From new packaging solutions for food safety and security to the end of an era in tax collecting.

According to The Gapp magazine of South Africa, 50 percent of the world’s population growth within the next 30 years is predicted to come from Africa. The magazine notes that this brings challenges in food safety and security and that the Synercore Innovation Campus at Klapmuts in the Western Cape is working with Tetra Pak to study this.

Labels and Labelling reports that ePac has expanded its European operations with a new sales and manufacturing facility in Innsbruck to serve Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. This complement’s ePac’s existing operations in the UK and France with the company stating that the flexible packaging market in Europe is ready for a change.

Labels and Labelling also has a story on Huhtamaki India's Rudrapur plant having donated 500,000 flexible pouches to help the local Uttarakhand state deal with India’s ongoing Covid-19 relief efforts.

Indian Printer and Publisher has covered the full year figures posted by the HT Media group, publishers of the Hindustan Times, which show a 42 percent drop in revenue though net losses have been reduced. The magazine notes that there’s no information on the group’s digital platforms…

ME Printer, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, reports that the Ministry of Culture and Youth has set up the corporate identity for the country’s new Media Regulatory Office, which takes over some duties from the National Media Council, including overseeing the conduct and ethics of the media.

In a separate story, ME Printer writes that the Saudi real estate developer Dar Al Arkan is planning to build 3D-printed houses in partnership with Denmark’s COBOD, which should be both quicker and cheaper than traditional methods. The first of these houses will be completed in the mixed-use Shams Ar Riyadh project by the fourth quarter of 2021.

From Canada, Print Action reports that Kodak has signed a reseller agreement for paper distribution company West World Paper to offer Kodak’s complete portfolio of products - including digital print, CtP and software - to Western Canadian commercial print customers.

Meanwhile, our Australian friends continue to explore the activities of Ovato print group, truly the story that keeps on giving. This week Print21 reports that Ovato will hold an EGM in July for shareholders to vote on the proposed sale of the retail distribution business, central to the company’s plans to refocus on printing, as well as a new loan.

Print21 also writes that Fujifilm Business Innovation Australia has signed an exclusive agreement as a reseller for Epson’s SurePress L-4533-series industrial label presses, which use resin-based inks. The magazine points out that Fujifilm BI already has a relationship with Epson in the large format area.

PrintWeek reports that HMRC - Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the UK’s tax authority - is retiring its 1920s era stamp presses, used to indicate the amount of payments due, an idea that dates back to 1694. The pandemic has hastened the switch to digital processes.

Meanwhile, the American magazine Printing Impressions writes that the CJK Group, which owns a number of printing companies, has raised the starting hourly wage to $15 for US workers to help attract new employees - hopefully an idea that other print groups can get behind.