During the searches, officers found a Makerbot Replicator2 3D printer and two 3D printed component parts thought to be a magazine clip and a trigger. In addition, a man was arrested on suspicion of making gunpowder and remains in custody for questioning. The parts are being examined by firearms specialists to establish whether they could be used to construct a working firearm; if they are found to be viable components for a 3D printed gun, it would mark the first seizure of its kind in the UK. Detective inspector Chris Mossop of Challenger’s Organised Crime Coordination Unit stressed the significance of the discovery and the threat posed by criminal gangs using 3D printers, which can be bought on the high street for as little as £1,200, to manufacture weapons. “If what we have seized is proven to be viable components capable of constructing a genuine firearm, then it demonstrates that organised crime groups are acquiring technology that can be bought on the high street to produce the next generation of weapons,” he said. “In theory, the technology essentially allows offenders to produce their own guns in the privacy of their own home, which they can then supply to criminal gangs who are causing such misery in our communities. Because they are also plastic and can avoid X-ray detection, it makes them easy to conceal and smuggle.” Currently the Home Office seems less concerned with the ease with which criminal gangs can access 3D print technology – a Home Office spokeswoman said: “We’ve made it clear that, including 3D printing, if you don’t have a licence [to produce firearms] you’re going to be prosecuted – it’s up to the police to make sure that our laws are being enforced.” Asked whether the government was looking at ways to tackle the risk of 3D printed weapons, such as by controlling the sale of the printers or requiring distributors of the devices to keep a register of customers, she said: “We’re always obviously continuing to monitor the use of 3D printing capability for that purpose [but] I’m not sure how far we’d go into that at the moment.” The raids were carried out as part of Operation Challenger, the largest ever multi-agency attempt to target organised crime in the history of GMP, in the Baguley area on Thursday 24 October....

The ink can be used in one of the FB7500 or FB7600’s two extra ink channels, along with the Scitex’s special orange or light black inks, launched in May this year. It will allow users of HP’s FB7500 and FB7600 printers to add effects similar to those produced on the Kodak Nexpress with its dimensional inks (on sheets up to 356mm x 914mm) and on litho or digitally printed sheets (up to 545mm x 788mm) on Scodix digital finishing equipment. The varnish cannot be used alongside white ink however, as this application uses both ink channels. “You need to look at it as an ink channel where the ink has no colour,” said Xavier Melisse, Scitex category manager, EMEA, HP. “To switch a printer would need to flush the white out of their machines, but they could make that switch.” The varnish enables three key applications, explained Melisse. It can be used as “process colour”, where the ink is applied to the blank areas of a matte substrate so that these sections are as glossy as the printed areas, a “full flood” of varnish to further enhance the printed area’s gloss, or applied to select areas to create raised, textured effects. “You might want to flood the whole piece because normally when you print CYMK the effect is relatively satin – it is shiny but not completely glossy,” said Melisse. “But when you put the varnish on top it’s like you are laminating with a liquid except that you jet it rather than apply it with a coater. Then the look is as glossy as if you’d laminated it. Another effect of putting the gloss on CYMK is that the colour gamut you’re able to reproduce is significantly bigger – it brings up to 15% extra gamut.” On the ink’s raised print capabilities, Melisse reported that the ink could be printed up to five layers thick. “We had an open house in our demo centre a week ago and this created the most positive feedback,” he said. Melisse added that, though this might prove a potential future application, the ink had not yet been approved to create braille. The ink will be commercially available to FB7500 and 7600 users from 1 November. It has been beta tested since August at Italian printer Ondalba Group, with a first install currently being made at another Italian firm Grafic Art 95. The intention is that the cost of this ink is in line with other Scitex inks, reported Melisse. He said that cost would depend on application, but that printers using the ink on selected areas or to create 3D effects could expect to pay around $0.20 (12p) per sq/m. Those using...

The ink can be used in one of the FB7500 or FB7600’s two extra ink channels, along with the Scitex’s special orange or light black inks, launched in May this year. It will allow users of HP’s FB7500 and FB7600 printers to add effects similar to those produced on the Kodak Nexpress with its dimensional inks (on sheets up to 356mm x 914mm) and on litho or digitally printed sheets (up to 545mm x 788mm) on Scodix digital finishing equipment. The varnish cannot be used alongside white ink however, as this application uses both ink channels. “You need to look at it as an ink channel where the ink has no colour,” said Xavier Melisse, Scitex category manager, EMEA, HP. “To switch a printer would need to flush the white out of their machines, but they could make that switch.” The varnish enables three key applications, explained Melisse. It can be used as “process colour”, where the ink is applied to the blank areas of a matte substrate so that these sections are as glossy as the printed areas, a “full flood” of varnish to further enhance the printed area’s gloss, or applied to select areas to create raised, textured effects. “You might want to flood the whole piece because normally when you print CYMK the effect is relatively satin – it is shiny but not completely glossy,” said Melisse. “But when you put the varnish on top it’s like you are laminating with a liquid except that you jet it rather than apply it with a coater. Then the look is as glossy as if you’d laminated it. Another effect of putting the gloss on CYMK is that the colour gamut you’re able to reproduce is significantly bigger – it brings up to 15% extra gamut.” On the ink’s raised print capabilities, Melisse reported that the ink could be printed up to five layers thick. “We had an open house in our demo centre a week ago and this created the most positive feedback,” he said. Melisse added that, though this might prove a potential future application, the ink had not yet been approved to create braille. The ink will be commercially available to FB7500 and 7600 users from 1 November. It has been beta tested since August at Italian printer Ondalba Group, with a first install currently being made at another Italian firm Grafic Art 95. The intention is that the cost of this ink is in line with other Scitex inks, reported Melisse. He said that cost would depend on application, but that printers using the ink on selected areas or to create 3D effects could expect to pay around $0.20 (12p) per sq/m. Those using...

The ink can be used in one of the FB7500 or FB7600’s two extra ink channels, along with the Scitex’s special orange or light black inks, launched in May this year. It will allow users of HP’s FB7500 and FB7600 printers to add effects similar to those produced on the Kodak Nexpress with its dimensional inks (on sheets up to 356mm x 914mm) and on litho or digitally printed sheets (up to 545mm x 788mm) on Scodix digital finishing equipment. The varnish cannot be used alongside white ink however, as this application uses both ink channels. “You need to look at it as an ink channel where the ink has no colour,” said Xavier Melisse, Scitex category manager, EMEA, HP. “To switch a printer would need to flush the white out of their machines, but they could make that switch.” The varnish enables three key applications, explained Melisse. It can be used as “process colour”, where the ink is applied to the blank areas of a matte substrate so that these sections are as glossy as the printed areas, a “full flood” of varnish to further enhance the printed area’s gloss, or applied to select areas to create raised, textured effects. “You might want to flood the whole piece because normally when you print CYMK the effect is relatively satin – it is shiny but not completely glossy,” said Melisse. “But when you put the varnish on top it’s like you are laminating with a liquid except that you jet it rather than apply it with a coater. Then the look is as glossy as if you’d laminated it. Another effect of putting the gloss on CYMK is that the colour gamut you’re able to reproduce is significantly bigger – it brings up to 15% extra gamut.” On the ink’s raised print capabilities, Melisse reported that the ink could be printed up to five layers thick. “We had an open house in our demo centre a week ago and this created the most positive feedback,” he said. Melisse added that, though this might prove a potential future application, the ink had not yet been approved to create braille. The ink will be commercially available to FB7500 and 7600 users from 1 November. It has been beta tested since August at Italian printer Ondalba Group, with a first install currently being made at another Italian firm Grafic Art 95. The intention is that the cost of this ink is in line with other Scitex inks, reported Melisse. He said that cost would depend on application, but that printers using the ink on selected areas or to create 3D effects could expect to pay around $0.20 (12p) per sq/m. Those using...

Eastbourne-based Smith & Ouzman, along with four individuals associated with the business, appeared in court yesterday (23 October) on charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The SFO said the charges relate to allegations of “agreeing to make payments totaling nearly half a million pounds, contrary to section one Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. It is alleged that these payments were used to influence the award of business contracts to the company.” The precise amount cited by the SFO is £413,552.12. The alleged offences relate to transactions in Mauritania, Ghana, Somaliland and Kenya between November 2006 and December 2010. The SFO began its investigation in October 2010. Alongside the company itself, the individuals charged were: Chris Smith, the former chairman of Smith & Ouzman; Nick Smith, the sales and marketing director of the firm; Tim Forrester, its international sales manager; and Abdirahman Omar, an agent for the business. The first hearing took place yesterday (23 October) at Westminster Magistrates’ Court with the next court appearance scheduled for 6 November at Southwark Crown Court. A spokeswoman for Smith & Ouzman said: “We cannot comment on the allegations, which are entirely contrary to our principles of business conduct.” Smith & Ouzman can trace its print history back to 1845. The 100-employee firm was number 248 in last year’s PrintWeek Top 500 with sales of £9.2m. It produces a wide range of specialist security print items including cheques, tickets, ballot papers, local currencies and other secure documents. Proceedings continue. We are unable to accept comments on this story for legal reasons....