Apex debuts Mitsubishi Violet DigiPlate VDP-4 at Print Efficiently
The violet CTP unit punches, exposes, washes and dries plates from a roll of polyester material at a rate of up to 20 B2 plates an hour at 2,540dpi or 40 plates an hour at 1,270dpi. In addition to the standard 0.2mm guage polyester plate material, which is supplied in 61m rolls and used for B3 plate production, Mitsubishi has developed a thicker 0.3mm guage material on 41m rolls to enable the production of more rigid B2 plates. The CTP unit has the capacity to hold two rolls at one time, allowing rapid switching between different guage materials, for instance. Apex managing director Bob Usher said: “We have a long association with polyester plates. When treated with care polyester plates should provide for print runs in excess of 20,000 with no great problem. “This new Mitsubishi unit comes along at just the right time for us. We see it filling a gap in the market vacated by the DPX series of machines that we were selling. Over 500 units of that model were installed in the UK and so we believe that there is certainly a market for this new unit – especially when printers are seeking more environmentally friendly products and more cost effective production solutions.” Pricing for the VDP-4 was not available at the time of writing....
read moreApex debuts Mitsubishi Violet DigiPlate VDP-4 at Print Efficiently
The violet CTP unit punches, exposes, washes and dries plates from a roll of polyester material at a rate of up to 20 B2 plates an hour at 2,540dpi or 40 plates an hour at 1,270dpi. In addition to the standard 0.2mm guage polyester plate material, which is supplied in 61m rolls and used for B3 plate production, Mitsubishi has developed a thicker 0.3mm guage material on 41m rolls to enable the production of more rigid B2 plates. The CTP unit has the capacity to hold two rolls at one time, allowing rapid switching between different guage materials, for instance. Apex managing director Bob Usher said: “We have a long association with polyester plates. When treated with care polyester plates should provide for print runs in excess of 20,000 with no great problem. “This new Mitsubishi unit comes along at just the right time for us. We see it filling a gap in the market vacated by the DPX series of machines that we were selling. Over 500 units of that model were installed in the UK and so we believe that there is certainly a market for this new unit – especially when printers are seeking more environmentally friendly products and more cost effective production solutions.” Pricing for the VDP-4 was not available at the time of writing....
read moreScanlon highlights HMRC late payment in letter to FT
Earlier this week the Prime Minister promised to crackdown on the issue and launched a consultation on the continuing problem of late payment, and its detrimental affect on the UK’s SME businesses. In his letter Scanlon welcomes the move, and says: “Perhaps he [David Cameron] would mention this to Lin Homer, chief executive of HM Revenue & Customs, which was 20 days late in paying an undisputed value added tax refund of £261,788 to our group last month and is currently nine days late in making a further undisputed payment of £933,860.” Scanlon told PrintWeek that government departments should be brought into the Prompt Payment Code, which at present is aimed at big businesses dealing with smaller companies. “A lot of print companies are net recipients of VAT and HMRC takes so long to pay it. If it was the other way around we would be suffering surcharges,” he said. “For smaller companies who need the money in, it all ends up being passed down the line.” Wyndeham chief executive Paul Utting, who is a constituent of Business Secretary Vince Cable, has written to the Lib Dem cabinet minister. In his letter Utting states: “HMRC is delaying payment because it can. This is an effective way of forcing businesses such as ours to make involuntary loans to the Treasury… It is disingenuous in the extreme of the Government to preach the virtues of timely payment while itself squeezing its creditors until the pips squeak.”...
read moreXaar reports Q3 trading in line with expectation
Xaar said that Q3 sales segmentation, by application and by geography, was in line with those reported at the half-year and that its full year revenue and profit expectations remained unchanged. The Cambridge-based inkjet technology firm’s balance sheet at 30 September 2013 included net cash of £56.6m, up from £49.4m at so June 2013 and £28.9m at 31 December 2012. Meanwhile, the manufacturing expansion plan, announced in the first half of 2013, was said to be on track to deliver the planned increases in capacity during the remainder of 2013 and the first half of 2014. Xaar will hold a Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts in London on 28 November 2013 to explain how its technology disrupts and adds value in the end markets in which it operates and to highlight the long-term potential of its technology. Xaar’s share price, which has rocketed more than 215% in the past year on the back of upgrades to its full-year revenue target in April and June, was down 2.4% at the time of writing at 787p....
read moreXaar reports Q3 trading in line with expectation
Xaar said that Q3 sales segmentation, by application and by geography, was in line with those reported at the half-year and that its full year revenue and profit expectations remained unchanged. The Cambridge-based inkjet technology firm’s balance sheet at 30 September 2013 included net cash of £56.6m, up from £49.4m at so June 2013 and £28.9m at 31 December 2012. Meanwhile, the manufacturing expansion plan, announced in the first half of 2013, was said to be on track to deliver the planned increases in capacity during the remainder of 2013 and the first half of 2014. Xaar will hold a Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts in London on 28 November 2013 to explain how its technology disrupts and adds value in the end markets in which it operates and to highlight the long-term potential of its technology. Xaar’s share price, which has rocketed more than 215% in the past year on the back of upgrades to its full-year revenue target in April and June, was down 2.4% at the time of writing at 787p....
read moreEFI buys Metrix Software
Metrix has been an EFI business partner since 2009 and its imposition software is integrated with EFI’s MIS portfolio, including Monarch, Pace and Radius, as well as a host of other third-party MIS developers’ tools. Marc Olin, EFI interim CFO and general manager of the company’s Productivity Software business, said: “Metrix is a small company but it is a product that we had previously done a little bit of integration work on but haven’t really been able to fully take advantage of the opportunity to build integration with our different MIS products. “So as part of EFI, it really allows us to drive much more automation for our clients, we can tie the two products or all of the products together much more closely and we can leverage our sales force around the world to really drive that product into our very large existing user base of our MIS products.” He added: “From an acquisition pipeline, we’re really looking at those types of acquisitions as well as the acquisitions in the productivity software space that allows to expand our geographic footprint.” Metrix chief executive and founder Rohan Holt, who has joined EFI as director of EFI Metrix products, added: “EFI is the leader in print production workflow and I know our worldwide customer base will benefit enormously from the new level of integration with EFI’s products.” Metrix lists its industry partners as: All Systems Integration, Compri, CRC, CSS Group, Dataline, EFI, Epicor, EPMS, Esko, FFEI, Fujifilm, Heidelberg, Hybrid, MBO, Muller Martini, Optimus, Pragmeta, Quarterhouse, Quote & Print, Rampage, Rogler, Screen, Tharstern, TNR Software and Virtual Systems. However, Infotrends associate director Kaspar Roos told PrintWeek: “I don’t think it’s in EFI’s interest to restrict Metrix in that it can only be sold to EFI customers [and] for third parties that resell Metrix I don’t think they really care that Metrix is now owned by EFI. “What could happen over time is that Metrix evolves in a direction that provides better integration with EFI MIS systems than with those from other vendors. For instance, if the JDF capabilities of Metrix are changed and some of the integration benefits (e.g. around scheduling) are lost for non-EFI systems, that would change things, but I really can’t tell you if that is going to happen or not.” EFI said the acquisition is not expected to be material to its Q4 or full-year 2013 results. The deal is EFI’s third this year, following its purchase of GamSys and PrintLeader. In 2012 EFI made a string of acquisitions, including Technique, Online Print Solutions, Metrics and Cretaprint....
read moreEFI buys Metrix Software
Metrix has been an EFI business partner since 2009 and its imposition software is integrated with EFI’s MIS portfolio, including Monarch, Pace and Radius, as well as a host of other third-party MIS developers’ tools. Marc Olin, EFI interim CFO and general manager of the company’s Productivity Software business, said: “Adding the Metrix team’s exceptional talent and technical know-how helps us drive innovation even further, ensuring that EFI customers can continue to reduce the cost and improve the profitability of their printing operations. Metrix chief executive and founder Rohan Holt, who has joined EFI as director of EFI Metrix products, added: “EFI is the leader in print production workflow and I know our worldwide customer base will benefit enormously from the new level of integration with EFI’s products.” Metrix lists its industry partners as: All Systems Integration, Compri, CRC, CSS Group, Dataline, EFI, Epicor, EPMS, Esko, FFEI, Fujifilm, Heidelberg, Hybrid, MBO, Muller Martini, Optimus, Pragmeta, Quarterhouse, Quote & Print, Rampage, Rogler, Screen, Tharstern, TNR Software and Virtual Systems. However, Infotrends associate director Kaspar Roos told PrintWeek: “I don’t think it’s in EFI’s interest to restrict Metrix in that it can only be sold to EFI customers [and] for third parties that resell Metrix I don’t think they really care that Metrix is now owned by EFI. “What could happen over time is that Metrix evolves in a direction that provides better integration with EFI MIS systems than with those from other vendors. For instance, if the JDF capabilities of Metrix are changed and some of the integration benefits (e.g. around scheduling) are lost for non-EFI systems, that would change things, but I really can’t tell you if that is going to happen or not.” EFI said the acquisition is not expected to be material to its Q4 or full-year 2013 results. The deal is EFI’s third this year, following its purchase of GamSys and PrintLeader. In 2012 EFI made a string of acquisitions, including Technique, Online Print Solutions, Metrics and Cretaprint....
read moreBanbury Litho invests in XL 75 to cut waste
The ISO 14001-certified company said it wanted to improve productivity and quality as well as “neutralise” the carbon used in its manufacture by investment in global sustainability projects. Heidelberg will calculate and certify Banbury Litho. The press prints 15,000 sheets an hour and will replace an older Heidelberg CD 74 and complement a Speedmaster SM 74-10-P. Managing director Matthew Wise said the new kit, with Inpress spectral measurement, would increase capacity by up to 30% with no additional hours. “We are very, very busy and wanted the new machine to give us extra capacity and quicker turnaround without having to invest in more staff,” said Wise, who prints brochures, leaflets and corporate literature for local councils and blue-chip clients. “Five-colour is fairly standard these days and the coater means we can work and turn without delay,” he said. “It will increase scheduling flexibility and productivity with fully closed-loop colour management using existing Heidelberg Prinect workflows.” Banbury Litho was launched 35 years ago in the garage of Wise’s father Mark. Sister Becky is company secretary. The 40-staff business has a £4m turnover and replaces kit every five to seven years. It uses vegetable inks and Howard Smith papers with certification from the Carbon Trust. Carbon neutralising its new press married up with its approach to sustainable strategies, said Wise: “We live in a lovely part of the world and feel we have a responsibility to the environment.”...
read moreRedTie seals cross-media deal
Easypurl gives users the ability to generate personalised QR codes and personalised URLs (PURLs) and can integrate with social media channels to create personalised and pre-populated landing pages. RedTie managing director Jamie Thomson said: “It handles emails, QR codes and can generate personalized URLs. It’s a bit like Google Analytics and tells you about browsers and locations of people when they open emails. It is targeted at marketing agencies and printers aiming to offer more complete marketing solutions to customers. “Printers can be isolated by providing only one part of a client’s marketing mix instead of a full multi-channel offering. We chose Easypurl for the simplicity of its back-end tools with no web skills required.” Red-Tie, which already has a partnership with Easypurl in the US, will make the software available to customers in the UK and Ireland on a software-as-a-service (saas) basis from Novemeber 2013. The technology will cost around £1,700 initial fee and a monthly charge around the £400 mark. “Not every print provider will want to take this multi-channel route,” said Thomson. “But our growing client base wants the widest possible suite of tools to help them grow sales and provide a single-source service.” He added: “We are often told the print industry isn’t the best at marketing itself and engaging with its customers. We all need to improve our marketing reach and to more fully interact with our customers and prospects. Here is a great chance to do just that with quick and easy tools.”...
read moreRedTie seals cross-media deal
Easypurl gives users the ability to generate personalised QR codes and personalised URLs (PURLs) and can integrate with social media channels to create personalised and pre-populated landing pages. RedTie managing director Jamie Thomson said: “It handles emails, QR codes and can generate personalized URLs. It’s a bit like Google Analytics and tells you about browsers and locations of people when they open emails. It is targeted at marketing agencies and printers aiming to offer more complete marketing solutions to customers. “Printers can be isolated by providing only one part of a client’s marketing mix instead of a full multi-channel offering. We chose Easypurl for the simplicity of its back-end tools with no web skills required.” Red-Tie, which already has a partnership with Easypurl in the US, will make the software available to customers in the UK and Ireland on a software-as-a-service (saas) basis from Novemeber 2013. The technology will cost around £1,700 initial fee and a monthly charge around the £400 mark. “Not every print provider will want to take this multi-channel route,” said Thomson. “But our growing client base wants the widest possible suite of tools to help them grow sales and provide a single-source service.” He added: “We are often told the print industry isn’t the best at marketing itself and engaging with its customers. We all need to improve our marketing reach and to more fully interact with our customers and prospects. Here is a great chance to do just that with quick and easy tools.”...
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