Run by father and son Mike and Mark Hipperson, the 12-staff, £1.5m turnover business, launched in 2007, installed the Meteor at its Taverham site in July. The £165,000 device complements the firm’s existing seven-colour HP Indigo 5500. The French-manufactured Meteor was supplied by UK distributor MGI technology. The key attraction of the device, according to director Mike Hipperson, was its flexible sheet-size format, which now allows the company to produce jobs that would previously have needed added finishing techniques using SRA3 substrates. He said: “We are focused on book production, which is very much landscape oriented and we simply couldn’t fit them efficiently on the Indigo. With the MGI we can do that. “Now we can work with 330×1,020mm sheet sizes where on the Indigo you are limited to 320x460mm. “The quality of the MGI is also on a par with the Indigo, which we look upon as digital offset,” he added. In 2010 the business was producing 300 photobooks per week rising to 500 at peak times and although Hipperson said there had been “significant growth” in demand since then, he declined to reveal current volumes. “We’re seeing absolutely phenomenal growth right now and we will continue to see that in the future I think. “We are also seeing a lot more on-demand publishing as well these days and we can produce those right down to runs as small as one if needs be.” Another significant attraction of the Meteor for the company was its cost effective ‘digital coverage’ format, with no click charges, according to Hipperson’s son Mark. He said: “We have found that running costs are lower than the average click charge. If our application does not require the extended format capability of the MGI, we can determine the approximate coverage and cost-per-page to choose which press will be more beneficial to our overall margin. “For example, if we were printing letterheads we have almost zero toner cost with the MGI, and are guaranteed 100% laser compatibility. We have experienced no major problems since the Meteor was installed and MGI have looked after us during the production ramp up.” All finishing is carried out in-house and Mike Hipperson said the company had invested a significant amount in that department over the last couple of years, including a new PUR binding line around 12-months ago. He said the business was eyeing further investment in equipment although Hipperson would not be drawn on what that was. “We certainly have ambitions for more investments,” he said....

Michael Carroll was a laminating machine operator at Mac Print Finishing in Peterborough, and had worked at the small business for 12 years. On the morning of 24 May 2012, after becoming overwhelmed with money worries related to a £75,000 mortgage debt, he strangled 64-year-old Elisabeth Carroll his wife of 23 years. Carroll, 60, is on trial at Cambridge Crown Court. He denies murder but has admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Mac Print Finishing senior partner Vernon MacFarlane told the court that when the normally-punctual Carroll did not turn up for work on time he had phoned him to find out if he was ill. MacFarlane said: “I rang him and asked if he was well and he said no. I said ‘you’d better get yourself over to see a doctor’, and he said ‘it’s a bit late for that’. “I said ‘why, what’s wrong?’ And he said ‘I think I’ve killed Liz’.” MacFarlane also told the court that he had noticed how stressed Carroll was about the debt, and had tried to help him by making an appointment at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. But Carroll did not attend the appointment. The trial continues. We are unable to accept comments on this story for legal reasons....

Michael Carroll was a laminating machine operator at Mac Print Finishing in Peterborough, and had worked at the small business for 12 years. On the morning of 24 May 2012, after becoming overwhelmed with money worries related to a £75,000 mortgage debt, he strangled 64-year-old Elisabeth Carroll his wife of 23 years. Carroll, 60, is on trial at Cambridge Crown Court. He denies murder but has admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Mac Print Finishing senior partner Vernon MacFarlane told the court that when the normally-punctual Carroll did not turn up for work on time he had phoned him to find out if he was ill. MacFarlane said: “I rang him and asked if he was well and he said no. I said ‘you’d better get yourself over to see a doctor’, and he said ‘it’s a bit late for that’. “I said ‘why, what’s wrong?’ And he said ‘I think I’ve killed Liz’.” MacFarlane also told the court that he had noticed how stressed Carroll was about the debt, and had tried to help him by making an appointment at the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. But Carroll did not attend the appointment. The trial continues. We are unable to accept comments on this story for legal reasons....

According to a report in Swedish business title Affärs Välden (Business World) the two companies would combine the majority of their European papermaking operations, with UPM becoming the majority shareholder in the new venture with a 65% stake. The mooted move would create the world’s biggest paper company. It has been speculated about for some time. A Reuters report last year stated: “A merger would improve profitability by combining production facilities while at the same time allowing them to take advantage of growth areas and businesses that are not overlapping, such as in packaging and label products.” A merged business would control around 40% of European paper capacity, said Handelsbanken. Any deal would be subject to approval by the European competition authorities. A paper industry expert told PrintWeek: “I think it would make complete sense culturally. If UPM is going to take over anyone then Stora Enso is the most compatible. And Stora Enso have made it clear they don’t want to remain in paper making.” Both companies have headquarters in Helsinki, although there has also been speculation that UPM plans to relocate its HQ to Augsburg in Germany, where it has a substantial facility. UPM had global sales of €10.4bn (£8.8bn) in 2012, 67% of which was papermaking. Stora Enso posted worldwide sales of €10.8bn last year, with 43% of that made up of printing and reading paper. UPM’s share price has been rising over the past month and is currently at €10.85. Stora Enso shares are at €6.85, up almost 30% this year. UPM and Stora Enso declined to comment on market rumours....

According to a report in Swedish business title Affärs Välden (Business World) the two companies would combine the majority of their European papermaking operations, with UPM becoming the majority shareholder in the new venture with a 65% stake. The mooted move would create the world’s biggest paper company. It has been speculated about for some time. A Reuters report last year stated: “A merger would improve profitability by combining production facilities while at the same time allowing them to take advantage of growth areas and businesses that are not overlapping, such as in packaging and label products.” A merged business would control around 40% of European paper capacity, said Handelsbanken. Any deal would be subject to approval by the European competition authorities. A paper industry expert told PrintWeek: “I think it would make complete sense culturally. If UPM is going to take over anyone then Stora Enso is the most compatible. And Stora Enso have made it clear they don’t want to remain in paper making.” Both companies have headquarters in Helsinki, although there has also been speculation that UPM plans to relocate its HQ to Augsburg in Germany, where it has a substantial facility. UPM had global sales of €10.4bn (£8.8bn) in 2012, 67% of which was papermaking. Stora Enso posted worldwide sales of €10.8bn last year, with 43% of that made up of printing and reading paper. UPM’s share price has been rising over the past month and is currently at €10.85. Stora Enso shares are at €6.85, up almost 30% this year. UPM and Stora Enso declined to comment on market rumours....