The £5,200 Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter is aimed at copy shops that want to increase their print offering, without a large capital investment. The 44″ (1.11m) device is suitable for large-format applications with high image quality such as posters, photos, canvases, backlit prints, indoor signs, point-of-sale posters, line drawings and maps. It offers two-roll media, as well as sheet feed, with automatic switching features, which the manufacturer claims increases productivity by reducing time spent changing media and downtime between print jobs. The device is capable of printing at 53sqm per hour and offers six HP Photo Inks with three different shades of black to produce colour and black-and-white images at a resolution of up to 2,400×1,200dpi. HP’s inbuilt Multi-Dimensional Smart Drop Placement Technology detects and corrects ink placement errors to increase efficiency and reduce waste. The web-connected model incorporates automatic software updates, USB flash drive and email printing while HP’s Instant Printing Pro software enables users to preview, crop and print PDF, Postscript, Tiff, Jpeg and HP-GL/2 files. The HP Designjet Z-series of printers includes the Z6200, the Z5200 PostScript with eight inks, and the Z3200 and Z2100 photo printers with 12 inks and eight inks respectively. HP Designjet marketing manager Colin Easton said the dual roll capabilities of the new device would be particularly beneficial for users. “From a copy shop perspective they are always flipping between different types of media such as glossy paper to vinyl,” he said. “Also the ability for clients to bring a USB stick with project details on it and print directly from that, really maximises ease.”...

The £5,200 Designjet Z5400 PostScript ePrinter is aimed at copy shops that want to increase their print offering, without a large capital investment. The 44″ (1.11m) device is suitable for large-format applications with high image quality such as posters, photos, canvases, backlit prints, indoor signs, point-of-sale posters, line drawings and maps. It offers two-roll media, as well as sheet feed, with automatic switching features, which the manufacturer claims increases productivity by reducing time spent changing media and downtime between print jobs. The device is capable of printing at 53sqm per hour and offers six HP Photo Inks with three different shades of black to produce colour and black-and-white images at a resolution of up to 2,400×1,200dpi. HP’s inbuilt Multi-Dimensional Smart Drop Placement Technology detects and corrects ink placement errors to increase efficiency and reduce waste. The web-connected model incorporates automatic software updates, USB flash drive and email printing while HP’s Instant Printing Pro software enables users to preview, crop and print PDF, Postscript, Tiff, Jpeg and HP-GL/2 files. The HP Designjet Z-series of printers includes the Z6200, the Z5200 PostScript with eight inks, and the Z3200 and Z2100 photo printers with 12 inks and eight inks respectively. HP Designjet marketing manager Colin Easton said the dual roll capabilities of the new device would be particularly beneficial for users. “From a copy shop perspective they are always flipping between different types of media such as glossy paper to vinyl,” he said. “Also the ability for clients to bring a USB stick with project details on it and print directly from that, really maximises ease.”...

The South London-based print business printed more than 180sqm of floor graphic vinyl on its Océ Arizona XT flatbed printer from Canon, which was used to wrap the walls and floor of a 20m-long catwalk in a central London multi-storey car park. A giant mirror was then angled at 45 degrees overhead to reflect the printed cloud design as well as the models as they emerged from the wings, giving the illusion they were walking through clouds. Displayways managing director Rob Kelly said: “The difficulty with something like this was making sure that the pattern repeated perfectly and was aligned across a very large scale. It needed really accurate art working in our studio and we achieved exactly that.” Holland said: “This project has really opened my eyes to the capabilities of wide-format printing. This is the first time I have worked with a printed catwalk, but it definitely won’t be the last. “The quality of the print was exactly as promised – outstanding. The colours came out brilliantly, and the graphics produced on the Arizona were an essential element in achieving the overall impact we had envisaged for the show.” Kelly, who acquired Displayways last year with partner Peter Sheldrick, said at just one week, turnaround time for the “top-secret” job had been tight. Since taking over the company last year Kelly said the business had invested around £270,000 in steady growth, including the appointment of three new employees, upgraded IT systems and a new Zünd G3 cutting and routing machine to complement its existing Zünd cutter. The company, which specialises in high-end retail and exhibition graphics, is targeting sales of just over £2m this year (2012: £1.8m)....

The South London-based print business printed more than 180sqm of floor graphic vinyl on its Océ Arizona XT flatbed printer from Canon, which was used to wrap the walls and floor of a 20m-long catwalk in a central London multi-storey car park. A giant mirror was then angled at 45 degrees overhead to reflect the printed cloud design as well as the models as they emerged from the wings, giving the illusion they were walking through clouds. Displayways managing director Rob Kelly said: “The difficulty with something like this was making sure that the pattern repeated perfectly and was aligned across a very large scale. It needed really accurate art working in our studio and we achieved exactly that.” Holland said: “This project has really opened my eyes to the capabilities of wide-format printing. This is the first time I have worked with a printed catwalk, but it definitely won’t be the last. “The quality of the print was exactly as promised – outstanding. The colours came out brilliantly, and the graphics produced on the Arizona were an essential element in achieving the overall impact we had envisaged for the show.” Kelly, who acquired Displayways last year with partner Peter Sheldrick, said at just one week, turnaround time for the “top-secret” job had been tight. Since taking over the company last year Kelly said the business had invested around £270,000 in steady growth, including the appointment of three new employees, upgraded IT systems and a new Zünd G3 cutting and routing machine to complement its existing Zünd cutter. The company, which specialises in high-end retail and exhibition graphics, is targeting sales of just over £2m this year (2012: £1.8m)....

Executive director Andrew Price has replaced Dave Allen as chief executive and also becomes managing director of the group. Allen will remain with the business for a handover period until the end of the year. The move marks an astonishing trajectory for Price, who began mobilising a group of shareholders in the group in 2010/2011. He subsequently became executive director of the business a year ago and has since masterminded a major restructure at the paper merchant. “A lot of the heavy lifting has now been executed and we’re now in the implementation phase,” Price told PrintWeek. “Dave leaves with our absolute best wishes, he has been an utter professional and has worked very hard to get the business where it is now.” Losses at the group were slashed from A$266.7m (£156m) to A$90.2m in the year to June 2013, on sales down nearly 15% to A$2.8bn. Price said his focus now would be to implement plans that would return the business to profitability in its current financial year. “We’ll be rolling out some new initiatives in the UK in the next 30-60 days,” he stated. “I’m hoping our customers can see we’ve woken up and Paperlinx is back – we’ve got our mojo back! Our staff are also seeing the difference and we’ve got some really motivated and fired up people out there.” Price also said he hoped to make an announcement regarding Paperlinx’s hybrid shareholders in the next few weeks. Paperlinx is obliged to buy back the hybrids if it wishes to alter the company’s capital structure. Graham Critchley, who is the convenor of a group of Paperlinx hybrid shareholders, said: “It just could be the case that Andrew is sufficiently left of field to make the sort of changes that will really return profits.” Allen will receive a termination payment of 12 months’ pay, while Price’s new remuneration package will involve a base salary of A$751,000 plus an incentive plan....