The one-day course will be run at the Roland Academy at Walsall College and in Roland’s creative centre at its Clevedon headquarters. Each course will be for around six people who will create banners, garment prints and text-and-logo images for windows, walls or vehicles. Roland DG academy and creative centre manager Joe Wigzell said: “The wide-format market is changing rapidly as more companies invest in the flexibility and diversity it gives to their product portfolio. The introduction complements existing courses such as intermediary level of training. “I imagine take up will be pretty good, there’s a big need for this type of training. Some people feel when they buy a machine they are on their own and need a bit of nurturing. There will be one-to-one training and more hands-on work with kit. Theory work includes software and how digital print can help business.” The introduction to digital print course is free as part of an introductory training package for those who buy a VersaCamm, VersaArt or Soljet wide-format machine and at a discounted price of £60 for VersaStudio BN-20 users. For others the day course costs £150. The first course takes place on Wednesday 2 October. Wigzell said: “This is an entry-level course, which aims to provide newcomers to wide-format digital print and Roland’s technology with a comprehensive overview of the market they are entering as well as technical assistance and tuition on Roland’s equipment and software. “The course is aimed at Roland users but will be beneficial for anyone looking to get into digital print. Although we use Roland machines and software it’s useful for anyone wanting an overview of digital print.” For more information contact Joe Wigzell on 0845 230 90 60 or at joe.wigzell@rolanddg.co.uk, or click here...

Agfa, d.gen, Fujifilm, HP, MS, Roland, Xerox and Zund have all confirmed their attendance, while brands including Durst, EFI, Epson, Mimaki, Mutoh, Reggiani and Swiss Q Print will be represented by their Turkish distributors. The inaugural Fespa show in the region, which takes place from 3-5 October at the CNR Expo in Istanbul, aims to reflect the importance of screen printing in the Eurasian market, according to exhibition manager Michael Ryan. “It is great to see major international brands supporting the inaugural show as well as exhibitors from the Eurasia region,” he said. “Their commitment reflects just what a valuable and growing market this is, reinforcing our decision to launch a show here. “Our educational content is designed to offer printers ideas to boost their business, and the content is free for visitors to attend. Fespa is a unique exhibition organiser that reinvests back into our global print community to spur growth within the industry.” Show features include conference sessions on a variety of topics including “planet-friendly printing”, colour management, applications, technical software and the latest technologies for digital print. Speakers include Fatih Güner, founder of sosyalmedya.co who will discuss self-promotion and networking in a digital world. Akif Tatlisu, editor of Matbaa & Teknik, will chair a debate on the digital print market in Turkey and printers’ expectations. CorelDraw will show software packages. A Garment Central stand is targeted at printers working or interested in the garment sector. Daily workshops will offer garment decorators hands-on tips from market expert Charlie Taublieb and Samir Sadikoglu, named Turkey’s top printer in Fespa 2013’s Hall of Fame in London, this year. Another highlight, the World Wrap Masters, will be a meeting point for vehicle wrapping experts to compete against peers to become vehicle wrapping champion. There will also be technical demonstrations on best-practice wrapping techniques for printers. Local exhibitors include Anka, Anadolu Kimya, Aras Teks Kimya and Ozanadolu Kimya. Serimak, the leading screen printing distributor in Turkey, will display its portfolio, which includes M&R screen printing carousels for garment decoration. Kevin Jenner, Fujifilm’s business manager for wide format in Europe’s eastern region, said: “We have supported Fespa since its inception and established a Fujifilm sales office in Turkey last year. This is a strategically important and fast developing region.” For more information click here...

The BAPC conference, titled ‘The best is yet to come!’, will take place at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Borehamwood, Herts on the 17-18 January next year. According to BAPC chairman Sidney Bobb, the full speaker programme is in the process of being finalised. “As ever we’ll have a great line-up, featuring, as well as Dennis, a motivational speaker and leading figures from the print industry, as well as some entertainers for the evening.” The conference will also include the BAPC Awards dinner, at which the body’s Business of the Year, Environmental Printer of the Year and Product & Supplier of the Year will be revealed. Keynote speaker Turner previously advised HSBC on economic trends within industry sectors and at a national and international level and had regular contact with policy-making bodies. He began his career at the National Economic Development Office in Whitehall, where his remit was to assess the constraints impeding economic performance. “Dennis is a brilliant speaker, extremely entertaining, but also incredibly knowledgeable and well informed,” said Bobb. “We have attained a reputation for providing effective and thought-provoking speakers at our conferences and Dennis will certainly be no exception. His presentation will undoubtedly be relevant to our audience and should not be missed. He is one person who can comment on whether ‘The best is yet to come!’.” According to Bobb, further details on additional conference speakers and pricing will be available soon, in the meantime people can email sidney.bobb@bapc.co.uk to receive more information....

The BAPC conference, titled ‘The best is yet to come!’, will take place at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Borehamwood, Herts on the 17-18 January next year. According to BAPC chairman Sidney Bobb, the full speaker programme is in the process of being finalised. “As ever we’ll have a great line-up, featuring, as well as Dennis, a motivational speaker and leading figures from the print industry, as well as some entertainers for the evening.” The conference will also include the BAPC Awards dinner, at which the body’s Business of the Year, Environmental Printer of the Year and Product & Supplier of the Year will be revealed. Keynote speaker Turner previously advised HSBC on economic trends within industry sectors and at a national and international level and had regular contact with policy-making bodies. He began his career at the National Economic Development Office in Whitehall, where his remit was to assess the constraints impeding economic performance. “Dennis is a brilliant speaker, extremely entertaining, but also incredibly knowledgeable and well informed,” said Bobb. “We have attained a reputation for providing effective and thought-provoking speakers at our conferences and Dennis will certainly be no exception. His presentation will undoubtedly be relevant to our audience and should not be missed. He is one person who can comment on whether ‘The best is yet to come!’.” According to Bobb, further details on additional conference speakers and pricing will be available soon, in the meantime people can email sidney.bobb@bapc.co.uk to receive more information....

Miliband plans to reverse the April 2015 inflation-linked rise in small business rates if Labour comes to power the following month; rates would then be frozen at their 2014 level until April 2017. The rate cut, which is expected to save 1.5m small businesses £450 on average over the two years, would be paid for by scrapping the planned 1% cut in corporation tax, from 21% down to 20%, that is due to come in in April 2015. Miliband hopes to position Labour as the “party of small business” with the move; however, BPIF chief executive Kathy Woodward said that political parties should be supporting “all businesses – large and small”. “Large businesses are feeders for small businesses and the health of one directly affects the health of the other. What businesses need is consistency to allow them to plan for the future and policy changes – saying we’re going to rob Peter to pay Paul – don’t help,” she added. “There is a perception that large businesses have all this cash sloshing around, but we know from the print industry that it’s often the large businesses that are operating on the lowest margins. “The government and the opposition should be seeing business strategy as holistic rather than piecemeal; I think what everyone would like to see is an integrated business strategy rather than fragmented pieces of policy that are targeted at winning votes.” Michael Moradian, owner of Print Express, was also sceptical of the proposal. He said: “They’re saying they want to increase help for small businesses and get larger businesses to pay for it; on the face of it, who wouldn’t vote for that? “But 15 years ago who wouldn’t have voted for the government to build however many new hospitals? Except nobody realised they were going to be funded by PFIs that were going to screw the healthcare budget for the next 25-30 years. “It’s a nice sentiment and it’s hard not to say ‘yes, that would be very nice to have’, but the devil will be in the detail and I think it’s all sleight of hand based on Labour’s past record.” Labour estimates that scrapping the corporation tax cut would generate £340m in 2015/16 and £785m in 2016/17 and would affect 80,000 large firms; the small business rate cut would cost £250m in 2015/16 and £540m in 2016/17. The rate cut, for all commercial properties with an annual rental value of less than £50,000, would apply automatically in England, while money would be given to the devolved governments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to fund the same cut....