Large Format Review - Business News

Durst is pleased to announce the appointment of Spandex as sole UK distributor of its new Omega 1 UV inkjet printer

The Omega 1 is an entry level, industrial standard UV inkjet printer with fine art printing quality. It defines a new quality standard for sign makers, graphic display companies, screen printers, photolabs and studios.

Hans Klarenbeek, European Sales Manager of Durst, said: “The appointment of Spandex will greatly enhance our presence in the UK screen and digital printing market. The company has a unique knowledge and experience of this market sector and will help to present the Omega 1 to a large target audience.”

“I am delighted that Durst’s Omega 1 is now part of Spandex’s portfolio,” said Leon Watson, Spandex Hardware Director. “As a one-stop supplier to the sign making and digital printing industries, Omega 1 complements our range by offering customers the opportunity to enter the UV print market and achieve fine art printing quality at industrial production speeds.”

Omega 1

Designed with the typical high precision of Durst and manufactured with the most modern production technology in the heart of Europe, the Omega 1 is fully in keeping with the Rho tradition. However, its production level and price are designed to meet the needs of the entry level customer.

The fine art printing quality of the Omega 1 is achieved by a resolution of up to 1728 dpi, greyscale printing technology and a large colour gamut, thanks to the optional process colour additions of orange and violet, grey, light magenta and light cyan. The precision transport of the printheads is by advanced magnetic linear drive, further ensuring consistently accurate printing.

It is capable of printing on the widest range for roll and rigid material and the high quality universal UV Omega 1 inks also provide perfect adhesion on hard, non-absorbent surfaces as well as flexible materials. Their excellent adhesion to such media as metals, polycarbonates and acrylics is of particular importance to sign makers. In addition, the inks are supplied in 1litre cubitainers to ensure that the ink retains its optimal performance and adhesion even at low production levels.

Although very compact in size, the new machine will print large images up to 160cm wide by any length, which is only limited by the media length, and is capable of a print speed of up to 35m² per hour.

 

GMG, a leading developer and supplier of high-end colour management software solutions, today announced that the company had succeeded in achieving a substantial increase in sales of 30% in 2010, compared to the previous year.

The highest growth was recorded in Germany/Austria/Switzerland, the largest single region for GMG, and in Oceania. Software sales likewise rose in France and Northeast Asia, as well as in the Iberia region. The good development at the company's three subsidiaries - GMG Americas, GMG Japan, and GMG UK - was above average.

The formation of three Business Units within the company - Proofing, Press Room, and Digital - likewise made progress in 2010. The focus in the "Proofing" sector was on the company's packaging solutions. The strategic partnerships with printer manufacturers Mimaki and Roland were further expanded in this context. Attention in the "Press Room" sector continued to concentrate on solutions for standardising printing processes. The partnership with HP took concrete shape in the "Digital" sector. For the first time, GMG now offers a customer-specific software bundle, tailored specifically to the requirements of HP Scitex users. The GMG ColorServer Suite for HP Scitex printers includes GMG ColorServer, GMG SmartProfiler, preconfigured hotfolders, and colour profiles for instant use.

"We're highly satisfied with the sales trend in 2010, and have an optimistic view of the future as we look ahead in 2011," says Paul Willems, Managing Director of GMG GmbH & Co. KG. "Our targeted approach regarding growth and development has made GMG the leading colour management developer, supplier and partner in the graphic arts industry. Thanks to the constant expansion of our software portfolio, and our partnerships with leading suppliers in the industry, we can offer consistent, high-quality colour management and colour control for a wide range of users," says Willems. "Although the economic situation remains difficult, there are still plenty of opportunities - as impressively demonstrated by our extremely successful presence at IPEX 2010. GMG will continue to invest in partnerships in the future, expanding its global presence and offering top-class colour management tools for specific printing tasks. We're certain that the forthcoming drupa 2012 will be another important milestone for GMG on the way to consolidating its leading role in the highly complex and quality-oriented field of colour management."

Avery Dennison Corporation today announced preliminary, unaudited first quarter 2011 results. All non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled to GAAP in the attached tables.

"Avery Dennison delivered solid sales growth in the first quarter, with strong performances by Pressure-sensitive Materials and Retail Branding and Information Solutions," said Dean A. Scarborough, Avery Dennison chairman, president and CEO.

"Pricing actions and productivity initiatives mitigated the impact on margins of increased raw material costs," Scarborough said. "We will continue to aggressively manage the impact of inflation.

"As we expected, Office and Consumer Products had an extremely soft first quarter. We are confident that our investments in new products and demand creation will change the trajectory of this business," Scarborough said.

"For the full year, we expect Avery Dennison to deliver solid growth, margin expansion and strong free cash flow that will support share repurchases later in the year," Scarborough said. "We are well positioned for long-term profitable growth and increased returns."

For more details on the Company's results, see the Company's supplemental presentation materials, "First Quarter 2011 Financial Review and Analysis," posted at the Company's Web site at www.investors.averydennison.com, and furnished under Form 8-K with the SEC.

First Quarter 2011 Results by Segment

All references to sales reflect comparisons on an organic basis, which exclude the impact of foreign currency translation. All references to operating margin exclude the impact of restructuring charges and other items.

Pressure-sensitive Materials (PSM)

Label and Packaging Materials (formerly Roll Materials) sales grew at a low double-digit rate reflecting both solid volume growth and pricing actions. Sales grew at a high single-digit rate in Graphics and Reflective Solutions.

Operating margin declined as the benefits of pricing actions, increased volume, and productivity initiatives were more than offset by raw material inflation.

Operating margin improved sequentially as the gap between raw material costs and pricing narrowed.

Retail Branding and Information Solutions (RBIS) (formerly Retail Information Services)

Sales growth reflected increased demand from retailers and brands in the U.S. and Europe.

Operating margin increased due to increased volume and productivity initiatives, partially offset by higher employee costs. Operating margin decreased sequentially due to lower volume, reflecting this segment's normal seasonal trend.

Office and Consumer Products (OCP)

More than half of the decline in sales was due to anticipated customer inventory reductions following a build in the fourth quarter of 2010. The balance of the decline was related to weak end market demand and last year's distribution losses with one customer.

Operating margin declined due primarily to lower volume and raw material inflation.

Other specialty converting businesses

Sales growth primarily reflected increased demand for products for automotive and other specialty applications.

Operating margin declined primarily due to expenses related to a warehouse fire in Brazil. The benefits from increased volume, pricing actions, and productivity initiatives more than offset the impact of raw material inflation. Excluding the impact of the fire, operating profit would have been positive.

Other

The first quarter effective GAAP tax rate was 34 percent. The adjusted tax rate for the first quarter increased from 22 to 25 percent, reflecting reduced benefits from discrete tax events this year.

Outlook

In the Company's supplemental presentation materials, "First Quarter 2011 Financial Review and Analysis," the Company provides a list of factors that it believes will contribute to its 2011 financial results. Based on the factors listed and other assumptions, the Company continues to expect adjusted (non-GAAP) earnings per share of $3.00 to $3.30 and free cash flow of $325 to $350 million in 2011.

Note: Throughout this release and the supplemental presentation materials, all calculations of amounts on a per share basis reflect fully diluted shares outstanding.

Yesterday's EFI Q1 2011 earnings announcement was highlighted by the dramatic upswing in business in the EMEA region. With total year-over-year revenue growth of 26%, EFI's business in EMEA showed a  42% YoY increase, the highest of any region in the world.

"Our amazing start to 2011 in EMEA can be traced to our decisions to continue innovation across the board, when most companies cut back due to the recession. All of our products, Fiery, MIS, DSF, VUTEk/Rastek and Jetrion saw significant growth in the EMEA region in Q1," said Paul Cripps, vice-president and managing director of EFI EMEA.  "Key investments made in our EMEA sales and service organisations helped leverage our product portfolio across the board. I'm very thankful to all of our customers and our partners for their confidence in our products. Over the next few months there will be more exciting new products announced, with the upcoming FESPA trade show as a hub to show our entire inkjet and software product portfolio.  Our expectation is to use these events to increase our market share throughout the region."

European Printers Comment on the Rewards from Investments in EFI Products.

Denona Ltd of Zagreb, Croatia has recently installed EFI's Monarch print management information system. "Monarch allows you to identify which types of jobs are most cost effective and most profitable and then build a sales strategy around that," said production manager Robert Valpotic.

Living Stone is a marketing communications agency in Ghent, Belgium, which caters to a discerning international clientele of leading brands. When it was time for a new multi-functional printer at their offices last December, CEO Bart Verduyn insisted on a colour quality benchmark. "The results were presented to us in the Brussels showroom of Konica Minolta. The best combination by far for our purposes was the Konica Minolta C280 and EFI's Fiery RIP. There was simply no contest in the colour category," he said.

Niggemeyer Bildproduktion GmbH & Co. KG in Bochum is one of the largest large-format printers in Germany. They have recently bought EFI's VUTEk GS3200 superwide format printer ¬- their eleventh VUTEk in 11 years. Managing director Roland Niggemeyer sees printing on rigid materials as the biggest growth area.  "For rigid materials, EFI has developed the ability to print multiple prints at the same time side by side. Hence we can print four of these 70 cm wide PVC webs, which we cannot do on any other machine, thereby further increasing productivity," he said. 

Ready for the Future

"Companies in Europe prove more resilient and resourceful when facing today's new challenges," continues EFI's Paul Cripps.  "They know that they can only win by investing in innovative products that reduce cost, streamline operations and lead to new, high-margin applications. Our numbers show that for these products, they turn to EFI and its end-to-end fully integrated portfolio of printing hardware, software and inks. Ultimately we are able to increase our customer's market share, enabling them to drive more profit.  Throughout the recession, we continued to invest approximately 20% of our revenue in R&D and actively recruited in the region. As a result, our innovations are now ready when businesses need them.

With Sign UK, Northprint, Fespa Digital and Labelexpo Europe and many more leading trade events on this year's calendar, we are ready to bring even more innovations to the market and demonstrate how our customers can benefit from them in order to succeed, " he added.

[picture shows Paul Cripps, vice-president and managing director of EFI EMEA, at Sign & Digital UK 2011 Show]

Electronics For Imaging, Inc., a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced its results for the first quarter of 2011. For the quarter ended March 31, 2011, the Company reported revenue of $140.1 million, compared to first quarter 2010 revenue of $110.8 million.

GAAP net income was $6.2 million or $0.13 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2011, compared to GAAP net loss of $(11.4) million or $(0.25) per diluted share for the same period in 2010. Q1 2011 GAAP net income of $6.2 million was primarily driven by a strong revenue quarter and significant improvements in gross margin.

Non-GAAP net income was $13.5 million or $0.28 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2011, compared to non-GAAP net loss of ($0.1) million or ($0.00) per diluted share for the same period in 2010.

"Our exceptional results in Q1, with 26% year-over-year revenue growth, are a strong indication of the opportunities ahead for EFI as we maintain our focus on the fastest growing segments of printing," said Guy Gecht, Chief Executive Officer of EFI. "The efficiencies and profitability our customers are achieving with EFI's innovative technology are driving strong growth across all three of our businesses. We look forward to furthering our market leadership and customer loyalty as we introduce innovative new products this week at Connect 2011, EFI's user conference, and the ISA industry show."

Previously reported revenue in the Fiery and APPS operating segments for the three months ended March 31, 2010 has been revised to conform to the presentation used for the three months ended March 31, 2011, reflecting the reclassification of Proofing software revenue from the APPS to the Fiery operating segment. Total revenue reported for the three months ended March 31, 2010 has not changed.

Wasatch Computer Technology, an industry-leading developer of RIP & Print Management software, has joined forces with Global Imaging to provide their wide and grand format print industry clients with an integrated, turnkey solution to their digital imaging needs.

Global Imaging works with a variety of industries, including advertising agencies, service bureaus, screen printers, sign shops, and beverage suppliers. They sell complete commercial digital print systems and offer a comprehensive array of supplies and services. Because Wasatch SoftRIP is sophisticated RIP software made easy, it was a perfect addition to Global Imaging's product line. With simple setup, intuitive workflow, and powerful print controls, SoftRIP saves users time and money while producing excellent quality colour.

"Our installs with Wasatch have been with HP Designjet L25500 printers in multiple Alphagraphics sites throughout the country and with Agfa Anapurna printers that we've placed in several independent shops," says Josh Marten, West Coast Territory Manager. "Wasatch SoftRIP is extremely easy to use and is designed to cater to all markets - from entry level to the more experienced. And, Wasatch provides stellar support."

As a Value Added Reseller, Global Imaging is a reliable source of intelligence for their clients in the wide and grand format print industry. Global provides solutions to clients who range in size from 400+ locations to the individual sign shop. No matter how large or complex the production environment, SoftRIP has the tools users need for complete control. With its 16-bit colour rendering pipeline, exclusive Precision Stochastic Screens halftone method, direct-to-layout workflow, powerful colour management tools, and ability to drive up to four printers simultaneously, SoftRIP makes any workflow really flow.

"In determining our product lines, we utilise a standard that combines technical mastery of the product and a service commitment from the manufacturer," says Tara Lamb, President. "A primary purpose of sticking to our standards is to assure we have a minimum of problems on the service end of the products we sell, and a high satisfaction level from our clients."

Wasatch SoftRIP is available in the UK and Europe from Tech8