Almarai installs Sidel’s PET lines at Al Kharj processing plant

Liquid dairy and juice maker Almarai has installed two complete PET lines from packaging equipment manufacturer Sidel Group at its Al Kharj central processing plant (CPP) in Saudi Arabia.
Almarai chose Sidel Combi to increase its orange juice production capacity in the single-serve format. The 200ml juices are bottled in PET and handled under cold chain distribution.
Each PET line is capable of handling 54,000 bottles per hour (bph). The PET lines also feature the packaging firm’s efficiency

Staff Writer, 15 November 2018

Canon partners with Al Sayer group to highlight the technology-enabled education in Kuwait

Under its ‘Education For Life’ campaign, Canon Middle East partnered with Al Sayer group and the Kuwait Teachers Society to demonstrate its suite of solutions that address challenges brought about by the changing needs of key education sector stakeholders – students, teachers, and administration.

One of the technology leader showcased its commitment towards enabling the digital transformation of the education experience in Kuwait at an event held at the Kuwait Teachers Society in Kuwait City

Staff Writer, 24 October 2018

Four Films Printing Group invests in Xerox’s iGen 5 Press

Four Films Printing Group has added Xerox’s iGen 5 Press to its fleet of printing presses catering to Kuwaiti customers. The investment in the new press is a result of its successful experience with the preceding model – Xerox iGen 4. With the investment, Four Films is expected to offer customers in Kuwait a complete web-to-print solution while simultaneously expanding their market presence regionally.

“The iGen 5 gives Four Films a competitive advantage in Kuwaiti market and allows them to

Staff Writer, 11 October 2018

MEPCO and Arab Federation enter into agreement during the event

The Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Arab Federation for Paper, Printing and Packaging Industries during the 10th Middle East International Exhibition for Paper, Board, Tissue, Printing & Packaging Industry (Paper ME), held in Cairo from 10-12 September 2018.
Commenting on the agreement, Sami Safran, CEO of MEPCO said, “We believe that the Arab Federation for Paper, Printing and Packaging Industries plays an effective role in this sector

Staff Writer, 09 October 2018

MEPCO partners with Closir to boost corporate access for investors

The Middle East Paper Co. (MEPCO) has become the first Saudi company to join Closir, a global platform connecting companies directly with investors.

The paper manufacturer's engagement comes at a time when the Saudi equity market is in the spotlight for global investors, having been upgraded to "Emerging Market" status by index providers MSCI and FTSE Russell.  

Closir is a technology platform that connects listed companies in emerging markets to institutional investors, allowing them to

Staff Writer, 29 August 2018

Mondi concludes acquisition of 96% stake in Suez Bags

International packaging and paper group Mondi has concluded the acquisition of a 96% stake in Egypt-based industrial bags producer Suez Bags for EGP284m ($15.88m).
The deal follows the company’s acquisition of National Company for Paper Products and Import & Export (NPP) in June for EGP510m ($27.79m).
Suez Bags currently operates one production plant near Cairo to serve its regional customers.
According to the company, the deal expands its network of production plants in the Middle East and

Staff Writer, 27 August 2018

KSA's King Fahd Complex puts a modern spin on the ancient traditions of Islamic texts

Staff Writer, 26 August 2018

Egyptian newspapers to increase cover price

Egypt’s National press agency (NPA) is considering a decision to increase government newspapers prices due to the rising cost of paper, which has surged 100 percent in the last period.

During a meeting today with the NPA and Chairmen of the Board of Directors of the National Newspapers, along editors of private press institutions, discussed current issues such as poor distribution and lack of advertisement, along with the increase of printing prices which have all weighed badly on the print

Staff Writer, 16 August 2018

Digital Print Centre invests in AccurioPress C6100

Digital Print Centre has invested in Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress C6100.
Speaking about the investment and the reason for opting the brand, Seraj Ghazzal, general manager, Digital Print Centre commented, “We are always looking for the latest technologies and innovations in the printing industry. We researched the digital market and found that the Konica Minolta AccurioPress C6100 was equipped with all the latest technologies we required to drive our business forward. The AccurioPress C6100

Venkat Raghavan, 13 August 2018

Sentez signs with Heidelberg

Turkish packaging producer Sentez, which is based in Istanbul and has a workforce of around 550, has elected to use the subscription model of HeidelbergerDruckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) as part of its growth and digitization strategy. That makes the Sentez Group the first Turkish company opting to conclude this type of contract with Heidelberg and use a large format press.
The pay-per-use agreement with Sentez includes not just one but two subscription contracts - one each for the 70 x 100

Staff Writer, 13 August 2018

Canon Middle East launches direct operations in Saudi Arabia

Canon Middle East (CME) has launched direct operations in Saudi Arabia.
The company has signed an agreement with Ali Zaid Al Quraishi & Brothers to formally establish Canon Saudi Arabia, which will become the largest regional direct presence for CME.
Canon Saudi Arabia will operate from Riyadh, and with an additional two branches in Jeddah and Khobar, will be become the company’s largest entity in the region. The company aims to have over 300 employees by 2020.
The company said that a direct

Staff Writer, 09 July 2018

Zeejprint installed first Duplo Dusense Spot UV coater in KSA

Zeejprint became the first printing press in KSA to invest in Duplo DuSense DDC-810 Spot UV coater for its factory in Sulay, Riyadh. The installation was completed successfully by Giffin Graphics in April.
Talking about the investment, Ahmed Siddiqui, COO of Zeejprint, said, “We have been looking for a machine that fits all our requirements and this Duplo Dusense fitted exactly. The machine allows us to do many value added services for our customers. Particularly, the machine fits for the

Venkat Raghavan, 11 June 2018

Dynagraph’s new branch in Kuwait

Dynagraph, as one of the leading regional Graphic Industry players in the Middle East recently inaugurated its new showroom in Kuwait to demonstrate a number of digital printing production solutions from Canon as well as of offline digital finishing equipment.
According to the company spokesperson, “The showroom is destined to become a center of excellence for digital printers across Kuwait to familiarize themselves with Canon branded production equipment and allow them to test and assess the

Staff Writer, 11 June 2018

Orpic launches new thermoforming grade of polypropylene

Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) has launched a new thermoforming grade called Luban HP1151K that will increase both productivity and the overall performance of transparent thermoformed cups, trays and containers.
The new polypropylene (PP) thermoforming grade is based on Milliken’s nucleating innovation Hyperform HPN-600ei. The new grade (Luban HP1151K) was launched during the 5th Oman Plast Exhibition 2018 at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Orpic’s Luban

Staff Writer, 28 May 2018

Zeejprint receives ISO 12647-2 certification for process colour

Zeejprint has become the first printing press in Gulf to complete readiness for ISO 12647-2 Certification, world’s leading Process Colour Standards for Offset. This certification would enable Zeejprint to measure, manage and report its colour management process and overall print quality to customers.
 The certification has been awarded by Franz Brandi and Prof. Florian SuBi for Virona GmbH,  a global leader in conformity assessment and certification services. Virona confirmed that the production

Staff Writer, 14 May 2018

Narayanan Venkataraman appointed as managing director for HP Saudi Arabia

HP appoints Narayanan Venkataraman as managing director for Saudi Arabia. Narayanan will be responsible for driving the company’s PC and print business and strategy in the country. He will be working with local public and private sector partners and drive HP’s growth in the areas of cybersecurity, education, healthcare, anti-counterfeit and 3D printing. Narayanan commented: “I’m delighted to continue my work at HP in this exciting role, and take on greater responsibility for driving the company

Staff Writer, 09 May 2018

GraphX18 hosted by Business International Group in Bahrain

Business International Group of Companies (BI) hosted a multi-vendor event - GraphX18, which is an Exposition of Digital Print & Finishing Technology that took place at the Conference Centre, Crowne Plaza Hotel on the 21st of March 2018 in Bahrain. BI is better known as Xerox in Bahrain.
GraphX18 unique saw the participation of multiple global partners exhibiting together for the first time to bring the best in pre-press, digital automation, digital print, finishing, wide format technical

Staff Writer, 07 May 2018

Giffin Graphics hosts open house event for KSA customers

Giffin Graphics hosted an open house event for KSA customers. The event was held in Riyadh Marriott Courtyard on 12th and 13th March, 2018. This is their second event for the DUPLO DUSENSE and the other DUPLO solutions. The first event was held in Dubai World Trade Center between 16th-19th October 2017.
Talking about the event, Mahmoud Alfasatleh,  regional manager from Giffin Graphics KSA, said, “The visitors were from KSA only, but they came from all parts of the Kingdom like Dammam, Jeddah

Venkat Raghavan, 18 April 2018

SPGPrints’ solutions at ITM

SPGPrints’ digital printing solutions using Archer technology and advanced rotary screens for apparel applications will be presented at its stand at ITM 2018, Tuyap Fair Convention and Congress Center, Istanbul, Turkey, 14 – 17 April.
“Since its debut at ITM 2016, the JAVELIN printer has been installed at textile printing operations around the world, complementing existing digital machines and screen production,” said Hakan Uzman, managing director SPGPrints Turkey. “For the past year, Tekboy

Staff Writer, 18 April 2018

Al Jawad invests in Rapida 106 to meet the packaging demands

Al Jawad, a packaging manufacturer based in Saudi Arabia, has invested in a 6-colour Rapida 106 sheet-fed offset press from Koenig & Bauer. The order was handled by the local Koenig & Bauer agency, Al Kharafi. The last acquisition, three years ago, was a six-colour sheetfed offset press with inline foiling unit and provisions for both conventional and UV applications. One of Al Jawad’s specialties is flexible packaging for the food and detergent industries, while the offset printing

Staff Writer, 15 March 2018

Egyptian PM backs RTISE

RT Imaging Summit & Expo-EMEA in Cairo gets extended support from Egyptian prime minister and the Ministry of Trade & Industry. As per the reports, Sherif Ismail, the prime minister of Egypt, wants the whole Egyptian cabinet to get behind the international event to be held at InterContinental Hotel CityStars Cairo in Egypt on March 22 and 23, 2018.
“I welcome the international copier and printer industry to our beautiful country. Egypt is a good destination to do business”, the prime

Staff Writer, 15 March 2018

MEPCO wins King Khaled Award for Responsible Competitiveness

MEPCO was announced as winner of the ‘King Khaled Award for Responsible Competitiveness’. King Salman bin Abdulaziz presented the award to Eng. Sami Safran, CEO, MEPCO.  The accolade is held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and is known for honouring companies that have built competitive advantage through a commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).  The King Khalid Foundation established the Responsible

Staff Writer, 14 February 2018

Tetra Pak signs with Obeikan

Tetra Pak has reportedly signed a recycling contract with Saudi Arabia-based papermaker Obeikan Paper Industries (OPI), which produces around 180,000 metric tons of duplex board per year.
According to an online report by the Saudi Gazette, the arrangement is “an industry-first joint initiative with a paper mill in Arabia,” and it is expected that by 2020 OPI will be recycling about 6,000 tons of used beverage cartons annually.
Hussam Naseer, environment manager Tetra Pak Arabia Area, is quoted by

Staff Writer, 14 February 2018

Skysat unveils Konica Minolta C2070

Konica Minolta, in partnership with SkySat Technologies has recently launched their one of their model ACCURIOPRESS C2070 in Abuja, Nigeria.
The press features up to 71ppm print/copy output, real-time image density, colour density control sensors and digital colour imaging to rival offset printers at a fraction of the cost. It accepts paper sizes up to 33.02 x 48.76cm (13” x 19.2”) and weights up to 350gsm.
Chief executive officer at SkySat Technologies, Izzat Debs, said that the ACCURIOPRESS

Staff Writer, 11 January 2018

KM’s AccurioPress wins BLI award

Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress C6100 was presented an award for “outstanding” technology in mid-volume production markets by Keypoint Intelligence and Buyers Lab International (BLI), at the event in Berlin, Germany, for dealers and distributors from Europe and Central and Middle East Asia.
David Sweetnam, Buyers Lab’s director of research and Lab Services for EMEA/Asia, said: “Superior productivity and media handling and high-quality and consistent output distinguish the Konica Minolta

Staff Writer, 19 December 2017

AGFA Graphics Ink jet Middle East office appointed Rajesh Patki as regional sales manager

AGFA Graphics Ink jet Middle East office recently appointed Rajesh Patki as regional sales manager by replacing Manesh Shetty from the middle of September, 2017. Earlier Patki worked for Masonlite, Dubai as a sales manager.He will be covering Middle East, Africa & SAARC. AGfa spokesperson commented, "Having served in the industry for the past two decades and with his experience AGFA is confident to generate more sales and penetrate through all kinds of market sections from mid range to the

Staff Writer, 19 December 2017

Canon ME expands in KSA

Canon Middle East has expanded its partner programme and eServices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to facilitate innovation, drive business growth and deliver success for partners and customers. The firm has also announced a strategic partnership with Alkhorayef Printing Solutions (APS), a part of the Alkhorayef Group, a prominent player the Saudi printing market. These announcements were made at a partner event in Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya, which brought together over 28 resellers, to whom

Staff Writer, 19 December 2017

Zeej Print expands into Offset printing technology in Riyadh

Zeej Print expands into latest Offset printing technology in Riyadh. After 15 years of success in digital printing they have decided to venture to offset with an investment of 20m riyals. The facility has an 8 colour perfecting LED-UV machine that is the first in the Middle East which allows them to offer larger sizes (up to B1) and larger quantities (up to 50,000). Talking about the new setup, Abdulaziz Alomran, CEO of Zeej Print, commented, “We are pleased to announce that zeejprint.com has

Staff Writer, 19 November 2017

The Middle East Packaging Summit created industry awareness

The Middle East Packaging Summit 2017 held at Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel & Towers in Dubai, UAE. The event commenced with the keynote address by Thomas Schneider, President, World Packaging Organization on the trends and developments in the middle east packaging market in which he emphasized the importance of the impact of consumer’s behavior on packaging and how sustainability fits into the packaging equation.
“The extraordinary customer experience: going beyond the target’ presentation was

Staff Writer, 20 September 2017

Canon ME to launch E-Service facility to customers, resellers

Canon Middle East has announced the launch of a new eService program for its resellers and customers. E-Service is the name given to the offering that allows delivering  ‘Managed Print Service for large format printers’.  This facility will allow resellers to sell, lease or rent an imagePROGRAF printer to an end user to deliver an LFP ‘Managed Print Service’.
By agreement with the end user, the reseller attaches the printer to the cloud based imagePROGRAF LFP Monitor system.  This system will

Staff Writer, 12 September 2017