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Print Industry News Archive: 2006

1 December 2006 Annual Report of Web Offset Print
American Printer provides an annual survey of web offset printers, providing a unique look at the current state of the web printing industry as well as what to look for in the coming new year. As the largest segment of the printing industry, the web printers can be a good measure of general industry trends.

13 November 2006 Datalase creates variable data labels for game pieces using lasers
National Label Company is working with Datalase to use their Packmark coding and marking system to create unique codes on the reverse of promotional labels on over-the-counter (OTC) products. The Packmark system uses a low-power carbon-dioxide laser to activate the ink which enables creation of a mark below two substrates; this system improves on their former method of using inkjet-printed codes which had problems with rub-off and were theoretically less counterfeit-proof.

5 November 2006 Legion Paper acquires Moab
Legion Paper, one of the largest suppliers of fine art paper in North America, has acquired Moab Paper Company, a leading manufacturer of archival digital papers, storage, and display products.

13 October 2006 Bezier acquires Pointer
In-store marketing company Bezier has announced the acquisition of Pointer. Bezier cites research that indicates significant growth in in-store marketing in the near future, which they hope to capitalize on with this new acquisition.

11 October 2006 New Internet-based services strong trend for print industry, says PIA/GATF survey
A recent survey by Printing Impressions and PIA/GATF reveals that over 50% of respondents plan to implement a web-to-print solution in the next year. 63% of respondents who already offer customer-branded web portals report an increase in volume of work as a result.

5 October 2006 Pantone opens Japan Division
Pantone, Inc., leading supplier of color standards for the print and design industries, has established Pantone Japan to provide better service to the Japanese market. Yuko Ishii has been appointed as Pantone Japan's Managing Director.

2 October 2006 Coca-cola employs 'smart barcodes' in Mexican promotion
The Coca-Cola company has launched a promotion in Mexico using barcodes on special bottles of Sprite. Consumers will be able to scan the barcodes (called 'ShotCodes') with their mobile camera phones, and then use the code to receive a trivia question and a chance to win one of millions of prizes, such as free pizza and video rentals.

October 2006 European printers report on "China effect" on the UK print industry
Among testimony from 30 UK printers, Intergraf Secretary-General Beatrice Klose reported that due to government subsidies, the number of Chinese print providers has increased more than tenfold in the last 10 years; currently there are around 180,000 Chinese printers. Slow delivery times have limited their impact on UK sales primarily to the book printing market.

28 September 2006 Xitron releases TotalProof family of products
Leading Raster Image Processor supplier Xitron has announced the availability of their new TotalProof family of products. TotalProof includes profiles for use with some of the devices most commonly used in conjunction with Xitron RIPs and workflow solutions, including Epson's Ultrachrome and Ultrachrome K3 printers as well as other popular proofing devices.

20 September 2006 Adobe releases Acrobat 8
Adobe Software announced the release of Acrobat 8, their PDF creation and editing software. Along with new security features (such as digital document signing) and new export options, a major addition is the ability to have one-click access to Acrobat Connect, Adobe's new virtual meeting room application. Coinciding with the release of Acrobat 8 and Acrobat Connect, Adobe is also releasing version 2.3 of their Creative Suite bundle of graphics applications, which will for the first time also include Dreamweaver, the website creation tool they acquired when they purchased Macromedia last year.

7 September 2006 Pantone introduces line of paints
Having established the industry-standard Pantone Matching Systems for color specification and Pantone printing inks, Pantone have partnered with Fine Paints of Europe to produce paints in Pantone colors. The paints are to be quite a bit more expensive than other brands, up to $133/gallon. Many paint suppliers have been asked to match Pantone colors by mixing custom batches; now they will be able to order Pantone-certified paints.

01 September 2006 Digital Print World bigger and better than ever this year

Digital Print World, the UK's only dedicated digital print show, is on next month; October 17-19, Earlscourt, London. There will be a number of features for visitors this year, including the Xplor Document University, a series of four seminars on digital printing, and much more.

Web4Print's new UK agent, TechsysNetworks, will also be there exhibiting Web4Print; see our Web4Print News page for details.

August 2006 Hi-Fi Color
Brighter colors and more accurate reproduction may hold the key to differentiation for high-quality shops, which can now choose from a variety of commercialized approaches to high-fidelity or "hi-fi" color. Typically based on five- or six-color ink combinations, these systems claim to provide a noticeably greater range of colors (gamut) than the standard yellow, magenta, cyan and black process colors.

17 August 2006 EFI introduces new VUTEk superwide format printer
FOSTER CITY, CA -- EFI (Electronics For Imaging) today introduced its new VUTEk® QS2000 UV-curing digital inkjet printer. The VUTEk® QS2000 features print resolutions up to 1080 dpi, proprietary image smoothing technologies, brilliant six-color imaging plus a special seventh white ink channel and EFI Fiery(R) XF image processing.

10 August 2006 Payne's variable data tape used for contests/promotional campaigns
Payne produces a printed tape used for printing unique codes on consumer packaging for use in promotional campaigns. Lotte (Japan's largest chewing gum manufacturer) is now using Payne's tape for an online contest. The tape has already been used by Wrigley's in the UK.

01 August 2006 Monotype Imaging acquires Linotype
WOBURN, Mass., BUSINESS WIRE -- Monotype Imaging Inc., a global leader in font and imaging technologies, has acquired Linotype GmbH, a subsidiary of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG and home of the renowned Linotype(R) Library. The collection includes some of the most popular and time-honored designs such as the Helvetica(R), Frutiger(R) and Optima(R) typefaces. Linotype and its employees will remain based in Bad Homburg, Germany, and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Monotype Imaging.

25 July 2006 Adago's PDF Shrink 4.0 released
Alpharetta, GA - Adago has released the latest version of their PDF Shrink software package. PDF Shrink is a Mac OS application to optimise PDFs, reducing their size by as much as 90%. It is primarily useful for people generating PDFs from graphics/page layout software directly without the use Adobe Acrobat.

17 July 2006 Corbis, Getty, Jupiter Support PLUS Images Coalition
LOS ANGELES, Ca. - The three largest suppliers of stock photos are now all involved to varying degrees with the new PLUS (Picture Licensing Universal System) Coalition. The coalition seeks to standardise international image licensing including deciding an international image licensing language.

11 July 2006 Xerox to supply point-of-sale printers to Staples
WILSONVILLE, Ore. - Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) has completed a multimillion-dollar deal with Staples Inc., the world's largest office products company, placing more than 1,200 Xerox Phaser™ network color printers in Staples stores across the United States. Staples associates are using the Xerox Phaser 8400 solid ink printer to produce store signs, shelf tags and other point-of-sale materials.

29 June 2006 Agfa-Gevaert splits into three
(Mortsel, Belgium) has decided to split into three independent businesses: Graphics, HealthCare and Materials. The Materials business will group all of the film manufacturing activities with Specialty Products and will be positioned as an independent supplier of film and related products. This structure is meant to give each business the maximum flexibility to implement its growth strategy and to further reduce costs in line with rapidly changing market circumstances.

19 June 2006 New color seminar for digital sign makers offered this summer by GIA/GretagMacbeth
The training experts at the GIA/GretagMacbeth Global Services have announced a summer seminar tour newly designed to help sign makers and digital printers understand and improve their color. “Color Management for Digital Sign Makers” will be presented in 20 US and Canadian cities this July through October, with the support of HP, LG Chem, ONYX Graphics and NBM.

31 May 2006 Xerox launches new Docucolor 5000 press
Xerox has launched the claimed 50 page-per-minute (ppm) Docucolor 5000 digital press. It is said by the company to be the industry's first digital colour press to address the needs of print operations that have mid-range monthly print volumes that require more advanced printing features. The company added that the digital printing press, one of a number of new products designed to bolster Xerox's colour printing portfolio, was unveiled at the AIIM/On Demand trade show in Philadelphia (USA).

19 May 2006 HP announces resignation of Director Tom Perkins
Palo Alto, CA — HP announced today that Thomas J. Perkins resigned from its board of directors on May 18, 2006, with immediate effect.

1 May 2006 New Adobe PDF Print Engine powers next generation PDF workflows
San Jose, CA — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the Adobe® PDF Print Engine, new printing software technology that ensures print hardware can output Portable Document Format (PDF) files that include complex designs and effects, such as transparency, quickly, accurately and consistently. With the emergence of PDF as the industry-standard for delivering high quality printed content, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are integrating the Adobe PDF Print Engine into a new generation of printing products.

4 Apr 2006 Colour-changing ink to shade packaging
Start-up company Inovink is working with a UK-based packaging company to trial an ink that changes colour when exposed to different light sources.

4 Apr 2006 M-Real launches printable RFID
Packaging company M-Real Consumer Packaging launched a printable radio frequency identification (RFID) system last week for printing on paperboard and carton packaging such as cigarette cartons.

Mar 2006 Reduce the environmental impact of your print
A new website, twig.uk.com, has been launched with guidance for environmentally-friendly printing. Browse through materials by tint/texture, with complete info on fibre content, then search for an environmentally-certified printer.

6 Feb 2006 Study on international competitiveness of UK print
The European Commission has agreed to provide €80,000 of funding to study the international competitiveness of the European printing industry.

Jan 2006 Brand Security - Print Tools that Add Value while Securing Product Integrity
A surge in brand pirating and counterfeiting is opening up new opportunities for print, as firms across all industries seek ways to authenticate documents, product packaging and labels.