News UK (formerly News International/NI) is the biggest-single customer at Prinovis’ Liverpool site. The £115m facility was set up eight years ago on the back of winning the contract for the newspaper group’s supplements. However, PrintWeek understands that the two parties are currently involved in an arbitration process over the future of the contract. The closure of the News of the World, along with declining newspaper circulations overall, has reduced the expected volumes. The Sun on Sunday’s circulation is around 1.9m, compared with the News of the World’s 2.6m. In addition, under the terms of the contract PrintWeek has learned that News UK is also able to take back work that it can print on its own presses, which it has done with Sun on Saturday title Buzz. “That meant a loss of revenue and a spook to the system at Prinovis when they realised that NI could start repatriating titles,” said a source close to the situation. Despite this, a wholesale repatriation of supplements is deemed unlikely: “At at the end of the day glossy advertisers like nice print, they want shine and finish and newsprint can’t give you that,” noted the source. In its accounts for the year to 31 December 2012 Prinovis made a £41.5m impairment charge against the value of its assets. Sales fell 12.9% to £73.7m, and the tonnage produced by the plant fell by 13.7% to 155,000 tonnes. The write-off resulted in a loss before interest and taxes of £30.3m (2011 profit: £8.2m). The bottom-line loss was £34.2m. A restructuring programme has seen the number of employees reduced from 437 to 381. The directors’ report stated: “The company is reducing the reliance on its major customer, News International.” Neither News UK nor Prinovis would comment specifically on the contract issues, described as “very confidential and highly-sensitive” by a source. The arbitration is expected to be resolved within the next few weeks. News UK paid Johnston Press a total of £40m in compensation after cancelling its contract printing arrangement with the local newspaper group. Prinovis would not comment about the potential issue of compensation. However, Prinovis head of corporate communications Alexander Adler told PrintWeek the firm was confident about being able to “refill capacities”, and said the firm’s 2013 results would be “better”. “Due to the young age of our plant our fixed asset values were still quite high, which – triggered by the market development – had to be reduced to be aligned with future earnings expectations,” he explained. “It’s important to know that in the UK we have generated more than £23m in cash for our shareholders in 2012. Due to our strong cashflows and the fact that we don’t make use...

News UK (formerly News International/NI) is the biggest-single customer at Prinovis’ Liverpool site. The £115m facility was set up eight years ago on the back of winning the contract for the newspaper group’s supplements. However, PrintWeek understands that the two parties are currently involved in an arbitration process over the future of the contract. The closure of the News of the World, along with declining newspaper circulations overall, has reduced the expected volumes. The Sun on Sunday’s circulation is around 1.9m, compared with the News of the World’s 2.6m. In addition, under the terms of the contract PrintWeek has learned that News UK is also able to take back work that it can print on its own presses, which it has done with Sun on Saturday title Buzz. “That meant a loss of revenue and a spook to the system at Prinovis when they realised that NI could start repatriating titles,” said a source close to the situation. Despite this, a wholesale repatriation of supplements is deemed unlikely: “At at the end of the day glossy advertisers like nice print, they want shine and finish and newsprint can’t give you that,” noted the source. In its accounts for the year to 31 December 2012 Prinovis made a £41.5m impairment charge against the value of its assets. Sales fell 12.9% to £73.7m, and the tonnage produced by the plant fell by 13.7% to 155,000 tonnes. The write-off resulted in a loss before interest and taxes of £30.3m (2011 profit: £8.2m). The bottom-line loss was £34.2m. A restructuring programme has seen the number of employees reduced from 437 to 381. The directors’ report stated: “The company is reducing the reliance on its major customer, News International.” Neither News UK nor Prinovis would comment specifically on the contract issues, described as “very confidential and highly-sensitive” by a source. The arbitration is expected to be resolved within the next few weeks. News UK paid Johnston Press a total of £40m in compensation after cancelling its contract printing arrangement with the local newspaper group. Prinovis would not comment about the potential issue of compensation. However, Prinovis head of corporate communications Alexander Adler told PrintWeek the firm was confident about being able to “refill capacities”, and said the firm’s 2013 results would be “better”. “Due to the young age of our plant our fixed asset values were still quite high, which – triggered by the market development – had to be reduced to be aligned with future earnings expectations,” he explained. “It’s important to know that in the UK we have generated more than £23m in cash for our shareholders in 2012. Due to our strong cashflows and the fact that we don’t make use...

Ipex is one of the sponsors of the BAPC show at Borehamwood, Herts, and is funding the discount offer. People pre-registering for Ipex at the Excel in London from 24-29 March 2014, will be eligible for a £15 discount on the £25 ticket for the BAPC show, a non-profit event also open to non-members. The BAPC gathering from 17-18 January 2014 is themed “the best is yet to come” and speakers will include Ipex 2014 event director Trevor Crawford. He will talk on the importance of seizing every educational opportunity offered by the industry. BAPC chairman Sidney Bobb said: “We are going through a period of change and where there’s change there’s opportunity. Over the past couple of years it’s been hard for people to leave offices or their businesses to take advantage of educational programmes and exhibitions. “Trevor’s brief is to convince people to participate in these activities. They give you access to new technology and new and existing customers. Last week’s Cross Media show proved how popular education is: all seminar rooms were full, as people have a thirst for knowledge and information.” Crawford said: “Ipex 2014 has always had a strong affinity with the BAPC. The organisations are two aligning synergies that work to promote the print industry and I am looking forward to discussing this first hand with the BAPC’s members in January.” Other speakers include Steve Lovett, who will look at whether there is a future for SMEs and micro businesses, and consultant Mark Horgan. A Q&A session will query what is a brand, does a small business have a brand and if so, how can it be protected and maximised for profit. Bobb said: “Other areas that will come up for discussion are how companies can secure a high-ranking on search engines and whether social media is merely a consumer fad or can it help in business-to-business situations.” For more details on the BAPC conference click here and for Ipex 2014 click...

Ipex is one of the sponsors of the BAPC show at Borehamwood, Herts, and is funding the discount offer. People pre-registering for Ipex at the Excel in London from 24-29 March 2014, will be eligible for a £15 discount on the £25 ticket for the BAPC show, a non-profit event also open to non-members. The BAPC gathering from 17-18 January 2014 is themed “the best is yet to come” and speakers will include Ipex 2014 event director Trevor Crawford. He will talk on the importance of seizing every educational opportunity offered by the industry. BAPC chairman Sidney Bobb said: “We are going through a period of change and where there’s change there’s opportunity. Over the past couple of years it’s been hard for people to leave offices or their businesses to take advantage of educational programmes and exhibitions. “Trevor’s brief is to convince people to participate in these activities. They give you access to new technology and new and existing customers. Last week’s Cross Media show proved how popular education is: all seminar rooms were full, as people have a thirst for knowledge and information.” Crawford said: “Ipex 2014 has always had a strong affinity with the BAPC. The organisations are two aligning synergies that work to promote the print industry and I am looking forward to discussing this first hand with the BAPC’s members in January.” Other speakers include Steve Lovett, who will look at whether there is a future for SMEs and micro businesses, and consultant Mark Horgan. A Q&A session will query what is a brand, does a small business have a brand and if so, how can it be protected and maximised for profit. Bobb said: “Other areas that will come up for discussion are how companies can secure a high-ranking on search engines and whether social media is merely a consumer fad or can it help in business-to-business situations.” For more details on the BAPC conference click here and for Ipex 2014 click...

The pre-owned eight-colour machine, supplied by Printers Superstore, will tackle material such as menus for the restaurant and takeaway market, said managing director Kam Law. He reckons his Birmingham business handles up to a third of the UK’s 18,000 or so Chinese restaurants. The SM 74 cost £255,000, prints just under 10,000 sheets an hour and has a “low mileage” of only 15m impressions, according to Law. His company uses 2,000 tonnes of 130gms gloss paper a year to produce menus, which accounts for 98% of business. The four-back-four machine dates from 1999 and was one of the first Speedmasters to incorporate the CP2000 operating system with touch-screen off-press controls. Water cooling means less heat is released into the print room. It joins two other Speedmaster 74 long perfectors – an eight and a ten colour. Law said the new machine was the company’s best press, saving time and adding capacity. Law Design and Print operates from three units, for print production, finishing and storage, covering a combined 2,800sqm. The company is 28 years old and has grown from a one-man operation to a 35-staff business with a turnover of around £3.5m. “The latest machine had a low mileage and that’s what really attracted me, along with the price” he said. “It replaces a five-colour Sakurai. We serve the Chinese food industry, but we’re making progress in the Asian and pizza markets now, which are much bigger. “We’re already producing 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday, but the extra capacity the new Speedmaster brings gives us room for expansion. We would like to replace the other two Speedmasters with a Heidelberg 102, which prints 12,000 sheets an hour, a big advantage.”...