Managing director Baz Ogle took delivery of the wide-format digital inkjet printer shortly after launching his company in Milton Keynes, this March. He said he had considered the circa-£350,000 investment for six months before he committed. EFI launched the Vutek GS3250LX UV-curing digital inkjet printer in 2011, as a “true breakthrough in high-speed super-wide inkjet printing technology”. It is vaunted as “a greener printing solution” that uses “cool cure” LED technology allowing the machine to consume less energy, increase printer uptime and reduce maintenance. The model is also available with regular mercury lamps. “The standard UV versions can get quite hot but with these LED lamps there is less heat, less cooling time and a lot cheaper running costs. The LED technology also allows us to run thinner PVC and other materials without warping,” said Ogle, who was a founder of nearby company Icon Graphics before starting his new business. The new eight-staff company, whose customers include agencies for blue-chip clients, prints on self-adhesive PVC and foam-mix substrates for posters, displays and exhibition materials. Ogle said with the new investment he hoped to make a turnover of £1m in his first year. “The main stand-out quality on the GS3250LX is speed; it runs at 90sqm per hour and can roll out an 8ft by 4ft foam display in under three minutes. I’ve used Vutek before and the print quality is unbeatable,” said Ogle. Other equipment at Format Graphics includes a Zünd 3m x 2m digital finishing machine and a 3m x 2m router. Commenting on total sales for the GS3250LX since its 2011 launch, an EFI spokesman said that global figures were “healthy”....

The Woking-based printing company was founded by Stephens’ father Ken in 1963 and remains a family-owned and run business. After studying graphic reproduction and lithographic printing processes, followed by a business studies course, Stephens joined Optichrome in 1970 when it had just six staff. The firm issued a tribute, and said: “Ted’s life touched so many people; family, friends and work colleagues leaving a lasting imprint on all their hearts. “Through Ted’s hard work, innovation and dedication he grew Optichrome into the modern, thriving printing company that it is today employing over 60 staff.” Just last month Stephens attended a special family fun day for Optichrome employees as part of a series of celebrations to mark the company’s 50 years in business. Optichrome has a long history of innovation and was also the original developer of the Optimus MIS system, now a separate business. Suppliers also paid tribute. Xeikon operations director Simon Meadows described Stephens as a “trailblazer” in his approach to digital printing. He said: “He was one of the first to go into digital and really at the forefront of it. He helped to start it and push it and was really a trailblazer in that respect.” Stephens is survived by his wife Christine, four children and five grandchildren. His daughter Natalie is group director at Optichrome. The funeral will be held on Friday 14 June at 11am at the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Pirbright, Surrey. Family flowers only. Donations can be made to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation via www.justgiving.com/TedStephens....

The Woking-based printing company was founded by Stephens’ father Ken in 1963 and remains a family-owned and run business. After studying graphic reproduction and lithographic printing processes, followed by a business studies course, Stephens joined Optichrome in 1970 when it had just six staff. The firm issued a tribute, and said: “Ted’s life touched so many people; family, friends and work colleagues leaving a lasting imprint on all their hearts. “Through Ted’s hard work, innovation and dedication he grew Optichrome into the modern, thriving printing company that it is today employing over 60 staff.” Just last month Stephens attended a special family fun day for Optichrome employees as part of a series of celebrations to mark the company’s 50 years in business. Optichrome has a long history of innovation and was also the original developer of the Optimus MIS system, now a separate business. Suppliers also paid tribute. Xeikon operations director Simon Meadows described Stephens as a “trailblazer” in his approach to digital printing. He said: “He was one of the first to go into digital and really at the forefront of it. He helped to start it and push it and was really a trailblazer in that respect.” Stephens is survived by his wife Christine, four children and five grandchildren. His daughter Natalie is group director at Optichrome. The funeral will be held on Friday 14 June at 11am at the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Pirbright, Surrey. Family flowers only. Donations can be made to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation via www.justgiving.com/TedStephens....

The book printing group is not yet in administration. In a statement issued to PrintWeek, chief executive Tony Chard said that discussions were underway with advisors from BDO and the financial stakeholders in the business “in relation to the options that remain available” including saving the group as a going concern along with other potential rescue options. Chard told PrintWeek: “I can confirm that there is third party interest. The directors do have an appetite to try and salvage something, but the banks will determine how best to move forward to safeguard as many jobs as possible.” The £19.4m book printing group hit the buffers almost a fortnight ago, after running out of cash. “The directors would like to reiterate that the company is not in administration although a notice of intention to appoint administrators remains in place. This notice affords the business time to enable the management to evaluate all options available.” MPG’s statement said. “The directors appreciate that the outcome is still not clear and would like to thank all stakeholders affected by the current position for their continued support at this time.” Speculation about a possible rescue plan centres on interest in the King’s Lynn site, formerly Biddles, where MPG has undertaken a major reinvestment in digital kit....

The post-press kit manufacturer and reseller posted sales of £9.4m from June 2012 to May 2013, signalling a 5% increase year-on-year. “Market conditions are still tough, but we’ve got such a talented and passionate team here and they’ve worked tirelessly this year – having a great product range also helps,” said Peter Jolly, who was promoted to UK managing director last September. The numbers are currently being audited, so Jolly declined to reveal contribution figures but he said that profit growth was looking to be in line with or slightly ahead of sales growth. “We are profitable and at the minute it looks like this year we will have recorded a five-year revenue and net profit high for the UK. So we’re looking like we’ll be back to where we were before the downturn,” he said. According to Jolly, the breadth of the company’s customer base; from office users and small implants, largely supplied by its established dealer reseller network, up to large inplants and commercial digital and litho operations were key to its growth. “We’ve got a nice spot in the market and we’re becoming increasingly relevant to larger printers too, we’re gaining significant traction with some of the top 50 companies from the PrintWeek Top 500 for example,” he added. The company is looking to develop its customer base further and as part of this strategy its set to make its Fespa debut later this month. The company is in the process of finalising its appearance at the wide-format show, where it is set to demonstrate one of its DC family of digital cutter/creasers. “A lot of our customers are heading towards the packaging market and that drove us to look at taking a stand at Fespa,” said Duplo international commercial manager Samantha Mee. Following the strong figures for 2012/2013 Jolly said the company was targeting sales of £10m in its new financial. To support this growth it was looking to increase headcount at the 65 staff operation by boosting its sales and marketing operation with five new appointments in the coming months. The company currently has no plans to bolster its headcount of 30 technical staff in the UK. “In the downturn we held on to our service staff because we realised that they were critical to our reputation, but the sales side was slightly whittled down. We’re now going to put our foot firmly back on the gas though,” said Jolly. The company is hosting an open house event on the 18-20 June at its Addlestone, Surrey headquarters – for more information on the Print Finishing First event, click here....