Elna Press managing director Trevor Coon explained: “The selection of Label Traxx to manage our growing label business was not difficult. We found that no other software package available has the breadth of features or has been developed specifically for use by label producers. In 2008, Elna Press celebrates 50 years of service to the label and packaging industry. We expect that Label Traxx will enable Elna Press to continue growing for another 50 years.”

Commenting on the new installation, Tailored Solutions president Ken Meinhardt said: “Label Traxx is the print business management software of choice for label printers around the world. We are indeed gratified by the selection of Label Traxx by Elna Press, and for their confidence in our product.”

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

Emeritus Professor Harry Lovell said that the Certificate course opens up a new window for packaging training in Australia enabling students to complete a shorter, less intensive program than the Diploma but with credits provided toward the Diploma for successful students. These courses are equivalent to those now being embraced by the European Union and are accredited by the Packaging Industry Awarding Body Company in the UK (PIABC). As such, packaging professionals holding Diplomas or Certificates gained via the AIP will have qualifications which are internationally recognised and able to be leveraged in employment opportunities in other regions, particularly Europe.

Paul Haberland, head of packaging at Nestlé and a campaigner for packaging training for many years, added that Nestlé has taken this step in recognition of the projected volume of packaging innovation projects and packaging’s significance to the business – both as an investment in the company’s brands and a key cost input. “Nestlé intends to deliver a long-term resource of highly skilled packaging specialists by building on their existing education and experience. We are excited with the AIP’s offering and hold this program in high esteem.”

“Skill shortages are being felt by all businesses at the moment and talent retention is a strategic imperative. In this environment, training is a key attraction for staff in planning a future with a company and those companies with vision will gain from developing resources from within to underpin current and future demands. It is a win-win for both parties,” Craig Wellman, vice president of the AIP, said.

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

The course is delivered and mentored by Paul Kohn, principal of AKP Leura, a leading consulting firm in management and control systems. AKP LEURA has assisted many firms obtaining ISO 14001 certification, including GASAA member Focus Press. Kohn specialises in the areas of safety, quality insurance and environmental certification. He is a member of the Standards Australia Committee on ISO 14001 (QR11) and the Corporate Environmental Managers Group.

The GASAA EM Course aims to keep your company up to date with the latest industry developments and global trends by boosting your internationally recognised green credentials. You will receive group training and information sessions on how to set up and Environmental Management System to comply with ISO14001; generic documents which can be used to provide all the written procedures and other documentation to obtain ISO14001; a one-year subscription to Law Guides valued at $1,800 includes an update service indicating law changes as required by ISO14001.

Kohn will spend a half day at each participating site identifying risks specific to the site and begin the process of recording environmental information required by ISO14001. At the end of the six months a further half day will be spent on site during which an audit will be conducted to prove that an Environmental Management System has been implemented that is based on ISO14001. A successful audit will result in the issue of a GASAA certificate that the company has implemented an Environmental Management System based on ISO14001.

Click here for more information on the course

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

Outer Aspect’s marketing executive, Sharmila Patel says close liaison with Australia Post and its designers was required to ensure the correct movements, wave sequences and overall look were achieved. “The video footage provided was converted into a series of small clips and output onto specially-formatted lithographic plates then printed onto the reverse side of clear optical plastic lens.

“A specialised coating was then put on the back to make it reflective rather than a translucent image. This was followed by the application of a specialised adhesive produced especially for the philatelic market. The work was finished by adding unique security features that make a bona fide stamp and die cutting to enable the stamp to be removed from the sheetlet.”

Despite Outer Aspect having established itself as the world-leader in this technology throughout the philatelic community, Ms Patel says this job was the most technically difficult mini-sheet yet undertaken. “We were required to provide motion across the whole mini-sheet, whereas prior to this we had only done MotionPrint at individual stamp size. It required all of our skills and through the process we hit the limits to what the printing press can achieve – the tolerances required proved to be beyond what a standard printing press can do. Our company is always pushing the boundaries of technical development and each job has its own unique requirements that require constant development of market innovation.”

Click here to see MotionPrint in action

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

“Our large format printer business is growing rapidly and with the release of Epson’s first durable graphics printer, the Stylus Pro GS6000, for the sign and display markets we are expecting this rapid growth to continue,” said Craig Heckenberg, head of the Business Solutions Group, which includes the Large Format Printers Group and the Business Systems (POS printers) Group. “Romano brings considerable experience and an outstanding record in customer service to this role. He gives our business the necessary experience and knowledge to expand, while still meeting the needs of our professional print customers.”

Romano Bacci joined Epson Singapore in 1998 in the international business division as a sales executive and managed distribution channels and sales for a range of products across seven countries. In 2005 he moved to the large format printer team as the product manager until moving to Australia this year to take up this new role. “Epson Australia has had great success in the large format market and I am very happy to be leading our large format team when we have so many new and innovative products being launched,” said Bacci.

Epson’s continued investment in large-format printer technology has been rewarded with the ‘Best large format printer in Europe 2008′ award for the Epson Stylus Pro 11880, a professional printer developed for large format applications including fine-art printing, photography and proofing. The TIPA judges praised the Epson UltraChromeT K3 with Vivid Magenta Ink which offers two new magenta inks ensuring a more precise colour reproduction – especially in difficult-to-match red and blue areas of the colour spectrum. They also recognised the benefits offered by Epson’s Micro Piezo Thin-Film print head, which ejects approximately 40,000 droplets of ink per second to enable high-speed, high-resolution printing.

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

In this year’s Awards, being presented at Auckland’s SkyCity Convention Centre on May 16, Original Screen has entered a Waikato Draught promotional item on a 20mm-deep corrugated zinc alume flute in the digital printing ‘other’ category. The Publicis Mojo advertising agency promotion features a cow looking up at an oversized hay bale alongside the caption “for a hardcase thirst”. The 600mm x 1200mm corrugated iron gives additional life to the farm scene and Waikato heritage, which the advert is aiming to reinforce with potential consumers.

However, delivering on that vision required both skill and technology, says Nash. “About 18 months ago we became the first and only printer in the country to install an Inca Columbia Turbo flatbed UV printer – the printheads work on voltage firing ink particles onto the substrate at high resolution. We hadn’t done a lot on corrugated iron before and one of the challenges was the ink adhesion factor. Rather than laying down clear adhesion promoters to get the ink to key, we tested and then used high-end Sericol ink, and printed directly onto it.

“That enabled us to take a raw piece of stock off the shelf, put it through the machine and print it with same-day turnaround. Generally on a product like that, where you have a corrugated surface over 20mm deep, the printheads deliver a very high resolution at the top points but then tend to spray out a little bit in the valleys. But this job came out particularly well. The client thought it was fantastic.”

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

“For our service-oriented business, it’s critical we’re able to route customer calls for assistance to technicians and respond to breakdown calls as fast as possible. To ensure these priorities are met, we rely on Lawson Enterprise Mobility. It provides our field service technicians with all the information they need at their fingertips, regardless of where they are,” says Stephen Ribchester, shared services manager at GBC Australia.

GBC evaluated several mobility solutions before deciding to implement Lawson Enterprise Mobility. This decision was also supported by the fact that the solution fully integrates with any existing backend system. “We already had Lawson M3 as our backend system, so adding on Lawson Enterprise Mobility for Service was relatively easy. The other advantage of having both systems in place is that if the Lawson Enterprise Mobility system should ever go down for any reason, we can easily continue to function by switching over to the manual service system under M3. So, redundancy is built into the system in this way,” confirms Ribchester.

“We’ve improved not only customer service but also customers’ perceptions of GBC Australia through using the latest technology. However, the improved utilisation of our service technicians’ time including travel time and job processing are the real advantages of Lawson Enterprise Mobility. Ultimately, these improvements will help us stay ahead of the competition in the future.”

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

Gord Weisflock, GC Market Development, believes Kodak’s comprehensive package offerings will ensure Asia Pacific users find a complete solution close to their needs at this year’s drupa. “Kodak’s Magnus and Trendsetter CtP devices, paired with Kodak Prinergy Evo or Prinergy Connect workflow technology and Prepress portal solutions enable greater convenience and simplicity in the production workflow process, and bring a truly computer-to-plate solution.

“Whether you are looking for a 4-page, 8-page, VLF or even an XLF device, the Kodak Magnus and Kodak Trendsetter will provide a hassle-free production process with auto-loaders that make partial ‘lights-off prepress’ possible with minimal manpower involved in production. Everything will be made flexible and efficient without the manual loading of plates, perfect for the increasing demands in lead time and speed.”

The introduction of the newest versions of the Kodak Insite Variable Data Print System Version 4.0 and Kodak Prinergy Digital Print System Version 5.0 extends the capability of its Unified Workflow Solution to encompass the planning, creating, and executing of personalised, integrated marketing campaigns. The Kodak Insite Solution family delivers support for both inbound and outbound channels to offer a comprehensive communication solution including personalised URL (pURL) support, variable email, personalised landing pages and variable data print.

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

Commenting on the win he said: “It was exciting for all of the staff when they learned that I had entered and won this magnificent printer. We have an older HP Designjet 2500 at our Hornsby store and upgrading it has been on our minds for some time. To be able to do this for free is obviously an advantage. We look forward to the new clientele that we will be able to attract with this new high speed printer. A very big thank you to everyone at HP.”

Ben Ho, South Pacific market development manager for HP Designjet – Large Format Printing Division, extended his congratulations to Chris and the team at Snap Printing. “The printer has already been delivered and I am confident that Snap Printing will be able to grow its large format business with the installation of its new HP Designjet 9000s. Congratulations on a great result.”

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au

Wrapping the MAN prime mover and the A and B trailers was no small task, with over 20 specialists required to get the job done in just four days. Roland DG, who provide state-of-the-art digital graphic printers for all of SBR’s sign writing needs, produced 450m² of printed vinyl to cover the entire truck. The massive task took three machines 55 hours to prepare, print and laminate the material. 3M also came to the party with the latest digital graphic film, 3M Controltac Plus IJ180Cv2-10 and Scotchcal High Gloss Overlaminate 8518, to ensure a high gloss, wet paint look.

The SBR race transporter was transformed inside the Brisbane Truck Centre where masses of scaffolding, metres of extension leads and numerous flood lights, ladders, trestles and heat guns were employed to allow a team of 15, including seven sign writing apprentices from the Southbank Institute of Technology, to work on the 26-metre long truck and trailer at the same time. Critical to the success of the project was Steve Lambourne and the crew from Clegg Media. Steve’s company specialises in vehicle wrapping, with the team at Clegg Media wrapping over 100 trucks last year.

The result of this enormous project is an amazing continuous mural showcasing SBR’s V8 Supercar Championship BF Ford Falcons, its two drivers and its corporate partners. It could well be Australasia’s, and possibly the world’s, largest vehicle wrap.

- More Printing Industry News at Printerspost.com.au