Senior vice president of procurement Jan Paul van der Velde told PrintWeek: “Certain raw materials prices are increasing fast. How this will impact the current commercial agreements will differ case by case. What is key is the impact will ultimately flow through into the market. “Different cost drivers are having different effects in different market segments. The key issues revolve around publication inks, given the situation of rising prices for gum rosin and crude oil based products.” He said despite hopes prices would fall this year, the price of crude went up. In the first half of this year as many raw materials went up in price as came down. Crude today trades at around $110 per barrel, significantly above any level that people had forecast at the end of 2012. “In the base chemical markets materials such as benzene, styrene, toluene and xylene, important as building blocks for many material categories such as pigments and resins, prices again continued to rise in the first part of 2013 despite low demand in these markets. “Looking at third quarter developments, we have witnessed significant changes in some of our key markets since June and July with crude oil, gum rosin and pigments being amongst the key areas affected.” Oil prices not only hit inks but services such as packaging and logistics, he said. Gum rosin prices in China began to escalate dramatically from July, with a 40% hike impacting on pigments and Flint’s hydro carbon/phenolics based ink portfolio – heatset, coldset, sheetfed and gravure inks. “Given the relatively low stocks of crude gum rosin, it is likely that prices will remain at the current levels or potentially even increase until such time as the next crop is harvested. This is very similar to the situation in 2011 which resulted in gum rosin being traded at up to $3,500 per metric tonne.” He said: “Finally, we have also seen significant increases in pigment costs. This has mainly been driven by the ongoing and increasingly stricter enforcement of environmental rules in China and India – both for pigment suppliers and the suppliers of base chemicals for pigment production.” “It is clear the ink industry is again being confronted with the rising cost of raw materials and it does not look like this will quickly disappear. The result of these rising costs to some of the key raw material markets will inevitably have an increasing impact on the costing of publication inks.”...

Senior vice president of procurement Jan Paul van der Velde told PrintWeek: “Certain raw materials prices are increasing fast. How this will impact the current commercial agreements will differ case by case. What is key is the impact will ultimately flow through into the market. “Different cost drivers are having different effects in different market segments. The key issues revolve around publication inks, given the situation of rising prices for gum rosin and crude oil based products.” He said despite hopes prices would fall this year, the price of crude went up. In the first half of this year as many raw materials went up in price as came down. Crude today trades at around $110 per barrel, significantly above any level that people had forecast at the end of 2012. “In the base chemical markets materials such as benzene, styrene, toluene and xylene, important as building blocks for many material categories such as pigments and resins, prices again continued to rise in the first part of 2013 despite low demand in these markets. “Looking at third quarter developments, we have witnessed significant changes in some of our key markets since June and July with crude oil, gum rosin and pigments being amongst the key areas affected.” Oil prices not only hit inks but services such as packaging and logistics, he said. Gum rosin prices in China began to escalate dramatically from July, with a 40% hike impacting on pigments and Flint’s hydro carbon/phenolics based ink portfolio – heatset, coldset, sheetfed and gravure inks. “Given the relatively low stocks of crude gum rosin, it is likely that prices will remain at the current levels or potentially even increase until such time as the next crop is harvested. This is very similar to the situation in 2011 which resulted in gum rosin being traded at up to $3,500 per metric tonne.” He said: “Finally, we have also seen significant increases in pigment costs. This has mainly been driven by the ongoing and increasingly stricter enforcement of environmental rules in China and India – both for pigment suppliers and the suppliers of base chemicals for pigment production.” “It is clear the ink industry is again being confronted with the rising cost of raw materials and it does not look like this will quickly disappear. The result of these rising costs to some of the key raw material markets will inevitably have an increasing impact on the costing of publication inks.”...

The VersaUV LEF-20 flatbed printer offers the same maximum resolution (1,440x720dpi) as its predecessor, the LEF-12, but has a larger print area at 508x330mm to the LEF-12’s 305x280mm. Both machines can print onto objects up to 100mm thick. Roland’s new model will be available from October and will cost £19,999. Sales and technical director Brett Newman said it offered greater productivity for promotional products, souvenirs, giftware, awards and signs as well as industrial parts and packaging prototypes. “This kit prints directly onto items measuring up to 508mm in width, 330mm length and 100mm thick, making it good for iPhone or laptop covers and USB sticks – the kind of things that are really on-trend right now and people want personalising,” he said. “It takes six minutes to print on 20 iPhone covers, taking print into a new dimension – you’re printing on objects rather than merely paper, vinyl and banners. It will appeal to high-street printers, photo print shops, screen and pad printers and those specialising in personalisation and gifts.” UK managing director Jerry Davies said: “Two years ago we launched the LEF series, opening new possibilities for products including USB sticks, phone covers, photo frames, golf balls, coasters and many other personalised items. “With the VersaUV LEF-20, we have now taken this technology to new levels of productivity and versatility, with a larger 20″ print area enabling both larger items and speedier printing of multiple smaller items.” A UV-LED lamp cures ink instantly and allows users to print directly on to substrates such as PET, ABS, polycarbonate, Thermoplastic polyurethane, and consumer items, from golf balls, key chains and pens to metal tablet covers and smartphone cases. The LEF-20 features Roland ECO-UV ink in CMYK, white and clear formulations for bright, high-opacity images and text. For jobs involving transparent or dark coloured materials, the LEF-20 features advanced ECO-UV high-density white ink. Clear ECO-UV ink can also be layered into patterns and textures in both gloss and matte. The new machine includes Roland VersaWorks data printing, making it easier to personalise printed objects with individualised serial numbers, logos, graphics and names....

The VersaUV LEF-20 flatbed printer offers the same maximum resolution (1,440x720dpi) as its predecessor, the LEF-12, but has a larger print area at 508x330mm to the LEF-12’s 305x280mm. Both machines can print onto objects up to 100mm thick. Roland’s new model will be available from October and will cost £19,999. Sales and technical director Brett Newman said it offered greater productivity for promotional products, souvenirs, giftware, awards and signs as well as industrial parts and packaging prototypes. “This kit prints directly onto items measuring up to 508mm in width, 330mm length and 100mm thick, making it good for iPhone or laptop covers and USB sticks – the kind of things that are really on-trend right now and people want personalising,” he said. “It takes six minutes to print on 20 iPhone covers, taking print into a new dimension – you’re printing on objects rather than merely paper, vinyl and banners. It will appeal to high-street printers, photo print shops, screen and pad printers and those specialising in personalisation and gifts.” UK managing director Jerry Davies said: “Two years ago we launched the LEF series, opening new possibilities for products including USB sticks, phone covers, photo frames, golf balls, coasters and many other personalised items. “With the VersaUV LEF-20, we have now taken this technology to new levels of productivity and versatility, with a larger 20″ print area enabling both larger items and speedier printing of multiple smaller items.” A UV-LED lamp cures ink instantly and allows users to print directly on to substrates such as PET, ABS, polycarbonate, Thermoplastic polyurethane, and consumer items, from golf balls, key chains and pens to metal tablet covers and smartphone cases. The LEF-20 features Roland ECO-UV ink in CMYK, white and clear formulations for bright, high-opacity images and text. For jobs involving transparent or dark coloured materials, the LEF-20 features advanced ECO-UV high-density white ink. Clear ECO-UV ink can also be layered into patterns and textures in both gloss and matte. The new machine includes Roland VersaWorks data printing, making it easier to personalise printed objects with individualised serial numbers, logos, graphics and names....

At Labelexpo this week HP Indigo announced the 500th installation of its WS6000 series narrow web press, at Rako Group, which will install the press at its Chinese facility. “This is the best-selling narrow solution in the industry – not just in digital printing, narrow overall,” stated HP Indigo vice president and general manager Alon Bar-Shany. “Seven out of ten digital presses sold are Indigo. This is a privileged position but we have to live up to the expectations of our customers.” “Three things have driven our success: quality, versatility and reliability – these presses are built to work and last for years and years, and are capable of working 24/7 for months at a time,” he stated. At the show HP also announced a new silver version of its ElectroInk, which will be commercially available at the beginning of next year. “We have big demand from the labels industry for this,” Bar-Shany added. Also new is a high-slip white ink for shrink-sleeve labels. The Indigo 20000 press for flexible packaging, and seven-colour 30000 B2-format carton press at Labelexpo were both running on HP’s booth. The firm has just announced the first beta site customers for both models. Rako will beta test the 20000, as will Seikou of Japan and Swiss converter WIFP. The presses will be installed in January 2014. The 30000 was shown with the Tresu iCoat inline coater for the first time, along with a Kama DC76 die-cutting unit. Early customers for the 30000 include Nosco, Multi Packaging Solutions, Heret Packaging and ASG (formerly AGI Worldwide). Again, the presses will be installed in the New Year. “We are taking orders at Labelexpo and have a long line of people looking at these solutions,” said Bar-Shany. In the face of a slew of fresh competitors offering inkjet presses for labels, he stated: “No one technology will solve the needs of any industry, be it books, direct mail, labels or packaging. “We believe that for labels and packaging the Indigo technology has significant advantages over other technologies, including high quality and a range of colours. We use inkjet in other markets where we think it has a fantastic value proposition.” Quizzed about the likely competition from Landa, which has just put its beta installations back to the end of next year, Bar-Shany added: “Competition is always good, and we have dozens of competitors already. We believe our quality and versatility, and ability to scale globally give us a big advantage. “We have built credibility over the past five-to-ten years. When we say the press will be in beta in 2014, we do it,” he stated. HP said the volume of labels printed using HP Indigo presses was up...