Domino posts loss after egg project stalls
In March the Cambridge-headquartered business warned that commercialisation efforts at US-based TEN were not going to plan. Domino made a $50m (£32.4m) investment in the egg traceability business in 2011 as one of the co-founders, and has now written that down to just £3.2m. In its statement, Domino said: “While the group has successfully demonstrated that it can meet the operational requirements of the exclusive supply arrangement, there is no certainty that TEN Media will have sufficient capital to commercialise its system.” Shares in the coding and inkjet printing specialist fell 24p to 574p in early trading after the company announced the news. Underlying profits prior to the exceptional charge were £25m, 3% down on the prior year, but the write-down caused Domino to post a loss of £3.8m for the period. Sales in the six months to 30 April rose 7% to £161.9m, with Domino’s most recent acquisitions, Graph-Tech and Postjet, contributing 3% of the increase. Domino said its digital label printing business was progressing “strongly” and that it had achieved its full-year sales target for the inkjet device in the first six months of the year. The group overall achieved double-digit sales growth in the US with Asia also highlighted as a growth market for the group. European trading overall was described as “difficult” with the exception of Germany. Domino also moved to keep shareholders on-side, and increased its interim dividend by 5% to 7.6p....
read more‘Regardless of where I am, I’m all about innovation’
A 30-year veteran at HP, Nigro was at the helm of HP’s initial move into commercial print back in 2005 and subsequently went to work for its consumer inkjet division. Now, as senior vice-president for the inkjet and graphic solutions businesses at HP, the printing industry remit is part of his portfolio again and it’s a much bigger product offering. PrintWeek caught up with the man running the industry’s biggest digital supplier. Jo Francis Can you explain your new role? Stephen Nigro I now have responsibility for the graphic business and the core inkjet business inside HP. There are no other dramatic changes inside the graphics organisation. It’s just combining things at my level. I actually started the graphics business inside HP – I was responsible for the initial creation and scaling of that business, so I have a reasonable understanding of the market and the customers, having been involved with it at a formative stage. What were you doing in-between? I was running the inkjet business. VJ [Vyomesh Joshi, executive president of HP’s Imaging & Printing Group at the time] came to me and said we need to revitalise the inkjet business, and asked me to move over there and put my attention on that. That was a big mission: how do we get this inkjet business growing again? And we’ve done some really cool things, including launching a brand new technology this year that took multiple years to develop. Now, we feel good about where the inkjet business is headed, so the timing worked out for me to take on graphics as well. You have a big job on your hands; it seems to be everything to do with ink on paper. What are your priorities in this role? Do you need to do some revitalising in the commercial print side of things? My priority in any role is to innovate and grow. Regardless of where I am, I’m all about innovation. The great thing about graphics is it’s a growth market with the trend of pages going from analogue to digital, so that’s a great place to be. But the only way you’re going to get those pages to shift is to come up with a more compelling value proposition. That value proposition could be finding a cheaper way to run your print jobs, or the fact that you can do things with digital that you can’t do with analogue. So you have to innovate around that. The agenda we’ve had and will continue to have is to continue to lead this analogue to digital conversion. The one thing that people don’t always appreciate is that we can leverage the scale of our desktop business in graphics to give us a fundamental advantage. That shows up in things like our inkjet web press and in our latex ink. All the research for latex ink was done in our desktop lab. It was a technology we were researching for the desktop and we ended up bringing it to the wide-format sector. HP has such a diverse offering for the printing industry now, some of your customers think things could be a bit more joined-up at the customer-facing side of things. Do you think there’s room for improvement there? I think that’s always an area where we can...
read more‘Regardless of where I am, I’m all about innovation’
A 30-year veteran at HP, Nigro was at the helm of HP’s initial move into commercial print back in 2005 and subsequently went to work for its consumer inkjet division. Now, as senior vice-president for the inkjet and graphic solutions businesses at HP, the printing industry remit is part of his portfolio again and it’s a much bigger product offering. PrintWeek caught up with the man running the industry’s biggest digital supplier. Jo Francis Can you explain your new role? Stephen Nigro I now have responsibility for the graphic business and the core inkjet business inside HP. There are no other dramatic changes inside the graphics organisation. It’s just combining things at my level. I actually started the graphics business inside HP – I was responsible for the initial creation and scaling of that business, so I have a reasonable understanding of the market and the customers, having been involved with it at a formative stage. What were you doing in-between? I was running the inkjet business. VJ [Vyomesh Joshi, executive president of HP’s Imaging & Printing Group at the time] came to me and said we need to revitalise the inkjet business, and asked me to move over there and put my attention on that. That was a big mission: how do we get this inkjet business growing again? And we’ve done some really cool things, including launching a brand new technology this year that took multiple years to develop. Now, we feel good about where the inkjet business is headed, so the timing worked out for me to take on graphics as well. You have a big job on your hands; it seems to be everything to do with ink on paper. What are your priorities in this role? Do you need to do some revitalising in the commercial print side of things? My priority in any role is to innovate and grow. Regardless of where I am, I’m all about innovation. The great thing about graphics is it’s a growth market with the trend of pages going from analogue to digital, so that’s a great place to be. But the only way you’re going to get those pages to shift is to come up with a more compelling value proposition. That value proposition could be finding a cheaper way to run your print jobs, or the fact that you can do things with digital that you can’t do with analogue. So you have to innovate around that. The agenda we’ve had and will continue to have is to continue to lead this analogue to digital conversion. The one thing that people don’t always appreciate is that we can leverage the scale of our desktop business in graphics to give us a fundamental advantage. That shows up in things like our inkjet web press and in our latex ink. All the research for latex ink was done in our desktop lab. It was a technology we were researching for the desktop and we ended up bringing it to the wide-format sector. HP has such a diverse offering for the printing industry now, some of your customers think things could be a bit more joined-up at the customer-facing side of things. Do you think there’s room for improvement there? I think that’s always an area where we can...
read moreKPMF launches new vinyl wraps
The South Wales-based self-adhesive vinyl manufacturer has launched a velvet wrap, currently available in six colours, with a seventh to be released later this year. The patented material, which according to KPMF can withstand jet-washing, has been developed with two European partners. It has also unveiled the Starlight visual effects range, which includes sparkle and pearlescent effects. The range also includes a vinyl overlaminate in four colours that can be combined with standard colour vinyl. Both ranges are available as standard in 1.52m x 25m rolls, although bespoke orders can be catered for, and KPMF is also able to colour-match for specific requirements. Managing director of the Newport-based company Rob Musto said the new laminates were targeted at the automotive industry. “This is very much going to be a fashion related item and I think we’ll see people getting their cars temporarily fully or partially wrapped.” The business, which is part of KPMF USA, is also developing a 3D effect product for vehicle wrapping that gives an embossed effect to whatever surface it is applied to. Further details were not available but the range is due to be released in September....
read moreKPMF launches new vinyl wraps
The South Wales-based self-adhesive vinyl manufacturer has launched a velvet wrap, currently available in six colours, with a seventh to be released later this year. The patented material, which according to KPMF can withstand jet-washing, has been developed with two European partners. It has also unveiled the Starlight visual effects range, which includes sparkle and pearlescent effects. The range also includes a vinyl overlaminate in four colours that can be combined with standard colour vinyl. Both ranges are available as standard in 1.52m x 25m rolls, although bespoke orders can be catered for, and KPMF is also able to colour-match for specific requirements. Managing director of the Newport-based company Rob Musto said the new laminates were targeted at the automotive industry. “This is very much going to be a fashion related item and I think we’ll see people getting their cars temporarily fully or partially wrapped.” The business, which is part of KPMF USA, is also developing a 3D effect product for vehicle wrapping that gives an embossed effect to whatever surface it is applied to. Further details were not available but the range is due to be released in September....
read moreGMG unveils ProductionSuite 2.0
The colour management software specialist said ProductionSuite 2.0 was targeted at printers and firms producing vehicle wraps, banners, indoor and outdoor large format signage and point-of-sale materials. Highlights include an updated version of SmartProfiler, a calibration and profiling tool, to profile all combinations of printers, media and inks, and a new interior decoration option to support digitised creation and printing of textiles and wallpapers. The ProductionSuite modular system includes a pre-press file editor and RIP as well as the SmartProfiler and PrintStation. The new version supports more than 200 additional output devices bringing the total supported to more than 1,000. Prices start at €3,000 (£2,552). The updated SmartProfiler within ProductionSuite 2.0 has a new user interface and now operates on OS X and Windows platforms. It also creates optimised test chart layouts for wide format printers. According to GMG wide format director Markus Finkbeiner the latest version makes profile creation even easier through features like automatic rendering intent. He said: “While most profiling and colour management tools may require a number of trial-and-error steps to obtain a satisfactory separation, this takes responsibility for building the profile.” GMG is also releasing ProductionSuite-Focus Edition, an entry-level-price version meant for print firms that want to bundle a complete workflow, instead of solely a RIP, when buying a new digital printer....
read moreGMG unveils ProductionSuite 2.0
The colour management software specialist said ProductionSuite 2.0 was targeted at printers and firms producing vehicle wraps, banners, indoor and outdoor large format signage and point-of-sale materials. Highlights include an updated version of SmartProfiler, a calibration and profiling tool, to profile all combinations of printers, media and inks, and a new interior decoration option to support digitised creation and printing of textiles and wallpapers. The ProductionSuite modular system includes a pre-press file editor and RIP as well as the SmartProfiler and PrintStation. The new version supports more than 200 additional output devices bringing the total supported to more than 1,000. Prices start at €3,000 (£2,552). The updated SmartProfiler within ProductionSuite 2.0 has a new user interface and now operates on OS X and Windows platforms. It also creates optimised test chart layouts for wide format printers. According to GMG wide format director Markus Finkbeiner the latest version makes profile creation even easier through features like automatic rendering intent. He said: “While most profiling and colour management tools may require a number of trial-and-error steps to obtain a satisfactory separation, this takes responsibility for building the profile.” GMG is also releasing ProductionSuite-Focus Edition, an entry-level-price version meant for print firms that want to bundle a complete workflow, instead of solely a RIP, when buying a new digital printer....
read moreGMG unveils ProductionSuite 2.0
The colour management software specialist said ProductionSuite 2.0 was targeted at printers and firms producing vehicle wraps, banners, indoor and outdoor large format signage and point-of-sale materials. Highlights include an updated version of SmartProfiler, a calibration and profiling tool, to profile all combinations of printers, media and inks, and a new interior decoration option to support digitised creation and printing of textiles and wallpapers. The ProductionSuite modular system includes a pre-press file editor and RIP as well as the SmartProfiler and PrintStation. The new version supports more than 200 additional output devices bringing the total supported to more than 1,000. Prices start at €3,000 (£2,552). The updated SmartProfiler within ProductionSuite 2.0 has a new user interface and now operates on OS X and Windows platforms. It also creates optimised test chart layouts for wide format printers. According to GMG wide format director Markus Finkbeiner the latest version makes profile creation even easier through features like automatic rendering intent. He said: “While most profiling and colour management tools may require a number of trial-and-error steps to obtain a satisfactory separation, this takes responsibility for building the profile.” GMG is also releasing ProductionSuite-Focus Edition, an entry-level-price version meant for print firms that want to bundle a complete workflow, instead of solely a RIP, when buying a new digital printer....
read moreFespa London poised to be a record breaker
Total floor space, when combined with co-located European Sign Expo, tops 63,000m2, 2,000m2 more than the previous record holder Fespa Berlin in 1997, which attracted 21,000 visitors. Just over 650 exhibitors are attending this year’s show, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.A week out, pre-registered visitor numbers were around 30,000, which Neil Felton, managing director of exhibitions and events, said was “tracking well and looking good”. “But the key measure of success now is getting the right level of decision makers on the show floor. That will be our real measure of success and its looking good,” he said....
read moreFespa London poised to be a record breaker
Total floor space, when combined with co-located European Sign Expo, tops 63,000m2, 2,000m2 more than the previous record holder Fespa Berlin in 1997, which attracted 21,000 visitors. Just over 650 exhibitors are attending this year’s show, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.A week out, pre-registered visitor numbers were around 30,000, which Neil Felton, managing director of exhibitions and events, said was “tracking well and looking good”. “But the key measure of success now is getting the right level of decision makers on the show floor. That will be our real measure of success and its looking good,” he said....
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