Hits: 4735

Innovative Marrickville, Sydney printer Carbon8 has teamed with Sentry Medical to design and manufacture face visors during the Covid-19 crisis. The project made Channel 7 news and caught the attention of the NSW Premier Gladys Berejelikian.

Hits: 3171

“We now expect the negative impact of Covid-19 on our business to significantly increase in the short term but it is not possible to quantify its depth or duration of the impact,” says Jean-François Decaux, chairman of the world’s leading outdoor advertising company, announcing first quarter 2020 results.

Hits: 3133

Agfa-Gevaert reported ‘solid results’ in the first quarter of 2020, despite a 4.4% fall in revenue to €501 million, with net profit of €1 million. “Many companies are postponing investments in high-end large-format printing equipment," said the Belgian manufacturer of analogue and digital imaging products, software and systems. "In the coming quarters, a significant COVID-19 impact on the printing industry is to be expected."

Hits: 3231

Using a Markforged X7 3D printer, Konica Minolta Australia was on hand to assist EGR Group in the prototyping phase of the company’s rapid shift to personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to COVID-19. Capacity is now at 50,000 face shields per day.

Hits: 2943

Employers’ organisation Australian Industry Group says easing COVID-19 restrictions and delivering further policy actions to unlock consumer and business spending are critical to stemming the rapid pace of decline in the Australian economy. Releasing its latest business performance index, Ai Group said: “The steepest declines in performance were in retail trade & hospitality, apartment building, commercial construction and among businesses manufacturing textiles, clothing, footwear, paper & printing products.”

Hits: 3804

Agfa has released a ‘First Look’ video of its new high-end large-format roll-to-roll inkjet printer in operation. The 3.3 metre Oberon RTR3300 was to have made a debut at the postponed global print expo FESPA 2020 in Madrid in March (now rescheduled to 6-8 October 2020). Agfa last month signed an Australian distribution deal with supplier Graphic Art Mart.

Hits: 2858

Visual Connections says the concept of a virtual trade show concept is something it’s been considering for some time as a way of bringing its trade shows – PacPrint, Visual Impact, Label & Packaging Expo and PrintEx – to a wider audience. Now, the idea has been fast-tracked due to the current COVID-19 situation.

Hits: 4085

Announcing results for financial year 2019 (April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020), Japanese multinational print technology and electronics manufacturer Ricoh outlined a steep fall in demand caused by COVID-19 but said growth areas included industrial printing and IT services. “Profit attributable to owners of the parent was ¥39.5 billion, down 20.2% from a year earlier.” Industrial Printing sales increased 11.2%, to ¥23.0 billion on higher demand for new advanced inkjet heads and industrial printers.

Hits: 3044

Another virtual trade show – this time with a familiar ring: Future Print was the name used by our PIAA (now PVCA) not so long ago for a Government-funded programme run by former PIAA CEO Bill Healey. 
Next month’s inaugural FuturePrint Virtual Summit will include Ricoh, Integration Technology, Bespoke PR, Sun Chemical, Meteor Inkjet, Inca Digital, Kao Collins, Memjet, Global Inkjet Systems, SGIA, Inkish, Keypoint Intelligence, IDC and more. 

Hits: 2975

X-Rite and Pantone, global leaders in colour science and technology, say the popular X-Rite Color Theory eLearning Course will be available free for a limited time to help support anyone working from home during COVID-19. 

Hits: 3116

Peak US print industry associations The Specialty Graphic Imaging Association (SGIA) and Printing Industries of America (PIA), which merged last week, have announced their new name: PRINTING United Alliance. "Printer members and the supplier community at large are looking for a unified solution to the challenges they face in this era of rapid change," says new chairman Scott Crosby.

Hits: 3159

HP Australia large format specialist Jeremy Brew will host another LF Academy webinar across Australia and New Zealand on Thursday, after the launch of the series on Tuesday this week.  'Can Print Service Providers build customer loyalty with value added service?' will teach how to design posters with the free Poster Tool and how to send jobs from the Cloud to HP large format printer software. "This is a repeat session for those that missed the first one," Brew told WFOL. "Same content, just a different registration link." Spaces are limited.

Hits: 3042

National cabinet will meet on Friday to consider a three-step plan for the gradual removal of baseline pandemic restrictions to allow the re-opening of a 'safe' Australian economy in July. Some COVID-19 restrictions are expected to be eased after Friday's meeting. "We now need to get one million Australians back to work."

Hits: 7791

Fuji Xerox Australia officially files Federal Court proceedings against its former managing director Neil Whittaker, former chief financial officer Devlin Bell, E&Y and others, over the company’s $450 million accounting scandal, file No: NSD 380/2020. 

Hits: 3017

Print technology manufacturer Durst says it can start up production immediately, in compliance with all necessary safety regulations, after the Italian government introduced Phase 2 coronavirus restrictions following a two-month lockdown.

Hits: 3192

Gold Coast printers Fast Proof Press and IBS Cards have partnered with outdoor advertiser QMS Media and Theory Agency on a campaign aimed at helping local residents remain positive during COVID-19.

Hits: 2707

The ACCC granted conditional interim authorisation to allow the Australian Energy Council (AEC) and wholesale and retail energy businesses to co-operate on providing financial relief to residential and business customers financially impacted by COVID-19. The ACCC’s COVID-19 Taskforce has received thousands of calls and emails from impacted businesses.

Hits: 3357

SA International (SAi), a leading provider of software solutions for the signmaking, digital printing, textile and CNC machining industries, has appointed former Roland DGA president Rick Scrimger to its board of directors.  

Hits: 2707

Print industry groups the Print & Visual Communication Association and the Real Media Collective released details of their webinar series designed to support companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hits: 4740

Onyx Graphics says its new shape-based nesting software ONYX TruFit saves print production time and reduces media usage by up to 50%. Free 30-day trial licenses are being offered as part of a global launch.

Hits: 2988

Manufacturers Mutoh, HP, Epson, Mimaki, Roland DG, Screen and Fujifilm will showcase their latest technologies at the inaugural Print, Sign, Display & Graphics Virtual Trade show organised by Visual Connections following the postponement of Gold Coast Visual Impact 2020 due to COVID-19.