The proposal, announced this week by the Bank of England (BoE), to transition from cotton-based banknotes to polymer from 2016, prompted media speculation about possible suppliers. Innovia subsidiary Innovia Security supplies the trademarked Guardian polymer substrate for banknote printing to 23 countries, including Australia, Mexico and Canada. The substrate itself is manufactured in Australia. The company would not confirm or deny its involvement with the Bank of England’s move to polymer banknotes. A spokeswoman said: “We are pleased that the Bank is seriously considering polymer, but at this time we are not in a position to make any further comment.” Innovia Security was originally founded as Securency International in 1996 as a joint venture between Innovia Films and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). In March this year Innovia paid A$65m (£43.3m) for RBA’s 50% stake in the business giving the Cumbrian firm 100% control. Last month Innovia Films announced a £20m investment at its UK site, to boost capacity for biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), the base film used for its Guardian substrate, as well as a new gas turbine. The work is scheduled for completion by 2015. The BoE has launched a two-month public consultation on the move to polymer, with a decision expected in December. According to the financial institution polymer notes are more hygienic, around two-and-a-half times more durable than paper notes and benefit from better anti-counterfeit features. The BoE claims that although the cost of the substrate and the size of the initial run would mean that production of the notes would be more expensive in the short term, the notes would provide cost savings over time as fewer would need to be printed due to their longer lifespan. This of course has implications for BoE’s Debden, Essex print facility, currently run by De La Rue, which has held the banknotes contract since 2003. Last year the BoE put a £1bn print contract out to tender, with the successful bidder, of which there are thought to be five, due to start in 2015....

The proposal, announced this week by the Bank of England (BoE), to transition from cotton-based banknotes to polymer from 2016, prompted media speculation about possible suppliers. Innovia subsidiary Innovia Security supplies the trademarked Guardian polymer substrate for banknote printing to 23 countries, including Australia, Mexico and Canada. The substrate itself is manufactured in Australia. The company would not confirm or deny its involvement with the Bank of England’s move to polymer banknotes. A spokeswoman said: “We are pleased that the Bank is seriously considering polymer, but at this time we are not in a position to make any further comment.” Innovia Security was originally founded as Securency International in 1996 as a joint venture between Innovia Films and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). In March this year Innovia paid A$65m (£43.3m) for RBA’s 50% stake in the business giving the Cumbrian firm 100% control. Last month Innovia Films announced a £20m investment at its UK site, to boost capacity for biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), the base film used for its Guardian substrate, as well as a new gas turbine. The work is scheduled for completion by 2015. The BoE has launched a two-month public consultation on the move to polymer, with a decision expected in December. According to the financial institution polymer notes are more hygienic, around two-and-a-half times more durable than paper notes and benefit from better anti-counterfeit features. The BoE claims that although the cost of the substrate and the size of the initial run would mean that production of the notes would be more expensive in the short term, the notes would provide cost savings over time as fewer would need to be printed due to their longer lifespan. This of course has implications for BoE’s Debden, Essex print facility, currently run by De La Rue, which has held the banknotes contract since 2003. Last year the BoE put a £1bn print contract out to tender, with the successful bidder, of which there are thought to be five, due to start in 2015....

The two new machines were chosen to increase print capacity and personalisation capabilities at the Rotherham-based business, which is part of the Garnett Dickinson Group, as well as cutting response times for fast-turnaround work. The ‘Diamond Edition’ iGen4 press has a rated speed of 110ppm and a maximum recommended average monthly volume of 3.75m pages. Meanwhile, the Xerox Nuvera 120 EA Production System provides a complete production platform for books, manuals and transpromo applications. It operates at 120ppm and has a top average monthly volume rating of 1.5m images. GD Direct Solutions managing director Carl Garnett said: “The iGen4 Diamond Edition and the Nuvera bring additional capacity to our existing laser and digital capability, along with faster production speeds, a larger sheet size and more flexibility across products. “Personalisation and targeting is an important part of the direct marketing service we offer to our customers, and this investment will augment our ability to provide this in a commercially viable way.” The list the iGen4 Diamond starts at £425,000 while the Nuvera 120 EA costs from around...

The two new machines were chosen to increase print capacity and personalisation capabilities at the Rotherham-based business, which is part of the Garnett Dickinson Group, as well as cutting response times for fast-turnaround work. The ‘Diamond Edition’ iGen4 press has a rated speed of 110ppm and a maximum recommended average monthly volume of 3.75m pages. Meanwhile, the Xerox Nuvera 120 EA Production System provides a complete production platform for books, manuals and transpromo applications. It operates at 120ppm and has a top average monthly volume rating of 1.5m images. GD Direct Solutions managing director Carl Garnett said: “The iGen4 Diamond Edition and the Nuvera bring additional capacity to our existing laser and digital capability, along with faster production speeds, a larger sheet size and more flexibility across products. “Personalisation and targeting is an important part of the direct marketing service we offer to our customers, and this investment will augment our ability to provide this in a commercially viable way.” The list the iGen4 Diamond starts at £425,000 while the Nuvera 120 EA costs from around...

The business provides print management, direct mail, international mailing and bulk postage services. Apprentices Jordan Sanders, Benjamin Jones and Mohammed Asif have been taken on across the firm’s back office and print-room divisions after the business invested in equipment that it says has doubled the speed of its output. Its West Midlands facility houses a raft of equipment including mono and colour Xerox and Ricoh printers that produce documents and letterheads, cards, postcards and booklets for businesses. Its latest additions include a fifth Ricoh Pro 1106 EX, an Astro 3800 high-speed inkjet address printer, a second Norpak P9 polywrap inserter and a Kern inserting line, as well as a host of IT upgrades. Finance and operations director Lorraine Walker said: “We’ve taken these apprentices on at a real time of growth and investment for the company. We are really serious about supporting them to develop their skills and knowledge. “They can help us with a range of admin duties which help with day to day business and they will also work on print quality assurance and on managing our social media channels.” Walker added that the business was currently looking for two more apprentices to train up....