Large Format Review - Business News

Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. announced today that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to buy the business of Bravo Solutions, Inc. of Elmira, New York.

Bravo is a leading supplier of specialty synthetic and paper substrates for digital printing. The acquisition will include all brands and certain assets, including manufacturing capacity for converted products, which will remain in Elmira.

Bravo substrates are designed and engineered for both toner and wet-ink printing systems. Mohawk plans to fully integrate the Bravo portfolio, including pressure sensitive, synthetic substrates, integrated products, embedded card sheets and magnetic materials, into the existing Mohawk digital product offering creating the most extensive portfolio of digital substrates in the world.

According to Thomas D. O'Connor, Jr., Mohawk's chairman and CEO, "An acquisition of Bravo will be a strategic opportunity for Mohawk and its customers. We are committed to expanding our offerings to the growing digital print market. These premium substrates represent high value, high volume opportunities for printers, merchants and their customers."

Following the acquisition, Ray Mahar, founder of Bravo, will join Mohawk as Director of Sales, Digital Specialty Substrates. In this new position, Ray will be responsible for business development and sales for both the current Bravo line and an expanded portfolio being developed by Mohawk.

"I would be extremely pleased to join the Mohawk team," said Mahar. "This venture will provide an expanded distribution network for Bravo products, as well as a platform to bring new application-specific products to digital printers that will enable them to leverage their investment in technology and grow their businesses."

The companies are working together to agree on definitive purchase documentation as quickly as possible so as to smoothly transition sales of all products to Mohawk by early third quarter.

DPLenticular and www.lenstar.org, which teamed up to create the Lenstar Lenticular Print Award, are very proud to announce the winners of the LLPA 2011 edition. The winning lenticular projects were exhibited at Dimension 3, the International 3D & New Image Forum in Paris. Judging from the many participants and the high quality of the submitted lenticular projects, it is only fair to say that the importance of lenticular imaging as a product and promotional differentiator is growing steadily.

To cover the entirety of applications for which lenticular images are suited, five different categories were created: Sales, Premium, Packaging, Promotional and Large Format. Next to the official judging, there was also a Public Preference Award. Out of the more than 100 entries, including visual effects such as flips, animation, zoom, morphing and 3D, the jury unanimously selected a winner for each category. Entries were judged based on the following criteria: creation (relevance and impact of the message, and originality), technical prepress (resolution, effects,…), technical printing (colour synchro, phasing, and colorimetric profiling).

And the winners are…

• “Amiens Cathedral” by Media Relief in the category Sales material
• “Self promotion Boxes” by Klenke Druck GmbH in the category Premium promotional material
• “Coffee Beans” Print Animates magazine cover by Gill Studio in the category Packaging material
• “German Telekom poster” by Weber Druck+Display in the category Promotional material
• “Royal Navy” sub morph bus shelter by Riot of Colour in the category Large Format material
• “Chains” by Kirchner Print. Media GmbH & Co. KG received the Public Preference Award

Entries exceeded expectations

“The LLPA award provides a crucial venue for critical analysis and comparison of a variety of lenticular projects”, says Barry Johnson, Director and Creator of LENSTAR.org. “The entries exceeded our expectations in terms of quality and variety, with participants from all continents, displaying a broad and comprehensive showcase of what can be achieved with lenticular printing. We can safely claim this first edition was a great success and we look forward to building on this success with the LLPA Award 2012!"

Lenticular is suitable for many applications

Daniel Pierret, managing director and founder of DPLenticular also comments: “Our primary goal is to promote lenticular as a marketing communication tool. The variety of images showed clearly how lenticular print can give good results for a lot of applications like mailings, premium promotions, point of sales, packaging’s, magazine covers, … up to large format bus shelters! We could also see that lenticular printing is providing a very attractive solution for editors of sales items like postcards and posters. For a first edition, we are very satisfied and we believe the participants were happy as well. Many of them came to Paris to visit the show and see the LLPA booth, showing the interest they have for the Award.”

A final word of thanks

“We would like to congratulate and thank all the members of the Jury”, concludes Daniel Pierret. “They performed a terrific job. Although their backgrounds and experiences are very different, we were surprised to see how easy it was to come to a unanimous decision on the results. We also like to thank the participants, as there is no LLPA without their participation, for their positive feedback and suggestions for future editions. Today we are already started working on the 2012 edition. To make sure there is enough time for everyone interested to participate, we will start the promotion of the 2012 LLPA Award after the summer.”
 

Antalis McNaughton has launched a free mobile app that enables printers to search for papers suitable for use in their large format printers. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and android devises and is available to download from iTunes and Android Marketplace.

The app is simple to use. When launched, users are prompted to tick their machines from a comprehensive list of manufacturers models, a list of materials that are guaranteed specifically for their printer is then presented. Full product descriptions are included together with links back to the Antalis McNaughton website to check availability and purchase online.

Chris Green, market manager for Antalis McNaughton Sign and Display says: “This app is designed for busy printers to help them quickly and easily find media relevant to their specific machines.  From this they can view our full catalogue of products and browse our latest promotions. We have even included handy Sheet and Reel Calculators to help determine product prices, weights and sizes.”

To obtain the free app simply enter Antalis McNaughton in the search function on iTunes or Android Marketplace. The app will shortly be available to download direct from the Antalis McNaughton website.

EFI, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, has added a new dimension to its Fiery services portfolio launched in 2010 with the introduction of Fiery Consulting Services. EFI now offers interactive one-on-one sessions with Fiery experts on nine topics that teach customers how to better use powerful Fiery features, workflows and tools.
 
"This new offering, along with our existing Fiery Service programs, helps Fiery users gain an in-depth understanding of feature functionality and new ways to improve their productivity," said Vicki Sam, vice president of customer advocacy at EFI.
 
The new Fiery Consulting Services provide a remote five-hour consultation session with a Fiery expert geared to expanding user knowledge and can include such topics as:

• Workflow automation using hot folders and virtual printers
• Getting started with Variable Data Printing workflow
• Impose and compose techniques with Fiery SeeQuence Suite
• Creating media profiles and consistent, predictable colour with Fiery Color Profiler Suite
• How to maintain a Fiery server
• Optimising Fiery colour by managing spot colour output and ICC profiles
• Paper Catalog workflow
• Using Fiery Graphic Arts Package features to optimise printing
• Using Fiery Command WorkStation job management tools 

EFI's current Fiery Implementation Services for MicroPress and Fiery Central products help partners provide a smooth, efficient installation process by bringing a Fiery expert onsite. For more information, visit www.efi.com/fiery/implementation.

Brian Snow, president of Advanced Business Systems, and a Fiery Dealer said of his recent experiences with Fiery Implementation Services,"Advanced Business Systems was awarded an RFP on a government account that included the installation, setup and training of two major production sites. Prior to this project we had limited experience with MicroPress servers, and we needed to get our analysts up-to-speed quickly. After calling in the experts from EFI, we are very pleased with the end results. Our customer is very satisfied, because both sites are generating significant and steady volumes, and ABS has gained a very strong production referral."
 
EFI has always offered world-class technical support, and with a software support agreement or software maintenance and support agreement, dealers can directly contact the Fiery Help Desk for faster issue resolution.

 

HP today announced a number of organisational changes that will more closely align its corporate structure with the revised corporate strategy it announced in March this year.

The organisational changes will increase transparency for these business functions relative to the company’s strategic roadmap, sharpening the executive team’s focus on customer-facing businesses, further enabling opportunities for synergies across business units, and positioning HP for the opportunities it sees in the market. The company also announced that one of its most successful executives is joining the HP board of directors, and it has appointed executive sponsors for two of its most important growth markets.

Ann Livermore has been elected to the HP board. Her election reflects the success of her career as one of the IT industry’s most talented and respected executives. During her 29-year career with HP, Livermore has been instrumental in helping countless HP customers grow and transform their businesses. While she will step down from her day-to-day management of the HP Enterprise Business, Livermore will contribute valuable guidance to the organization as a member of the board. To effect a smooth transition, Livermore will continue to serve as interim lead for HP Enterprise Services and sponsor certain key accounts until a new services leader is named.

“Ann’s distinguished role as a leader of our largest business, deep relationships with our most important customers, institutional knowledge of the company and its employees, and insights on the technology industry will be tremendous assets to our board of directors,” said Ray Lane, non-executive chairman, HP board of directors. “On behalf of HP’s 320,000-plus employees, I would like to congratulate Ann on her election and offer our heart-felt gratitude for her long service and dedication to this company.”

Customer-facing business units to report to CEO

Elevating businesses most critical to customers and which play a key role in delivering on the opportunities the company sees as the IT industry evolves, Dave Donatelli, executive vice president, Enterprise Servers, Storage, Networking and Technology Services, and Bill Veghte, executive vice president, Software, will now report directly to Léo Apotheker, HP chief executive officer and president, giving their respective units greater visibility and support throughout the entire HP organisation. Similarly, Jan Zadak, executive vice president, Global Sales, also will report to Apotheker, facilitating efforts to better leverage the full HP portfolio to deliver integrated solutions for customers and partners.

“These businesses play a vital role in our continued growth and success, and as such, Dave, Bill and Jan will report directly to me and help drive the overall direction for HP,” said Apotheker. “In our ongoing effort to accelerate our progress in executing our strategy, we will continue to make the necessary changes that streamline our operations, drive focus and agility, and position us for success.”

As part of the realignment to improve the company’s focus on customer-facing businesses, HP will streamline its administrative operations. HP will eliminate the chief administration officer role and broaden the role of its chief information officer. As a result, Pete Bocian, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, is leaving HP, effective immediately. The functions that make up that organisation will be subsumed within other parts of HP. In addition, Randy Mott, executive vice president and chief information officer, is leaving HP effective immediately. The company will conduct a search for a successor. The company thanks Pete and Randy for their efforts and wishes them the best in their next endeavours.

Executives to sponsor key markets – China and India

As communicated in March, one of HP’s key priorities will be to deliver unique and innovative market-specific solutions to customers. Both China and India are critical markets to HP, and the company will increase its dedication to supporting these markets. To achieve this, in addition to their existing global business leadership roles, Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, will lead cross-business initiatives focused on expanding HP’s market share in China, and Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, will lead similar efforts in India.

Nazdar Ltd, a leading manufacturer of screen and digital printing inks and chemicals, has announced an agreement with Ulano, the specialist manufacturer of stencil-making products and chemicals for screen printing processes, to become the exclusive distributor of Ulano screen printing products throughout the United Kingdom.  With immediate effect, Ulano’s complete portfolio of films, emulsions and chemicals can now be purchased from Nazdar’s Stockport-based business.

Bob Oakley, Nazdar’s EMEA Sales Director, comments, “Ulano products are a mainstay of the screen printing industry and are supported by ongoing investment into the continued advancement of stencil technology.  The addition of Ulano products to our portfolio represents an important expansion of our screen printing offering and this is sure to ultimately benefit our customers.”

Romano Kirschbaumer, Director of International Sales for Ulano, added, “Ulano is delighted to expand its partnership with Nazdar to encompass the UK marketplace.  The two companies are established world-class leaders in the industry and we can leverage this technical excellence to ensure we continue to meet the needs of screen print customers.”