'll make you happy! We guarantee your satisfaction, and our promise is to tear up the bill if we don't.

 

Call Megaprint on Tel: 800-590-7850, (603) 536-2900, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit their website at www.megaprint.com - Megaprint also maintain an excellent Blog which you can read at blog.megaprint.com