The Sun goes cross media with huge hybrid inkjet install
The installation involves 22 Kodak Prosper S30 heads, which will be used to print unique numeric codes and QR codes in the newspaper. This will allow purchasers of the printed newspaper to access the same exclusive online, mobile and tablet content available to those who pay a £2 a week online subscription fee for the new Sun+ packages. News UK (formerly News International) said loyal Sun readers would enjoy Sun+ benefits thanks to the new technology, and described the move as “unlocking this new world of digital entertainment for both our print and digital customers”. The implementation from conception to go live has taken place in a compressed timeframe of just three months. Newsprinters Broxbourne operations director Steve Whitehead told PrintWeek it was an “outstanding collaboration”. “Our own local engineering and operations teams, fabrication suppliers, Kodak, editorial, production planning and technology department have all worked together on this,” he said. “Coordinating such a project on such a scale in the timeframe has been very exciting. It is another clear sign of our commitment to print and digital.” The Prosper S30 heads have been fitted to the 19 Manroland presses at Newsprinters’ three print sites at Broxbourne, Eurocentral and Knowsley. A further three heads have been installed on the presses at contract print partners the Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland and Kells in the Republic of Ireland. The total spend on the project has not been disclosed. The monochrome heads have been fitted onto adjustable rails, giving Newsprinters flexibility about where the variable content can appear on-page. They have a 600x200dpi resolution and 10.6cm print width, and can produce codes and mono halftones at 900 metres per minute matching Newsprinters’ full press speed of 86,000 copies per hour. Around 2.3m copies of The Sun are sold Monday to Saturday, and 1.9m on Sundays according to the latest ABC circulation figures. “We’ve created a number of templates where the code position can change, so we have various options in terms of paginations and impositions,” Whitehead added. Philip Cullimore, Kodak managing director of consumer and commercial businesses in EAMER, described the application as “variable data printing at its very best”. The Sun officially launched the packages with a special cover wrap on the newspaper today (1 August). Codes will first appear in The Sun on Sunday this weekend, and then every day onwards. Following an initial promotion period, readers who collect 20 codes each month will receive ongoing access to The Sun‘s digital content and perks package. A key aspect of the digital entertainment package is Sun+Goals, with ‘near live’ video clips of Barclays Premier League goals, ready for the new season. Germany’s Axel Springer has already implemented a similar hybrid printing system using Kodak heads across its print sites....
read moreThe Sun goes cross-media with huge hybrid inkjet install
The installation involves 22 Kodak Prosper S30 heads, which will be used to print unique numeric codes and QR codes in the newspaper. This will allow purchasers of the printed newspaper to access the same exclusive online, mobile and tablet content available to those who pay a £2 a week online subscription fee for the new Sun+ packages. News UK (formerly News International) said loyal Sun readers would enjoy Sun+ benefits thanks to the new technology, and described the move as “unlocking this new world of digital entertainment for both our print and digital customers”. The implementation from conception to go live has taken place in a compressed timeframe of just three months. Newsprinters Broxbourne operations director Steve Whitehead told PrintWeek it was an “outstanding collaboration”. “Our own local engineering and operations teams, fabrication suppliers, Kodak, and editorial production planning department have all worked together on this,” he said. “Coordinating such a project on such a scale in the timeframe has been very exciting. It is another clear sign of our commitment to print and digital.” The Prosper S30 heads have been fitted to the 19 Manroland presses at Newsprinters’ three print sites at Broxbourne, Eurocentral and Knowsley. A further three heads have been installed on the presses at contract print partners the Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland and Kells in the Republic of Ireland. The total spend on the project has not been disclosed. The monochrome heads have been fitted onto adjustable rails, giving Newsprinters flexibility about where the variable content can appear on-page. They print at 600x200dpi producing codes and mono halftones at full press speed of 86,000 copies per hour. Around 2.3m copies of The Sun are sold Monday to Saturday, and 1.9m on Sundays according to the latest ABC circulation figures. “We’ve created a number of templates where the code position can change, so we have various options in terms of paginations and impositions,” Whitehead added. Philip Cullimore, Kodak managing director of consumer and commercial businesses in EAMER, described the application as “variable data printing at its very best”. The Sun officially launched the packages with a special cover wrap on the newspaper today (1 August). Codes will first appear in The Sun on Sunday this weekend, and then every day onwards. Following an initial promotion period, readers who collect 20 codes each month will receive ongoing access to The Sun‘s digital content and perks package. A key aspect of the digital entertainment package is Sun+Goals, with ‘near live’ video clips of Barclays Premier League goals, ready for the new season. Germany’s Axel Springer has already implemented a similar hybrid printing system using Kodak heads across its print sites....
read moreGlobal Graphics unveils Host Renderer 4
Version 4 of its Harlequin RIP, designed for high-speed digital printers, has added colour tools including calibration support and Harlequin SetGold, which pre-sets the grey balance and ink limiting ahead of colour profiling, reducing variation that occurs over time and between presses. According to the developer, Version 4 is able to produce pre-compressed, unscreened output in 10- and 12-bit depths, minimising artefacts when final calibration is carried out post-RIP. Additionally calibration information can now be installed by providing data in a range of measurement systems; press vendors no longer need to pre-compute compensation curves. Global Graphics chief technical officer Martin Bailey said: “Version 4 drives down Digital Front End costs because it boosts the performance the processors can achieve. It also extends the infrastructure around high-quality colour management within the RIP to make it even easier to meet your requirements for colour-matching and maximising gamut while limiting ink usage.” He added: “This takes quite a chunk of work and cost out of integration for the press vendors. And in many cases for the end-user it is going to make the calibration easier for them too, with more accurate results. “We try to respond to both our direct OEMs and our end-users. We are continually told that the two key areas for digital production, where some of our competitors come up short, are around repeatability and screening. These upgrades are seeding in to those spaces.” The upgrade has been shipped to OEMs with release dependent on individual vendors. The company said that speed tests last year showed that Harlequin Host Renderer delivered pages “far in excess” of the industry’s highest performing digital presses. The RIP includes Harlequin Varidata, which accelerates the processing time of PDF/VT files as well as regular PDF files containing variable data. Digital presses currently driven by Harlequin Host Renderer include HP’s Indigo range and T-series high-speed web presses, as well as presses from SIS, TKS and Miyakoshi....
read moreEx print boss banned from company directorship
The investigation related to payments Loggenberg made to himself instead of his creditors when he was sole director of electronics distribution firm Mocor. Thirty-seven-year-old Loggenberg, who The Insolvency Service understands is now living in his native South Africa, acquired the electronics business in September 2010 just two weeks after Clowes had fallen into administration. In 2009 the entrepreneur bought Manchester-based Clowes and Maincolour in Macclesfield claiming he wanted to build a print network in the North West, however both failed, with Glossop Cartons ultimately rescuing Clowes and its 18 staff. Loggenberg then acquired Yorkshire-base Mocor on 24 September 2010 for £326,862 but put the company into voluntary liquidation on 30 June 2011 directly after discovering that his landlord was planning to apply for compulsory liquidation against him due to rent arrears. The company was liquidated owing creditors nearly £280,000. The Insolvency Service investigation revealed that after placing Mocor into voluntary liquidation, Loggenberg then immediately asked his solicitors to pay £82,000 into his bank account out of the company’s account, with a further £10,000 drawn out to pay off his own personal debts. It also found that despite frequent payment demands and legal proceedings being started, he had failed to pay his landlord rent arrears of £298,126 and business rates arrears of £119,077. Additionally on the date of purchase, Loggenberg paid himself £121,240. Loggenberg claimed that the payments he made to himself were for expenses and consultancy fees, but he was unable to produce documentary evidence in support of this claim, according to The Insolvency Service. As a legal requirement Loggenberg, who won prizes for entrepreneurship from the UK Institute of Directors and the Shell RBS Entrepreneur of the Year awards in 2000, has presented a legal undertaking to government, preventing him from acting as a company director in the UK from 9 August 2013 until 2024. Breaching the disqualification undertaking would be considered a criminal offence that could result in imprisonment, the Insolvency Service said. The Insolvency Service director of investigation and enforcement services, Vicky Bagnall, said: “The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue company directors who seek to benefit themselves ahead of their creditors by extracting company funds when others are not being paid. “Limited liability protection is only be available to those who comply with their obligations as company directors. If those obligations are ignored, that protection will be withdrawn.”...
read moreEx print boss banned from company directorship
The investigation related to payments Loggenberg made to himself instead of his creditors when he was sole director of electronics distribution firm Mocor. Thirty-seven-year-old Loggenberg, who The Insolvency Service understands is now living in his native South Africa, acquired the electronics business in September 2010 just two weeks after Clowes had fallen into administration. In 2009 the entrepreneur bought Manchester-based Clowes and Maincolour in Macclesfield claiming he wanted to build a print network in the North West, however both failed, with Glossop Cartons ultimately rescuing Clowes and its 18 staff. Loggenberg then acquired Yorkshire-base Mocor on 24 September 2010 for £326,862 but put the company into voluntary liquidation on 30 June 2011 directly after discovering that his landlord was planning to apply for compulsory liquidation against him due to rent arrears. The company was liquidated owing creditors nearly £280,000. The Insolvency Service investigation revealed that after placing Mocor into voluntary liquidation, Loggenberg then immediately asked his solicitors to pay £82,000 into his bank account out of the company’s account, with a further £10,000 drawn out to pay off his own personal debts. It also found that despite frequent payment demands and legal proceedings being started, he had failed to pay his landlord rent arrears of £298,126 and business rates arrears of £119,077. Additionally on the date of purchase, Loggenberg paid himself £121,240. Loggenberg claimed that the payments he made to himself were for expenses and consultancy fees, but he was unable to produce documentary evidence in support of this claim, according to The Insolvency Service. As a legal requirement Loggenberg, who won prizes for entrepreneurship from the UK Institute of Directors and the Shell RBS Entrepreneur of the Year awards in 2000, has presented a legal undertaking to government, preventing him from acting as a company director in the UK from 9 August 2013 until 2024. Breaching the disqualification undertaking would be considered a criminal offence that could result in imprisonment, the Insolvency Service said. The Insolvency Service director of investigation and enforcement services, Vicky Bagnall, said: “The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue company directors who seek to benefit themselves ahead of their creditors by extracting company funds when others are not being paid. “Limited liability protection is only be available to those who comply with their obligations as company directors. If those obligations are ignored, that protection will be withdrawn.”...
read moreCPI acquired in €21m deal
The €450m turnover business is being acquired by a consortium of investors in a €21m (£18.3m) deal that will also see CPI’s debt – previously more than €120m – reduced to just €15m. The majority investor is French conglomerate Impala, which is taking a 52% stake. BPI France, the French state-owned bank, is taking 24% with the remaining 24% held by private investors and management. Over recent weeks speculation about the future ownership of the group had heightened as it worked on refinancing its existing debt, and there were fears it could even be broken up. The takeover bid was tabled last week, although the identity of Impala Group was not known at the time. It did not have any print or related investments prior to the CPI deal. In a statement Impala chairman Jacques Veyrat said: “We want to show, along with the company’s management, that it is possible to pursue an ambitious, value-creating strategy in a declining and evolving sector.” CPI chairman Pierre-Francois Catté told PrintWeek: “Impala was introduced to us by an investment bank. They look at CPI as an asset that has a chance to really perform, but just needed some help. It’s been a very fast process.” CPI’s previous owners, a syndicate of banks, have written off their shareholdings and most of the old debt, barring the €15m. “The banks have acted very responsibly. I salute them because this has not been a very easy exercise,” Catté said. He added: “Our priority now is to stabilise the business and make sure everyone is comfortable. We didn’t lose any customers [during the refinancing/sale process]. Now we’re going back to day-to-day business and will make any structural adjustments as smoothly as we can. “Any changes will be made progressively. We are not planning any massive restructuring in the short-term,” he added. “We have new money to invest and still believe there’s a huge future in this industry. We will keep on investing in digital printing for the future.” CPI’s £117m UK operation includes Mackays, Antony Rowe, CPI Colour, William Clowes and Cox & Wyman. UK chief executive Francois Golicheff said he was delighted at the positive outcome: “We believe this announcement demonstrates our long-term commitment to supporting our customers,” he stated. “It’s good news for publishers and for our commercial print customers; they can be assured that we are totally focused on our strategy of investing and innovating to adapt in a fast-evolving market. I am determined that CPI UK will continue on a path of security, profitability and growth.” The takeover deal should be formally completed in the next few weeks....
read moreCPI acquired in €21m deal
The €450m turnover business is being acquired by a consortium of investors in a €21m (£18.3m) deal that will also see CPI’s debt – previously more than €120m – reduced to just €15m. The majority investor is French conglomerate Impala, which is taking a 52% stake. BPI France, the French state-owned bank, is taking 24% with the remaining 24% held by private investors and management. Over recent weeks speculation about the future ownership of the group had heightened as it worked on refinancing its existing debt, and there were fears it could even be broken up. The takeover bid was tabled last week, although the identity of Impala Group was not known at the time. It did not have any print or related investments prior to the CPI deal. In a statement Impala chairman Jacques Veyrat said: “We want to show, along with the company’s management, that it is possible to pursue an ambitious, value-creating strategy in a declining and evolving sector.” CPI chairman Pierre-Francois Catté told PrintWeek: “Impala was introduced to us by an investment bank. They look at CPI as an asset that has a chance to really perform, but just needed some help. It’s been a very fast process.” CPI’s previous owners, a syndicate of banks, have written off their shareholdings and most of the old debt, barring the €15m. “The banks have acted very responsibly. I salute them because this has not been a very easy exercise,” Catté said. He added: “Our priority now is to stabilise the business and make sure everyone is comfortable. We didn’t lose any customers [during the refinancing/sale process]. Now we’re going back to day-to-day business and will make any structural adjustments as smoothly as we can. “Any changes will be made progressively. We are not planning any massive restructuring in the short-term,” he added. “We have new money to invest and still believe there’s a huge future in this industry. We will keep on investing in digital printing for the future.” CPI’s £117m UK operation includes Mackays, Antony Rowe, CPI Colour, William Clowes and Cox & Wyman. UK chief executive Francois Golicheff said he was delighted at the positive outcome: “We believe this announcement demonstrates our long-term commitment to supporting our customers,” he stated. “It’s good news for publishers and for our commercial print customers; they can be assured that we are totally focused on our strategy of investing and innovating to adapt in a fast-evolving market. I am determined that CPI UK will continue on a path of security, profitability and growth.” The takeover deal should be formally completed in the next few weeks....
read moreCWU agrees Royal Mail strike ballot
At the annual CWU policy forum in London this morning union members agreed to hold a strike ballot no later than September this year unless job protection and service agreements could be secured with Royal Mail. The ballot proposal would involve around 115,000 Royal Mail workers. Parcelforce Worldwide and Post Office staff would be excluded. CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward told delegates that unless drastic changes were made he couldn’t see negotiations with Royal Mail succeeding. “The current situation cannot go on. Postal workers are being squeezed in their workplaces, facing an uncertain future and changes to their pensions. “There hasn’t yet been a pay rise for staff this year despite healthy company profits of £403 million. But most importantly, we want protections for job security and terms and conditions and these are sadly lacking. “CWU is committed to holding serious negotiations with Royal Mail to achieve settlement on these issues, but efforts to date do not bode well. Ward said that Royal Mail had only begun to take negotiations seriously following the union’s consultative ballot in June at which 92% of nearly 83,000 respondents backed a boycott of downstream access providers and the withdrawal of co-operation on workplace changes. Additionally 99% backed to union’s demand for an over-inflation pay increase and 96% opposed privatisation. “We do not take the decisions to hold a strike ballot lightly. However, we will stop at nothing to ensure that the future of our members’ jobs – and of the services they deliver – are protected.” The union said it was confident that talks would continue over the next couple of weeks but that a resolution was “looking unlikely”. A Royal Mail spokesman said Royal Mail was disappointed that the CWU intended to call for a national strike ballot and that the organisation hoped to find a resolution. Referring to Royal Mail’s offer of an 8.6% pay increase over three years that was tabled earlier this year, he said: “A highly competitive pay offer and agreement has been proposed to the CWU and has been rejected. “Talks are on-going and we are committed to seeking an agreement. We believe that a ballot on strike action is inappropriate. Disrupting the service Royal Mail provides to its customers is not helpful. “Royal Mail operates in a very competitive market, especially in the parcels market. We recognise that customers have a choice and can move their business very quickly. We want to reach agreement with the CWU as soon as possible to give customers and employees continued stability.”...
read moreCWU agrees Royal Mail strike ballot
At the annual CWU policy forum in London this morning union members agreed to hold a strike ballot no later than September this year unless job protection and service agreements could be secured with Royal Mail. The ballot proposal would involve around 115,000 Royal Mail workers. Parcelforce Worldwide and Post Office staff would be excluded. CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward told delegates that unless drastic changes were made he couldn’t see negotiations with Royal Mail succeeding. “The current situation cannot go on. Postal workers are being squeezed in their workplaces, facing an uncertain future and changes to their pensions. “There hasn’t yet been a pay rise for staff this year despite healthy company profits of £403 million. But most importantly, we want protections for job security and terms and conditions and these are sadly lacking. “CWU is committed to holding serious negotiations with Royal Mail to achieve settlement on these issues, but efforts to date do not bode well. Ward said that Royal Mail had only begun to take negotiations seriously following the union’s consultative ballot in June at which 92% of nearly 83,000 respondents backed a boycott of downstream access providers and the withdrawal of co-operation on workplace changes. Additionally 99% backed to union’s demand for an over-inflation pay increase and 96% opposed privatisation. “We do not take the decisions to hold a strike ballot lightly. However, we will stop at nothing to ensure that the future of our members’ jobs – and of the services they deliver – are protected.” The union said it was confident that talks would continue over the next couple of weeks but that a resolution was “looking unlikely”. A Royal Mail spokesman said Royal Mail was disappointed that the CWU intended to call for a national strike ballot and that the organisation hoped to find a resolution. Referring to Royal Mail’s offer of an 8.6% pay increase over three years that was tabled earlier this year, he said: “A highly competitive pay offer and agreement has been proposed to the CWU and has been rejected. “Talks are on-going and we are committed to seeking an agreement. We believe that a ballot on strike action is inappropriate. Disrupting the service Royal Mail provides to its customers is not helpful. “Royal Mail operates in a very competitive market, especially in the parcels market. We recognise that customers have a choice and can move their business very quickly. We want to reach agreement with the CWU as soon as possible to give customers and employees continued stability.”...
read moreHow Branding and Design Should Use Color Management Tech
Colors speak loudly when it comes to brands. The professionals responsible for brand color from concept to final product need to speak the same language to ensure colors are communicating the correct message. You may think that ideal is hard to achieve. Take a look to discover how you can get the color management skills from leading companies to communicate brand color, maintain its integrity through the workflow, and save costs. For some real-world insight, in the comprehensive rebranding of American Airlines, the iconic brand’s red, white, and blue signature colors were reinvigorated. A product of extensive market research, the update was made to evoke a “more modern, vibrant, and welcoming spirit” that represents modern American ideals. Leading the project was Chief Creative Officer Sven Seger of FutureBrand, a creative branding agency that helps companies like American Airlines use color to enhance their brand. Seger, one keynote at the 2013 Color Management Conference, modernized the brand, creating a new livery and logo. The first in the last 40 years, this update effectively communicates the brand and remains consistent across different aircraft composite materials, ticketing kiosks, credit cards, and other substrates as well as online. Seger goes in depth at the conference as to how his team defined the American brand’s core message and created a design that saves their client resources by being repeatable across multiple substrates. A further example of how the rebranding experts of FutureBrand approach critical color consistency is in the creation of a new visual identity for UPS that was carried across all of the brand’s products from vehicles to uniforms to packaging. They also helped their clients communicate the revamped look through the workflow of design, production, and implementation of the new brand. The rebrand included a “color palette designed to both complement and energize brown—the company’s signature color for over 100 years.” According to this FutureBrand case study, the rebranding resulted in 13% increased earnings and ranked in FORTUNE Magazine’s Top 50 in brand recognition in 2011. Creative software company Adobe is one that is constantly putting out more innovative products to help designers maintain color from screen to print like Creative CloudTM, Photoshop® CC, and Illustrator® CC. Adobe Senior Creative Director Russell Brown is an Emmy Award-winning instructor, Adobe Photoshop virtuoso, and host of a popular Web tutorials series, “The Russell Brown Show.” Brown utilizes creative Photoshop design techniques to get the most precise colors. Another all-star keynote at the 2013 Color Management Conference, he offers aesthetic and technical tips to maximize software for consistent color management. Passionate about adding real tangibility to his work, he states that “projects aren’t real until we have something we can touch, like a print,” said Brown in a Photoshop.com interview. His zeal inspires what he calls “extreme printing,” or creating unique pieces with decals from images imprinted on different surfaces. “The possibilities are endless, and I am always searching for that next crazy way to work with images.” Brown shares his tricks and troubleshooting techniques to get the best color output from your Photoshop designs at this one-of-a-kind...
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