The investment includes a new Fuji Acuity Advance HS HD3545W UV printer, a new Esko Kongsberg XP24 digital cutter and a new larger wide format premises. The Acuity is BCQ’s first foray into flatbed printing and will join existing Mimaki, Canon, HP and Kodak roll-fed inkjet machines in the company’s ‘Jolly Big’ division. Boosted efficiency and quality were the main reasons for the investment, with the machine capable of 40.2 sq m/hr at production quality, 28.4 sq m/hr at high quality and 61 sq m/hr in express mode. “We are doing a lot of double handling at the moment where you’re having to mount rather than print directly onto the substrate, so there are lot of economies to be made there,” said chairman Richard Knowles. He added: “Also I think the result looks better. It’s been around long enough to have proven itself, it’s very good quality, and in terms of uptime it’s going to be exceptionally good.” Meanwhile, the 100 m/min Kongsberg XP24, which will join an existing line-up of wide format cutters, was chosen for its speed. “In addition to what we’re going to be doing with it on the wide format side, we’ll be using this for some of our folders or other complex prototyping operations before we put them on one of our die cutters. It’s going to assist with overflow for our main litho and digital business,” said Knowles. He added: “There was plenty of competition out there for it. We’ve been very impressed with the uptime and the fact that we can grow into it. It’s probably far faster than we need at the moment but I think we’ll grow into it.” The new kit is due to be installed in BCQ’s new dedicated Jolly Big premises which will be three times bigger than BCQ’s previous wide format works. The aim is for Jolly Big to double in size. “Jolly Big is a relatively small part of the business at the moment; it’s probably about 10%. I’d like to think that would double,” said Knowles. He added: “We recognise that the strength of BCQ is that we have lots of different disciplines. It’s good to have lots for when one is quiet; that helps cushion any other areas that could fall on hard times. Certainly from Jolly Big’s point of view it’s been pretty much ten out of ten for the last couple of years in terms of the amount of work going through.”...

Hicks made his name at the helm of academic book and journal printer Cromwell Press, based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, for which he spearheaded an impressive expansion at the turn of the millennium. “Allan was one of the most upbeat, committed and loyal people you could meet. He was never without a smile, positive comment or the ability to make the day better,” said friend and colleague, Mark Nixon, managing director of Conversion UK. Hicks lived in Wiltshire for most of his life and became an apprentice compositor for the Pitman Press in Bath in 1970. He joined Redwood Press’ pre-press department and in 1975 was given the task of managing the Guinness Book of Records. In 1988 he joined Dotesios Printers, a major player in the book production market, as a pre-press manager but quickly rose to production director. He wanted to form his own company and, following a management buyout of Dotesios, he founded Cromwell Press in 1991 with the support of two financial backers. Within a year the company became one of the first UK users of a Plate Projection System, a forerunner of CTP. Three years later his team installed one of the first CTP systems and by 1997 the company had moved from its Broughton Gifford factory to a purpose-designed base at Trowbridge. In 2000 he and Mike Arkell purchased the company from its financial backers and started to expand, buying Hardings of Bristol, Chivers Book Binders, CPD in South Wales and Period Book Restoration Company. Its first digital production unit, named C-POD, opened in 2003. At its peak Cromwell Group had a turnover in excess of £10m and employed 120 staff. Hicks, was a huge motorbike fan and part-time test rider for Kawasaki, as well as an accomplished off-road rider. Nixon said: “Allan was a master in motivation. His ability to keep harmony in a fraught production environment was testimony to his skills and his selfless attitude. He bore his illness as he lived his life, with a smile, with energy and with a self-disregard.” Also paying tribute to his friend and colleague, Print Research International’s John Charnock said: “Allan was a real personality in the industry for some time and as managing director of Cromwell Press helped the company become one of the leading book printing companies. He was a great man and professional.” Another described him as “a really genuine and loveable man for whom the phrase “larger than life” was created”. Hicks is survived by his three children, Oliver, Lana and Paige. His funeral will be held 14:30 on 28 August at West Wiltshire Crematorium. Hick’s family said all friends and colleagues from the industry are welcome to attend. Tributes are...

Hicks made his name at the helm of academic book and journal printer Cromwell Press, based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, for which he spearheaded an impressive expansion at the turn of the millennium. “Allan was one of the most upbeat, committed and loyal people you could meet. He was never without a smile, positive comment or the ability to make the day better,” said friend and colleague, Mark Nixon, managing director of Conversion UK. Hicks lived in Wiltshire for most of his life and became an apprentice compositor for the Pitman Press in Bath in 1970. He joined Redwood Press’ pre-press department and in 1975 was given the task of managing the Guinness Book of Records. In 1988 he joined Dotesios Printers, a major player in the book production market, as a pre-press manager but quickly rose to production director. He wanted to form his own company and, following a management buyout of Dotesios, he founded Cromwell Press in 1991 with the support of two financial backers. Within a year the company became one of the first UK users of a Plate Projection System, a forerunner of CTP. Three years later his team installed one of the first CTP systems and by 1997 the company had moved from its Broughton Gifford factory to a purpose-designed base at Trowbridge. In 2000 he and Mike Arkell purchased the company from its financial backers and started to expand, buying Hardings of Bristol, Chivers Book Binders, CPD in South Wales and Period Book Restoration Company. Its first digital production unit, named C-POD, opened in 2003. At its peak Cromwell Group had a turnover in excess of £10m and employed 120 staff. Hicks, was a huge motorbike fan and part-time test rider for Kawasaki, as well as an accomplished off-road rider. Nixon said: “Allan was a master in motivation. His ability to keep harmony in a fraught production environment was testimony to his skills and his selfless attitude. He bore his illness as he lived his life, with a smile, with energy and with a self-disregard.” Also paying tribute to his friend and colleague, Print Research International’s John Charnock said: “Allan was a real personality in the industry for some time and as managing director of Cromwell Press helped the company become one of the leading book printing companies. He was a great man and professional.” Another described him as “a really genuine and loveable man for whom the phrase “larger than life” was created”. Hicks is survived by his three children, Oliver, Lana and Paige. His funeral will be held 14:30 on 28 August at West Wiltshire Crematorium. Hick’s family said all friends and colleagues from the industry are welcome to attend. Tributes are...

The calendar, gifted only to exclusive customers, will be printed at Grafiche Antiga’s facility in the Treviso region of Italy, home of the renowned motoring company. HH Global has project managed the calendar’s production for Pirelli since signing a contract in 2011, with 17,000 issues being printed for the 2012 issue. A print run of 20,000 is scheduled for 2014. Prior to working on the calendar, the Sutton, Surrey-based print management firm had managed printing projects and marketing communications for Pirelli across a number of European countries. Chief sales and marketing officer Tony Massey said: ” We are really pleased to be continuing our relationship with this company and particularly on a project like this, which we are very proud to put our name to.” The calendar was first launched in 1964 and to mark the 50th year of production, iconic supermodels including Helena Christensen and Miranda Kerr have been photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh....

The calendar, gifted only to exclusive customers, will be printed at Grafiche Antiga’s facility in the Treviso region of Italy, home of the renowned motoring company. HH Global has project managed the calendar’s production for Pirelli since signing a contract in 2011, with 17,000 issues being printed for the 2012 issue. A print run of 20,000 is scheduled for 2014. Prior to working on the calendar, the Sutton, Surrey-based print management firm had managed printing projects and marketing communications for Pirelli across a number of European countries. Chief sales and marketing officer Tony Massey said: ” We are really pleased to be continuing our relationship with this company and particularly on a project like this, which we are very proud to put our name to.” The calendar was first launched in 1964 and to mark the 50th year of production, iconic supermodels including Helena Christensen and Miranda Kerr have been photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and Peter Lindbergh....