Alpine Press bought out of administration by founder
Jason Baker and Philip Armstrong of FRP Advisory were appointed joint administrators on 25 June. The company was then marketed as a going concern, during which time a number of potential buyers expressed an interest, with several making offers. However, the offer by the firm’s founder Maurice Grainger was chosen as the strongest bid, resulting in him buying the company back on 4 July. “This has been a transformational restructuring for Alpine Press. The administration process has ensured that the business has emerged in a more robust position to continue servicing its customers’ needs under the ownership of a New Company overseen by the same, experienced management team,” said Baker. Grainger founded the company in the mid 1960s, growing it to a £5m business that employed 49 staff. The administrators laid off 14 staff, primarily across production and admin, shortly after their appointment. “When I founded this company, 47 years ago I didn’t think I would be in this situation today, but the margin has just got tighter and tighter,” said Grainger. The Kings Langsley-based commercial litho and digital printer recorded sales of £4.9m and pre-tax losses of £235,000 in 2011, although according to Grainger it had clawed back to break even in 2012. “I don’t think that many in the industry could deny that there has been a definite downturn since last November. But we have also been unfortunate in that in the past 18 months, we have picked up over £200,000 of bad debt,” said Grainger. The company was hit by one customer alone to the tune of £90,000. “We’ve had to take them [the bad debts] and pay for all the paper and all the sundries on them and to try and make that kind of money up has become more and more difficult,” said Grainger. “I’m sure that some people will look down their nose, thinking I’ve pre-packed or something. I haven’t. I don’t feel good about this at all, but at least I’ve saved 37 jobs. It’s been awful and I’m not in this position out of choice, but I’m hoping to keep these people employed.” Grainger plans to consolidate the business from its current two buildings into a single unit to reduce overheads. While he conceded that the market hasn’t got any easier, he said that he believed that by taking out some of the non-profitable work and realigning its cost base, then the underlying business is solid.He added that customers had generally been very supportive. “I haven’t not paid them [suppliers], and over my career I’ve spent nearly £30m in paper alone,” said Grainger, although he didn’t want to go into detail on the level of debt at the ‘old’ company. “It wasn’t too bad, well I say that, if you owe anybody then that’s very bad. I know that better than most.”...
read moreIpex unveils packed 2014 visitor feature programme
As well as being co-located with Cross Media 2014, which will run from Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 March and feature its own seminar programme, Ipex will play host to The World Print Summit, which will feature a 250-seat auditorium on the show floor. “The whole idea is that over five and half days we’ll host a superb conference, with speakers including leading figures from print, business and the creative and marketing communities. These will be iconic figures, real thought-leaders,” said Ipex 2014 event director Trevor Crawford. Ipex is targeting around 25 inspirational speakers for the Summit. Eight months out from the show, 10 have already signed up including: Polestar chief executive Barry Hibbert, St Ives chief executive Patrick Martell, Benny Landa, Rochester Institute of Technology professor emeritus Frank Romano, futurologist Richard Watson, Clive Humby, one half of the company that created the Tesco Clubcard, and Rory Sutherland executive creative director OgilvyOne London and vice-chairman Ogilvy & Mather UK. “I think print is being revitalised and is being shown to be the real heartbeat of a marketing campaign and it’s important to hear how people like Rory see print’s role. Clive will be able to talk about everything that sat behind the Clubcard, the data and print’s role in creating one of the world’s most iconic customer engagement programmes,” said Crawford. “These are the kind of people that you could pay a lot of money to hear talk, and we’re providing all this for free. I think it’s going to be inspiring,” he added. To build on the theme of inspiration, another new feature will be the Inspirational Avenue in the boulevard area between the North and South halls of Excel. Organised by former Kodak UK marketing manager Pat Holloway, it will highlight “clever applications” of print, ranging from 3D printing through to the latest developments in inkjet. “The idea is to champion print’s role across the whole marketing mix,” said Crawford. Also new for 2014 will be the Ipex Masterclass seminar programme, organised by former Infotrends senior consultant Barney Cox, which will look at wide-format, digital print, sustainability and packaging. “Barney will develop a seminar programme to look at the trends impacting the industry today, but also tomorrow,” said Crawford. Ipex will also launch the Make Ready Challenge for 2014, where teams of printers will compete against the clock to makeready a “mature” five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM74. Heats will be run thoughout the show, with a winner revealed before the final day. “This will be the fun part of the show and we’ve already received interest from a lot of potential entrants,” said Crawford. The final new feature, and possibly the most ambitious, will be the Future Innovations programme. It will run on “substantial islands” on the show floor, featuring printed electronics, photo and ‘emotional’ products, digital packaging and digital printing. Each island will feature kit running live producing innovative examples of each of the four product types. Ipex 2014 runs from 24-29 March 2014, for more information, click here. For more on Ipex 2014, read PrintWeek’s in depth interview with Crawford, where he talks frankly about his aspirations for the show, the challenges it has faced and why those challenges will help sculpt it into a ‘must-see’ event for visitors. To read the interview online, click here....
read moreIpex unveils packed 2014 visitor feature programme
As well as being co-located with Cross Media 2014, which will run from Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 March and feature its own seminar programme, Ipex will play host to The World Print Summit, which will feature a 250-seat auditorium on the show floor. “The whole idea is that over five and half days we’ll host a superb conference, with speakers including leading figures from print, business and the creative and marketing communities. These will be iconic figures, real thought-leaders,” said Ipex 2014 event director Trevor Crawford. Ipex is targeting around 25 inspirational speakers for the Summit. Eight months out from the show, 10 have already signed up including: Polestar chief executive Barry Hibbert, St Ives chief executive Patrick Martell, Benny Landa, Rochester Institute of Technology professor emeritus Frank Romano, futurologist Richard Watson, Clive Humby, one half of the company that created the Tesco Clubcard, and Rory Sutherland executive creative director OgilvyOne London and vice-chairman Ogilvy & Mather UK. “I think print is being revitalised and is being shown to be the real heartbeat of a marketing campaign and it’s important to hear how people like Rory see print’s role. Clive will be able to talk about everything that sat behind the Clubcard, the data and print’s role in creating one of the world’s most iconic customer engagement programmes,” said Crawford. “These are the kind of people that you could pay a lot of money to hear talk, and we’re providing all this for free. I think it’s going to be inspiring,” he added. To build on the theme of inspiration, another new feature will be the Inspirational Avenue in the boulevard area between the North and South halls of Excel. Organised by former Kodak UK marketing manager Pat Holloway, it will highlight “clever applications” of print, ranging from 3D printing through to the latest developments in inkjet. “The idea is to champion print’s role across the whole marketing mix,” said Crawford. Also new for 2014 will be the Ipex Masterclass seminar programme, organised by former Infotrends senior consultant Barney Cox, which will look at wide-format, digital print, sustainability and packaging. “Barney will develop a seminar programme to look at the trends impacting the industry today, but also tomorrow,” said Crawford. Ipex will also launch the Make Ready Challenge for 2014, where teams of printers will compete against the clock to makeready a “mature” five-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SM74. Heats will be run thoughout the show, with a winner revealed before the final day. “This will be the fun part of the show and we’ve already received interest from a lot of potential entrants,” said Crawford. The final new feature, and possibly the most ambitious, will be the Future Innovations programme. It will run on “substantial islands” on the show floor, featuring printed electronics, photo and ‘emotional’ products, digital packaging and digital printing. Each island will feature kit running live producing innovative examples of each of the four product types. Ipex 2014 runs from 24-29 March 2014, for more information, click here. For more on Ipex 2014, read PrintWeek’s in depth interview with Crawford, where he talks frankly about his aspirations for the show, the challenges it has faced and why those challenges will help sculpt it into a ‘must-see’ event for visitors. To read the interview online, click here....
read moreSelsey Press rounds off big kit spend with DigiFold
The company in Chichester, West Sussex said the deal was the most recent purchase after 18 months of investments in pre-press, press and post-press equipment. The DigiFold cost just under £23,000 and was bought for its set-up speed and folding quality. Director David Lamdin said: “The combination of creasing and folding thicker stock in one unit is a tremendous time saver for us. The creasing element is an essential step when folding heavier weight stocks, and the kit runs out 6,000 A4 sheets an hour.” He said the kit, which replaced a Morgana AutoCreaser, took one minute to set up on standard sized work, whereas “heavier-duty” folders could take up to 15 minutes. The DigiFold “wins every time” on the shorter-run work typical of digital print orders. “Standard buckle folders are not suited for these materials. We used to run the AutoCreaser and hand fold sheets – not time efficient. The DigiFold handles this work in one pass and processes most short-run folding work more effectively than larger kit,” said Lamdin. Selsey Press usesthe kit on 50gsm covers up to 400gsm card for folders, he said. The 24-staff company produces business stationery, colour brochures and magazines for clients including local firms, charities and big financial houses. Litho and digital printer Selsey Press handles design, pre-press and printing, finishing and binding, packing and mailing. It runs Xerox digital equipment alongside Komori five- and Heidelberg six-colour B2 litho kit. The business recently bought a five-colour Komori Lithrone 529, a B1 Stahlfolder and a Polar Transomat downloader for paper handling as part of the investment drive. It also runs a six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 perfector. “The new Komori press is capable of keeping up with digital in terms of getting jobs ready for print quickly. Make-ready on the latest model is down to just four-and-a-half minutes, which is tremendously competitive,” said Lamdin. Selsey Press was launched in 1963 by his grandfather the late John Tyler who also ran Waltham Abbey Press in London after World War II. Lamdin said: “I’m proud to say that my family has run Selsey Press since it was formed. Much has changed since then but the expertise gained over the years provides a solid foundation to build on the skills used in the way the company still works today.”...
read moreSelsey Press rounds off big kit spend with DigiFold
The company in Chichester, West Sussex said the deal was the most recent purchase after 18 months of investments in pre-press, press and post-press equipment. The DigiFold cost just under £23,000 and was bought for its set-up speed and folding quality. Director David Lamdin said: “The combination of creasing and folding thicker stock in one unit is a tremendous time saver for us. The creasing element is an essential step when folding heavier weight stocks, and the kit runs out 6,000 A4 sheets an hour.” He said the kit, which replaced a Morgana AutoCreaser, took one minute to set up on standard sized work, whereas “heavier-duty” folders could take up to 15 minutes. The DigiFold “wins every time” on the shorter-run work typical of digital print orders. “Standard buckle folders are not suited for these materials. We used to run the AutoCreaser and hand fold sheets – not time efficient. The DigiFold handles this work in one pass and processes most short-run folding work more effectively than larger kit,” said Lamdin. Selsey Press usesthe kit on 50gsm covers up to 400gsm card for folders, he said. The 24-staff company produces business stationery, colour brochures and magazines for clients including local firms, charities and big financial houses. Litho and digital printer Selsey Press handles design, pre-press and printing, finishing and binding, packing and mailing. It runs Xerox digital equipment alongside Komori five- and Heidelberg six-colour B2 litho kit. The business recently bought a five-colour Komori Lithrone 529, a B1 Stahlfolder and a Polar Transomat downloader for paper handling as part of the investment drive. It also runs a six-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster 74 perfector. “The new Komori press is capable of keeping up with digital in terms of getting jobs ready for print quickly. Make-ready on the latest model is down to just four-and-a-half minutes, which is tremendously competitive,” said Lamdin. Selsey Press was launched in 1963 by his grandfather the late John Tyler who also ran Waltham Abbey Press in London after World War II. Lamdin said: “I’m proud to say that my family has run Selsey Press since it was formed. Much has changed since then but the expertise gained over the years provides a solid foundation to build on the skills used in the way the company still works today.”...
read moreArjo launches clean water campaign
Mailers, e-mails and a new Facebook group will focus on the villagers of Dafra in the small west African country of Burkina Faso. The project is being run with development organisation SOS Children’s Villages, France. The mailers and paper hangers feature designs that direct people to facebook.com/cycluspaper, with the tagline: ‘Attitude alone is nothing. Sharing it is everything’. Visitors to the Facebook page who say how attitudes can support the environment will prompt a donation from ArjoWiggins Graphic, which will go towards providing clean water. The company did not disclose how much it would donate to the initiative. Almost 51,000 mailers are being printed in France, which is where ArjoWiggings is headquartered, and mailed out by Arjo’s sister merchanting arm Antalis, which is supporting the campaign. Recipients include corporate customers and creative printers. D&A Design & Print in Derbyshire produced 3,150 hangers. Cyclus uncoated and coated paper is made from 100% recycled fibres and, according to the company, its production has a lower impact than virgin fibre paper – 37% less energy and 53% less water, said the company. Arjowiggins Graphic operational marketing manager Angela De Vorchik said: “Attitudes can really make a difference in the world – 783m people are still without access to drinking water. “But by sharing your attitude we can begin to make a difference. Uploading ‘attitudes’ will trigger our donation to SOS Children’s Villages, France. “There is not a specific objective with sales of the paper but we want to raise awareness and remind people that using these kind of papers saves water and energy and has other environmental benefits.” Cyclus distributor Antalis is supporting the campaign and at the end of every month, from July to October, SOS Children’s Villages will choose the five most creative attitudes on Facebook, Winning entries will be awarded 500kg of Cyclus 100% recycled paper for their next pro bono charity project or to donate to their chosen charity. Antalis marketing communications manager Marian Thomasson said: “The campaign aims to showcase the need for people to use paper that demonstrates the right attitude to the...
read moreArjo launches clean water campaign
Mailers, e-mails and a new Facebook group will focus on the villagers of Dafra in the small west African country of Burkina Faso. The project is being run with development organisation SOS Children’s Villages, France. The mailers and paper hangers feature designs that direct people to facebook.com/cycluspaper, with the tagline: ‘Attitude alone is nothing. Sharing it is everything’. Visitors to the Facebook page who say how attitudes can support the environment will prompt a donation from ArjoWiggins Graphic, which will go towards providing clean water. The company did not disclose how much it would donate to the initiative. Almost 51,000 mailers are being printed in France, which is where ArjoWiggings is headquartered, and mailed out by Arjo’s sister merchanting arm Antalis, which is supporting the campaign. Recipients include corporate customers and creative printers. D&A Design & Print in Derbyshire produced 3,150 hangers. Cyclus uncoated and coated paper is made from 100% recycled fibres and, according to the company, its production has a lower impact than virgin fibre paper – 37% less energy and 53% less water, said the company. Arjowiggins Graphic operational marketing manager Angela De Vorchik said: “Attitudes can really make a difference in the world – 783m people are still without access to drinking water. “But by sharing your attitude we can begin to make a difference. Uploading ‘attitudes’ will trigger our donation to SOS Children’s Villages, France. “There is not a specific objective with sales of the paper but we want to raise awareness and remind people that using these kind of papers saves water and energy and has other environmental benefits.” Cyclus distributor Antalis is supporting the campaign and at the end of every month, from July to October, SOS Children’s Villages will choose the five most creative attitudes on Facebook, Winning entries will be awarded 500kg of Cyclus 100% recycled paper for their next pro bono charity project or to donate to their chosen charity. Antalis marketing communications manager Marian Thomasson said: “The campaign aims to showcase the need for people to use paper that demonstrates the right attitude to the...
read moreFour new colours added to Foamalux foam PVC range
Limited edition Neon Pink, Neon Green, Rasberry and Black Sparkle colours have been added, bringing the number of Foamulux colours available to 15. “The range offers designers unlimited application possibilities in the creation of interiors, shop outfitting, signage and fabrication,” said Hayley Lowry, marketing manager at Brett Martin. She added that the new colours were the direct result of market research conducted among the companies distributors and end users. “We showcased our whole range on our stand at Fespa last week, and the positive response we had from visitors is testimony to this. The new colours offer further brightness and fun without compromising the established quality and performance of our Foamalux PVC sheets,” said Lowry. The limited edition colours are available in a 3mm thickness, while others in the Foamalux Colour range are available in thicknesses of 3mm or 5mm. All come in a range of sheet sizes and are coloured throughout so that the coloured edge is maintained after cutting, engraving or routing. All are suitable for screen printing, direct to substrate digital printing, and surface adhesion for vinyl and graphic applications. Other colours available include Strawberry Red, Red, Orange, Sunburst Yellow, Yellow, Ivory, Green, Blue, Light Blue, Grey and Black. Also in the Foamalux family is the Foamalux White UV stable foam PVC, available in a range of 1-19mm thicknesses with a bright white finish, and the Foamalux Xtra made of up to 80% recycled material and available in 3, 5, 10, 13 and 19mm thicknesses....
read moreFour new colours added to Foamalux foam PVC range
Limited edition Neon Pink, Neon Green, Rasberry and Black Sparkle colours have been added, bringing the number of Foamulux colours available to 15. “The range offers designers unlimited application possibilities in the creation of interiors, shop outfitting, signage and fabrication,” said Hayley Lowry, marketing manager at Brett Martin. She added that the new colours were the direct result of market research conducted among the companies distributors and end users. “We showcased our whole range on our stand at Fespa last week, and the positive response we had from visitors is testimony to this. The new colours offer further brightness and fun without compromising the established quality and performance of our Foamalux PVC sheets,” said Lowry. The limited edition colours are available in a 3mm thickness, while others in the Foamalux Colour range are available in thicknesses of 3mm or 5mm. All come in a range of sheet sizes and are coloured throughout so that the coloured edge is maintained after cutting, engraving or routing. All are suitable for screen printing, direct to substrate digital printing, and surface adhesion for vinyl and graphic applications. Other colours available include Strawberry Red, Red, Orange, Sunburst Yellow, Yellow, Ivory, Green, Blue, Light Blue, Grey and Black. Also in the Foamalux family is the Foamalux White UV stable foam PVC, available in a range of 1-19mm thicknesses with a bright white finish, and the Foamalux Xtra made of up to 80% recycled material and available in 3, 5, 10, 13 and 19mm thicknesses....
read moreESP reverts to B1 and targets two-minute makereadies
“We went down the B1 to the XL 75 route four years ago because it made sense then, but with all of the developments we’ve been making with the Heidelberg guys in Germany, we’re going to get the makereadies down to three minutes on the 106,” said ESP managing director Anthony Thirlby. However, he added that the company, which already holds the ‘makeready world record‘ of 498 makereadies and 2.1m impressions in one 168-hour week on its XL 105, was targeting two-minute makereadies in the next 12-18 months. The new Speedmaster XL 106 five-colour-plus-coater with extended delivery will be installed at ESPs Colour Hub in Swindon in October. It will be configured with Inpress Control and Autoplate XL and join a similarly configured four-colour-plus-coat XL 105 installed last year. According to Thirlby, the XL 106 offers a 20% capacity boost on the two three- and four-year-old five-colour XL 75s it replaces. “We’ve got a fully automated front-end, so the great thing about this new press is that we can increase sales with no additional headcount by just using workflow and automated processes to facilitate it,” said Thirlby. The company has developed its own web-to-print system, Adapt, which is fully integrated into its Tharstern MIS and Kodak’s Prinergy workflow. Thirlby hinted that next year he may look at developing Adapt into a fully blown product that could be offered to the market. In the meantime, ESP is embarking on a six-month project with Heidelberg’s R&D department to drive even tighter workflow integration across its factory. “Every second is crucial to us on press and in post-press and we do have several ideas that we think will offer huge benefits, because if I can drive up process and drive out sales costs, then we’ll have an even greater competitive advantage,” said Thirlby. Once the XL 106 goes in, by maintaining the 12-strong headcount on ESP’s press teams and redeploying them over two presses rather than three, ESP will be able to increase operating hours from 112 per week to 144. This will enable the company to increase its potential capacity to £17m a year with two straight presses. According to Thirlby, the company’s work mix, which is primarily focussed on short runs, just doesn’t suit long perfectors, although he admitted that the XL 145 and 162-format Speedmasters were his “absolute dream”. However, he said the costs of reconfiguring pre- and post-press, not to mention the capital investment of the presses themselves – ruled out a switch to even larger formats for ESP in the near future. “I think it must be tempting for somebody in the UK, someone who is perhaps running seven or eight big B1s though,” added Thirlby. According to Thirlby, at a basic level the industry is increasingly being divided into the haves and have-nots, with companies that invest in new technology rising to the fore. “The traditional print mindset and businesses are dying, and dying at quite an accelerated rate, so if you don’t position yourself to embrace new technology, you’re in trouble,” he said....
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