Consumables

Bolstered by a continuous, gradual improvement in economic conditions since the April–June 2009 quarter, DIC Corporation, the Sun Chemical brand owners, reported that overall demand in the three months ended June 30, 2010, rose sharply from the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, although it remained short of pre-recession levels.

 

In this environment, the DIC Group reported consolidated net sales of 196.8 billion yen ($2.3 billion), an increase of 15.0%, as all segments reported increases in sales both in Japan and overseas. Operating income increased 4.8 times, to ¥10.2 billion, owing to sales volume increases across the board and an improved product mix, among others.

 

For the Printing Ink & Supplies Group, overall sales of printing inks worldwide rose to ¥102.3 billion ($1.15 billion) in 1Q 2010, up 9.3 percent from ¥93.6 in 2009. In Japan, sales rose considerably by 21.3 percent, bolstered by the assumption of commercial rights for the domestic printing inks business of The Inctec, Inc., effective from the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. Sales of gravure inks were firm as demand for flexible packaging applications for beverage containers and food packaging remained steady.

 

In contrast, offset inks and news inks struggled, owing to, respectively, falling demand for publishing and advertising leaflets amid declining print runs and page counts for newspapers.

 

News inks and inks for publishing struggled in North America amid shrinking print runs for newspapers and magazines. Nonetheless, sales in North America and Europe were up for many products and overall by 4.9 percent to ¥66.1 billion ($746 million), led notably by mainstay packaging inks, owing to improved demand overall. In Central and South America, sales rose sharply, reflecting generally robust demand.

 

Operating income increased substantially, bolstered by the aforementioned sales results and by effective rationalization efforts, among others.

 

Sales in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) increased across the board, led by offset inks and gravure inks to export markets. In Southeast Asia, sales advanced, supported by firm demand for offset inks, gravure inks

and other products. In Oceania, sales were down as offset inks and news inks struggled, although the depreciation of the yen resulted in an increase in sales in the region. In India, sales rose overall, owing to brisk demand. Operating income rose, reflecting the aforementioned sales results.

Today in New York City, Avery Dennison set the Guinness World Record for largest amount of school supplies donated in a 24-hour period. Avery Dennison donated more than 8,500 pounds of school supplies to an in-need New York City school, shattering the record requirement of 1,102 lbs, 5 oz.

 

To establish the record, students from Adolph S Ochs School and Academy lined up at about 9 a.m. this morning to stuff a full-size school bus with the donated school supplies as part of the celebration. The feat was witnessed by an official Guinness World Record Adjudicator, who verified that the attempt adhered to the strict guidelines of the record category and presented Avery Dennison with a certificate documenting the new world record.

 

"I am so proud of what we accomplished here today: setting a new record that enables us not only to support a very deserving school, but also to help draw attention to the needs of schools throughout the country," said Tim Bond, Group Vice President, Avery Dennison Office Products North America. "Avery Dennison is committed to helping parents and teachers across America provide students with the highest-quality education possible, and the school supplies are vital to that success."

 

Guidelines for the record category stipulate that three elements must be present in all Guinness World Record proposals: an idea that is measurable, breakable and verifiable.

 

"We are very excited about Avery Dennison Guinness World Records attempt for Largest Amount of School Supplies Donated in 24 Hours. This is an entirely new record category that was inspired by Avery Dennison's unique proposal," said Danny Girton, Corporate Adjudications Manager, Guinness World Records. "This record attempt is a story with a heart, which is what Guinness World Records is all about: ordinary people striving to achieve extraordinary things."

 

The record-setting event is a part of the Avery Dennison Give Back to Schools program that was created in celebration of the company's 75th anniversary as a way to give back to the communities that have made the company's success possible. The program will provide 10 very deserving U.S. schools with Avery(R) premium school supplies. To enter to win, students, families and supporters (ages 18 and older) can vote for their local K-8 school now at www.averydennisongivebacktoschools.com. At the conclusion of the contest on September 5, the 10 schools with the highest number of votes will each win Avery-brand school supplies valued at approximately $10,000.

Sihl AG has developed new media for HP latex ink is designed to reduce the adverse health and environmental impact of printing with solvent inks.

 

The Germany-based company has developed new wet-strength poster papers that can be used with eco-friendlier latex inks and the HP Design-Jet Latex printer series ( L65500, L25500, LX 600 and LX800).

 

The multi-purpose Post-2-Cure Papers (125, 180 and blueback 125) linked to HP's new latex inks and print technology enable digital service providers to produce weather and water resistant prints compatible with results from real solvent inks.

 

"This new technology is an important development landmark for the digital imaging print market. The challenge has been to deliver an alternative technology alongside UV curing—a system which has some question marks—and solvents, which have also had question marks for a long time," said Stefan Bruch, product manager, Sihl. "This really is 'next generation' technology. Our papers, in conjunction with HP print and latex ink expertise now can produce prints that are less damaging to health and the environment but still guarantee high quality and productivity."

 

He added: "Solvents can be harmful, especially if you spend all day in a print room with them. And UV curing inks also present challenges with occasional paper cracking.

 

It is possible to get good print results with solvent ink compatible media but the printed image is not scratch resistant because it is weak on the surface and often not weather resistant. Our established Trisolve range focuses on solvent ink and UV curing inks to provide photo-realistic image quality which is good, but not water resistant. Our latest solution; the Post-2-Cure range, used with the new HP latex film is flexible and far more environmentally friendly.

 

"The solvent in this formulation doesn't evaporate in the same way as traditional solvent inks—and that means you don't breathe it in. The new latex technology avoids many of the disadvantages of solvent inks; the odor, their accumulation in inhaled air and the poor drying property of inks where there is a lack of ventilation and additional heating.

 

The high water content substantially reduces the unpleasant odor of latex inks but the resultant prints compare very favorably with those printed with solvent ink systems in terms of picture quality and durability."

 

Latex printing enables printing on numerous materials and Sihl says its Post-2-Cure papers are optimally suited for both indoor and general outdoor advertising.

 

Added Bruch: "These wet-strength, bright white poster papers are particularly recommended for the billboard sector. This is a great application for small print studios too. If they use a latex machine they can print water resistant finished products but they can also use water ink compatible media or solvent ink compatible media—this means complete versatility from one printer."

Mimaki SS21 inks now available in 2 litre sacks – creating financial and environmental benefits.

Mimaki’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland, Hybrid Services Ltd, is pleased to announce new, more environmentally friendly and financially attractive 2 litre ink sacks for the popular Mimaki SS21 outdoor inks. These run in Mimaki’s MBIS (Mimaki Bulk Ink System) – an option for use with Mimaki’s JV33 and JV5 printer range – and provide 16 litres of onboard ink for ultra long print runs. Currently available in 440cc cartridges – which themselves form an integral part of Hybrid’s successful Let's Do More rebate linked recycling scheme, the introduction of the 2 litre ink sacks tackle the environmental issues that are commonly linked to plastic cartridges.

The 2 litre ink sacks offer an 18% saving over the 440cc cartridges, and require Mimaki’s MBIS to run with. Payback on the MBIS unit on even a JV33 can be easily achieved within 3 months of printing – with many thousands of pounds of extra savings made for the remainder of the first year alone! Savings when used with a Mimaki JV5 are achieved significantly faster and the whole system offers excellent value all round. The MBIS features auto switching between sacks and delivers the ink in a highly precise manner – ensuring the ultimate in print quality and head control.

Hybrid’s national sales manager, John de la Roche said of the inks’ introduction; “As Mimaki’s printers get more and more productive, the desire to hold larger volumes of ink on board grows. With the 2 litre sacks, we’ve answered that request, and added a substantial cost saving into the mix too.”

“Shipping the ink sacks without the plastic outers saves considerably on materials as well as reducing the carbon footprint. We’re pleased to be ticking so many environmental and financial boxes with this product launch.”

The 2 litre, SS21 ink sacks are available via Hybrid’s sign and graphics resellers.

Pyramid Display has launched a new channel on You Tube – PyramidDisplayTV.

The new channel is part of a series of initiatives from Pyramid to inform both the sign and display and commercial print market of the many new wide format applications available.

Neil McCarthy, Head of Sales & Marketing for Pyramid explains the thinking behind the new channel “After visiting the recent FESPA exhibition and taking on board the theme of innovation in the market place I felt that there was actually a gap in the communication channel. Something was missing between some great new product applications and getting these through to the everyday producer of wide format and in turn to the end user. Products like MACtac’s GlassMovie, StreetRap, decoart and WallWrap are particularly hard to visualise until you can actually see them being applied and the finished application. We worked with MACtac to produce several videos showing their most innovative products actually being installed then looked at the best way to share these with the market – The answer was You Tube. All our customers have access to the internet and you can even watch the videos in super sharp HD if you like”

PyramidDisplayTV is live at www.youtube.com/pyramiddisplaytv and features 8 of the latest applications from MACtac including how to turn a glass window into a giant TV screen and creating a stunning graphic on a standard brick wall then make it graffiti proof.

 

INX Digital International Co. today unveiled its bold new look Web site at www.inxdigital.com

The new design unites all of the previous companies, including Triangle, Anteprima and others, that were acquired in the past three years and now operate under the INX Digital corporate umbrella.

Visitors to the Web site will find it to be much more user friendly than the old design.  A series of drop down menus provide a wide gamut of information previously unavailable.  The first menu item, About INX Digital, includes a message from INX Digital President Ken Kisner, in addition to a corporate fact sheet, news and events and sustainability information.

The Global Network section offers information to find a distributor and a separate support area.  OEM and Industrial Applications include resources, support and products, and the Evolve to Digital area offers videos, case studies and downloads.  A separate Alternative Inks products and support area promotes various solvent inks, in addition to UV curable, water-based and laminate products, plus parts and tools and technical support.

"The redesign of our Web site has been a priority for a long time, and I appreciate the support and patience exhibited by our customers," said Susie Mendelssohn, International Marketing Manager for INX Digital.  "We spent countless hours getting feedback from customers and others in the company to determine what we wanted to include.  This was a tireless task and I think the end result speaks for itself."

INX Digital has committed to a long range sustainability plan for nearly 10 years. A special section of the Web site details the company's ongoing efforts and provides a link to www.greeninx.com.  There is also a new section devoted to Company news.