Large Format Review - Business News

SGIA is connecting faster than ever before with the launch of its new online Live Support. Visitors to SGIA.org can request a live chat with the SGIA team with one click and staff will be able to answer their questions - right on the spot.

The new Live Support is part of the SGIA ASSIST program, a member benefit that provides unlimited technical, product referral, managerial support as well as  any general inquires, by toll-free phone, email and online chat services. There is no additional charge for support services, or a limit to the number of calls, emails or chats.

SGIA expert staff can help solve your printing problems so you can get back to work, saving you time and money. Whether you need an answer about graphic imaging, screen making, personnel practices, textile printing, wages and salaries, ink, or simply need a source for supplies, SGIA staff is there to guide you.

The BPIF is to streamline its senior management structure following the departure of Michael Johnson as Chief Executive at the end of June this year. The changes will mean that just two executive directors will now report to new CEO Kathy Woodward.

The changes follow a decision by Commercial Director Richard Gray to volunteer for redundancy effective from the end of June this year and the retirement of Corporate Affairs Director Andrew Brown at the end of March. However both Richard Gray and Andrew Brown have signed contracts to support the BPIF off-payroll for a minimum number of days’ work in their specialist areas. Richard Gray will work as the BPIF’s Commercial Adviser and Andrew Brown as Public Affairs Adviser.

Chief Executive-designate Kathy Woodward says: “I am keen to see a simpler management structure adopted at the BPIF, with a smaller top team and more devolved responsibility to regional directors and departmental managers. Michael Johnson and I are now putting this into place.

Although this means that two of our most experienced employees will no longer be operating at executive director level, I am delighted that they will continue to be part of our team. Both Richard and Andy will provide vital support in relation to the all-important areas of business development and lobbying respectively. The contracts we have made with them will ensure that their talent and expertise remains available to the BPIF and its members.”

 

Fujifilm today announces that it is due to open a new European “Advanced Print Technology Centre” focused on demonstrating the entire Fujifilm portfolio of digital print solutions. Located in Brussels, this state-of-the-art centre, which comprises over 500m² of demonstration space, will enable print service providers to learn how they can take advantage of the latest digital print technologies to help them drive their businesses forward and maximise revenues. Many digital print applications will be showcased, from SRA3 format commercial work to wide-format and super-wide format indoor and outdoor print applications, and at the heart of this state-of-the-art array of hardware will be XMF, Fujifilm’s unique cross-media workflow. The new centre will also host the company’s groundbreaking new B2 sheet-fed inkjet press, the Jet Press 720.

“We are very excited that 2011 marks the official opening of this new facility,” comments Ryuta Masui, senior vice president, FUJIFILM Europe GmbH. ‘Fujifilm’s digital solutions portfolio is among the strongest in the industry, and we felt that we needed a purpose-built facility to showcase these solutions. The new centre is perfectly located to allow print service providers from across Europe to experience the benefits of Fujifilm’s complete digital offering.”

The centre has been designed with the printer in mind, with a focus on end-to-end solutions and applications. The emphasis will be on the business issues that print service providers face on a daily basis and how Fujifilm’s digital portfolio, along with complementary technologies, can help to address these.

As Masui explains, “Printers visiting the centre can be assured that they won’t just be greeted with a technical demonstration of a particular machine. We pride ourselves on helping our customers to explore new business opportunities and the new centre has been designed to facilitate this. As well as a huge amount of demonstration space, we also have a lecture theatre and meeting rooms, making it the ideal facility for us to host product and business-orientated training sessions.

The address of the new centre is:  FUJIFILM Advanced Print Technology Centre, Excelsiorlaan 37; 1930 Zaventem, Brussels, Belgium.

Fuljifilm will be demonstrating their products and services on Stand B10 in Hall A4 at FESPA Digital

In response to rapidly increasing demand throughout the UK for its display and sign manufacturing solutions, Roland DG has appointed Radecal Machine Sales and Service as a Roland Partner representing its full range of digital printing and sign-making solutions. Based in Washington, Tyne and Wear, this enterprising company has many years of practical manufacturing experience behind it and this knowledge has brought significant extra value when it comes to supplying quality production solutions.

Radecal's new appointment as a Partner for Roland now increases the company's presence at the forthcoming Sign & Digital UK exhibition, being held at the NEC from 12 to 14 April 2011. This premiere UK event will see the company demonstrating the innovative VersaCAMM VS series with integrated cutting, in its version with metallic and white ink.

The families of sign and display manufacturing systems now available from Radecal Machine Sales and Service also include the Roland AdvancedJet AJ-1000 and AJ-740 industrial-strength units, all SolJet XC print-and-cut options and the SolJet XJ duo of high quality printers. These are complemented by the wide-format VersaART RS-640 which offers low-cost alternatives for textile and eco-solvent printing, along with Roland's GX suites of vinyl cutters.

Formed nearly ten years ago as a sign manufacturing specialist in the north east of the country, Radecal's experience in production soon led it down the road to becoming a knowledgeable and respected distributor. Starting out as a reseller of CNC routers, laser cutters and engraving machines, the company moved into the 3D rapid prototyping arena before adding laminating and other finishing options to its rapidly expanding portfolio of products.

Extremely selective about the solutions it distributes to businesses of all sizes, Radecal's Managing Director, Chris Economides, has always been impressed with the capabilities and reliability of Roland's broad range of systems. As a result, he was delighted to be appointed a Partner by the company and is extremely positive about being able to offer Roland's systems to customers on a national basis.

"Running with the hare and the hounds sometimes raises an eyebrow, but it makes perfect, logical sense for us to offer a full range of sign-making and wide-format printing equipment as a complement to our production business," explains Economides. "We are extremely well qualified to supply the best possible advice and service on Roland's products because we use them ourselves on a daily basis.

"We're proud to be investing in, and selling, what we consider to be the cream of all printer ranges. We have used Roland systems since we first started our sign business back in 2002 and we've always been impressed with their consistently high quality performance and value for money," he continues. "As a result, we're more than happy to have been appointed as Partner of such an impressive organisation and are now gearing up for a busy few months with Sign & Digital UK and various open days we are holding at our premises."

Rob Goleniowski, Business Manager – Sign and Graphics at Roland DG, comments: "Radecal is an ideal example of a company which wants to share its positive experiences using Roland solutions with sign-makers and display producers looking to invest. As more and more businesses from all walks of life want to work with our printers and cutters, we were looking to appoint a Partner in the north of the country, and this forward-thinking company is perfect for all of our product families."

 

Avery Dennison has given its business units new names to communicate their focus on market-driven solutions that help make brands more inspiring and the world more intelligent.

The company’s largest business unit, Roll Materials, becomes Label and Packaging Materials (LPM) to reflect the fact that its innovations in self-adhesive technology extend beyond labeling to packaging applications and solutions. 

Retail Information Services is now Retail Branding and Information Solutions (RBIS) to reflect its comprehensive suites of products and services for retailers and apparel brands, while Office Products becomes Office and Consumer Products to reflect the relevance of its organisation and identification solutions to the home as well as the office.

Graphics and Reflective Products becomes Graphics and Reflective Solutions; and Specialty Tape Division becomes Performance Tapes.  The company’s Specialty Converting Division, which includes Industrial and Automotive Products, Performance Films, Business Media and Security Printing, is now Designed and Engineered Solutions.  Medical Products, the RFID Division, and Automotive are now Medical Solutions, RFID, and Automotive Solutions respectively.

The names first appeared in the company’s online 2010 Year in Review, which is available at www.averydennison.com/2010review.  Titled “Inspired Brands. Intelligent World,” the review reflects the company’s vision for achieving customer satisfaction and sales and earnings growth through innovative, high-performance materials, technology and solutions. 

A chart showing all the names is available in the Year in Review at www.averydennison.com/2010review/businessnames.

Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery solutions, and EFI™ (Nasdaq: EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced they are extending their long-term partnership to include a new worldwide referral agreement that allows Océ to refer their customers to EFI for MIS systems. Océ now has the option to add extended value to their consultancy offerings by referring their customers to EFI for their EFI Pace and EFI Monarch solutions.
 
"Océ has been among the leading distributors of EFI's award-winning Fiery controllers for many years," said Crit Driessen, vice president of marketing and strategy at Océ. "With this agreement, we continue to enhance our ability to ensure we are providing leading edge, end-to-end solutions to our global customer base."
 
"EFI and Océ have been working successfully together for many years, and we're pleased to have a referral arrangement in place that will allow EFI solutions to reach a broader customer base in many new markets," said Marc Olin, senior vice president/general manager, EFIAdvanced Professional Print Software.  "With more than 12,000 print MIS installations already in place around the globe, we're confident that Océ's customers will realise huge gains in productivity and profits with our Pace and Monarch systems."
 
EFI Pace is a complete MIS system for commercial print shops, specialty and wide-format companies that automates the entire business process from estimating to production. EFI Monarch is a robust multi-dimensional workflow and management solution with multi-company, multi-division, multi-language, and multi-currency capabilities.