Sequana refutes illicit movements

Sequana has denied allegations made by lawyers representing employees at Arjowiggins’ Papiers Couchés and Le Bourray operations that accused the group of moving around €20m (£17.3m) illicitly.

A number of French news outlets have reported on the contents of the letter sent by the lawyers to Sequana chief executive Pascal Lebard on 8 April.
It called into question the management of the Arjowiggins case, which on 29 March resulted in the liquidation of the Papiers Couchés site in Bessé-sur-Braye

Staff Writer, 23 May 2019

Canon adds new imagePress family

Canon is preparing its new imagePress C910 series of light production digital printers for market after unveiling them at an event in the Netherlands.

The new series succeeds the C850 family and has been developed for print service providers looking to provide extended applications with reliable media handling at higher productivity. They were first shown to attendees at the Cutting Edge showcase in Venlo, Holland, on 9-11 April.

The family consists of three models differentiated by their speed

Staff Writer, 23 May 2019

EFI eyes next stage of evolution after sale

EFI is poised to be acquired by a US private equity firm in a deal that values the wide-format kit manufacturer and productivity software developer at $1.7bn.

The proposed all-cash purchase by an acquisition vehicle of Siris Capital Group was confirmed on 15 April and once completed EFI will delist from Nasdaq.

Speaking to PrintWeek, EFI chief executive Bill Muir said: “In many different ways it’s an endorsement of the great company that has been built through the years and the potential it

Staff Writer, 23 May 2019

Screen appoints new president

Screen Europe is pleased to announce the appointment of Akihiro Fujii as its new president, taking over from Takanori Kakita who has been promoted to the position of president of the Graphic Arts Company and will now be based at the head office in Kyoto, Japan.

Takanori Kakita has been at the helm in Amstelveen, Netherlands for the last four years and under his stewardship Screen Europe has gone from strength-to-strength. During that time the company has experienced growth in all areas of its

Staff Writer, 23 May 2019

HP makes first moves into textiles with dye-sub launch

HP will make its first-ever moves into the textiles printing market by launching two machines in its new Stitch S series of dye-sublimation printers, with a third on the way for Fespa.The 1.6m-wide Stitch S300 and S500 printers will be available from June after being debuted at the ISA 2019 convention in Las Vegas, US, from today (24 April).

HP said the Stitch S300 had been designed for ease-of-use and is intended for entry-level or minimal-use markets. It comes with HP’s Ergosoft RIP, HP

Staff Writer, 24 April 2019

OKI Europe launches new C800 Series of ultra-compact A3 colour printers

OKI Europe has announced the launch of its new C800 Series of ultra-compact A3 colour printers that produces professional results in-house for every type of business. With a focus on delivering value for organisations that typically outsource print jobs, the C800 Series has been developed to handle any print job large or small, quickly and cost effectively.

Featuring OKI’s pioneering digital LED technology, the C800 Series can handle an unrivalled range of media in HD colour, from pre-cut

Staff Writer, 22 April 2019

Koenig & Bauer now sets €1.5bn sales goal

Koenig & Bauer has said that orders for new presses have “largely shrugged off the effects of recent political and economical developments”, as the group posted its highest EBIT figure in more than 200 years of trading.
The Germany headquartered press manufacturer had been held back by issues around the availability of parts last year, particularly at its largest unit the Sheetfed division, where sales slipped by 2% to €647.4m, but despite this also having a dampening effect on new business

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

Antalis sales and profits slip

Paper merchanting group Antalis has posted its year-end results, with a perfect storm of Brexit uncertainty, currency fluctuations and declining paper volumes heavily impacting profitability.
The figures to 31 December showed sales across the group had slipped 2.8% to €2.31bn (£1.98bn. 2017: €2.38bn), while EBITDA fell 11.5% to €74.7m.
The group’s report attributed weaker revenue to a 7% decline in paper volumes across Europe, as well as negative impact from the decline of the pound and the Swiss

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

Agfa revamps

Agfa has revamped its divisional structure and created three separate divisions for its print-related activities, as the group seeks more partnerships for future growth. Speaking as Agfa-Gevaert Group announced its year-end results to 31 December 2018, chief executive Christian Reinaudo said the business had made “major steps to transform our group”. Its Healthcare IT business has been renamed Agfa Healthcare and has been separated from the rest of the group. The former Agfa Graphics and

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

Flint Group announces the grand opening of its regional Technology Center Asia Pacific (ATC)

Flint Group have announced the grand opening of its regional Technology Center Asia Pacific (ATC), located at the Shanghai Publishing and Printing College (SPPC), No.100 Shui Feng Road, Shanghai, China. The Technology Center allows continued expansion of technical support, services and provides a location for state-of-the-art development, plate manufacturing, training, and education. The company has invested about €2 million in the technology centre, where Flint Group technicians cooperate with

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

Asia Print Expo 2019 attracted many visitors

Asia Print Expo 2019, which took place from 21 to 23 February in Bangkok, Thailand, has been hailed a success by both visitors and exhibitors, cementing the event’s position as a meeting point for Asian screen, digital and textile printers and signage. 4,207 individual visitors travelled to Asia Print Expo 2019 from 54 countries. Taking into account visitors attending the event across multiple days, the show attracted a total of 4,681 visitors, an increase of 8% compared with FESPA Asia 2018

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

Roland DG unveils benchtop flatbed

Roland DG has introduced the latest addition to its VersaUV LEF range of wide-format UV printers, the streamlined LEF2-200 benchtop flatbed.
The LEF2-200 builds on the capabilities of the VersaUV LEF-200, which was launched in 2017, and is available in the UK as of 7 March at a price of £19,999. It can be purchased with an additional BOFA air filtration system or a RotaPrint accessory for direct printing onto cylindrical items.
The new machine is intended for use at promotional print companies

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

Landa venture could float in London

Benny Landa’s fuel cell venture could float on London’s AIM market, raising tens of millions of pounds in the process according to reports.
He is also the chairman and majority shareholder at GenCell Energy, green energy provider which develops emission-free fuel cells inspired by the fuel technology used in space programmes.
Calcalist reported that GenCell was looking at various financing options, including a possible IPO that could value the business at $200m-$250m.
The Times reported that the

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

Arjo mill in France will go into liquidation

The Arjowiggins site in Bessé-sur-Braye will go into liquidation, leading to the loss of 580 jobs, while a sale has been agreed for the Château-Thierry plant alongside a partial sale of the Bourray operation.
French media reported the decision of the Commercial Court of Nanterre on 29th March, which comes after attempts to find a buyer for the French business failed. Swedish paper group Lessebo, understood to be a leading bidder, had pulled out of the race “a few weeks ago” according to reports

Staff Writer, 14 April 2019

The first edition of LED & SIGN CHINA 2019 completed in Shenzhen

LED CHINA, Digital Signage 2019 were successfully concluded on the 23rd February at Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, presenting the whole industry chain of sign, LED and digital signage for visitors from home and abroad. 551 companies/brands (to name a few: Liantronics, Leyard, Ledman, Rishang, Cosun, Yueming) exhibited in the 3-day shows and welcomed 24,039 professional buyers from 104 countries & regions.  

Staff Writer, 13 March 2019

Ricoh launches new industrial inkjet printhead RICOH MH5320/5340/5320 Type A

Ricoh has announced the launch of a new industrial inkjet printhead RICOH MH5320/5340/5320 Type A. It will be on display at the Shanghai International Ad & Sign Expo in Shanghai, China, from 5 March through 8 March alongside other industrial printing solutions. The RICOH MH5320/5340/5320 Type A printhead will be commercially available from 1 April, 2019.

Staff Writer, 04 March 2019

Hunkeler premieres new and future products at 13th Innovationdays

Swiss post-press manufacturer Hunkeler has unveiled a raft of new products and configurations at its biennial Innovationdays trade show in Lucerne, which has been hailed a huge success by organisers and exhibitors.

Hosting an estimated 6,500 visitors at Messe Luzern during the 13th running of the event, which finishes on 28 February, Hunkeler is headlining a line-up of around 100 exhibitors, with the primary event focus on continuous-feed inkjet workflow, from pre-press through to print and

Staff Writer, 04 March 2019

De La Rue takes on tobacco task for HMRC

HMRC aims to crack down on the illicit sale of tobacco products through a new multimillion-pound contract with De La Rue.

The five-year, £3.5m deal involves the deployment of De La Rue’s track and trace technology on 1.7bn packets of cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco sold in the UK each year.

The EU Tobacco Products Directive, Article 15, means it is now a legal requirement for all tobacco products to be traceable, in order to cut down on counterfeit products.

The digital solution will be

Staff Writer, 04 March 2019

HP printing revenue down in Q1 as supplies sales dip

HP Inc’s printing revenue fell slightly year-on-year in Q1 after its supplies sales slowed.

The manufacturer recorded total sales of $14.7bn for the three-month period to 31 January 2019, up by 1.3% year-on-year but down by 4.3% on the previous quarter.

Revenue in the firm’s printing division was down by 0.4% from $5.08bn to $5.06bn in Q1 and was down by 4.6% on the previous quarter.

Commercial hardware sales grew by 5.1% year-on-year and consumer hardware was up by 2.6% but sales of

Staff Writer, 04 March 2019

Kodak CEO Clarke exits, chairman takes over

Kodak chief executive Jeff Clarke has stepped down from his role with immediate effect in a surprise move.

Clarke has been replaced by chairman Jim Continenza who becomes executive chairman of the business and will take over the responsibilities of CEO.

Clarke joined Kodak five years ago in March 2014, six months after the group emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In a Kodak statement announcing the changes, Clarke said his departure was by mutual agreement.

He said: "It was a

Staff Writer, 23 February 2019

Ricoh expanded its thermal business

Ricoh has announced the expansion of its thermal business in Europe. Ricoh will invest about 3 billion yen in Ricoh Industrie France S.A.S. to double its coater production capacity, which applies thermal coatings onto paper. The increased production will start in July 2020. Ricoh’s thermal business is global and is mainly focused on the manufacture and distribution of thermal paper and thermal transfer ribbons. Thermal paper allows printed bar codes to be used in point-of-sale food labelling

Staff Writer, 14 February 2019

BOBST launches ‘Helpline Plus AR’

BOBST announced the launch of ‘Helpline Plus AR’, the first ever remote assistance service in the packaging industry to incorporate a smart headset with augmented reality (AR) glasses. Customers requiring technical assistance can wear the smart headset and connect with experts who can simultaneously see what the user sees and offer advice and support in real time.
 “This is a huge step forward in terms of embracing the latest technology to maximize customer experience,” said Julien Laran, head

Staff Writer, 14 February 2019

Agfa and Fujitex signs agreement for distribution of SYNAPS in Japan

Agfa and Fujitex signs agreement for distribution of SYNAPS in Japan. The agreement covers the distribution of Agfa’s synthetic paper SYNAPS in Japan and adds to Fujitex’ extensive offering to the local promotion and office printing market. It confirms the worldwide growing acceptance of SYNAPS and contributes to the further growth of Agfa’s synthetic paper business. The agreement covers the distribution of SYNAPS Xerographic Matt (XM) in view of the particularly strong position that Fujitex

Staff Writer, 14 February 2019

Neenah announces new changes

Neenah has announced that Sean T. Erwin and John F. McGovern will not stand for re-election when their terms expire in May 2019 and that Tony R. Thene has been appointed to its board of directors as an independent director effective February 1, 2019. Thene will be part of the class of directors whose term of office will expire at the 2019 annual meeting, when he will be nominated for election to a three-year term.
Thene currently serves as chief executive officer of Carpenter Technology

Staff Writer, 14 February 2019

Heidelberg steps up activities

Heidelberg and Masterwork have extended their long-standing sales partnership, with the Chinese manufacturer of die-cutting machines and hot foil embossing machines become a strategic anchor shareholder.
Based in the Chinese city of Tianjin, Masterwork is to obtain around 8.5% of Heidelberg share capital under a cash capital increase from authorized capital excluding shareholder subscription rights. The implementation of such capital measure is subject to approval by Heidelberg’s supervisory

Staff Writer, 14 February 2019

Xerox fleshes out turnaround plan

Xerox has outlined a three-year plan to transform the business, initially focusing on restructuring and improving profitability before focusing on growth in adjacent and new markets, including packaging and 3D printing.

Chief executive and vice-chairman John Visentin provided more details of Project Own It, which aims to streamline the business, strip out costs, flatten the management structure, simplify its supply chain and increase accountability and focus on profitability.

“We had a complex

Staff Writer, 13 February 2019

Heidelberg sales dip in Q3 but order backlog indicates strong Q4

Heidelberg’s revenue dropped by 4% year-on-year in Q3 but the company said its order backlog indicates a strong Q4 and its targets for the full-year are still in sight.

The manufacturer’s net sales for the three-month period ended 31 December 2018 came in at €579m (£509m), down from €603m in the equivalent period a year ago. But the company’s nine-month sales of €1.69m were up around 2% on nine-month sales a year prior of €1.66m.

Its order backlog in Q3 was €804m, up 16% year-on-year from

Staff Writer, 13 February 2019

Mondi CEO to head Austrian government ‘digitalisation’ initiative

Mondi chief executive Peter Oswald has been appointed the first president of a new Austrian national forum to support the country’s digital capability.
Margarete Schramböck, the Austrian federal minister of digital and economic affairs, has announced the new independent non-profit initiative – fit4internet – to support the government’s ambitions to increase the digital capability of Austria’s citizens.

Fit4internet will serve as a hub and platform for improving digital competencies in close

Staff Writer, 11 February 2019

Cron establishes branch in Asia to expand overseas reach

Cron has established a branch in Malaysia as it seeks to expand its reach in overseas markets.

Cron Asia is located in Serdang printing industrial park, Kuala Lumpur. Here, Cron demonstrates its product portfolio, intelligent printing system, and supporting services including pre-sale, sale, after-sales training and technical support.

The CRON EZC intelligent printing system is a digital ink supply control system. Through standardization of file design, pre-press process, intelligent

Staff Writer, 28 January 2019

RRD unveils Cloud Direct

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) (NYSE:RRD), a leading global provider of multichannel solutions for marketing and business communications, today announced the launch of Cloud Direct by RRD, a trigger-based direct marketing application — housed within Salesforce Marketing Cloud — that improves targeting and extends the Marketing Cloud platform by fully integrating digital and direct mail channels. 

Available within Journey Builder, Marketing Cloud’s cross-channel customer engagement

Staff Writer, 24 January 2019