The 1012 will replace some screen capacity and run alongside a battery of analogue and digital wide-format kit already at Speedscreen, including a Durst Rho 800 flatbed and Rho 320 roll-to-roll. Tim Hill, Speedscreen managing director, said that he had been looking at investing in additional high-speed flatbed kit for a while and had thoroughly researched the market, including tests on some of the rival machines launched at Fespa. “I was never quite convinced by the others, but when I saw the Durst hidden away at an open house event in April I was just blown away. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, the litho-like quality at the speed it was running, but I got my stopwatch out and more or less made my mind up there and then,” said Hill. “The comparibly compact footprint, thanks to the belt system concept, was another massive bonus.” The machine on the Austrian manufacturer’s stand at Fespa will be delivered direct to Speedscreen’s Maidstone, Kent site. The 2012 features Durst’s next generation Quadro Array printheads. The Quadro Array 12M printheads on the Rho 1012 have a drop size of 12 picolitres, offering 1,000dpi at speeds of up to 490sqm/hr. “It will be more than 10 times faster than our 800. We’ve just completed a job that took 60 hours, but on the 1012 it would have taken five hours, it will transform what we can do. It will certainly win back the work we’ve been losing on turnaround times,” said Hill The 1012 is equipped with eight ink channels. Standard configuration is four-colour, CMYK, while the remaining four channels can be configured with various combinations of light cyan, light magenta, white and Durst’s Process Colour Addition (PCA) inks of either orange and green, or orange and violet. Speedscreen’s 2.5m-wide machine will be configured CMYK, Lc, Lm and with three-quarter automation. According to Hill, his close working relationship with Durst will mean that his machine will also benefit from a number of developments over the next few months. “We’re not a beta site, in the sense that it’s a fully tested machine and we have purchased it, but there will be other things down the road that Durst will introduce, but I can’t say too much,” he added....

The 1012 will replace some screen capacity and run alongside a battery of analogue and digital wide-format kit already at Speedscreen, including a Durst Rho 800 flatbed and Rho 320 roll-to-roll. Tim Hill, Speedscreen managing director, said that he had been looking at investing in additional high-speed flatbed kit for a while and had thoroughly researched the market, including tests on some of the rival machines launched at Fespa. “I was never quite convinced by the others, but when I saw the Durst hidden away at an open house event in April I was just blown away. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, the litho-like quality at the speed it was running, but I got my stopwatch out and more or less made my mind up there and then,” said Hill. “The comparibly compact footprint, thanks to the belt system concept, was another massive bonus.” The machine on the Austrian manufacturer’s stand at Fespa will be delivered direct to Speedscreen’s Maidstone, Kent site. The 2012 features Durst’s next generation Quadro Array printheads. The Quadro Array 12M printheads on the Rho 1012 have a drop size of 12 picolitres, offering 1,000dpi at speeds of up to 490sqm/hr. “It will be more than 10 times faster than our 800. We’ve just completed a job that took 60 hours, but on the 1012 it would have taken five hours, it will transform what we can do. It will certainly win back the work we’ve been losing on turnaround times,” said Hill The 1012 is equipped with eight ink channels. Standard configuration is four-colour, CMYK, while the remaining four channels can be configured with various combinations of light cyan, light magenta, white and Durst’s Process Colour Addition (PCA) inks of either orange and green, or orange and violet. Speedscreen’s 2.5m-wide machine will be configured CMYK, Lc, Lm and with three-quarter automation. According to Hill, his close working relationship with Durst will mean that his machine will also benefit from a number of developments over the next few months. “We’re not a beta site, in the sense that it’s a fully tested machine and we have purchased it, but there will be other things down the road that Durst will introduce, but I can’t say too much,” he added....

Ditto Formcore is a paper-based, fully recyclable alternative to existing foam boards. It is manufactured by EmLam, a sister company to BCP Fluted Packaging in Blackburn. The firm’s stand at the show features a large suspended 3x1m format sign printed on the material, demonstrating its dimensional stability even in the varying temperatures of an exhibition hall. “We’ve had key people from printers look at it and saying ‘that’s fantastic’,” said BCP chairman Brian Jones. “The two key benefits are that it’s extremely dimensionally stable, and it’s recyclable. It can go in the paper recycling stream so it’s easy for retailers – there’s no landfill cost,” he added. Martyn Hicks, sales director at Screenprint Productions in Brighouse, said: “I think this will be the new foam board. It’s flat, it’s recyclable, and it prints beautifully.” Formcore represents a £2m investment by BCP, which has patented the formulation. The board is made from embossed, formed paper finished with a high-quality printing surface suitable for screen or digital printing. The board was originally launched last year. It is now ready for full commercial roll-out after the company made improvements to the lamination following feedback from early users. Formcore is available in four standard sizes up to 1,524×3,048mm. For more information visit www.ditto.co.uk. A number of major point-of-sale printers are understood to be in the process of testing the material with retail clients. Proctor Paper & Board in Leeds is stocking the material in the UK....

Ditto Formcore is a paper-based, fully recyclable alternative to existing foam boards. It is manufactured by EmLam, a sister company to BCP Fluted Packaging in Blackburn. The firm’s stand at the show features a large suspended 3x1m format sign printed on the material, demonstrating its dimensional stability even in the varying temperatures of an exhibition hall. “We’ve had key people from printers look at it and saying ‘that’s fantastic’,” said BCP chairman Brian Jones. “The two key benefits are that it’s extremely dimensionally stable, and it’s recyclable. It can go in the paper recycling stream so it’s easy for retailers – there’s no landfill cost,” he added. Martyn Hicks, sales director at Screenprint Productions in Brighouse, said: “I think this will be the new foam board. It’s flat, it’s recyclable, and it prints beautifully.” Formcore represents a £2m investment by BCP, which has patented the formulation. The board is made from embossed, formed paper finished with a high-quality printing surface suitable for screen or digital printing. The board was originally launched last year. It is now ready for full commercial roll-out after the company made improvements to the lamination following feedback from early users. Formcore is available in four standard sizes up to 1,524×3,048mm. For more information visit www.ditto.co.uk. A number of major point-of-sale printers are understood to be in the process of testing the material with retail clients. Proctor Paper & Board in Leeds is stocking the material in the UK....

Chancellor George Osborne’s latest spending review implemented welfare caps, wholesale cuts across government departments and big infrastructure spending including the “largest programme of investment in roads for 50 years and in railways since the Victorian age”. Total government spending for 2015-16 will be £745bn, £120bn lower than if it had continue to rise at the average rate of the last three decades, Osborne said. The spending round delivers a total of £11.5bn in departmental budget reductions. These include cuts of almost 6% at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. However the department’s capital spending was put up by 9%, while more money was pumped into apprenticeships and UK exports and £2bn was set aside for Local Enterprise Partnerships. British Association for Print and Communication chairman Sidney Bobb said: “Osborne is making several cuts including at the business department, which isn’t helpful when you consider more people need to be doing business and trading. “Most of the cuts are almost immediate while most of the spending is in the future. He’s not putting any money in today but in 2015 which, coincidence has it, is the year for the election. “This is a political not an economic announcement; there is no jam today; there is no jam tomorrow, and there will be jam only when the election comes around.” BPIF chief executive Kathy Woodward said: “The spending review was pretty much as billed, but one of the things we were particularly pleased about was the government recognised it has to keep investing in the business sector and supporting it. “Osborne has made hard decisions: there are significant job losses in the public sector, and departmental cuts do have a negative effect on some government purchasing. So it’s important we continue to market the effectiveness of print so it’s not one of the casualties. “Meanwhile some of the infrastructure projects, while they may not be popular with people when railway lines go through their back garden, will stimulate aspects of the economy.” Commitment to keep investing in innovation, science and technology was a very positive sign, she said. Woodward added: “The figures on borrowing are disappointing, but overall it’s almost as good as we could expect. It’s very important everybody within the industry keeps emphasising the need for easier financing, continued skills support and stimulus to business innovation.”...