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“The Australian printing industry breathed a sigh of relief with the announcement that JobKeeper would be extended to the end of March 21,” says print industry analyst Richard Rasmussen of Ascent Partners.  A further 500,000 Victorians are expected to join the program in the September quarter.

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Digital printing giant says its annual global users’ conference will now be held online on six days over the course of two weeks in January 2021. EFI Engage will feature “detailed information on choosing the right technologies to navigate an uncharted market.” 

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The 2020 HP Awards for Excellence presented by ASGA and FESPA Australia will be held on 19th February at the Beta Bar & Gallery on Castlereagh Street in Sydney. An industry conference will be held throughout the day at the same venue. The premier sign industry awards event, held every second year, was to have taken place in May 2020 at the since-postponed Visual Impact Gold Coast trade show.

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Konica Minolta has brought forward the target year for achieving its carbon minus goal from 2050 to 2030. “It is necessary to accelerate the process of reducing CO2 emissions from internal and external sources,” says a company statement.

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The Australian Sign & Graphics Association (ASGA) says a late change to Stage 4 lockdown restrictions allows for sign installation in many areas that were not allowed 24 hours earlier. “Multiple worksites are now officially allowed to be visited by our employees."

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Susan Heaney, the original founder of the Women in Print (WiP) and MD of Heaneys Performers In Print on Queensland’s Gold Coast, has been appointed the new chair of a re-launched WiP program that includes a new website and a new partnership with industry group The Real Media Collective.

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Neil Whittaker, former Managing Director of Fuji Xerox New Zealand and Australia, has filed his defence in the case of FUJI XEROX AUSTRALIA PTY LTD & ANOR (Fuji Xerox Finance) v NEIL WHITTAKER & ORS, the other defendants being former CFO Devlin Bell, accountancy form Ernst & Young, and EA (Andy) Lang, a former EY partner. UPDATED see below

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An increasing number of Melbourne print and sign companies have vowed to stay open during the six week lockdown despite strict COVID-19 stage four restrictions.  

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The Australian Sign & Graphics Association (ASGA) has updated members on Stage Four Covid-19 restrictions in Victoria and how they will affect business operations.  “It is an unfortunate reality for most businesses that your work will dry up very quickly.  Within one week, you may find that you have little or no work regardless of your decision to keep operating.”   

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“We expect the end result here is that while our members are able to remain open, the amount of incoming work will fall to a very low level,” said the Australian Sign & Graphics Association (ASGA) after the announcement of stage four lockdown restrictions that will see thousands of Melbourne businesses shut down and an estimated 250,000 Victorians stood down from Thursday. 

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Fuji Xerox Australia made a profit of $5.9 million for the year ended 31 March 2020 despite a six percent fall in revenue to $608m, according to IT news site arnnet.com.au

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Despite the restrictions of Covid, The Printhead Doctor's Vince Bezzina reports that he is still recovering many blocked printheads by mail and courier - the service, and sale of machines and fluids, continues relatively uninterrupted.

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If you missed last Thursday's Webinar organised by industry think-tank Ascent Partners, you missed 90 minutes of very valuable information to help forward-planning for your business. It was recorded and viewable from the link below.

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“Social distancing has not only transformed the way we interact but the way your customers are telling their story and branding their business,” says HP. Its latest free webinar, ‘Evolving your print business in these times of social distancing,’ includes a look at printing opportunities that meet urgent public health needs.
   - Thursday Aug 6, 1:00 PM AEST

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Episode 3 of Ball & Doggett's YouTube series RESET - “What optimism looks like to you for your business right now?”- features Allain Pool, managing director of Melbourne’s Press Print, a high-end digital printer with a staff of 20, and Charlton Hemingway, MD of production consultancy Work Works.

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“All of our plans and those of our customers have been severely challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Canon Oceania managing director Akira ‘Dave’ Yoshida, releasing the company's Sustainability Report 2020 – an overview of 'the issues that matter most to future performance and prospects.'  

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An Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) survey on Business Impacts of COVID-19 has found ten percent of business owners expect to shut down if government support measures are withdrawn. About 42 per cent of small businesses are currently accessing support measures.

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Seiko Epson Corporation announced the merger of group companies Fratelli Robustelli, a textiles printer manufacturer, and textiles ink business For.Tex. “Epson sees substantial opportunity to leverage its inkjet technology to expand its business and is thus strengthening its textile printing product lineup and operations.” 

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The New Zealand Sign & Display Association says members have until Thursday to enter their designs into its competition to find a new association logo. "The time has come for a NZSDA logo redesign...to simply refresh and bring it in line with current design sensibilities."

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Global outdoor advertising leader JCDecaux reported adjusted revenue was down -41.6% to €1,075.4 million in the first half of 2020 after a collapse in advertising caused by Covid-19. “The global advertising market remains highly volatile with low visibility. Considering the risk of new waves of Covid-19 and new local lockdowns being implemented, it remains very difficult to give a guidance for Q3 2020.”

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As Xerox bemoaned its 35% revenue drop, in the US, Kodak shares soared as much as 1,900% in two days after the inkjet printer and plate company secured over AUD$1 billion of a government loan to produce generic-drug ingredients in response to the coronavirus pandemic. It's a remarkable turn-around that has made millions for long-suffering stockholders.