drupa Report (4): Printers continue to be hindered by digitalization

It continues to be difficult for print shops to improve turnover. Finding new clients seems to be the biggest hurdle.  Graphic companies try, mostly by a combination of fewer employees/higher productivity and new print technology, to stay ahead of competition. All print shops, in their own way, seem to be hindered by digitalisation. Digitalization Digitalization…

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Rotomail doubles book-of-one capacity with second Tecnau Libra 800

Rotomail has invested in a second Tecnau Libra 800 soft-cover book binding system to expand its production capacity for short runs and book on demand. Rotomail was established in 1996 as a Print on Demand service provider. In 2000 the company became one of the first adopters of inkjet technology, introducing color and developing trans-promotional…

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drupa: digital not advancing as expected

Trends that concern print shops at the moment are smaller editions, shorter delivery times and order growth. No surprise therefore that digital has become an important factor for print shops next to traditional offset. Four out of ten commercial printers say that a quarter or more of their turnover comes from digital. This is 14%…

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drupa Report: Printers moderately positive

Printers are cautiously optimistic about their companies: 42% of printers says their company is doing well and only 11% say that business is bad. Nearly half (46%) of printers are expecting an improvement this year. Packaging and industrial printers are generally more positive than commercial printers. Printers who are also publishers are the least positive.…

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Benoit Chatelard successor to Wim Maes at Xeikon

Xeikon, a division of Flint Group, and market leader in digital colour printing technology today announced that Benoit Chatelard will assume the role of President & CEO of Flint Group’s Digital Solutions effective May 8th. In his mandate to further develop Flint Group Digital Solutions portfolio and customer reach in that arena, for which Xeikon…

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Dutch printers Tielen, Wilco and bindery Hexspoor, Patis awarded for the most beautiful books in the world

During the annual contest “Schönste Bücher aus aller Welt” in Leipzig Dutch companies were awarded gold and silver medals. The Golden Letter was awarded to the Netherlands for Ornithology by Anne Greene and Arjan de Nooy (design: Jeremy Jansen, production: Tielen and Hexspoor, publisher: De Hef). The jury waxed lyrical about the design, content and…

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Ink prices to rise 4 to 7%

Ink prices are expected to increase because of inflation and the increase in raw material costs. Flint Group announced a rise of 4 to 7% and Siegwerk said that a shortage of titanium dioxide, used in packaging ink, due to a fire in a Finnish plant will also inflate prices. Ink is only a small…

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C&A family invests in HelloPrint

C&A family Brenninkmeijer and German venture capitalist Project A are investing “millions” in HelloPrint from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. HelloPrint is aiming to become the leading platform for print orders in Europe. Co-founder Hans Scheffer collected 3 million last year from various investors, among whom was Gert-Jan Munneke. HelloPrint, known in the Netherlands from Drukzo, is…

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4th drupa Global trends Report 2017 – industry confidence and strong investments in finishing

Following the successful drupa in Spring 2016, this 4th annual Global Trends report gives the detailed evidence to support the thesis that globally Print is recovering well from the double challenge of the 2007/8 economic crisis and the strategic shift towards digital communications. Sabine Geldermann, Director drupa, Messe Duesseldorf, said, “Last year’s drupa showcased a…

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Siegwerk on the take-over prowl in the growing packaging market

Ink manufacturer Siegwerk is clearly on the take-over prowl. Earlier this week they acquired Shekolin´s plastic packaging business unit and it now announced the acquisition of Hi-Tech Products Ltd. Both acquisitions show that Siegwerk is working toward becoming a bigger player in the growth market packaging. A market which is interesting also for manufacturers of…

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Landa sells its most promising technology, Metallography, to Altana

One of the most spectacular presentations at drupa was Landa´s Metallography. Based on Landa´s Nanoprint technology Metallography makes it possible to digitally print sparkling metal colours exactly there where you want them. This characteristic, together with the unbelievably thin layer of metal parts, makes Metallography a technology to watch. Landa has now sold this technology…

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