Drupa 2012 draws to a close

Drupa is the world’s largest printing equipment trade fair. It is held every four years in Dusseldorf, Germany. It serves as a wonderful barometer of the printing industry, and invariably sees important announcements. It is attended by hundreds of Australians. Given the financial doom and gloom emanating from Europe, it was always going to be […]

Are there any design limitations on digital presses?

The limitations that made designers think twice about using digital printing have all but disappeared, to the point where digital printing and traditional offset printing are more or less indistinguishable.

The best performed company in the USA over the past 25 years is . . . ?

I discovered this fascinating report in the print industry newsletter “What They Think” today. It makes the point that the best performed company, measured by stock market success, in the USA over the last 25 years is NOT Apple, not Microsoft or any other high flying hi-tech company. It is a company that markets unspectacular […]

How to turn your printing project into a disaster!

The following article was published in 2011 by Trish Witkowski, of foldfactory.com. Although written from the point of view of incorporating folding concepts in direct-mail campaigns, it contains some sound, solid advice about undertaking any printing project. The article was drawn to my attention by John MacLulich of Pure Colours Digital Printing, with whom we […]

HP unveils B2 sheetfed Indigo as part of Drupa product line-up

HP has unveiled what it claims is its “most significant step” in accelerating the migration from analogue to digital printing with the launch of a B2 sheetfed digital press, the HP Indigo 10000. Capable of printing up to seven-colours, the Indigo 10000 is a 75x53cm press that can reach speeds of 3,450 sheets per hour in simplex […]

There’s only one media that can stop the rot — paper!!!

This article appeared in today’s ProPrint email newsletter. It is by Frank Romano, professor emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology and widely recognised as a leading “guru” in the print industry. “Along with the other article I have just posted “Don’t write off print media just yet”, it warns against too quickly predicting the demise […]

Don’t write off print media just yet

The following quotation comes from an article that appeared today (Tuesday March 13th 2012) in the excellent print newsletter, ProPrint. It serves as an encouragement to those of us involved in print, and a warning to those who think print is dead thanks to iPhones, iPads, blogging, FaceBook, Twitter etc. “Every new channel is meant […]

All about RGB and CMYK

There are few subjects more likely to confuse people who have little or no knowledge of the printing process than the need to convert from RGB to CMYK. This article and those which will follow are designed to go some way towards overcoming this lack of knowledge. The essence of the problem is that most of […]

The demise of Borders and A&R

REDGroup Retail, owner of two of Australia’s largest retail bookselling chains, Borders and Angus & Robertson (which between them account for around 20% of Australian book retailing), was placed in voluntary administration last week. The shockwaves have reverberated throughout the retail community and the business community generally. Many reasons have been advanced. The three most […]

Printing companies take their environmental responsibilities seriously (part 1)

Accusing the printing industry of environmental vandalism is a popular pastime. The truth is that few industries can match the printing industry’s environmental record. I intend to post a number of blogs over the next couple of weeks detailing the industry’s record, and raising a few issues the critics of the industry might not have […]