The Fiery EX and EXi print servers deliver three times faster processing speed than the previous model, higher-resolution printing and integration with systems such as cost-accounting tools and Xerox FreeFlow workflow suite products. Central to the new servers is Fiery FS100 Pro, which the company claimed was the “only digital graphic arts workflow system to print PDFs perfectly”. The Fiery EX and EXi supports print resolutions of 1,200dpi, while spot-color emulation, automated image enhancement and optional software such as the Fiery Graphic Arts Package boost colour management capability for brochures, posters, presentations and photos. EFI sales director for Europe Terry Garvey said: “All-round performance and integration makes this technology stand out; standard software such as impositioning comes with ad-ons including Fiery Job Master for applications such as training manuals where you need tabs inserted.” Built-in tools such as Fiery FreeForm variable-data formatting and advanced variable-data print stream processing is also designed to allow printers to offer new, value-added services to their customers. EFI vice president for Fiery marketing John Henze said: “Print professionals need to expand their offerings and improve turnaround time, all without sacrificing quality.” He said the Fiery EX and EXi print servers enabled Xerox users to create end-to-end production workflows by integrating with EFI’s MIS software, e-commerce and scheduling tools. Integrating production workflow allowed customers to optimize print loads and track expenses and profits. EFI would not reveal cost details but said commercial availability would be in early September....

The Fiery EX and EXi print servers deliver three times faster processing speed than the previous model, higher-resolution printing and integration with systems such as cost-accounting tools and Xerox FreeFlow workflow suite products. Central to the new servers is Fiery FS100 Pro, which the company claimed was the “only digital graphic arts workflow system to print PDFs perfectly”. The Fiery EX and EXi supports print resolutions of 1,200dpi, while spot-color emulation, automated image enhancement and optional software such as the Fiery Graphic Arts Package boost colour management capability for brochures, posters, presentations and photos. EFI sales director for Europe Terry Garvey said: “All-round performance and integration makes this technology stand out; standard software such as impositioning comes with ad-ons including Fiery Job Master for applications such as training manuals where you need tabs inserted.” Built-in tools such as Fiery FreeForm variable-data formatting and advanced variable-data print stream processing is also designed to allow printers to offer new, value-added services to their customers. EFI vice president for Fiery marketing John Henze said: “Print professionals need to expand their offerings and improve turnaround time, all without sacrificing quality.” He said the Fiery EX and EXi print servers enabled Xerox users to create end-to-end production workflows by integrating with EFI’s MIS software, e-commerce and scheduling tools. Integrating production workflow allowed customers to optimize print loads and track expenses and profits. EFI would not reveal cost details but said commercial availability would be in early September....

Pilette will officially leave his post at the global business on 3 September although he will help to create a smooth transition until the end of the quarter, during which time the company will begin a recruitment process for a replacement. Senior vice president and general manager of EFI Productivity Software, Marc Olin, will step in as interim CFO, while chief accounting officer Brandy Green will assist the role, joining the senior leadership team. Pilette, who was appointed as CFO at the start of 2011 to help drive the company’s growth strategy, exits on a high note after EFI posted record quarterly growth in Q2. Sales were up 10% year-on-year to $180.3m and operating profit up 19% to $23.4m. In a statement Pilette said: “While it was a difficult decision for me to leave EFI as the business is just beginning to realise its full potential, this strong position also makes it the right time for me to take on a different set of challenges and embark on the next chapter in my career. “My confidence in the company’s leadership and opportunities has never been higher, and I look forward to remaining a supporter and a shareholder of EFI,” he added. On Pilette’s departure EFI chief executive Guy Gecht said: “We are grateful for Vincent’s contributions to EFI and we wish him the best with his new endeavor. “We are confident in the finance team’s ability, with Marc and Brandy’s leadership, to comprehensively support the entire organisation in our mission to capitalize on the significant short and long term opportunities in front of us.” The company declined to comment further on Pilette’s future plans....

Pilette will officially leave his post at the global business on 3 September although he will help to create a smooth transition until the end of the quarter, during which time the company will begin a recruitment process for a replacement. Senior vice president and general manager of EFI Productivity Software, Marc Olin, will step in as interim CFO, while chief accounting officer Brandy Green will assist the role, joining the senior leadership team. Pilette, who was appointed as CFO at the start of 2011 to help drive the company’s growth strategy, exits on a high note after EFI posted record quarterly growth in Q2. Sales were up 10% year-on-year to $180.3m and operating profit up 19% to $23.4m. In a statement Pilette said: “While it was a difficult decision for me to leave EFI as the business is just beginning to realise its full potential, this strong position also makes it the right time for me to take on a different set of challenges and embark on the next chapter in my career. “My confidence in the company’s leadership and opportunities has never been higher, and I look forward to remaining a supporter and a shareholder of EFI,” he added. On Pilette’s departure EFI chief executive Guy Gecht said: “We are grateful for Vincent’s contributions to EFI and we wish him the best with his new endeavor. “We are confident in the finance team’s ability, with Marc and Brandy’s leadership, to comprehensively support the entire organisation in our mission to capitalize on the significant short and long term opportunities in front of us.” The company declined to comment further on Pilette’s future plans....

Johnston’s results were complicated by the impact of the wholesale restructuring at the regional media group, which has relaunched 227 titles and switched five daily newspapers to weekly frequency, alongside a big push into digital and mobile channels. Like-for-like sales in the six months to the end of June fell 9.8% to £144.3m, but like-for-like operating profit increased by 4.3% to £28.6m. However, Johnston also filed a massive £194.5m non-cash impairment charge against the value of its titles and wrote down the value of its print assets by £57.9m, resulting in a bottom line loss of £248.7m. Advertising revenues fell by 13.6%, although chief executive Ashley Highfield described the advertising market as “increasingly stable” and said the rate of decline had “narrowed to 6.3% during June and July 2013”. Circulation revenues for its revamped portfolio also showed “early signs of improvement”, and the overall rate of circulation decline has reduced to just 0.7%. Digital revenues jumped 13.3%, and Johnston has grown its web and mobile reach to 11.8m unique users a month. The firm does not disclose digital’s contribution to operating profit. Costs were reduced by £24.3m, ahead of plan, and the group has managed to get its pension deficit down to under £100m. Separately, it received a £10m exceptional gain due to News International’s cancellation of its contract printing arrangement with Johnston, after NI took previously outsourced print back in-house following the closure of the News of the World. This went towards reducing net debt, which was down £55.3m to £306.4m. Johnston has received a total of £40m in compensation for the cancellation of the NI deal. The absence of the NI work reduced turnover by £7.1m and operating profits by £3m. Johnston’s contract printing sales for external clients were £6.1m during the period, out of total contract print revenues of £27m. It has secured a new £600,000 contract with an unnamed customer as part of its push to replace the lost NI volume, “but at lower margins” than it enjoyed with NI. A spokeswoman told PrintWeek that Johnston was “monitoring” News International’s recently-announced hybrid print project, but had no plans at present to make a similar move itself. The group’s share price rose by 0.5p to 16.5p in early trading (52-week high 19p, low 5.2p)....