St Ives trims board
Lloyd Wigglesworth, the group’s managing director of printing and publishing, will step down from the board at the end of this month and will leave the company in October. He initially joined the group as a non-executive director in 2008 and became a board member in 2009. He will not be directly replaced. “It reflects the restructuring that’s been done at the group. We have fewer factories and businesses under that segment now, and Lloyd has been an important part of that transition,” explained chief executive Patrick Martell, who thanked Wigglesworth for his contribution to the business. The executive management at St Ives’ various businesses will now report directly to either Martell or finance director Matt Armitage. “We are creating more of a matrix structure rather than old-fashioned reporting lines. It’s about the future,” Martell added. The move will also save the PLC a six-figure sum. Wigglesworth had a basic salary of £248,000 and a total package including bonus and shares of £511,000 last year. Separately, St Ives has already announced that it intends to appoint an additional non-executive director....
read moreNew work experience health and safety guidance welcomed
The BPIF responded after the ministers moved to clarify complicated guidance on health and safety and vowed to end confusion to make it as easy as possible for employers to take on work experience students. MPs Mark Hoban, Vince Cable, Matthew Hancock, Oliver Letwin and Michael Fallon posted an open letter to employers on the Department for Education (DoE) website pledging their commitment to put an end to “this kind of health and safety bureaucracy”. As part of the measures the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has revised its guidance, while the Department of Health has issued guidance on how Ofsted will review health and safety. The Association of British Insurers has also spoken out to reassure employers that they don’t need special insurance policies to cover students on work experience. New steps include making it clear if workplace risk has been assessed for young people it does not need repeating for each student and insurers will treat students as employees for insurance purposes, while offering work experience will not affect premiums. Other changes include removing hundreds of thousands of low-risk businesses from unnecessary health and safety inspections and, from October, changing the law so “responsible employers” are no longer liable for an accident in the workplace, if it was “totally outside their control”. BPIF membership director Dale Wallis said employers tended to keep young workers away from print kit and forklift trucks and plonk them in the office to do admin “at a time when we need people in the print room to watch, learn and see how the exciting machinery works”. He said: “This announcement is great news; printers have said they are reluctant to take on work experience or work placement students because of risk assessments. So the relaxation is fine, but I hope it is not seen as the go ahead not to do anything. “That could leave employers open to action no matter how relaxed guidance or advice is. Current legislation is that employers must carry out suitable risk assessments. If you relax too much it could go to a civil action. This is not a total relaxation: the law is still in place.” Employment minister Mark Hoban said: “Too often in the past the crazy cornucopia of confusing rules discouraged employers from taking on young people. That’s why we have been working across government to make sure the rules are clear and easy to understand.” Skills minister Matthew Hancock said: “The new guidance radically reduces the burdens placed on schools and local businesses. ‘Sensible questions’ will replace the mountains of paperwork which has resulted in many businesses refusing to offer work experience. “It makes clear that it is not the responsibility of schools to check health and safety on work placements, and that companies need do no more than they would do for one of their own employees.”...
read moreNew work experience health and safety guidance welcomed
The BPIF responded after the ministers moved to clarify complicated guidance on health and safety and vowed to end confusion to make it as easy as possible for employers to take on work experience students. MPs Mark Hoban, Vince Cable, Matthew Hancock, Oliver Letwin and Michael Fallon posted an open letter to employers on the Department for Education (DoE) website pledging their commitment to put an end to “this kind of health and safety bureaucracy”. As part of the measures the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has revised its guidance, while the Department of Health has issued guidance on how Ofsted will review health and safety. The Association of British Insurers has also spoken out to reassure employers that they don’t need special insurance policies to cover students on work experience. New steps include making it clear if workplace risk has been assessed for young people it does not need repeating for each student and insurers will treat students as employees for insurance purposes, while offering work experience will not affect premiums. Other changes include removing hundreds of thousands of low-risk businesses from unnecessary health and safety inspections and, from October, changing the law so “responsible employers” are no longer liable for an accident in the workplace, if it was “totally outside their control”. BPIF membership director Dale Wallis said employers tended to keep young workers away from print kit and forklift trucks and plonk them in the office to do admin “at a time when we need people in the print room to watch, learn and see how the exciting machinery works”. He said: “This announcement is great news; printers have said they are reluctant to take on work experience or work placement students because of risk assessments. So the relaxation is fine, but I hope it is not seen as the go ahead not to do anything. “That could leave employers open to action no matter how relaxed guidance or advice is. Current legislation is that employers must carry out suitable risk assessments. If you relax too much it could go to a civil action. This is not a total relaxation: the law is still in place.” Employment minister Mark Hoban said: “Too often in the past the crazy cornucopia of confusing rules discouraged employers from taking on young people. That’s why we have been working across government to make sure the rules are clear and easy to understand.” Skills minister Matthew Hancock said: “The new guidance radically reduces the burdens placed on schools and local businesses. ‘Sensible questions’ will replace the mountains of paperwork which has resulted in many businesses refusing to offer work experience. “It makes clear that it is not the responsibility of schools to check health and safety on work placements, and that companies need do no more than they would do for one of their own employees.”...
read moreVortex 4200 makes official debut at Fespa
The roll-fed, wide-format device, which uses five high-speed Memjet inkjet heads, was first pre-viewed in the UK at an open house in April this year, and is being shown at Fespa with inline folder from Rigoli. The machine has a native resolution of 1,600dpi and prints in CMYKK at either 1,000sqm/hour or 500sqm/hour, with a print width of 42in (106cm). Ink is supplied in two-litre and 10-litre containers. It uses Caldera’s Grand RIP Plus with a TG Plot workflow management system and can produce a single print up to 150 metres long. The device, which costs around £60,000, is primarily targeted at the architect, engineering and construction markets, that work with CAD systems. According to RTI’s UK-based EMEA business developer Peter Barton, however, its five-channel colour capability and its ability to print CAD or full-colour graphics at the same speeds makes it appealing to businesses that want to branch into POS displays as well. “We’re having great interest in Scandinavia and Holland so far and since the preview we’ve sold in Turkey, Israel and the UK,” he added. Canada-headquartered RTI employs around 70 staff globally with five in the UK. The Vortex 4200 is a portfolio diversification for the company, which traditionally supplies parts and cosnumables for high speed digital print. Barton said: “With this range we wanted to do something innovative, we didn’t just want to produce a “me too” product. There is a huge amount of interest in it, so it’s paying off.”...
read moreVortex 4200 makes official debut at Fespa
The roll-fed, wide-format device, which uses five high-speed Memjet inkjet heads, was first pre-viewed in the UK at an open house in April this year, and is being shown at Fespa with inline folder from Rigoli. The machine has a native resolution of 1,600dpi and prints in CMYKK at either 1,000sqm/hour or 500sqm/hour, with a print width of 42in (106cm). Ink is supplied in two-litre and 10-litre containers. It uses Caldera’s Grand RIP Plus with a TG Plot workflow management system and can produce a single print up to 150 metres long. The device, which costs around £60,000, is primarily targeted at the architect, engineering and construction markets, that work with CAD systems. According to RTI’s UK-based EMEA business developer Peter Barton, however, its five-channel colour capability and its ability to print CAD or full-colour graphics at the same speeds makes it appealing to businesses that want to branch into POS displays as well. “We’re having great interest in Scandinavia and Holland so far and since the preview we’ve sold in Turkey, Israel and the UK,” he added. Canada-headquartered RTI employs around 70 staff globally with five in the UK. The Vortex 4200 is a portfolio diversification for the company, which traditionally supplies parts and cosnumables for high speed digital print. Barton said: “With this range we wanted to do something innovative, we didn’t just want to produce a “me too” product. There is a huge amount of interest in it, so it’s paying off.”...
read moreKodak edges closer to emergence
This week the company gained court approval for a number of steps that will be crucial to its successful emergence from Chapter 11. This included approval of the Disclosure Statement that will allow creditors to vote on its revised Plan of Reorganisation, and the court has also approved the Backstop Commitment Agreement and rights offering announced earlier this month. Voting on the measures can now commence. The committee representing Kodak’s unsecured creditors has recommended that these creditors should vote in favour of the plans. In court, Kodak’s lawyer gave a tentative date for the confirmation hearing of 20 August, with emergence possible by as soon as 3 September. Kodak’s secured creditors will be repaid when Kodak emerges from Chapter 11. Kodak has also agreed exit financing facilities of up to $895m (£584m) with JP Morgan Chase, Barclays Bank, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Chief executive Antonio Perez described the rights offering and new financing as “extremely important”, signalling “market and creditor confidence in post-emergence Kodak.” “We look forward to a renewed Kodak competing successfully again with market-leading technology and products in the commercial, packaging and functional printing markets it serves,” Perez said. The restructured business will have sales of $2.6bn next year, according to Kodak’s projections....
read moreKodak edges closer to emergence
This week the company gained court approval for a number of steps that will be crucial to its successful emergence from Chapter 11. This included approval of the Disclosure Statement that will allow creditors to vote on its revised Plan of Reorganisation, and the court has also approved the Backstop Commitment Agreement and rights offering announced earlier this month. Voting on the measures can now commence. The committee representing Kodak’s unsecured creditors has recommended that these creditors should vote in favour of the plans. In court, Kodak’s lawyer gave a tentative date for the confirmation hearing of 20 August, with emergence possible by as soon as 3 September. Kodak’s secured creditors will be repaid when Kodak emerges from Chapter 11. Kodak has also agreed exit financing facilities of up to $895m (£584m) with JP Morgan Chase, Barclays Bank, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Chief executive Antonio Perez described the rights offering and new financing as “extremely important”, signalling “market and creditor confidence in post-emergence Kodak.” “We look forward to a renewed Kodak competing successfully again with market-leading technology and products in the commercial, packaging and functional printing markets it serves,” Perez said. The restructured business will have sales of $2.6bn next year, according to Kodak’s projections....
read moreFespa to launch Africa show partnership
Fespa Africa is a joint venture with PP and will incorporate the latter’s established Sign Africa and Visual Communications Africa events. Fespa Africa will also be co-located with PP’s Africa Print show. The combined events will have a footprint of 13,500m2, with 150 exhibtors, and are targeting 6,000- plus visitors from Africa and Europe. Fespa managing director of events and exhibitions Neil Felton said: “Africa is a vital and exciting growth region, and in Practical Publishing, we have an experienced partner to help us establish Fespa there. “FESPA’s strategy is always to work with a partner who can blend FESPA’s brand recognition, organisational strengths and world-class content programmes with local knowledge to deliver something which addresses the unique challenges and opportunities facing that particular region’s printers.” Dyelan Copeland, Director at Practical Publishing added: “Sign Africa and Visual Communications Africa are successful, well-attended events but we know that, by partnering with FESPA, we can take them to another level. FESPA Africa will set out to deliver a new experience for African business audiences, at a time when they need global expertise and insight to help them embrace the opportunities of wide format.” The inaugural Fespa Africa event will take place from 2-4 July 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa....
read moreEFI lauds SmartSign and LED
“We really believe in data and analytics as a tool for driving business, so if we can give our customers the tools to help their customers, which we can now, then that’s great,” said chief executive Guy Gecht. SmartSign uses image capture in POS displays linked to facial recognition software that can identify consumer dwell times, gender and age to help brand owners and agencies measure the effectiveness of displays, according to Mark McGowan, EFI director of OPS products. “When it comes to detecting is someone is viewing a display its 98% accurate, gender is 85% accurate and age bracket it is 75% – this is an incredibly acurate tool,” added McGowan. SmartSign will be commercially available in August. The company is also using Fespa to highlight the benefits of its flagship 3.2m wide HS 100 Pro hybrid flatbed and also the milestone of 100 installations of Vuteks with LED curing. “We now have enough statistics to compare how users of LED machines perform like-for-like against mercury systems, and LED users are buying 50% more ink per machine on average, which proves that LED not only saves money, but it actually generates more business,” said Gecht. EFI is also using the show to highlight its UV thermo-forming inks, developed for the eight-colour plus white 2m-wide EFI Vutek GS2000 Pro-TF and 3.2m-wide GS3250 Pro-TF. According to EFI they’re ideal for custom-formed signs, packaging, POS, vending panels, vehicles and promotional items....
read moreMimaki unveils three new machines at Fespa
The JV400 SUV water-based solvent printer, first shown at Fespa 2012 as a prototype, combines the flexibility of solvent with the durability of UV-cured inks, and prints in four colors (CMYK) at speeds of up to 18sqm/hr in draft mode. Meanwhile the UJV500-160 UV printer features energy-saving LED curing with long-lasting LED bulbs, and new nickel-free inks, and has a top speed of 70sqm/hr when printing with white, and 100sqm/hr with just four colours. Also being debuted in Europe is Mimaki’s new CG-SRIII Series plotters, targeted at sign makers, especially those working with vinyl or garments. The three cutters in the series have cutting areas of 606mm,1,070mm, and 1,370mm and can cut curved edges at double the speed of predecessor, the CG SRII. Also launched this Fespa, are two new orange and green latex inks, and updates, including movable LED lamps for reverse printing, to the JFX500-2131 flatbed UV printer, which began shipping in January....
read more