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.”...

The family-owned business, which is the UK’s only flock wallpaper manufacturer, has bought a 3.2m wide HP Latex 3000 printer to allow it to produce one-off and bespoke digitally-printed wallpapers and a 1.5m wide Latex 260 printer. Abigail Watson, sales director at The Surface Print Company, said that while the Latex 260 had originally been bought to provide samples for the Latex 3000, it was also being used to provide a quick sample service for the firm’s traditional wallpapers. “We’ve already had customers who are going to be printing on the traditional machines use the Latex 260 for sampling,” she said. “A digital sample is not going to look like a machine piece, but it gives a good idea and it’s very quick – the customers who have used it were really pleased with how quickly they could get to grip with the colouring.” According to Watson the total investment in setting up the digital suite, including the equipment, digital front end, software, building works and air conditioning was around £400,000. The firm has also taken on new staff as a result of the digital investment and general growth. Watson said that while digital was still very much a niche market in wallpaper printing, it was growing and had a number of unique benefits versus traditional wallpaper printing. “We’re finding that our customers, who already print using a wide range of our textural techniques – like flock and beads – are starting to print digital. At the moment it’s a small market and it will never replace something like flock or beads because it can’t give the texture, but it certainly is a growth market and it has the benefits of no maximum colours and no repeats,” she said. Watson added: “Our traditional business is mainly done on non-wovens and we also print a lot onto foils now. We can print the same substrates with the digital printer, but it gives us more flexibility on widths versus our traditional presses, which print the standard 52cm or 68.5cm widths. With the digital we can print any width up to 3m.” The two HP latex printers were delivered to the firm earlier this month by CWE Solutions. HP’s Latex 3000 printer was launched at Fespa 2013; it can print at speeds of up to 77sqm/hr for indoor use and up to 120sqm/hr for outdoor graphics. It can print onto a wide range of substrates including wallpapers, foils, nonwovens and vinyls....

The family-owned business, which is the UK’s only flock wallpaper manufacturer, has bought a 3.2m wide HP Latex 3000 printer to allow it to produce one-off and bespoke digitally-printed wallpapers and a 1.5m wide Latex 260 printer. Abigail Watson, sales director at The Surface Print Company, said that while the Latex 260 had originally been bought to provide samples for the Latex 3000, it was also being used to provide a quick sample service for the firm’s traditional wallpapers. “We’ve already had customers who are going to be printing on the traditional machines use the Latex 260 for sampling,” she said. “A digital sample is not going to look like a machine piece, but it gives a good idea and it’s very quick – the customers who have used it were really pleased with how quickly they could get to grip with the colouring.” According to Watson the total investment in setting up the digital suite, including the equipment, digital front end, software, building works and air conditioning was around £400,000. The firm has also taken on new staff as a result of the digital investment and general growth. Watson said that while digital was still very much a niche market in wallpaper printing, it was growing and had a number of unique benefits versus traditional wallpaper printing. “We’re finding that our customers, who already print using a wide range of our textural techniques – like flock and beads – are starting to print digital. At the moment it’s a small market and it will never replace something like flock or beads because it can’t give the texture, but it certainly is a growth market and it has the benefits of no maximum colours and no repeats,” she said. Watson added: “Our traditional business is mainly done on non-wovens and we also print a lot onto foils now. We can print the same substrates with the digital printer, but it gives us more flexibility on widths versus our traditional presses, which print the standard 52cm or 68.5cm widths. With the digital we can print any width up to 3m.” The two HP latex printers were delivered to the firm earlier this month by CWE Solutions. HP’s Latex 3000 printer was launched at Fespa 2013; it can print at speeds of up to 77sqm/hr for indoor use and up to 120sqm/hr for outdoor graphics. It can print onto a wide range of substrates including wallpapers, foils, nonwovens and vinyls....

Michael Ryan and James Ford will handle events from the group’s worldwide event calendar. The former will head up next year’s launch of Fespa Africa. He will also drive growth for Fespa’s Brasil and Eurasia shows, launched this year, and Fespa Mexico, which has been running for five years. Ford will cover the main European exhibitions including Fespa Digital as well as Asian events including Fespa China. Ryan has been with Fespa over a decade and Ford has been with the group for eight years. They are part of a seven-strong sales team at the UK base in Reigate, Surrey. Ryan said: “Our goal is to increase numbers of international exhibitors and visitors through the various regions. This involves looking at what the market wants and where the industry is going. These markets have such potential for global manufacturers. “Everyone is still very focused on the European and US markets but I would like to see increasing numbers of international products that we can bring to the other markets. At the Eurasia show, for example, there were direct partnerships with HP, Fujifilm and Roland. “The key thing is getting the right balance of improving visitor numbers but ensuring they get to see the best technology. Fespa is a not-for-profit organisation but it would be good if the shows prompted investment in seminars and sharing knowledge to help growth in the industry.” Fespa managing director Neil Felton said: “In less than a decade Fespa has transformed itself from an international trade association with a single, three-yearly European event, to a global event brand with a footprint on four continents. “It has a growing reputation for content-rich business events attracting senior decision makers. Mike and James have been instrumental in this development and their promotion now gives them full ownership of sales and exhibitor account management for the events they work on.”...

Michael Ryan and James Ford will handle events from the group’s worldwide event calendar. The former will head up next year’s launch of Fespa Africa. He will also drive growth for Fespa’s Brasil and Eurasia shows, launched this year, and Fespa Mexico, which has been running for five years. Ford will cover the main European exhibitions including Fespa Digital as well as Asian events including Fespa China. Ryan has been with Fespa over a decade and Ford has been with the group for eight years. They are part of a seven-strong sales team at the UK base in Reigate, Surrey. Ryan said: “Our goal is to increase numbers of international exhibitors and visitors through the various regions. This involves looking at what the market wants and where the industry is going. These markets have such potential for global manufacturers. “Everyone is still very focused on the European and US markets but I would like to see increasing numbers of international products that we can bring to the other markets. At the Eurasia show, for example, there were direct partnerships with HP, Fujifilm and Roland. “The key thing is getting the right balance of improving visitor numbers but ensuring they get to see the best technology. Fespa is a not-for-profit organisation but it would be good if the shows prompted investment in seminars and sharing knowledge to help growth in the industry.” Fespa managing director Neil Felton said: “In less than a decade Fespa has transformed itself from an international trade association with a single, three-yearly European event, to a global event brand with a footprint on four continents. “It has a growing reputation for content-rich business events attracting senior decision makers. Mike and James have been instrumental in this development and their promotion now gives them full ownership of sales and exhibitor account management for the events they work on.”...