Xeikon to test Trillium technology
The Belgian manufacturer previewed Trillium (then known as Quantum) in March 2012, and showed a concept single-colour unit at Drupa. It has now advanced to the point where a four-colour high-speed press is ready to go into testing. The firm aims to take on high-speed colour inkjet devices from suppliers such as HP, Kodak and Canon/Océ. Michael Ring, president of Xeikon America, said: “We’re able to address inkjet costs and speeds, but without any limitations to area coverage or image quality, which seems to be a void in the market today that can’t be addressed by any other digital technology.” Trillium technology prints at 1,200dpi using toner particles that are around 10 microns in size, compared with Xeikon’s existing 28 micron particles. It also differs from Xeikon’s current range because it uses an intermediate transfer cylinder. Xeikon director of document segment marketing Danny Mertens said one of the most important breakthroughs with the technology was ‘micro-gapping’ between the cylinders, which involves a gap of just five microns. “This is almost impact printing. With micro-gapping we are very close in those contact zones, the toner particles only have to jump a very small distance to develop the image,” Mertens explained. “The look and feel of the print is totally different, because the toner layer is a lot smoother and smaller.” He added: “If you compare us with other technologies we are probably the most accurate next to traditional print in transferring and developing an image, and that’s an important differentiator for the quality of the image but also the speed.” HP Indigo also uses liquid toner, but Mertens said the Xeikon method had major differences. “Our implementation is what we call high viscosity liquid toner. We do not evaporate or fuse out the carrier oil, we recycle it in the system. So don’t have to evacuate any vapours out of the printing press.” The print width of the Trillium press is 500mm and it can run at 60m/min, printing on substrates from 60-250gsm. Mertens said the duty cycle was a minimum of 5m A3 prints per month and described the machine’s footprint as “compact for the speed offered” at 11x5m. The beta site will be a producer of high-quality direct mail. Xeikon has also tested the de-inkability of the output, which Mertens said was at the same level as its current products. “It was almost a design specification from our side because we see it as very important.” Pricing was not disclosed, although Xeikon said it would be a “significant” investment After beta-testing, field tests will begin in Q1 2014 and run for six months, followed by full commercial launch. Meanwhile parent firm Punch International has confirmed that it is in advanced talks with an unamed party over the possible acquisition of Xeikon at a share price of €5.85. It is the company’s first announcement on the issue since it revealed in a statement in January that it was in early stage talks with a possible buyer....
read moreTall Security Print scoops 2013 supplier award
The annual awards recognise high quality service and performance among its various suppliers, which are evaluated on a quarterly basis on customer feedback, change management, service levels, account support and continuous improvement. Printing bespoke cheques and internal banking documents and booklets for Santander, Runcorn-based Tall Security Print was one of seven to receive the award for 2013. Santander director of logistics Julian Myers said: “Tall Security Print has performed particularly well during the past 12 months and demonstrated impressive levels of service delivery that has added value to our business.” Group sales and marketing director of the Tall Group, Peter Andrew, said: “The award recognises our ability to meet the precise requirements of customers within the financial services sector.”...
read moreLate payment inquiry presents recommendations
Convened and chaired by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams in April this year, the all-party panel of MPs heard from a range of business groups and bodies, representing different industries, that gave evidence on the impact of poor payment practice. The latest BACS data shows that at the end of 2012 SMEs were owed over £36.4bn in late payments and Abrahams said one of the major issues highlighted by the evidence given during the inquiry was one of leadership. She added: “Until top CEOs, and their executive board members, make a decision to act ethically in business, and treat our small and medium sized businesses fairly, this problem will persist. “The public has grown tired of hearing about huge, greed driven, pay packets, pay-offs for failure and tax evasion; but allowing a culture of late payment to persist unchallenged is another board-level decision that directly effects ordinary, hardworking, people across the country.” Among the recommendations to government published in Abrahams’ report, is the introduction of a Retentions Monies Bill where contractually agreed monies would be retained in an independent trust until all obligations were met, at which time the payment will be made. Other recommendations include that large businesses managing supply chains should publish performance data on their payment history, SMEs should be given free, high quality financial management advice on avoiding late payments and that the Institute of Credit Management should amend the Prompt Payment Code to reflect the issues highlighted by the inquiry. Abrahams said: “I am also grateful to my colleagues from across the political spectrum for their participation on the Inquiry panel and demonstrating that, although we may have different political views, we can work together to find a solution to this persistent problem.” Mike Cherry, national policy chairman, of the Federation of Small Businesses, which helped inform the inquiry said: “We have said for some time that the Government and local authorities should include terms in contracts for prompt payment to be passed down the supply chain. “This report provides a good starting point to open up the discussion on what can be done to make sure small firms are paid promptly for the work they have done.” Forum of Private Business chief executive, Phil Orford, added: “The government needs to give serious consideration to refusing any public sector contract to big businesses who don’t pay suppliers in an acceptable time frame. Or indeed only work with those companies who’ve signed the Prompt Payment Code. “With more than £300bn of capital spending announced in the recent spending review, this would have maximum effect at no cost to the government, but really help in the battle against poor payment practices so widespread in the UK economy these days,” he...
read moreTall Security Print scoops 2013 supplier award
The annual awards recognise high quality service and performance among its various suppliers, which are evaluated on a quarterly basis on customer feedback, change management, service levels, account support and continuous improvement. Printing bespoke cheques and internal banking documents and booklets for Santander, Runcorn-based Tall Security Print was one of seven to receive the award for 2013. Santander director of logistics Julian Myers said: “Tall Security Print has performed particularly well during the past 12 months and demonstrated impressive levels of service delivery that has added value to our business.” Group sales and marketing director of the Tall Group, Peter Andrew, said: “The award recognises our ability to meet the precise requirements of customers within the financial services sector.”...
read moreLate payment inquiry presents recommendations
Convened and chaired by Labour MP Debbie Abrahams in April this year, the all-party panel of MPs heard from a range of business groups and bodies, representing different industries, that gave evidence on the impact of poor payment practice. The latest BACS data shows that at the end of 2012 SMEs were owed over £36.4bn in late payments and Abrahams said one of the major issues highlighted by the evidence given during the inquiry was one of leadership. She added: “Until top CEOs, and their executive board members, make a decision to act ethically in business, and treat our small and medium sized businesses fairly, this problem will persist. “The public has grown tired of hearing about huge, greed driven, pay packets, pay-offs for failure and tax evasion; but allowing a culture of late payment to persist unchallenged is another board-level decision that directly effects ordinary, hardworking, people across the country.” Among the recommendations to government published in Abrahams’ report, is the introduction of a Retentions Monies Bill where contractually agreed monies would be retained in an independent trust until all obligations were met, at which time the payment will be made. Other recommendations include that large businesses managing supply chains should publish performance data on their payment history, SMEs should be given free, high quality financial management advice on avoiding late payments and that the Institute of Credit Management should amend the Prompt Payment Code to reflect the issues highlighted by the inquiry. Abrahams said: “I am also grateful to my colleagues from across the political spectrum for their participation on the Inquiry panel and demonstrating that, although we may have different political views, we can work together to find a solution to this persistent problem.” Mike Cherry, national policy chairman, of the Federation of Small Businesses, which helped inform the inquiry said: “We have said for some time that the Government and local authorities should include terms in contracts for prompt payment to be passed down the supply chain. “This report provides a good starting point to open up the discussion on what can be done to make sure small firms are paid promptly for the work they have done.” Forum of Private Business chief executive, Phil Orford, added: “The government needs to give serious consideration to refusing any public sector contract to big businesses who don’t pay suppliers in an acceptable time frame. Or indeed only work with those companies who’ve signed the Prompt Payment Code. “With more than £300bn of capital spending announced in the recent spending review, this would have maximum effect at no cost to the government, but really help in the battle against poor payment practices so widespread in the UK economy these days,” he...
read moreInc Direct revamps print offering
The company signed off the largest chunk of its reequip, a new Xerox iGen 150, two weeks ago. The new press, which is now running live jobs, is operating alongside the company’s brace of iGen4s. “The 150 is a great bit of kit. We did look at other machines, but with load balancing it made sense to complement the iGen4s,” said Inc Direct chief executive Noel Warner. The iGen 150 features Xerox’s Matte Dry Ink (MDI) and the larger 660mm sheet size. Both iGen4s have also been upgraded to run MDI, and one of the machines has also been reconfigured to run the same larger sheet size of the 150. According to Warner, the company was keen to add the larger sheet size to its second iGen4, but there was no room. The iGen 150 replaced the firm’s iGen3. “The iGen3, which we had worked to death, had come to the end of its useful life. So, it was a case of either investing or sticking with two iGen4s. But the volume that’s being driven though the business, predominantly though our ‘web2media’ platform, meant that even two iGen4s running 24-7 wouldn’t be able to keep up,” said Warner. Warner added that as well as the extra capacity, the larger sheet size of the 150 represented a massive bonus, as it meant that they could get 50% more A5 jobs, which represent a fair portion of their work mix, on each sheet. “It also means that we can go to market with a 6pp A4, whereas before the maximum was 4pp,” he said. “MDI is another great asset. We work with a lot of big brands, like Bentley and Estee Lauder, and with the older iGen toner technology we used to get that slight sheen, with MDI you get a flatter colour that emulates litho. I think now we can also go head-to-head with Indigo output.” This latest spend completes a three-year investment plan at the Enfield-based business, which was PrintWeek’s 2012 Cross-media Company of the Year. As well as upgrading its colour portfolio, the strategy also included the continued development of web2media, the acquisition of a majority shareholding in London-based creative agency Wand and various upgrades to its mono fleet of Xerox engines. According to Warner, summer DM volumes are holding up well. “Our approach seems to work; we talk to clients about strategic solutions, how we can help grow their business and engage better with their customers. We don’t offer commodity DM, we focus on adding value though CRM solutions that span all media, whether that be through DM, online social media, etc. That really seems to be working,” he said. “It sometimes means we take clients out of their traditional DM comfort zone moving them over to one-to-one marketing, but that strategy is pulling like a train.”...
read moreInc Direct revamps print offering
The company signed off the largest chunk of its reequip, a new Xerox iGen 150, two weeks ago. The new press, which is now running live jobs, is operating alongside the company’s brace of iGen4s. “The 150 is a great bit of kit. We did look at other machines, but with load balancing it made sense to complement the iGen4s,” said Inc Direct chief executive Noel Warner. The iGen 150 features Xerox’s Matte Dry Ink (MDI) and the larger 660mm sheet size. Both iGen4s have also been upgraded to run MDI, and one of the machines has also been reconfigured to run the same larger sheet size of the 150. According to Warner, the company was keen to add the larger sheet size to its second iGen4, but there was no room. The iGen 150 replaced the firm’s iGen3. “The iGen3, which we had worked to death, had come to the end of its useful life. So, it was a case of either investing or sticking with two iGen4s. But the volume that’s being driven though the business, predominantly though our ‘web2media’ platform, meant that even two iGen4s running 24-7 wouldn’t be able to keep up,” said Warner. Warner added that as well as the extra capacity, the larger sheet size of the 150 represented a massive bonus, as it meant that they could get 50% more A5 jobs, which represent a fair portion of their work mix, on each sheet. “It also means that we can go to market with a 6pp A4, whereas before the maximum was 4pp,” he said. “MDI is another great asset. We work with a lot of big brands, like Bentley and Estee Lauder, and with the older iGen toner technology we used to get that slight sheen, with MDI you get a flatter colour that emulates litho. I think now we can also go head-to-head with Indigo output.” This latest spend completes a three-year investment plan at the Enfield-based business, which was PrintWeek’s 2012 Cross-media Company of the Year. As well as upgrading its colour portfolio, the strategy also included the continued development of web2media, the acquisition of a majority shareholding in London-based creative agency Wand and various upgrades to its mono fleet of Xerox engines. According to Warner, summer DM volumes are holding up well. “Our approach seems to work; we talk to clients about strategic solutions, how we can help grow their business and engage better with their customers. We don’t offer commodity DM, we focus on adding value though CRM solutions that span all media, whether that be through DM, online social media, etc. That really seems to be working,” he said. “It sometimes means we take clients out of their traditional DM comfort zone moving them over to one-to-one marketing, but that strategy is pulling like a train.”...
read moreAgfa Graphics set to close European plate factory
The plant in Lombardy produces analogue offset plates and negative computer-to-conventional plates, demand for which is in decline, said the company. No firm date for closure has been set but all staff are likely to lose their jobs. “The market for the products is in irreversible decline,” said corporate press relations manager Johan Jacobs. “Analogue plates are not asked for much now; that technology is almost completely replaced by digital printing plates.” He did not reveal volumes of plates produced or the turnover of the factory, but among the products made at the site are Aluva plates. However, the company stressed that production was not being stopped, it was being relocated elsewhere in Italy or maybe Germany. “Nobody should be concerned because no types of plate are being phased out, this is just a reshuffling of our production facilities. We are in constant optimisation of manufacturing sites,” said Jacobs. Agfa Graphics, which moved into the building in 2004, is in talks with employees and trade unions and is drawing up a redundancy plan. President Stefaan Vanhooren said: “This decision is part of our strategy to improve operational efficiency, margins and competitive position in the highly competitive pre-press market.” The company said it was developing a footing in new segments of industrial inkjets for posters, banners, signage, displays, labels and packaging...
read moreAgfa Graphics set to close European plate factory
The plant in Lombardy produces analogue offset plates and negative computer-to-conventional plates, demand for which is in decline, said the company. No firm date for closure has been set but all staff are likely to lose their jobs. “The market for the products is in irreversible decline,” said corporate press relations manager Johan Jacobs. “Analogue plates are not asked for much now; that technology is almost completely replaced by digital printing plates.” He did not reveal volumes of plates produced or the turnover of the factory, but among the products made at the site are Aluva plates. However, the company stressed that production was not being stopped, it was being relocated elsewhere in Italy or maybe Germany. “Nobody should be concerned because no types of plate are being phased out, this is just a reshuffling of our production facilities. We are in constant optimisation of manufacturing sites,” said Jacobs. Agfa Graphics, which moved into the building in 2004, is in talks with employees and trade unions and is drawing up a redundancy plan. President Stefaan Vanhooren said: “This decision is part of our strategy to improve operational efficiency, margins and competitive position in the highly competitive pre-press market.” The company said it was developing a footing in new segments of industrial inkjets for posters, banners, signage, displays, labels and packaging...
read moreWyndeham extends Spectator deal, adds mailing
It prolongs a long-standing relationship with the weekly politics and current affairs title, which has an ABC of 63,343. Andrew Neil, chairman at Spectator publisher Press Holdings Media Group, praised Wyndeham for its “great service” and ability to evolve to changing print media requirements. The stitched title is printed on Norske Skog Norcote Super paper, and has a tight production schedule. “The schedule is very demanding. We receive files at 1pm and the first collection is at 6pm,” said Heron managing director David Emeny. The Spectator has a mix of subscriber and newsstand sales, and is one of the titles set to benefit from Wyndeham’s £300,000 investment in two mailing lines. The spend encompasses a new Sitma line that has selective inserting and the ability to inkjet in three positions, along with a refurbished Buhrs system to provide additional capacity and backup. “It’s the sort of added-value service that it makes sense to invest in,” Emeny added. “The Sitma is all-singing, all-dancing and we’ve brought all our outwork back in-house.” Heron’s mailing was previously carried out by Finco in Witham. Heron has Tupe’d over a number of staff from the company to run the new lines. The Sitma is already up and running, and the Buhrs is just about to go into production. The company took out two surplus stitching lines to make room for the new kit....
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