There’s further signs of continued growth, from internet start-ups to new BOPP factory in India, a new ink venture in China and an upbeat report from Egypt, but tempered by rising energy costs in the UK and taxes in India.

Print Business started the week off with an editorial noting that investors have spent nearly $700 million on print and related start up businesses and suggests that our easy familiarity with doing business over the Internet, coupled with digital printing, has made it far easier to start-up new niche businesses.

Still in the UK, Printweek is warning that the country’s energy crisis, which has seen the price of wholesale gas go up by 250 percent, could affect British printers, who have mostly survived the pandemic but are now facing a range of price increases. These price rises will also affect the paper industry.

Printweek India writes that UFlex, India’s largest flexible packaging company, is joining the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a global non-profit organisation that is hoping to eliminate plastic waste from the environment. The story quotes Ashok Chaturvedi, head of UFlex, saying: “Plastic waste crisis is one of the most pressing global concerns of today”.

Printweek India has also covered Cosmo Films decision to expand its BOPP film production line at Aurangabad, which will become one of the world’s largest BOPP lines when it starts production, expected to be in 2024-5. This is due to growing demand in India and will be funded through internal accruals and debts.

Meanwhile, Indian Printer and Publisher has covered proposals from the Goods and Service Tax council to rationalise the three tax tiers down to one, quoting a press release from the All India Federation of Master Printers that points out that 18 percent is too high for many small printers, especially after the pandemic.

The Gapp Magazine of South Africa reports that Inkmaker Shanghai, the Chinese subsidiary of the IM Group, has teamed up with with Zhuhai Longtec Corp Ltd, better known as Longtec, to form a joint-venture company in China called Inkmaker Intelligent Systems (Shanghai) Ltd in order to increase their market share in China.

ME Printer, based in the United Arab Emirates, has a story quoting Adel Abdel-Sadek, an Egyptian marketing expert, who notes the growth in developing technology and importing raw materials for manufacturing packaging in Egypt. Efforts are now being made to finance the importing of raw materials for pharmaceutical packaging.

From Canada, PrintAction notes that Drytac has expanded its Canadian team with two new appointments. Thus Michael Morano has joined as North American sales support specialist, while Glen Fitzgerald is the new technical sales manager for industrial products charged with increasing Drytac’s custom and contract adhesive coating business in North America.

Print21 reports that printers in Auckland in New Zealand have been able to get back to work now that the latest round of Covid-related restrictions have dropped from level 4 to level 3, allowing manufacturing, including printing to resume. The rest of New Zealand is already at level 2.

Print21 also writes that the board of Women In Print is looking for nominations for a new patron in Victoria, Australia, as the current incumbent, Kirsten Taylor, is stepping down after five years. The role is open to any woman working in the industry, including designers, printers and publishers.