From ongoing problems due to the pandemic to questions about the media’s role in democracy and freedom of expression.

The British magazine Printweek warns that the pandemic has exacerbated problems of late payment, with a knock-on effect for many printers. This story is based on the European Payment Report 2021 from debt collectors Intrum but Printweek has expanded on this with comments from the British Printing Industries Federation.

AfricaPrint warns that all South African businesses must comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) by this week’s deadline but suggests that there may be some leeway in enforcement due to problems in the infrastructure for companies to register Information Officers.

With many regions in Australia facing renewed lockdown restrictions, Print 21 points out that print and packaging businesses are classed as essential services and allowed to keep operating with the exception of printers in Perth, who are not allowed to open, unless they are printing Covid-related materials.

Print 21 also carries a story from the New Zealand Pride In Print 2021 awards, with Wakefield Digital, based in Wellington, having won the Supreme Award for a limited edition book on the refurbishment of the Christchurch Town Hall. This was printed on an HP Indigo 7r and finished with sections being sewn and then hand-bound.

Graphic Arts Media of Canada writes that Gandy Digital, which produces a range of wide format printers, has appointed TAS Films of Laval in Quebec, as its distributor both there and in Ottawa. TAS Films was founded in 1992 and distributes over 14,000 printing, car-wrap and lamination products, films and accessories.

From Italy, Converter magazine reports that Schur Flexibles has acquired Termoplast S.r.L, one of the pioneers of sustainable film production in Europe, and which also operates its own recycling company. This circular approach appealed to Schur Flexibles, which is hoping to expand its recyclable packaging offering.

Sister title Converter and Cartotecnica has a story on the Korber Group’s efforts to automate tissue production, developing the Tissue Manufacturing Operations Management (TMOM) solution specifically for tissue converters. This gives real time control over production, maintenance, intralogistics and warehouse processes.

ME Printer reports that Saudi Xerox is offering AI software to help automate some processes and open up new revenue streams for print businesses, noting that many printers have been hit by the recent round of price increases due to the pandemic. The article also examines Saudi Xerox’s plans for Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 roadmap.

Elsewhere, ME Printer writes that Canon Middle East has appointed Venkatasubramanian (Subbu) Hariharan as Managing Director of Canon Middle East and Turkey (CMET), starting from today. Part of his remit will be to integrate Canon’s Turkish operation into CME. He succeeds Anurag Agrawal who has retired.

Indian Printer and Publisher reports that Gyan Digital Graphic, based in Agra in India, has installed a new G-series Cron UV platesetter, courtesy of Monotech Systems. The new platesetter sits alongside an older BasysPrint CtP and was bought to handle increased demand - the company gets through roughly 1000 plates per day.

Indian Printer and Publisher has also covered the first day of the Indian Media Leaders eSummit, describing it as ‘almost painless’ and pointing out a number of gaps such as the lack of discussion on democracy and freedom of expression, suggesting that the Indian media leaders are too preoccupied with survival - aren’t we all these days? The story is well-argued and many of the points apply equally to publishing around the world.