From price rises and new products to signs of economic recovery

Nessan Cleary · Journalist & Editor · Week commencing 26th April 2021

Several magazines cover the new Xaar Nitrox printhead but Printweek adds an extra angle, noting that Xaar’s latest financial figures for the year ended December 2020 show the company reeling in its losses.

Printweek also has a story on Fujifilm’s plans to “roll out a global double-digit price increase across plates, chemicals and inks” due to rising costs in raw materials and freight transport.

Print Business is one of several magazines to run a story claiming ‘Virtual Drupa pulls it off’ with a quick run through of some of the product announcements.

However, in a separate story Print Business noted the focus on AI technology, but pointed out that the event attracted less than 10 percent of the audience for a live show, calling it ‘the Almost Invisible Drupa’ which neatly sums up what many journalists privately think of such online events.

Converter magazine, based in Italy, reports that the Swedbrand packaging Group, which has plants in China and Vietnam, has now opened a new highly automated converting plant in Gdansk, Poland, to produce customised rigid boxes for luxury products, and to cut costs on transport from the Far East to Europe.

ME Printer reports that the Saudi central bank has issued a two-hundred Saudi Riyal Banknote to mark the five-year anniversary of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program, with the new denomination “characterised by various technical specifications, high-quality security features, distinctive design, and attractive colours.”

According to Print Africa, the South African company Rotocon has launched a new contest - I love Rotocon - for customer employees to share photos of themselves with equipment from Rotocon and its 14 partners, including Domino, MPS and Screen.

From the US, Printing Impressions carries a story on RR Donnelley’s first quarter results for this year, which show a fall in net sales but improvements in operating cash flow.

North of the border, PrintCan notes that Xerox has acquired Groupe CT, an independent document management provider in Eastern Canada, which currently sells kit from the likes of Canon and HP but not Xerox.

Sprinter, which is an online hub for Australian Printer and ProPrint, was one of the first media to carry the story on Durst’s new P5 Tex iSub dye sublimation printer, complete with inline finishing unit for sewing and stitching, which is aimed at soft signage as well as home decor and clothing.

Staying with Australia, Print21 has a story on Manroland Goss Web’s belief that orders for packaging solutions will drive growth in the current year, along with commercial and newspaper applications, something that many press vendors can probably relate to.

Indian Printer and Publisher reports on Heidelberg’s preliminary figures for the year ending 31 March 2021, which show rising demand in

China, parts of Europe, and, in the final quarter, also in the US, which should give hope to everyone of a recovery this year from the turmoil of 2020.

IPP also reports on a new guide from Wan-Ifra (the world association of news publishers) that summarises key lessons shared during the Cultural Change Ignition Program for Latin American News Publishers to help media companies improve their newsrooms.

Finally, IPP carries a statement from the Editors Guild of India regarding the treatment of journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested and allegedly beaten after reporting on the rape and death of a girl in Uttar Pradesh - which should be condemned by all of us who work in journalism.

Apr 30, 2021

Author: Nessane Cleary