We recently received a 43 page document outlining environmental legislation that applies to printing companies. It was for one single country with around 7,000 printing companies! Reading through this lengthy document it becomes clear that legislators are working hard to protect us all from pollution and related nastiness. The law is working hard to keep the world a safe and pleasant place, a place with a future. But the law also seems to be working hard to slow business down and make it less productive, by clogging up the wheels of commerce with red tape. It distracts us from paying attention to our customers and from the daily grind of generating revenue, of producing goods and providing services.

This may be one of the reasons why productivity is down in so many developed markets. Business owners have to spend many hours a week keeping up with their various responsibilities. Legal compliance is just one small part of all the other non revenue generating activities we have to face. When it comes to environmental protection this is a very good thing, however lawmakers should be working to make implementation simple, not onerous. This won’t be easy because civil servants have a culture of their own, one that’s not even vaguely entrepreneurial. In fact initiative and imagination are positive anathema to them, so they cannot appreciate how time-consuming compliance with environmental legislation has become.

Graphic arts professionals can only comply. This makes it even more annoying to have to plough through umpteen pages of rules and regulations that get updated pretty much every month. Worse still it is deeply tedious to design business procedures that ensure compliance and yet are sufficiently flexible to change along with new rules or revocation of old ones.

We have no choice, but our industry associations could be doing much more to make it easier for members. There are plenty of ways to communicate regulatory changes, but the most obvious is to post the relevant laws online, along with a short explanation. This could explain the purpose of the legislation, how it applies and what counts as exempt. Updates can also be included in member communications.

When it comes to the environment, this problem of awareness and understanding is only going to get more complex. Print and publishing industry associations can do much to improve members’ knowledge levels and to promote best practise. If we had had a bit more vim and vigour from our associations in the first place, perhaps the inundation of regulations might not seem so very overwhelming. So come on all of you, and you know who you are, get with it. Make your environmental guidance more than just lip service and give your members the support they need!

Laurel Brunner

Dit blog wordt mogelijk gemaakt dankzij de bijdrage van: Agfa Graphics (www.agfa.com), Digital Dots (http://digitaldots.org), drupa (www.drupa.com), EFI (www.efi.com), Fespa (www.fespa.com), Heidelberg (www.uk.heidelberg.com), Kodak (www.kodak.com/go/sustainability), Mondi (www.mondigroup.com/products), Pragati Offset (www.pragati.com), Ricoh (www.ricoh.com), Shimizu Printing (www.shzpp.co.jp), Splash PR (www.splashpr.co.uk), Unity Publishing (http://unity-publishing.co.uk) and Xeikon (www.xeikon.com).

BlokBoek.com is de Nederlandse media-partner van Verdigris, een non-profit initiatief dat de werkelijke voetprint van druk- en printwerk die drukwerk achterlaat eerlijk in kaart wil brengen en dat bedrijven en organisatie steunt om die voetprint te verlagen.
Meer informatie over Verdigris vind je via deze link.

De Mimaki stand vlakbij de ingang van de beurs is niet te missen, net als de presentatie van Mike Horsten, ‎General Manager Marketing EMEA Mimaki, op de Textile Conference op 8 maart. Ook het sponsoren, met Avery Denison van de Wrap Masters competitie is het vermelden waard. Lees de details van de conferentie en het productaanbod van Mimaki op FESPA in onderstaand persbericht.

Mimaki sets to inspire digital print heroes at FESPA Digital

At this year’s FESPA Digital, Mimaki will showcase its TS300P-1800 wide-format printer, a dye sublimation inkjet machine for apparel and textile applications that was launched last year. 

The firm has recently expanded its sublimation ink range with light black, neon yellow and pink fluorescent inks, which will expand apparel production possibilities for users and increase the versatility of the TS300P-1800 printer.  

“These new spot colours can add real value to fashion and sportswear,” says Stephen Woodall, National Sales manager for textile and apparel at Mimaki’s UK and Irish distributor, Hybrid Services Ltd.

“The new light black improves the already high print quality, enhancing photographic images and gradations even further. Alongside the fluorescent pink and yellow inks, users now really have the capability to create highly unique garments.”

Woodall concludes; “The fluorescent samples we have produced on the Mimaki TS300P-1800 are spectacular, so we anticipate that combining this with the new light black will deliver even more eye-catching output. We look forward to demonstrating this to visitors to FESPA Digital in March.”

The business has also unveiled the super-wide format TS500P-3200 inkjet printer, a dedicated transfer paper printer for the textile industry, with applications including home furnishing textiles and indoor soft signage.

“At FESPA Digital, we will be showing our broad portfolio of printing and cutting systems,” says Mike Horsten, General Manager Marketing EMEA at Mimaki Europe.

“And you can also expect to see some surprises in the form of new product announcements. Visitors will see real-world examples of the innovative applications Mimaki systems can create in both signs & display graphics, as well as digital textile printing and garment decoration.”

“In line with the superheroes theme of the show, be sure to look for the superheroes portrayed in our samples, which visitors will be able to take away with them.”

“We are again sponsoring the Wrap Masters competition, and we will be wrapping a vintage Audi at our stand as part of the final competition! We also invite visitors to relax in our Coffee Corner with refreshments and good conversation. FESPA Digital is always an exciting show, and we expect it to be so again this year.”

Wrap Masters competition: Crowning a superhero

Mimaki and Avery Dennison are joining forces as sponsors of the World Wrap Masters competition, which will run across the four days of the show.

On 8-9 March, the competition begins with the FESPA European Wrap Masters competition, where wrappers will battle it out to participate in the World Wrap Masters Series Final on 10-11 March, where the European Wrap Master will join winners from South Africa, Mexico, Denmark, Eurasia, Brazil, Ireland and France, who have already qualified.

Series finalists will compete to become FESPA World Wrap Master 2016 by wrapping Audi A1 Sportback vehicles using materials printed by Mimaki, as well as more challenging items, including clogs and a superhero-related item. This annual competition is an event that show’s visitors will not want to miss.

Digital Textile Conference

The one-day Digital Textile Conference being held on 8 March in conjunction with FESPA Digital 2016 will feature an international line-up of digital textile printing experts, including Mike Horsten.He will be speaking at 15:30 on the hot topic of Digital Print in Fast Fashion. 

“We had great success at Heimtextil in January with our full line-up of solutions that make it easy for visitors to expand their digital textile printing capabilities or implement new ones, printing vibrant, durable colours on a broad range of materials. We are pleased to be bringing these solutions to the FESPA Digital audience as well,“ Horsten added.

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Inspiration for a profitable future

“With our full portfolio of current and brand-new products showcased at the Mimaki stand,there will be no lack of inspiration. We believe that visitors to our booth will leave the show with several new ideas that will make their businesses more profitable in the future, and we look forward to talking with them to learn how we can help even more,” Horsten concludes. 

Raster Image Processor en workflow ontwikkelaar Onyx Graphics toont op FESPA Digital zijn op de Adobe PDF Print Engine gebaseerde oplossingen voor groot formaat printers. Onyx producten zullen op verschillende stands gebruikt worden door een groot aantal printerfabrikanten. Op de stand van Onyx zijn ook Onyx Connect, een koppeling met workflow en MIS systemen, en de Onyx Textile Edition, een speciale versie van de Onyx software voor textiel printers te zien. Meer informatie over Onyx lees je in onderstaand persbericht.

Onyx Graphics driving Onyx Thrive software at FESPA Digital

Showing for the first time in Europe since its official release the most innovative version to date, Onyx 12, the company will be demonstrating its powerful, print workflow solution Onyx Thrive.

Onyx Thrive is a full featured, scalable workflow which is based on the Adobe PDF Print Engine and optimised for superior performance for all sizes of print service providers (PSPs).

With a presence in many partner stands across the show floor, visitors will witness the power of Onyx Thrive as it maximizes throughput with a high-performance software architecture that harnesses the true scalability of the Adobe PDF Print Engine.

It offers the unique ability to add RIP power, independent of adding devices, and ensures printers and cutters are fed at maximum capacity. Onyx Thrive creates automation in your production with the power of Quick Sets, to eliminate manual steps and create new revenue opportunities.

Also included is Thrive Production Manager which provides a real-time, browser-based dashboard into your print production from any location.

Onyx Connect, an open interface to connect business and production software

Onyx Connect JDF (Job Definition Format) technology, an optional module for Onyx Thrive, is an open system that provides a simple developer interface to connect a PSP’s current business workflow solutions to ONYX production software.

Onyx Connect technology enables business owners and production managers to gain greater insight into valuable production information such as estimated ink consumption, media usage and production times.

It also includes the ability to automate job submission through JDF and hot folders providing control of critical job settings, and reducing errors introduced by manual intervention during the production process.

Produce vibrant textiles with Onyx Textile Edition

Onyx Textile Edition is developed specifically for the large-format textile printing market and includes additional functionality such as Step-and-Repeat, Colorways and Ink Configuration Builder to save time and reduce waste. Maximize throughput with a

Maximize throughput with a high-performance software architecture that harnesses the scalability of the AdobePDF Print Engine regardless of the number of output devices in the print production environment. Automate repetitive tasks, optimize media used and reduce waste using Quick Sets and advanced nesting.

For example, an eight-core processor computer can be maximized to run eight APPEs simultaneously with no reduction in speed, regardless of the number of printers being driven. Unlimited browser-based Thrive Production Manager provides a real-time dashboard into your print production from anywhere you can access the internet.