Rob van den Braak
FESPA has launched the call for entries for its 2017 Awards, marking the start of its search for pioneering and innovative projects in the print industry.
The FESPA 2017 Awards are now officially open for entries. With 15 categories designed to celebrate the achievements and innovations across the print industry and non-printed signage industry, the FESPA Awards is the print industry’s only independent, global Awards programme to recognise outstanding contributions.
Now in its 26th year, the FESPA Awards programme is renowned for unearthing talent across all disciplines of the printing industry. Spanish print shop Taller de Serigrafia and South African-based printer Screenline are just two previous winners who credit their business growth to these Awards.
Christian M Walter, managing director of Taller de Serigrafia stated: “I think it´s evident that there is no better publicity for a print studio than winning a prize as prestigious as a FESPA Gold Award. Anybody who is entirely convinced to have done something extraordinary should send their submissions, as these awards are a major showcase for a printer´s work and skills.”
Likewise, Neil de Greef, managing director of Screenline commentend on his triumph: ‘Winning a FESPA Award has given our company not only the confidence and validation for our work, but it has also provided a springboard to drive further innovation within the marketplace.’
As in previous years, entrants for all categories will be required to submit their work by the 27th of January 2017. Judging will take place over the 1st and 2nd March by an independent panel of industry experts.
This differs from our previous judging process, which has always taken place alongside our FESPA exhibition. The reason behind this change, as explained by FESPA’s Head of Events, Duncan MacOwan, is to “allow the judges more time to assess the entered work, and debate the eventual winners of each category; a task which proves more challenging each year as the quality and volume of entries continues grow.”
There are 15 different categories to enter such as ‘Roll-to-Roll Printed Textile’ or ‘Point of Purchase Products’, and all categories are technique-agnostic so can be produced using screen, digital, flexo or any type, or combination, of print technique(s).
The full list of the 2017 categories is as follows:
- Point of Purchase Products: Printing on paper & board, including paper banners & backlit papers
- Point of Purchase Products: Printed on all types of plastics, including plastic banners and backlit plastic + lenticular, plastic printing in sheets, flexible or rigid
- Posters, single sheets & multi-sheets
- Original Serigraphies and Giclees and Fine Art reproductions, books, brochures etc.
- Decals, printed labels, fleet marking, window decals etc.
- Special effect: Screen printed over offset, digital or screen printed images and other innovative applications
- Special effect on t-shirts and other garments: Embroidery, additions of pearls, metal, circuitry etc.
- T-shirts and other garments: Direct printing, transfers and roll-to-roll
- Roll-to-roll printed textile: Decoration and pennants, banners, tapestries, draperies, other textile products (e.g. bags, scarves, ties, etc.)
- Glass, Ceramic, Metal and Wood products: Tableware, tiles, glasses, mirrors curved and flat, direct printing, decals, glass & ceramic, metal & wood products, signs and objects
- Direct printing on three dimensional products: Bottles, mugs, skis, packaging etc.
- Non-printed Signage: Channel lettering, neon signs, signwriting, etching, engraving and dimensional signage, acrylics, non-printed vinyl etc.
- Miscellaneous: compact discs, credit and phone cards, automobiles, IMD, fascias, dials, nameplates, signs, gauges, printed circuits and membrane switches, hybrid circuits, RFIDs, solar cells etc.
Outside of the application-led categories, there are three separate categories: Young Star, Best in Show and People’s Choice.
The Young Star award is open to an employee or student in a print related discipline aged between 16 and 25. Best in Show is decided by the judges, across all the shortlisted entries, for the piece of work that offers the most outstanding example of print. And the People’s Choice award is voted for online by the FESPA community. Voting will open on the 6th February 2016.
The FESPA 2017 Awards are open to all printers and signmakers who have produced quality projects with technical expertise relevant to the application.
Entries will be judged on technique, colour appearance, image definition, job complexity, use and creativity. The full list of awards criteria and judging deadlines can be found at www.fespaawards.com
All shortlisted entries will also be displayed at the Hamburg Messe in Hamburg during FESPA 2017, 8-12th May, and the winners will be announced in front of an elite audience of global industry experts at FESPA’s Gala Night on Wednesday 9th May at the 5* Grand Elysee Hotel in Hamburg. The evening will include a three-course meal and live entertainment.
For more information, the full list of categories or to enter the FESPA Awards 2017, please visit: www.fespaawards.com
Act quickly; there are just two months to apply. The closing date for entries is 27th January 2016.
On ZDnet Liam Tung is reporting on the Pinebook. The Pinebook is a low-cost Linux laptop with an ARM CPU that undercuts the cheapest Chromebooks. Read his report below.
The makers of a popular Raspberry Pi challenger, the $20 Pine A64, have returned with two sub-$100 Linux laptops, called Pinebooks.
The Pine A64 stood out among developer boards because it was cheap and relatively powerful, helping its maker raise $1.7m on Kickstarter last year with just a $30,000 target.
With an Allwinner quad-core ARM Cortex A53 64-bit processor, the A64 board could run Ubuntu, Debian, or Android Lollipop 5.1. The same processor is powering the 11-inch and 14-inch Pinebook notebooks, which at $89 and $99 respectively, could become some of the cheapest laptops available.
The displays on both models have a 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution, and besides the A64’s ARM processor, the Pinebooks include the basics needed for a functional laptop, including display, keyboard, touchpad, storage, memory, and ports.
Both models feature 2GB LPDDR3 RAM, 16GB eMMC 5.0 storage, two USB 2.0 ports, a microSD slot supporting up to 256GB additional storage, a mini HDMI input to connect to an external display, headphone jack, built-in microphone, a 1.2-megapixel camera, and a 10,000mAh lithium polymer battery. They also support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connections.
CNX Software, which first reported the new laptops, notes that the Pinebook’s system on a chip (SoC) includes a Mali-400MP2 GPU. Also, while the machines will run all operating systems supported by the A64 boards, the firmware needs to be modified due to the LPDDR3 RAM. The devices should support the Remix OS Android fork.
While the new netbooks share a common system on a chip, CNX notes that the new laptops aren’t actually based on the A64 board itself, but rather on a custom board that’s designed to keep the laptops thin.
According to the Pinebook’s spec sheet, the notebook is 352mm wide, 233mm deep, and 18mm high, or 14in by 9in by 0.7in. It weighs 1.2kg, or 2.65lb.
Lees verder....Als je op zoek bent naar een zeer betaalbare laptop om op het web te surfen, je email op te halen en genoeg hebt aan een tekstverwerker en een spreadsheet app, is de Pine A64 een goed alternatief. Voor minder dan 100 euro krijg je een 14 inch Pinebook en een micro SD slot, waar je tot 256 GB data kunt opslaan. Lees in het artikel van ZDnet meer over deze goedkoopste laptop oplossing van dit moment en welke alternatieven er voor zijn.
$89 Linux laptop? Check out the new Pinebook from Raspberry Pi rival Pine
The makers of a popular Raspberry Pi challenger, the $20 Pine A64, have returned with two sub-$100 Linux laptops, called Pinebooks.
The Pine A64 stood out among developer boards because it was cheap and relatively powerful, helping its maker raise $1.7m on Kickstarter last year with just a $30,000 target.
With an Allwinner quad-core ARM Cortex A53 64-bit processor, the A64 board could run Ubuntu, Debian, or Android Lollipop 5.1. The same processor is powering the 11-inch and 14-inch Pinebook notebooks, which at $89 and $99 respectively, could become some of the cheapest laptops available.
The displays on both models have a 1,280 x 720-pixel resolution, and besides the A64’s ARM processor, the Pinebooks include the basics needed for a functional laptop, including display, keyboard, touchpad, storage, memory, and ports.
Both models feature 2GB LPDDR3 RAM, 16GB eMMC 5.0 storage, two USB 2.0 ports, a microSD-slot supporting up to 256GB additional storage, a mini HDMI input to connect to an external display, headphone jack, built-in microphone, a 1.2-megapixel camera, and a 10,000mAh lithium polymer battery. They also support Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connections.
CNX Software, which first reported the new laptops, notes that the Pinebook’s system on a chip (SoC) includes a Mali-400MP2 GPU. Also, while the machines will run all operating systems supported by the A64 boards, the firmware needs to be modified due to the LPDDR3 RAM. The devices should support the Remix OS Android fork.
While the new netbooks share a common system on a chip, CNX notes that the new laptops aren’t actually based on the A64 board itself, but rather on a custom board that’s designed to keep the laptops thin.
According to the Pinebook’s spec sheet, the notebook is 352mm wide, 233mm deep, and 18mm high, or 14in by 9in by 0.7in. It weighs 1.2kg, or 2.65lb.
Lees verder....
Recently, King Printing (Osaka, JP) had the opportunity to take part in the restoration of the shumidan (a dais for a Buddhist image) at the Byodo-in temple in Uji-city, Kyoto.
Mr. Yoshio Ushijima, President, King Printing, said:
“This project was part of our advance into the industrial printing field. I told my staff to take on this job as if we were creating a new cultural asset, not just restoring one. I hope these kinds of jobs will continue to come in, as contributing to our country’s cultural assets will enhance our company image.”
Stepping into the industrial printing area
“Adding value to print jobs is the key to survival”
Large Japanese commercial and sign & display printing company King Printing recently installed a Jeti Mira wide-format printer from Agfa Graphics to support its plans to be more active in the industrial printing area. We spoke to Yoshio Ushijima, President King Printing.
King Printing President, Mr. Yoshio Ushijima
100 years of history
King Printing set up business with handwriting signboards for movie theatres. In 2017, it will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
What are your main activities?
We are a large offset and inkjet printing company, headquarted in Osaka, and we are doing mainly wide-format printing jobs, in particular poster printing.
What are your plans and targets for the future?
Although we are pretty confident that the poster printing market will continue to exist, we need to create new, recurrent business in order to keep growing. Adding value to print jobs is the key to survival in this business. Therefore, I want to produce prints that are not meant for simple consumption, but that are memorable. I cannot reveal much yet, but we are planning to use the new Jeti Mira for some brand new projects in the printing market…
Of course, we will continue to make strong efforts in the field of poster printing such as POP, displays etc. to keep our foothold in the market. It will be very challenging for us to step into the industrial field, but we have to do this. There is a famous quote in business that says that maintaining the status quo is dangerous. Our company has to keep changing to survive. That is what successful companies do; you can’t live of your past accomplishments. Trying market conditions can offer a change for investments. While the entire industry has cold feet, we will take the next step. I can do this because our employees have supported the company over the years to make it grow. This investment is given back to them.
Why did you choose for a solution from Agfa Graphics?
The Jeti Mira gave us new options. Agfa made a clear proposal on the solution they would be offering us, and they made it clear what we would gain by introducing this new printer. It is very important to me that a supplier has a clear vision. Agfa indeed has a very similar vision to ours, so I was sure that they are not like the other manufacturers. That is why we opted for them.
In addition, I expect Agfa to keep developing new solutions in the field of inkjet printing – UV or not.
What has been your experience with the Jeti Mira so far?
This printer is in fact quite unique: It is able to do things that competitive products cannot. First of all, the Jeti Mira can print primer, which enables us to print boards that were difficult to print on before due to adhesion issues. Moreover, we can do relief printing by applying the white ink in thick layers. This supports certain designs. Last but not least, it is fast and delivers high-quality prints.
Memorable prints – Decorating the Byodo-in temple in Kyoto
Recently, King Printing had the opportunity to take part in the restoration of the shumidan (a dais for a Buddhist image) at the Byodo-in temple in Uji-city, Kyoto.
“This project was part of our advance into the industrial printing field. I told my staff to take on this job as if we were creating a new cultural asset, not just restoring one. I hope these kinds of jobs will continue to come in, as contributing to our country’s cultural assets will enhance our company image.”
The well-known confab brings manufacturers and suppliers of products related to UV printing together with industry-leading operators to provide a forum for networking, collaboration and discussion of developments and new ideas in the field. It is open to printers who are actively involved in UV printing, as well as those who are rolling it out or simply interested in learning more about its benefits.Groot formaat printers worden dankzij hun beeldkwaliteit en kleurweergave steeds meer ingezet voor het reproduceren van kunst. Zo heeft King Printing met een Agfa Jeti, de digitaal gerestaureerde tempeldeuren van de Byodo-in tempel weer tot leven gewekt. Lees meer over dit project in het onderstaande persbericht.
Stepping into the industrial printing area
“Adding value to print jobs is the key to survival”
Large Japanese commercial and sign & display printing company King Printing recently installed a Jeti Mira wide-format printer from Agfa Graphics to support its plans to be more active in the industrial printing area. We spoke to Yoshio Ushijima, President King Printing.
King Printing President, Mr. Yoshio Ushijima
100 years of history
King Printing set up business with handwriting signboards for movie theatres. In 2017, it will celebrate its 100th anniversary.
We are a large offset and inkjet printing company, headquarted in Osaka, and we are doing mainly wide-format printing jobs, in particular poster printing.
What are your plans and targets for the future?
Although we are pretty confident that the poster printing market will continue to exist, we need to create new, recurrent business in order to keep growing. Adding value to print jobs is the key to survival in this business. Therefore, I want to produce prints that are not meant for simple consumption, but that are memorable. I cannot reveal much yet, but we are planning to use the new Jeti Mira for some brand new projects in the printing market.
Of course, we will continue to make strong efforts in the field of poster printing such as POP, displays etc. to keep our foothold in the market. It will be very challenging for us to step into the industrial field, but we have to do this. There is a famous quote in business that says that maintaining the status quo is dangerous. Our company has to keep changing to survive. That is what successful companies do; you can’t live of your past accomplishments. Trying market conditions can offer a change for investments. While the entire industry has cold feet, we will take the next step. I can do this because our employees have supported the company over the years to make it grow. This investment is given back to them.
Why did you choose for a solution from Agfa Graphics?
The Jeti Mira gave us new options. Agfa made a clear proposal on the solution they would be offering us, and they made it clear what we would gain by introducing this new printer. It is very important to me, that a supplier has a clear vision. Agfa indeed has a very similar vision to ours, so I was sure that they are not like the other manufacturers. That is why we opted for them.
In addition, I expect Agfa to keep developing new solutions in the field of inkjet printing – UV or not.
What has been your experience with the Jeti Mira so far?
This printer is in fact quite unique: It is able to do things that competitive products cannot. First of all, the Jeti Mira can print primer, which enables us to print boards that were difficult to print on before due to adhesion issues. Moreover, we can do relief printing by applying the white ink in thick layers. This supports certain designs. Last but not least, it is fast and delivers high-quality prints.
Memorable prints – Decorating the Byodo-in temple in Kyoto
Recently, King Printing had the opportunity to take part in the restoration of the shumidan (a dais for a Buddhist image) at the Byodo-in temple in Uji-city, Kyoto.
“This project was part of our advance into the industrial printing field. I told my staff to take on this job as if we were creating a new cultural asset, not just restoring one. I hope these kinds of jobs will continue to come in, as contributing to our country’s cultural assets will enhance our company image.”
Blendle is profitable in the Netherlands. This according to Alexander Klöpping in Business Insider. “Counting only all personnel working on the Dutch version and compare costs and profits we would be profitable”.
Germany and the US where Blendle is also available are not yet profitable.
Blendle, also called the iTunes of journalism, is a trendsetter in the media landscape. The company introduced a model for users to access content of hundreds of newspapers and magazines.
Lees verder....
During a big update a few years ago Google still assumed that a much-read article would be truthful or at least dependable. The idea was that internet users would distill the valuable and true journalism from the stream of information and not pay any attention to bogus articles. This doesn´t actually seem to be the case. Correct or not, the more spectacular news and fake news is what is being read and shared. Because of the use of certain algorithms these are the messages which pop-up first on search results and are being read more often.
Business Insider spoke to many anonymous sources within Google and they confirmed that this is one of the first revelations in the research into the fake news around the American presidential elections. Unfortunately neither the sources nor the algorithms are public, so we cannot confirm that this news is real or fake.
Mimaki has come up with an good name for the tool which makes printing on cylindrical surfaces possible: the kebab option.Using rotation rolls the kebab option ensures that the MkII printer family can print straight onto cylindrical objects. The option is already available on a large number of models. The kebab option makes it possible to print superior qualit onto cylindrical products with a diameter of 10 to 110 mm, such as wine and water bottles, locks, candles, cosmetic packaging. It is an affordable on-demand option for one-off items as well.
Stimuleren van lezen is, volgens Laurel Brunner, goed voor de toekomst van Print. Als voorbeeld noemt ze het Print for Good programma van Kodak, dat jongeren aanzet meer te lezen. Hoe dat lovenswaardige initiatief langzaam maar zeker groeit, kun je lezen in haar blog op onze artikelenpagina.
Encouraging reading is, according to Laurel Brunner, good for the future of print. An example is Kodak´s Print for Good initiative to improve literacy and encourages young people to read.
Read Laurel´s blog on our articles page about the success of this wonderful initiative.
Lees verder....
Global Graphics, bekend van zijn Harlequin RIP, heeft TTP Meteor overgenomen. Met de overname beschikt Global Graphics nu over alle noodzakelijke hard- en software voor het aansturen van inkjet printers. Naast kleurmanagement, rippen en rasteren, heeft het nu ook technieken in huis om printkoppen van inkjet printers rechtstreeks aan te sturen. Meteor levert zijn technieken aan inkjet printhead makers, als Fujifilm Dimatix, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh, SII Printek, Toshiba TEC en Xaar. Lees meer over deze overname in het onderstaande persbericht.
Global Graphics acquires TTP Meteor Limited
Global Graphics SE (Euronext: GLOG) the developers of software for digital printing including the Harlequin RIP®, announces today that it has acquired the entire issued share capital of TTP Meteor Limited (“Meteor”), specialists in printhead driver systems, from the TTP Group plc (“TTP”) based near Cambridge, UK.
Meteor enables industrial inkjet, graphic arts and commercial printing applications through the provision of world-leading drive electronics and software. Through strong relationships with industrial inkjet printhead manufacturers including Fujifilm Dimatix, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Ricoh, SII Printek, Toshiba TEC and Xaar, Meteor supplies production-ready electronics and software to print equipment manufacturers worldwide.
TTP has been involved in developing leading edge printing technologies since 1987. From 2006, printhead drive electronics have been supplied under the Meteor brand. With this acquisition, Meteor becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Graphics SE. Meteor will operate as an independent, standalone entity and will continue to be led by Clive Ayling who has developed Meteor into a successful business. It is expected that the company name will change from TTP Meteor Limited to Meteor Inkjet Limited.
Gary Fry, Global Graphics’ CEO said, “Meteor has established itself as an influential player in the inkjet market and has a deep understanding of the science and engineering underpinning digital printing. This acquisition is strategically important for Global Graphics, because it means we can offer a broader solution to inkjet press manufacturers by combining our software solutions with Meteor’s industrial printhead driver solutions.
“Healthy growth is predicted for the inkjet segment of digital printing where there continues to be a vast amount of innovation as jetting technology is applied to an increasingly diverse range of applications, such as ceramics, textiles or décor. Global Graphics is already emerging as an important partner to the industry’s leading manufacturers and Meteor adds to our capability, making us a very compelling proposition in the market. We already share joint customers and our goal is to substantially grow this base.”
Clive Ayling, Meteor’s managing director said, “Meteor has an established record of success in delivering robust and reliable printhead driving solutions for a myriad of applications. Global Graphics values this success and recognizes the importance of our independence in delivering the diverse range of solutions our customers require. We are looking forward to working with Global Graphics to accelerate the growth of our business whilst we continue to deliver the world-class products and support that our customers have come to expect.”
Rob Day, TTP’s head of print technology said, “having nurtured Meteor through its initial technology and IP development phase into a mature and profitable business, we are delighted to see it become a subsidiary of Global Graphics. There is immense strategic synergy between the two companies. This will allow the Meteor team to broaden its offering to existing customers, and accelerate the acquisition of new ones. TTP’s Print Technology Division will continue to develop novel printing systems and print technology, and looks forward to working with Meteor’s products in future systems integration projects.”
Consideration for the acquisition is £1.2 million in cash followed by a maximum deferred consideration of £3.6 million. The deferred consideration is payable in cash and is contingent on revenue during the ten year period from 6 December 2016 until 31 December 2026.
For the year ended 31 March 2016, Meteor generated sales of £2.5 million and a loss before tax of £0.2 million. For the eight months ended 25 November 2016 Meteor’s management accounts showed sales of £2.5 million and a profit before tax of £0.3 million. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing in the financial year ending 31 December 2017.
Lees verder....
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