Business

Epson is to sponsor Cambridge Faces, the first large photographic project presented by Queens’ College Art Society, Cambridge. The project is a photographic tribute to English icons through portraiture. Six talented young photographers from Cambridge University have chosen to focus on one aspect of English heritage and will be presenting their creative interpretations of the theme in the exhibition.

The photographs will be presented at two main events in March: “Faces at the Fitz: A Photographic Tribute to English Icons” is an invitation only Inaugural Gala on 12th March and the first instalment of the photographic project. “Faces at the Union: A Photographic Tribute to English Icons” is the second and last instalment of the project and is a free entry, open to the public, exhibition on 14th & 15th March. All portraits will be for sale with profits divided between two selected charities – the Affinity Project and Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

Nick White, manager of pro-graphics at Epson, comments, “We are delighted to be able to support Cambridge Faces and The Queens’ College Art Society in what promises to be a very exciting event.  Supporting emerging talent in the photographic and fine art field is something that is important to us and we would like to wish all the students taking part in the project the best of luck.”

Up to 45 photographs will be on display, all printed on the 44in Epson Stylus Pro 9890 printer by écoutez creative Ltd. “As a graphic design company, the quality of our output for graphics and photography is of paramount importance to us and our clients”, says Nigel Moss, Client Services Director, écoutez creative Ltd. “For this reason we use the Epson Stylus Pro 9890 as it is an excellent all round LFP printer. It allows us to output large format prints on an extensive array of substrates and is very well suited to the ‘Cambridge Faces’ project”.

He continues: “The printer also uses Epson UltraChrome K3 inks, which enable us to get a wider colour gamut with its 8-colour ink set, including 3 blacks. With this project the inks are of particular importance as they enable us to accurately reproduce the photographic prints, doing justice to the hard work that the photographers have put into their work and faithfully re-producing them as they intended them to be seen.”

Thurstan Redding, student, photographer and project coordinator, says, “We are very excited about the project and so thankful to Epson for their ongoing support of fresh emerging talent, and to the entire student body here, as well as Cambridge Arts.”

Events details:

• “Faces of the Fitz” Inaugural Gala at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.  12th March 2012.  Invitation only. For more information or invitations, please contact afl31@cam.ac.uk
• “Faces at the Union” Exhibition at The Cambridge Union Society. 14th & 15th March 2012. Entrance free and open to the public. For more information, please contact tr328@cam.ac.uk

For more information, please visit www.cambridgefaces.com

[photo caption: “Panel 2″ by Thurstan Redding – one in a series of panels retracing British style through the centuries.]

The Canon iPF8300 and Canon Glacier media has been used to print an exhibition of Olympic gold medallists. The work is by two renowned UK based photographers, Drew Gardner and Lucinda Marland.  Fourteen images will be showcased at John Lewis, Westfield Stratford City, London which overlooks the Olympic site. The exhibition will run from March 9th until March 20th.

Velmex Distribution, Canon’s biggest UK, wide format printer distributor, used Canon’s 300gsm glacier paper to print the exhibition. Photographer Drew Gardner comments, "The Glacier media gives a very sharp result.  I print all my work on a Canon ImagePROGRAF iPF6300, but as the images needed to be larger, Velmex printed the exhibition on the 44 inch iPF8300.  The results look fantastic - definitely exhibition quality."

The two photographers, Gardner and Marland, have spent the past two years completing an anthology of every living British Olympic gold medalist in an individual sport, 60 years or older in 2012. The pair traveled over 15,000 miles across the UK and as far as the west coast of America to photograph all 14 of the athletes.

Gardner says, "The inspiration for the project came from childhood recollections of ‘Golden Greats’ and wondering where they were now. The project has been incredibly rewarding and so well supported by the athletes and the sponsors."

As well as the Canon distributor, Velmex Distribution, the project has been sponsored by the Italian photographic and lighting specialists Manfrotto, and is hosted by The John Lewis Partnership.  The exhibition opens on Friday 9th March 2012, with a press and photo call scheduled for Saturday, 10th March at 10.am

[photo shows David Hemery, winner of the 400m hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and is authorised for use by Drew Gardner/Lucinda Marland]

Sun Chemical and the Druckfarben Hellas Group have announced the merger of their publications divisions in the South Eastern Europe region.  Both companies identified the opportunity to strengthen their position in a growing region and the new joint venture allows this through establishing a successful long-term partnership.

Five new legal entities named Sun Chemical Publication Bulgaria, Sun Chemical Croatia, Sun Chemical Publication Greece, Sun Chemical Publication Romania and Sun Chemical Publication Serbia will operate under the joint venture and will service Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia / Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Moldova.

Customers will benefit from a dedicated service offering with a wider product portfolio and have access to local technical expertise with a strengthened local structure. The joint venture entities will offer customers publications inks and coatings, as well as sheetfed, UV, screen graphics and consumables.

Robert Fitzka, Sun Chemical Group Managing Director for Germany, CEE and Africa, comments, “The region serviced by the new JV is a key growth area with many opportunities. Our partnership with Druckfarben Hellas demonstrates our commitment to this region.”

George Karavasilis, Managing Director for Druckfarben Hellas and CEO of the new Joint Venture adds “We are confident that the unity of both companies and the synergies created will further enhance our product and service offerings and help our customers drive growth in this region”.

Signs Express has been shortlisted in seven categories of the Sign & Digital UK 2012 Awards.  With over 75 franchise sign centres, the company has demonstrated its success during 2011 with a wide range of high quality projects.

Alan Caddick of Sign & Digital UK, organiser of the Awards, comments, “The awards entries were of an exceptional standard and displayed some of the best creative talent in the industry. Competition was high and the judging panel of industry experts had a real challenge to narrow down the nominations to produce the final shortlist”.

Signs Express received two nominations for the ‘sign company of the year’ award for its Gateshead and Falkirk franchises. Both centres have taken their businesses to new heights and the latest recognition follows success in the British Franchise Association franchisee of the year awards in 2011 and 2010 respectively.

During 2011, Signs Express (Gateshead) owner Malcolm Lant used his strong business focus to capitalise on opportunities to showcase the Signs Express brand including offering free branded banners to supporting crowds at the X Factor final which appeared both on the local news and on the X Factor final itself. He has also used local influence to raise valuable funds for a local charity Ben4Ben which included organising a trek to Ben Nevis. Activities raised a total of £40,000 to send a 5 year old boy for life changing surgery enabling him to learn to walk.

Steve McMurray, owner of Signs Express (Falkirk), has achieved considerable business growth and has an enviable level of repeat business. Offering specialised products including signage for 30 offshore wind farms in the particularly difficult conditions of the North Sea and a range of bi-lingual signs for Ski resorts in the area, Steve and his team have developed customer relationships through excellent customer service working as supply partners on both long and short term projects. His support for Age Scotland is an indication of the business’ strive to support the local community.

Signs Express (Manchester) also impressed the judging panel with two nominations in ‘individual sign project’ and ‘multiple sign project’ for 10+ employees. Its striking monolith for Princes Dock takes centre stage at the regenerated dockland and an ongoing contract with world-leading cycling team Sky Pro Cycling has seen the sign making team travel across Europe to provide a wide range of vehicle graphics and supporting signage.

Named as a finalist in both the ‘individual sign project’ and ‘multiple sign project categories’ for 1-9 employees, Signs Express (Leeds) has completed some striking work during 2011.  Its innovative solution for floating halo illuminated signage on behalf of Hush Puppies to a glass fronted retail store has lead to additional work with the leading brand and a wide range of sign solutions provided to Bridgewater Place prestigious development in Leeds shows a true understanding of the needs of their customer. 

Signs Express (Peterborough) was named as a finalist for ‘vehicle wrapping project of the year’ after working with local theatre arts company Top Hex. With the design completed in house, the client reports a great reaction from their target audience to the graphics which feature full colour digitally printed graphics depicting dancing legs – a bright and colourful contrast covering three quarters of the black vehicle.

Commenting on receiving the news of the extensive finalist positions, Signs Express Managing Director Craig Brown said, “We are delighted to hear the news and wish all of the finalists every success in the awards. We are very proud of the high quality work we complete on behalf of our clients and always strive to achieve the best possible results from our signs and graphics, understanding the needs of the customer and ensuring our solutions match the objective."

He continued, “Signs and graphics are one of the most powerful advertising tools and are very cost effective, with many solutions having a long life. In a recent survey of over 1000 businesses, 94% of past customers would recommend Signs Express* – testament to our strong brand reputation for providing excellent quality products which exceed customer expectations.”

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony being held at the National Motorcycle Museum on the 28th March. The ceremony is being held on the evening of the middle day of the Sign & Digital UK exhibition, held at the NEC.

For further information on Signs Express, please visit www.signsexpress.co.uk

*Survey of 1085 businesses, conducted July 2011, independently verified.

Vista System International will unveil GreenSquare's flat modular signage products during the ISA International Sign Expo 2012 on stand 1280.  The event takes place between 22nd and 24th March 2012 in Orlando, Florida.

Vista System recently acquired GreenSquare, a young Australian flat modular sign system manufacturer & distributor, in a bid to provide the international sign industry with a comprehensive product offering covering both curved and flat signage solutions.

The new GreenSquare flat modular sign products will be presented at Vista System's ISA booth and 1500 samples of the new flat signs will be handed out at no charge to ISA participants.

GreenSquare is a manufacturer and supplier of a state of the art flat modular sign system. The company was founded in 2010.  The company has expanded its product offering beyond the domestic market and is constantly entering a growing number of foreign markets, all from its Australian HQ.

GreenSquare offers a variety of flat modular sign products, including the unique "GreenSquare Float" design. The GreenSquare system is based on flat sign frames that accept inserts of many materials and widths due to the companies' latest "Smart Insert" technology. GreenSquare products can be tweaked and designed to match any need.

For more information on GreenSquare solutions, please visit http://way-finding.com

For further information on Vista System International, please visit http://www.vistasystem.co.uk

Contex's HD Ultra wide format scanner has won Wide Format Imaging 2012 Top Product Awards for Best Wide Format Scanner (24 inches+).  Voted for by readers of US-based Wide Format Imaging, the seventh annual Top Products Awards recognises breakthrough products that have created the most excitement in the industry, and that have been a valuable asset to the wide/superwide format businesses over the last year.

Contex's HD Ultra, released in Q4 2011, has been receiving rave reviews for its advancements in speed, productivity and image quality. Wide-Format Imaging will feature the HD Ultra in the March issue, and will present the plaque to Contex at the ISA International Sign Expo in Orlando, FL.

"We are very pleased to receive this honour from Wide Format Imaging," comments Phil Magenheim, President, Contex Americas. "When designing the HD Ultra, we incorporated our customer's valuable feedback that we've received over the years. The result is a well-designed product that is already proving to be very successful in the market."

Groundbreaking Advancements

The HD Ultra is the market's most advanced wide format scanner, breaking the technology barrier with unmatched productivity and versatility. The scanner is built with Contex's new xDTR2 technology and Gigabit Ethernet, enabling it to output images faster than any other scanner on the market. This is significant boost for reprographic shops or offices with high-volume scanning projects whose productivity is measured by more than just scans per inch, but how quick the scanned images can be accessed.

ENERGY STAR compliant, the HD Ultra is available in 36- and 42-inches, and is the most field-upgradeable wide format scanner in its class. The scanner comes in two versions: Professional, for high-volume applications, and Office, for daily office use or walk-up scanning. The HD Ultra is also available as a multi-function product (MFP), which includes a space-saving high stand that allows users to combine the wide format scanner with most large format printers.

Contex and its distributors will be exhibiting the HD Ultra at events across the United States, including Graphics of the Americas, March 1-3, in Miami Beach, FL, booth #1024 and ISA International Sign Expo in Orlando, FL, March 22-24 at booth # 2879. The company will also be hosting product demonstrations at ARC Imaging in Addison, IL on March 20th, RJ Young in Nashville, TN on April 4th, and Topaz Engineering in Hingham, MA on April 26th.

For more information, please visit www.contex.com