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Articles by Colin Gillman
Home based hidden heroes busy making scrubs for front line NHS workers
The “For the Love of Scrubs” Facebook campaign was formed by A&E nurse Ashleigh Linsdell who posted on Facebook a request for materials to make scrubs for her colleagues after identifying a shortage in supply of scrubs to frontline NHS staff during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, scrubs - which are a part of staff personal protective equipment (PPE) - are being changed more frequently in order to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Nutshell Creative teams up with Vpress to develop Covid-19 messaging website
Details Published: 27 April 2020 Bucks-based agency Nutshell Creative has risen to the United Nation’s (UN) open creative brief to help disseminate reliable public health messages about Covid-19. It has developed an easy to use online resource where businesses and organisations anywhere can access, share, personalise and print official World Health Organisation (WHO) messaging.
From quote creation to invoicing new SAi SideKick takes care of your display business
SAi has announced the availability of SideKick – a convenient and easy-to-use job organisation tool that helps sign and large format print businesses to effortlessly manage their end-to-end production operations, from quote creation to invoicing. Simple to use, SideKick comes pre-loaded with a database of predefined products and finishing options, including average industry costs, to rapidly and accurately configure pricing, while factoring in materials, labour, commissions, discounts and taxes.
Bed retailer brings display print in-house to save on outsourcing costs
Sussex Beds is planning a massive expansion over the next decade following its most successful year yet - thanks in part to printing its own display material in-house with HP DesignJet. Founded in 1981, Sussex Beds is a specialist retailer in beds, mattresses and bedroom furniture, selling its own-brand products in nine stores across in its home county and neighbouring Kent.
Roland launch eco water-based ink printer for interior décor applications
Details Published: 19 March 2020 Roland DG EMEA has launched a new wide format printer that has been specifically designed to digitally print stunning interior décor applications using ecological water-based ink.
Podcast with Dan Handforth: Everything you need to know about claiming R&D tax credits
Details Published: 17 March 2020 Printing companies, particularly in the sign and display sector, are missing out on HMRC R&D tax credits worth tens of thousands of pounds every year. The Gill talks with R&D Tax credits advisor Dan Handforth who explains in simple terms what R&D Tax credits are and how they could help your business.
Discover the business opportunities arising from décor applications
Details Published: 12 March 2020 If you are thinking about diversifying your print business into new markets you might want to go along to the first in a series of seminar events run by Nottingham-based specialist systems distributor and service provider, ArtSystems, who has announced 8th April 2020 as the date for its first Wide Open Print Forum.
Exhibition cancellations, Coronavirus, and a shortage of bog rolls - now is the time to clean up
The printing industry exhibition cancellations started with FESPA, then Sign & Digital UK, and if you think Drupa is going ahead then you will want your head checking. Coronavirus is nothing short of a shit shower for businesses in every industry sector, but it’s also not the end of the freaking world. The Gill takes a look at what you can do to leverage the situation to benefit your printing business. Nor should you be thinking that this could be be the end of your print business.
Roland to promote UV print as a serious option for your business at Sign & Digital
Roland DG look set to take a selection of its key products to the forthcoming Sign and Digital UK 2020 show, with a particular focus on its latest UV printing solutions. Taking place at Birmingham's NEC from April 28th to 30th 2020, Sign and Digital UK will bring together leading brands, major industry stakeholders and thousands of attendees from the digital printing, sign-making and display markets.
Agfa LED printer from Litho Supplies boosts profitability for Scunthorpe sign maker
Details Published: 22 January 2020 Scunthorpe based sign maker A Signs has invested in Agfa’s new Anapurna H1650i LED print engine to increase profitability through improved production efficiencies. A Signs, established in 1998, produce a wide variety of signage, from external building signs, internal health and safety signs, vehicle wraps, exhibition display boards, and wall art for its broad client base.
Free Mimaki laminator bundle offer
Details Published: 17 January 2020 Get a free Mimaki laminator and a 3-year Gold warranty when you buy Mimaki’s new super-fast, wide-format JV300-160plus solvent printer or CJV300-160plus integrated printer/cutter. With sports fast laminating speeds of up to 7.5m per minute, the Mimaki LA-160W laminator is simple to use, thanks to it containing all its functions on one control panel and includes a comprehensive one-year warranty.
Make more money for your print business with the Josero ‘Build a Better Business’ days
Details Published: 17 January 2020 Josero's ‘Build a Better Business’ days on 5th & 6th February, held in-conjunction with Hybrid Services, have been designed to help PSPs to make more money for their print businesses through a mix of educational drop-in clinics and hands-on learning. According to Josero’s managing director Loïc Delor, the company’s ‘Build a Better Business’ days are aimed at helping time-pressed PSPs to maximise their valuable time away from the office.
Links Signs produces graphics for Star Trek: Picard Amazon TV show tie-in
Details Published: 17 January 2020 Amazon Prime, Transport for London and Links Signs have given Piccadilly Circus Station a cosmic rebrand to support the launch of the new series ‘Star Trek: Picard’ launching on January 23rd on Amazon Prime. Between 15th and 16th January, the central London station unveiled a space-themed new look, which included an exciting temporary name change.
Sign & display printers are missing out on R&D tax credits worth thousands
Details Published: 16 January 2020 Working with a specialist R&D tax consultancy can save you literally thousands of pounds every year. Here’s how Kene Partners helped digital signage company Signbox. After exploring an initial claim themselves that garnered them far less, Signbox were put in touch with specialist R&D tax consultancy Kene Partners who helped them make a further R&D Tax claim of £125,000, allowing them to invest in new technologies and the launch of a brand new eStore.
Podcast with Glen Robins: Deriving profit from technology
Details Published: 14 January 2020 IPW1 is situated in the heart of London's West End. The firm specialises in digital and litho printing, and as a Xerox Premier Partner the company has access to the latest print technology and software such as the latest Xerox Iridesse six-colour production press - The Gill talks with with senior partner Glen Robins to find out how IPW1 is deriving profit through technology.
Boris Johnson and the Golden Age of Printing
Brexit. It’s now an actual thing. On 23 June 2016 the UK held a European Union referendum where the UK voted to leave the EU by 51.89% for leave to 48.11% for remain, a margin of 3.78%. This corresponded to 17,410,742 votes to leave and 16,141,241 to remain, a margin of some 1,269,501 votes. Phew! Talk about a close run thing. So much so that it proved to be too close for comfort and ended up dividing the country.
New RMGT 9 litho press for Leeds-based marketing company
Award-winning Resource, a Leeds-based marketing company with its own litho and digital printing capability, has announced details of an exciting upgrade to its litho printing equipment.
New Kongsberg cuts a swath through finishing bottleneck at Display Wizard
Issues such as colour consistency and increased volume of printed output were boxes ticked with the arrival of a new industrial UV printer in April. However, that’s when another set of issues came to the fore. Display Wizard simply couldn’t keep up with its new 3.2m wide printer because it was still finishing by hand. “We had a real bottleneck,” says managing director, Peter Symonds.
Industrial inkjet poised for growth says Future of Inkjet survey
Details Published: 17 December 2019 Market confidence in the future of the industrial inkjet market is high says a recent survey compiled by FM Future and strategic partner Ricoh Europe. The Future of Inkjet Survey evaluates the attitudes and trends that are driving the adoption of inkjet from speaking to 129 participants from around the world.
New embossed woodgrain-effect finish material from Drytac
Details Published: 17 December 2019 Drytac has announced ReTac Textures Woodgrain, an embossed woodgrain-effect finish that really makes images stand out, making it perfect for eye-catching interior promotions, wall graphics, custom wall murals, interior décor, retail displays, trade show graphics and signage. It is also an ideal material for textured labels, decals and stickers. The material is also fire-rated making it ideal for public spaces.
Environmental signage plays an important part of the visitor experience at Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo has teamed up with Signs Express Chester to deliver a first-class environmental wayfinding and signage solution. Chester Zoo, which is the most visited zoo in the UK, as well as a conservation and education charity committed to preventing extinction, is home to 27,000 animals across 125 acres of zoological gardens and boasts a whopping 1.9 million visitors each year.
Why Sign & Digital UK is important if you are serious about print
Details Published: 16 December 2019 While looking to invest in a flatbed printer to reach new markets through direct-to-substrate printing, Sign Architects managing director Yusuf Rab headed to the Sign and Digital UK exhibition in Birmingham in April 2019 with the intention to meet up with i-Sub Digital who had invited the Essex-based sign maker to explore the range of Agfa Anapurna flatbed printers.
swissQprint Karibu double investment eliminates sublimation printing at Pixcolor
It is rare for us to publish stories about overseas printing company investments on The Gill but when a French print service provider purchases two very expensive high quality swissQprint Karibu roll to roll printers in rapid succession and then says farewell to sublimation printing - we want to know why? According to Pixcolor, located in Nancy, France, the main reasons are: efficiency, variety of materials and profitability.
Roland launch desktop eco printer for touch sensitive applications
Details Published: 02 December 2019 Roland DG EMEA has launched the world's first desktop eco-solvent printer developed for touch sensitive applications including toys, food containers and medical instruments - the SF-200. Thanks to compliance with the EN 71-3 toy safety standard and the Toy Safety Directive, SF-200 eco-solvent inks are compatible with children's toys made from plastics, wood, leather and more – with designs able to withstand the roughest games.
Time-saving workflow templates added to Morgana finishing devices
Details Published: 02 December 2019 Morgana Systems has collaborated with EFI to develop Fiery Impose for Morgana finishing equipment. Time-saving templates are now available for the most common jobs, such as business cards or postcards, to use in Fiery Impose. The company has developed integration templates between Fiery driven print engines, Fiery workflow software, and Morgana finishing devices.
New EFI VUTEk FAST 4 printer boosts Gardners opportunity to keep saying yes
Cardiff-based Gardners, one of Europe’s largest digital wide format printing companies specialising in retail, fleet, out-of-home and experiential print experiences has invested in an EFI VUTEk HS 125 FAST 4 printer from CMYUK. The new printer features feature Fast-4 technology that uses eight ink channels with a CMYK x 2 configuration for even faster profitable throughput, which means you get higher speeds for outdoor and distance-viewed graphics.
Morgana launch AutoCut Pro for busy digital print shops
Details Published: 21 February 2018 Morgana Systems has released its latest multi-function finishing unit, the AutoCut Pro cutting, slitting and creasing unit designed for busy digital print shops that have a need for high speed creasing and trimming for business cards and promotional products. Running at speeds of up to 5,000 sheets per hour on standard creasing applications, a typical run of 250 business cards can be finished in less than two minutes.
CMYUK launch new wallcovering material made from recycled plastic bottles
Details Published: 24 October 2019 CMYUK has launched its new UFABRIK Wallcover Canvas ECO, which is manufactured from recycled plastic bottles (rPET). This high performing, innovative material forms part of CMYUK’s growing own-brand portfolio for the availability of quality, fit-for-purpose, environmentally responsible products and their disposal.
Océ Colorado 1640 printers prove popular with safety sign specialist PTS
Details Published: 22 October 2019 Protect Safety Signs (PTS), a supplier of Temporary Traffic Management signs to the Emergency Services sector, has recently bought and installed two Océ Colorado 1640 printers. In operation for more than 20 years, PTS is always looking to improve each and every aspect of the business through investing in new technology to boost turnaround times.
Intelligent Finishing Systems transfers company ownership to its employees
Details Published: 22 October 2019 Intelligent Finishing Systems (IFS), a supplier of print finishing equipment and the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for the extensive Horizon range, successfully transferred 100% of the company to its 30 employees in an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) on October 1. Managing director Bryan Godwyn (above) took the opportunity to officially stand down as managing director after 30 years in the industry.
Granthams and the origins of wide format solvent printing
When you think about the origins of how wide format solvent printing might have come into being, you could be forgiven for not considering that the Lancashire city of Preston in the United Kingdom might have played a major role in its origin.
Scottish vehicle wrapping firm boosts productivity with HP Latex 3200 printer
Lanarkshire-based fleet branding solutions provider OPG has added a new HP Latex 3200 wide-format printer, supplied by Papergraphics, to its headquarters adding to its three existing HP Latex 570 systems. A specialist in fleet vehicle graphics since 1995, OPG provides a full service to its customers from consultation and design, installation, and removal at the end of a graphic's life.
German display printer first to move with swissQprint’s Karibu roll to roll printer
Details Published: 14 October 2019 Wide format digital printing specialist Stiefel Digitalprint GmbH in Lenting near Munich recently became the first customer to begin operating swissQprint’s latest roll to roll printer - the Karibu. The company has been a committed swissQprint user since 2011 and Karibu is the fourth large-format swissQprint printer to be installed on the company’s premises.
Roland DG announce a raft of new printers including its first UV-LED production flatbed
Roland DG Corporation has been busy announcing a raft of new inkjet printers this month including the pocket sized 30” VersaUV LEC2-300 UV printer/cutter; a new SG2 Series TrueVIS Printer/Cutter lineup in 64”, 54”,30” formats; and its first ever true production UV-LED flatbed printer, the IU-1000F. New LEC2-300 UV printer/cutter So let’s take a look at them starting with the smallest - the 30” VersaUV LEC2-300 UV printer/cutter.
Automatic binding machine from Morgana halves man hours at Banbury printer
Details Published: 09 October 2019 Foremost Print has invested in new post-press equipment in the shape of a Rhin-O-Tuff Tornado Autopunch system from UK distributor Morgana Systems. The Tornado Autopunch automatically feeds, collates, punches, and delivers books offset and ready for subsequent binding.
Digital textile print production takes centre stage at Manchester Print Services
Details Published: 09 October 2019 Eighteen months ago, dye sublimation didn’t even register on the dial at Manchester Print Services, the wide-format digital printing company set-up by Lee Egan and Andy Lambert in 2010. Sixteen months ago, a Mimaki JV5 320-DS dye sublimation printer bought through CMYUK paved the way.
Xerox develops entry level toner printing for fluorescents, gold, silver, white and clear
With speciality printing being one of the fastest-growing digital segments, Xerox developed the Xerox Adaptive CMYK Plus Technology designed for the all-new entry level Xerox PrimeLink C9065/C9070 Colour Printer and the entry level Xerox Colour C60/C70 Printer. The Adaptive CMYK Plus Technology is an accessory that has been engineered to augment the traditional cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) offering.
Chapel says best value for money five colour B2 press with coater is a Speedmaster
Details Published: 04 October 2019 Chapel Press is expanding. A surge in business over the last year has paved the way for a new Heidelberg Speedmaster CX75-5+L five colour B2 press with coater to be installed alongside Chapel’s existing Speedmaster XL75-10P long perfector. Chapel Press looked at Komori press options but judged that the new Heidelberg Speedmaster CX platform was the most efficient and technologically advanced model it had reviewed, offering the best value for money.
Digital wide format textile printing applications - CMYUK has it covered
Michael Crook sits in the quiet eye of the storm. Commercial Director at CMYUK for the last six years, he is responsible for the consumables side of the business. As such, he is both a witness to the growth in proliferation of digital wide-format textile applications, and an active enabler in the adoption of these by PSPs and non-traditional businesses beyond. Here he shares his thoughts on the latest trends in digital textile printing, Reshoring, and sustainability.
Arjowiggins MBO saves hundreds of jobs and two historic UK paper mills
Details Published: 02 October 2019 It is fantastic to see that the management team of Arjowiggins Creative Papers has finally taken ownership of the remainder of the company’s activities, protecting nearly 300 jobs in Europe and China and safeguarding the future of the the Arjowiggins brand. The announcement follows the successful completion last week of a management buy-out of the UK operations which saved hundreds of jobs and two historic paper mills in Aberdeen and Kent.
Labelexpo proves successful for Konica Minolta’s label solutions
Details Published: 02 October 2019 Konica Minolta’s stand at Labelexpo became a magnet for showgoers in a continuing success story where 11 more sales were announced and quality leads more than doubled compared to the last European show in Brussels, Belgium, two years ago.
Vism project management software streamlines workflow at Wahooti
Wahooti is one of the country’s fastest growing full-service display printing solutions providers. The implementation of Vism's project management software system in early 2019 has now transformed and streamlined Wahooti’s entire print installation process. Relationships with installers and customers are now much more effectively managed and communication is fast, accurate and focused on delivering high levels of customer satisfaction.
Latest Xerox enhancements to iGen 5
Details Published: 26 September 2019 Xerox has announced two new optional capabilities for the iGen 5: the extra-long sheet (XLS) and Fluorescent Yellow Dry Ink. The iGen 5 XLS enables up to a 35-inch sheet sie, prints at rated speed and has production feeding and stacking. With extra-long capabilities, printers can deliver more pieces per sheet, increasing application productivity of the iGen 5 by up to 25 per cent.
How Diamond Colour Print is making digital a viable alternative to litho
Details Published: 26 September 2019 Diamond Colour Print believes that the latest generation digital press from Heidelberg can provide the colour quality and unit cost to make digital a viable alternative to litho on more than the shortest runs moving forward. The company has bought a Versafire EP with Heidelberg’s own Prinect Digital Front End or DFE which will replace one of its two Linoprint 901s.
FESPA UK and Vism to launch UK Graphic Awards and Thrive in Print Conference
Details Published: 25 September 2019 Vism and FESPA UK have announced they have joined forces to launch a unique industry event. The joint venture will include the inaugural UK Graphic Awards, celebrating the achievements of the wide format graphics printing and installation industry and Thrive in Print - a brand new conference dedicated to informing and educating wide format printing business managers and owners.
New Mimaki SWJ-320EA 3.2m eco-solvent printer launched in UK
Details Published: 25 September 2019 Hybrid Services has launched the Mimaki SWJ-320EA 3.2m eco-solvent printer which is ideal for producing a wide variety of large format indoor and outdoor applications including POS materials, banners and billboards, displays, transport and floor images. The SWJ-320EA uses Mimaki CS100 eco-solvent based ink – available in CMYK configuration and with a capacity of 3 litres per colour.
Salford printer invests in Roland flatbed after visit to Sign & Digital UK
Salford-based Peter Black has invested in a new Roland DG VersaUV S-Series LEC 330S-F200 flatbed printer after seeing it on the Grafityp stand at Sign & Digital UK earlier this year. The company is a full-service vendor, primarily in the gift industry. From design and development to manufacture and delivery, the company produces both gift products and packaging, for customers across markets including gardening, children's toys and beauty.
InkTec adds anti-scratch, silver back block out banner to its media range
Details Published: 24 September 2019 South Korean wide format inkjet technology specialist InkTec has increased its range of Natura Media materials to include an anti-scratch, silver back block out banner which creates a 100% block out making it ideal for trade shows, retail and pop-up banners. Designed as the perfect option for Pop-Up banners and media, the company says this new product is already exceeding customer requirements in terms of both material and print quality.
R A Smart installs first HP Stitch S1000 super-wide dye sublimation printer
Manchester Print Services has taken delivery of the UK's first HP Stitch S1000 super-wide dye sublimation printer. The printer was delivered to the Manchester Print Services HQ in Middleton at the end of August by RA Smart. As the exclusive supplier of Stitch in the UK and based nearby in Macclesfield, RA Smart supported Manchester Print Services throughout the purchase decision, including a visit to HP’s Barcelona HQ and providing post-installation training.
Imageco moves to PONGS wide format textile materials from CMYUK
Leeds-based wide format print specialist Imageco started working with CMYUK, the exclusive distributor of PONGS wide format textile materials in the UK and Ireland, over a year ago, and has now switched to PONGS materials for the vast majority of its retail and expo graphics for stretch frame systems and lightboxes. According to Nathan Swinson-Bullough, managing director at Imageco, PONGS prints very well with excellent colour reproduction, and has all the required ratings.
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