From new tree plantings to the ongoing impact of the corona virus pandemic, plus printing on cookies.

Nessan Cleary · Journalist & Editor · Week commencing 31st May 2021

Africa Print reports that Konica Minolta South Africa, together with the NPO, Food & Trees for Africa, is planting over 200 trees at the University of Fort Hare, which counts Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Govan Mbeki among its alumni. KM SA has already planted more than 57,000 trees in the country, offsetting the equivalent of 21,076.75 tonnes of CO2.

Continuing with the wood-based theme, Indian Printer and Publisher writes that Canon India has planted its 20,000th tree as part of its ‘Green Environment Together’ initiative, which was started in July 2019 and sees a tree planted every time a customer buys a laser copier or MFD.

Indian Printer and Publisher also has a story on Rahul Print O Pack, a commercial printer based in Delhi, which has just ordered a second Heidelberg Speedmaster CS92 4-colour press to help it expand into mono carton packaging work. IPP points out that this press was built at Heidelberg’s Shanghai plant.

ME Printer, based in the UAE, has an exclusive interview with Faisal Bin Haider, CEO of Printing and Distribution Sector at Dubai Media Incorporated, who also oversees the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for the Printing of the Holy Quran. He discusses his hopes for this centre as well as the impact of the pandemic.

In Australia, Print21 points out that the $250m pandemic support announced at the beginning of the week from the Victoria government won’t cover printers as they are still able to work during the lockdown. The story includes comments from a number of printers, who seem generally optimistic, despite the latest seven-day lockdown.

However, Sprinter writes that Victoria’s state capital, Melbourne, has just had its lockdown extended by a further seven days, prompting some small to medium-sized print businesses to consider temporarily closing operations.

Graphic Arts Media of Canada writes that the federal government is extending some financial support for workers and businesses affected by the pandemic, including a further 12 weeks of the Canada Recovery Benefit though this comes with lower payments for the last eight of those weeks.

From the UK, Flexotech reports that DuPont Electronics & Industrial will next month increase prices on all Cyrel plates and other consumables by 4 percent, citing increases in raw materials and logistics costs. We can expect to see many similar stories from other vendors over the coming weeks and months.

Print Business has a story on the CPS Group, a printer based in Caerphilly, Wales, which has updated its operation with an Avanti Slingshot CRM/MIS supplied by Ricoh. CPS mainly services the furnishings market and operates large format digital, litho and flexo for labels.

Labels and Labelling carries a story on Grif Rуtulos e Etiquetas Adhesivas, a label converter based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has just installed two new Nilpeter FA-17 flexo presses to help it expand further in the South American market.

Labels and Labelling also reports that the Israeli-firm Tipa, which produces compostable flexible film packaging solutions, is expanding its operation into North America by taking on three senior directors.

Staying with the US, Ink World magazine has a story on LogoJet, which manufactures UV printers, having partnered with the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge, to demonstrate and work with the LogoJet FSR90 by printing food-grade inks on edible items, including cookies, hamburger buns, desserts and cakes - something to think about for the weekend!

Jun 04, 2021

Author: Nessan Cleary