Image Reports October November 2021

Actively investigating and supporting the wide-format print sector

ISSUE 5 • VOLUME 29 • OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021

MEET THE BEAST AT FESPA 2021 New beginnings. New opportunities. Wide format solutions by Agfa.

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Editorial

HELP IS AT HAND Editor: Lesley Simpson lesley.simpson@imagereportsmag.co.uk

If accepting help is a sign of strength, proactively seeking it must put you in the mountain-moving category. And perhaps that’s

Production / Design: Alex Gold

what some of you feel you’re having to do to keep business

Publisher: Wayne Darroch wayned@sjpbusinessmedia.com

moving forward. Our Widthwise survey of PSPs at the start of this year showed a great deal of optimism within the sector, but

Advertising Manager: Carl Archer carl.archer@imagereportsmag.co.uk Tel: 07723 079928

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SJP Business Media, 2nd Floor, 123 Cannon Street, London, EC4N 5AU www.imagereportsmag.co.uk

we also know that change is a constant, and that managing it FDQ EH GLτFXOW *HWWLQJ KHOS ZKHUH DQG ZKHQ UHTXLUHG VHHPV D logical step.

For circulation enquiries contact: SJP Business Media Email: subscriptions@sjpbusinessmedia.com

Perhaps it’s time for input from outside sources? In this issue

Image Reports is available free to printers based in the UK. Register at www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/register.

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To purchase a subscription please visit www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/subscribe – UK £54, overseas £84

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Printed in Great Britain.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means without the Publisher’s permission.

The editorial content does not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher. The Publisher accepts no responsibility for any errors contained within the publication.

Leadership programme, a cross-sector initiative that brings together business leaders from various industries to look into digital transformation. Have a read and see what you think.

&KDQJH LV DOVR FRPLQJ LQ WKH VKDSH RI WKH 3ODVWLF 7D[ LQ $SULO 2022, so we look into what you need to do in preparation. And we bring you the detail of the new BPIF Display and POS 2 Recycling Scheme, where help is continually provided to greenup your operations.

Wishing you well in this continually evolving sector.

From Top: Lesley Simpson Alex Gold Wayne Darroch Carl Archer

Editor LESLEY SIMPSON LESLEY.SIMPSON@IMAGEREPORTSMAG.CO.UK TEL: 01932 707173

2 | October / November 2021

Contents

CONTENTS OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2021

REGULARS: p4 News Keeping you abreast of all the latest news in relation to digital wide-format print.

23

p6 Cover Story Advertorial Meet the Beast from Agfa at Fespa Global 2021.

p23 Think Bigger Gallery showing off the creativity and complexity of largeformat inkjet print.

p24 Forum Vital stats to help you run your business; Digging below the surface with Industry Mole; Out and About - events diary; Over to You with Peter Nicholls, MD, JKN Digital.

p26 Zeitgeist Are you prepared for the Plastic Packaging Tax?

SECTIONS: Special p9 Fespa Global Print Expo What to expect from the show in 2021.

Technical p10 What to Watch I: Finishing A look at the latest developments.

p12 What to Watch II: Industrial printers What defines an ‘industrial’ printer, and do they have a place within graphics sector PSPs?

16

Business p16 Talking Point … with MacroArt MD Michael Green on the value of non-exec directors.

NEWS AND VIEWS ONLINE Go to www.imagereportsmag.co.uk for all the wideformat sector’s industry news, updated regularly

p19 Be Made Smarter Looking at a cross-sector leadership programme providing insight on smarter manufacturing impacts?

online. Image Reports can also send a twice weekly enews bulletin straight to your inbox – register at: www.imagereportsmag.co.uk/ newsletter

p20 Top Tips Helping you make better decisions.

Environment p15 Watching your waste line How the new Display and POS 2 Recycling Scheme can help you trim your waste and expand your recycling rates.

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 3

News

Mimaki unveils new direct-to-object printers Mimaki has unveiled four direct-to-object LED UV inkjet printers - a speedy UJF-7151 plusII and the new UJF-MkII e Series, comprising three smallformat machines.

The UJF-7151 plusII is equipped with eight printheads, which enable dual four-colour (CMYK) ink configurations. This, in turn, allows faster print speeds of up to 190% compared to the previous UJF-7151 plus model. The new printer also has MFD2 (half-toning) processing functionality to further control dot position. The result of this increased control is sharper edges and finer lines as well as fewer colour irregularities.

The UJF-7151 plusII’s six-colour configuration includes light cyan and light magenta and it can achieve 1,800dpi. A Colour Gloss function adds a glossy finish to hardened colour inks. Load capacity has been increased to 30kg.

The UJF-MkII e Series comprises the UJF3042MkII e and UJF-3042MkII Ex e with a print area of 300mm x 420mm, and the UJF-6042MkII with a print size of 610mm x 420mm.

GO TO WWW.IMAGEREPORTSMAG.CO.UK FOR THE FULL STORY… ] Travel restrictions eased ahead of Fespa Global Expo 2021 ] Zund brings out PreCut Center ] FM Future to run new FuturePrint and Pack Summit ] MacroArt reports record growth ] Russell Weller Joins GMG Color as UK commercial director ] Ricoh appoints Josero as a UK reseller for its new Latex and DTG printers ] Mike Horsten joins Agfa ] FaberExposize UK hikes workforce ] KGK Genix gets new group development director

Hexcite launches ‘Target::2025’ sustainability plan The Hexcite group has launched ‘Target::2025’, a sustainability project that aims to see it become a net-zero carbon business by 2025.

The plan also includes being zero to landfill by 2021, embedding a global, sustainable materials procurement process by 2022, and transitioning to a circular economy business by 2023.

The group comprises Gardners, Blaze Signs, Kesslers, Proportion London, the Hexcite Studio and Cygnia Maintenance, each of which will work towards the sustainability objectives.

The group has already made significant headway in achieving its targets. Innovations include ReActivair, a pollution-eating speciality coating by Gardners that uses energy from

natural sunlight to break down harmful pollutants and odour molecules in the air surrounding the print area; fully recyclable materials for manufacturing and print projects from Kesslers and Blaze Signs; energy audits by Cygnia Maintenance, and high-quality body forms manufactured from sustainable materials by Proportion London.

Group CEO Wes Mulligan, said: “With sustainability being such a core requirement, not just for our retail and brand clients, but for their customers too, all the businesses within the Hexcite Group must commit to our Target::2025 ambitions. I am confident that we can be positive leaders for change as willing and active supporters of our clients’ plans.”

CMYUK makes key moves in stockholding and in training CMYUK has opened a national logistics distribution hub capable of holding up to £15m worth of stock.

The new 4645m2 facility in Bloxwich, Walsall, consolidates CMYUK’s existing warehousing into a single UK location.

“Our new logistics hub is something we’ve been planning for over two years. It allows us to service customers with greater choice, and enables us to be more efficient with our stock handling,” said Jon Price, CMYUK group finance and operations director.

“Driven by the continued growth of our sustainable materials portfolio, we required a location that could logistically service the UK better and faster than our previous two warehouses in Berkshire. We will be introducing later shut-off ordering times for next day and same day deliveries to all major nationwide locations.”

The new hub houses a dedicated collection

point, where customers who have pre-ordered inks and materials online can use their own transport for same day collections. The facility also has a slitter for materials conversion to shorter widths, and any offcuts from here will be repurposed for use by different departments within CMYUK. CMYUK has also launched an internship programme called Creatives in Residence Live. Open to young people registered on the Government’s Kickstart scheme, CIRL will give two young surface designers and one videographer the chance to undertake a six-month placement at CMYUK’s digital training and demonstration facility in Shrewsbury.

Canon, EFI, Epson, Klieverik, Kongsberg and Mimaki have become headline sponsors for youth placement project. A

] Kongsberg acquires MultiCam ] Meteor opens expanded facility ] Charles Jarrold to speak on ‘Print in a Post Pandemic World’ ] Innotech adds to PVC-free banner offering ] Smithers releases ‘The Future of Green Printing to 2026’ ] Solopress introduces ‘Sally the Chatbot’ ] Businesses slow to adopt circular economy says survey ] New MD for AAG as tools range expanded ] Improved MultiPress to get an airing at Fespa ] Brighton Marathon course branding boosts enquiries at YPP ] Print and Digital Convention to run virtual content ] UK Graphic Awards handed out ] Taya introduces Kavalan Eco Calculator ] Perfect Colours dedicates portal to HP Recycled Satin Canvas ] Canon made official imaging supporter for the 2022 Commonwealth Games ] SwissQprint sets up Benelux subsidiary ] Ultra Board now available from Premier ] Papergraphics selling B-Flex transfer vinyl films ] House of Flags diversifies with Anapurna H2500i ] Nazdar 270 UV-LED inks now available worldwide ] Xaar opens new HQ and strengthens presence in China

4 | October / November 2021

HP introduces new DesignJet and PageWide XL Pro devices HP has introduced two new DesignJets and three PageWide XL Pro devices.

The new HP DesignJet Z Pro and Z9+ Pro printers are made of 30% recycled plastic - using over eight 0.5l bottles worth of ocean-bound plastic - and are compatible with large-format FSC-certified papers, a range of recyclable HP media, and free take-back programme for certain HP media.

Marking the 30-year anniversary of the DesignJet product, the latest DesignJets use chromatic RGB HP Vivid Photo Inks, allowing users to achieve 93% Pantone coverage - 26% more gamut compared to the previous generation - and to produce prints with the image quality of a 12-ink printer with just nine inks.

Both the HP DesignJet Z6 Pro and Z9+ Pro also boast fast media handling, with automatic roll feed. The HP DesignJet Z6 Pro prints twice as fast on plain paper at the same quality while the HP DesignJet Z9+ Pro allows users to print up

to 18% faster, with better quality, on satin photo media - and 46% faster on canvas. For the first time, the new HP DesignJet Z Pro printer series also incorporates the HP PrintOS Service Center application.

Users of the DesignJet Z9+ Pro can customise ICC profiles for print jobs, and have the option to include the HP Gloss Enhancer Upgrade Kit. HP has also announced three new HP PageWide XL Pro printers that enable retail PSPs and repro houses to leverage new short-term applications, including the potential to print on boards, card stock, and paper from A2 to B1, and thickness up to 10mm.

The new HP PageWide XL Pro 5200 and HP PageWide XL Pro 8200 offer print speeds up to 20 D/A1 pages/min (400m2/hr) and 30 D/A1 pages/ min (500m2/hr) respectively. The compact HP PageWide XL Pro 10000 has speeds of up to 700m2 or 1,000 B1 posters per hour.

News

OneVision releases mini-MIS software OneVision has released Generate Print Form - what it’s calling a ‘mini-MIS’ software - that enables wide-format, label and commercial printers to generate printing forms based on individual requirements of printing, embellishment and finishing machines as well as different properties of the artworks to be printed.

Received print jobs are transmitted to Generate Print Form with all job information from the MIS or ERP system. Alternatively, job information including customer data can be entered directly into the software and the print files can be uploaded manually.

As a mini-MIS, it can be used to manually create jobs, including job and customer information, job tracking, and upload function for print files.

All production machines and materials, including their specifications, are created as master data in the software itself. Users can specify which combinations of press/printer and post press machines are suitable for which substrate or job. The software creates print forms tailored to the quantity and type of print files and the requirements of the production machines. Free-shape artworks are nested or ganged.

In addition, prepress tasks such as preflighting, colour management, flattening transparencies, file normalisation etc. are done automatically. If preferred, the user can intervene and adjust the placement by hand.

As soon as a print form is ready, Generate Print Form adds print marks that are needed by finishing machines for cutting or embellishment. Once the user is satisfied with the layout production can be started with a click and the data is transferred to the press/printer. Finishing and cutting information is automatically sent to the post press machines.

IPIA to run Recognising Excellence Expo and Gala The IPIA will run its first physical event for almost two years in December. A Recognising Excellence Gala and Expo will be held at the Crowne Plaza, StratfordUpon-Avon on 2 December.

The event has the backing of the association’s sponsors (Antalis, Canon, Duplo, Fujifilm, Imprint MIS, Konica Minolta, Vivid, Xerox and Xmpie), with additional exhibitors to be announced.

“Now it is time for us to show leadership, come together, generate confidence and help kick-start our sector’s growth,” said Lucy Swanston, chair of the IPIA event subcommittee and managing director of Nutshell Creative.

The expo and business networking hub runs from 11am - 3pm, with a buffet lunch and the IPIA chairman’s address on critical market trends. The IPIA AGM will then take place from3.30pm for an hour. The gala dinner begins at 7pm, with the Recognising Excellence Awards presented from 9pm.

Mutoh brings out next generation water-based printer Based on Mutoh’s new XpertJet printer platform, the 64in-wide XPJ-1642WR incorporates two new generation extra wide 1600 nozzle AccuFine printheads, installed in a staggered setup. Combined with Mutoh’s new proprietary i-screen weaving technology - its fourth generation weaving algorithms - the new printheads should deliver sellable high quality print running at up to 61m2/h. Top engine speed of the machine is 98m2/h.

Targeted at the sublimation transfer market, the XpertJet 1642WR can accommodate a wide range of dye-sublimation papers. It has rollers with adaptable pressure which can also be

individually disabled. Four different head heights can be used, from 1.5 mm to 4 mm.

There’s an automatic nozzle check unit, which will automatically detect missing nozzles and clean them. The machine can also be equipped with three different motorized take up systems of 30 kg, 40 kg and 100 kg. There is a front media drying unit and replaceable mist collection filters.

The new XpertJet 1642WR comes with Mutoh’s new generation DS3-series HC dye sublimation ink. HC stands for ‘increased colourant’ which means reduced ink consumption, faster drying and compatibility with lightweight papers.

Roland extends Camm-1 cutter series Roland DG has added new 54in and 64in vinyl cutters to its Camm-1 series - the GR2-540 and GR2-640.

The units pair with Roland’s large-format inkjet printers using VersaWorks 6 Rip software.

VersaWorks 6 ‘Job Assistant’ function enables users to edit vector data in PDF and to add contour lines, eliminating the need for users to switch back to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDrawor other graphics software to complete production.

The GR2 series also features a multi-crop mark

function for more accurate contour cutting of large quantities of printed material and cutting after lamination. It also includes the Roland DG AAS II plug-in software for pairing with other large-format inkjet printers.

The GR2 series comes equipped with FlexiSign GR2-Edition software, which is free for the first year upon registration. This software offers a complete suite to design and cut graphic files and seamlessly integrates with GR2 series cutters for a cut only or print-then-cut workflow.

Precision Proco makes acquisition and updates group MIS Precision Proco has acquired the West London production facility of Photobox. The deal only involves the purchase of the UK production facility and does not involve any other aspect of Photobox’s business.

Photobox, set up in 2000, has had a close relationship with the Precision Proco Group for a number of years. The aim is now to strengthen this relationship further, with continued production of Photobox products at the site.

Meanwhile, Precision Proco has updated its Tharstern MIS following an eight-system review of options from various companies.

Precision Proco (formed when Precision Printing, ProCo Print, Prime Group and Climb Creative came together) has five UK locations and produces over 150,000 unique orders. When reviewing its MIS it considered alternatives that included both cloud-based and on-premise solutions.

“Each of our individual businesses were already using Tharstern, but technology has changed a lot since we first invested in it, so we needed to make sure that solution was still right for us,” said Paul Mason, group commercial director, Precision Proco.

Antalis partners with Reconomy on eco programme Antalis is working with Reconomy to provide a dual aspect waste management and eco print media advisory service.

“We want to educate and inspire companies with waste and sustainability challenges to think differently and embrace new concepts to create measurable business advantages,” said Chris Green, director of visual communications at Antalis UK. “Printers inherently like to control their waste streams, especially where there is revenue involved.

This practice, however, can take valuable resources

away from the core activities of the business.

Outsourcing this service allows our customers to put waste management in the hands of industry experts that you can trust and ensures the best environmental solution in handling different types of material waste.”

Reconomy is a provider of outsourced recycling and resource management services - with a network of over 150 recycling contractors - and annually manages approximately 3m tonnes of waste. It is certified by BPIF and endorsed by BOSS Federation.

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 5

Cover Story A new beginning for new opportunities with Agfa’s Jeti Tauro LED Series

AGFA AT FESPA 2021: NEW BEGINNINGS. NEW OPPORTUNITIES. Many months of turmoil and uncertainty haven’t gone by without leaving a lasting mark on our world. Unprecedented political, environmental, and social changes have rocked the very foundation of our personal and professional lives. Some of these changes will remain with us for better or worse, others will subside. But how can we cope with so much change in such a short space of time when we have high ambitions and goals to achieve?

Maximum flexibility, keeping all options open?

Refocus, where the things we do well need nurturing and investment in? Pushing into adjacent markets where margins are better? Whichever one it is, let’s do it better, faster, more cost efficiently, and more environmentally friendly.

Many will have thought about these points, some will have implemented them, all will have heard their competitors do something in that direction.

Can everything be combined under one roof, one single investment that caters for all? Time to meet Agfa’s Jeti Tauro LED Series at FESPA 2021 (12–15 October, RAI Amsterdam). It will transform the way you print. Truly a new beginning for new opportunities.

OPTIMISING THE FLOW Printing begins with fast, error-free delivery of print files to the pressroom. The ability to process jobs through a dedicated workflow saves time and money and ensures that every machine is fed with the right data at the right time. This is where Agfa’s award-winning Asanti workflow comes into play. Asanti automates everyday tasks without restricting the operator. On the contrary, Asanti guarantees that what is sent to press is complete and ready to print. Thanks to the seamless integration with the Jeti Tauro LED Series any last-minute changes

6 | October / November 2021

on press are fed back to the Asanti server avoiding conflicting versions being used accidentally. By removing the need to jump from one platform to another Agfa systems significantly reduce press make-ready times giving you greater productivity day in, day out.

AUTOMATE TO ACCELERATE Let’s look at loading and unloading times, and how those can be optimised with the right level of automation. Some solutions restrict a press’ flexibility. Agfa ensures that even with a fully automated press the operator will always be just a few clicks away from switching from one job to the next without losing precious set-up time. Automation choices are plentiful on the Jeti Tauro LED Series.

Thanks to its hybrid belt-driven technology every Jeti Tauro LED is ready to run flat sheets and rigid boards, as well as flexible roll materials. Corrugated and fluted cardboard on a hybrid? Not a problem for the Jeti Tauro LED Series thanks to its fibre-reinforced belt and powerful vacuum pumps.

For sheets and boards, customers can choose between manual loading and unloading, semi-automatic loading with ABF, or full automation from pallet to pallet with feeder and stacker. Automating the loading cycle reduces production gaps over longer runs without changing the printing speed of the press. Depending on the sheet size and print layout this could mean as much as 20% extra capacity over a normal shift.

For flexible roll materials the Jeti Tauro’s integrated roll-to-roll system offers single roll printing to a maximum of 2.5m or 3.3m depending on the bed size and roll weights of up to 200kg. That’s not all, as the Jeti Tauro LED can be extended to run larger and heavier rolls thanks to its optional Master RTR module. At that point

Cover Story

the press can run two rolls side-by-side to a maximum of 1.6m each, and weights of up to 700kg per roll.

Each Jeti Tauro LED can be configured to the individual needs of the user without losing any of its flexibility to cope with the changing demands printing companies face every day. Equipped with optional White, Fast White or White plus Primer print heads a Jeti Tauro LED is perfectly placed to enhance the application scope for existing or new clients.

AGFA-MADE INKS SAVE TIME AND MONEY Specially formulated to print on rigid and flexible roll media, Agfa’s award-winning inks broaden the scope of possible applications. Whatever the medium or intended use – general applications, indoor or outdoor – accuracy and excellent adhesion are a given. Agfamade UV LED inks boast a wide colour gamut and high colour vibrancy, resulting in lively yet natural prints.

Agfa inks are LED cured instantly, delivering consistent high-quality results, batch after batch. What’s more, this vividness is created to last, even when subjected to adverse outdoor weather conditions.

Thanks to Agfa’s patented ‘Thin Ink Layer’ technology, which involves the optimal dispersion and high pigment load of Agfa-made inks combined with Asanti’s CMS algorithms, ink consumption per square metre is the lowest on the market. This does not mean that we compromise on quality or performance in any way. Quite the opposite is true – Agfa’s low ink consumption results in eye-catching prints while preventing clogging, offering stable jetting performance, and helping you save time and money. You can literally feel the difference when running your fingers over a Jeti Tauro LED print.

GREENER PRINTING The benefits of Agfa’s ‘Thin Ink Layer’ technology go even further. Because of the unique way Agfa combines all its components – software, press, ink – every Jeti Tauro LED is saving on actual ink usage not only on the finished product, but also in terms of ink waste. On average a Jeti Tauro LED purges less than 9.8 litres of ink per year reducing the environmental footprint of your print operation in terms of ink deliveries and waste collection.

Furthermore, Agfa UV LED inks obtained multiple certifications – including GREENGUARD Gold – and comply with a wide range of industry norms that pertain to the restricted use of chemicals listed by the UK and the EU, to chemical emissions and air quality in indoor applications, to safety for toys regarding heavy metals migration and to the restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

MEET THE BEAST The brand-new Jeti Tauro H3300 UHS LED is the next leap forward in productivity. Running at over 600 sq.m/h the Beast will transform the way you look at print quality and printing speeds, making it easier for you to win work on quality as well as on cost efficiency.

No high-volume application is too much for the Jeti Tauro H3300 UHS LED.

Never again compromise quality over speed with the Jeti Tauro LED Series

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NEW BEGINNINGS AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES AWAIT. Under the heading ‘New beginnings. New opportunities’, Agfa celebrates the return of in-person events and the occasion to present its updated range of inkjet printing solutions live to the global graphic industry at FESPA in Amsterdam (12–15 October 2021).

Agfa UK’s new Inkjet Competence Centre in Rugby, Warwickshire is now fully open. To book your demo on the Jeti Tauro LED Series visit www.agfa.co.uk/inkjet, email icc.gb@agfa.com or call 020 8231 4027.

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 7

Special - Fespa Global Print Expo

FESPA IN FOCUS THE NETHERLANDS MAY BE FLAT, BUT ORGANISERS ARE HOPING FESPA GLOBAL PRINT EXPO - IN AMSTERDAM, 12-15 OCTOBER - WON’T BE. TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS MAY HAVE BEEN EASED, BUT HOW CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE WHAT IS NORMALLY A ‘MUST ATTEND’ EVENT PAN OUT THIS TIME AROUND?

Fespa isn’t providing any target visitor figures this year - understandable given all the Covid-19 related disruption, even though travel restrictions have been eased relatively recently. Fewer of the big names will be exhibiting and its likely the hoard of UK visitors will be somewhat reduced.

The next iteration of Fespa Global Print Expo will take place in Berlin on 31 May - 3 June 2022, and the assumption is that this will be much more of the allsinging, all-dancing affair we’ve come to know, but that doesn’t mean we should just ignore this year’s show, even if it means ‘attending’ virtually.

An ‘Exhibitor Showroom’ has been set up on the event website in the knowledge that not so many will make it into the physical exhibition halls. Like it says on the tin, exhibitors can provide product info, brochures, video, and other show business for ‘visitors’ to access. Of course, Image Reports will also bring you info from the show via online news stories and social media, but ahead of the event, here’s what to expect if you’re actually going.

Bear in mind that the Amsterdam show will run under special Covid safe restrictions. All visitors must pre-register and present proof of a double vaccine or negative test result and entry will by phone presentation of a ticket. Facemasks will be

compulsory and the aisles will be wider to meet social distancing rules.

The full entry cost to the October event is 80 Euro but that’s reduced to 50 Euro by using one of the various promo codes you can find across various Fespa marketing collateral. Take note that tickets are nonrefundable and non-transferable.

Once there you can expect to see around 300 exhibitors - about 75% of the amount of companies signed-up for the Fespa Madrid show - spread across 16,000m2 of the RAI. Printeriors and Wrap Masters will again take place, but overall the number of show features has been drastically reduced - most noticeably, the Trends Theatre seminars and Sportswear Pro have been canned for 2021. The European Sign Expo will again be co-located with the event though.

At the time of going to press, few wide-format focussed exhibitors had divulged exactly what they’d be showing in terms of new products. Some had.

Canon will debut its Colorado 1630 and Arizona 135 GT printers. It will also ill also showcase the capabilities of its new UV LED IJC358 inkset for the first time.

Durst will be officially launching the Vanguard in Europe following its acquisition of a majority stake in US-based Vanguard Digital Printing Systems back at the start of 2020. It will also be presenting the P5 350 HS and the P5 Tex iSub launched earlier in the year.

Agfa will show its flagship Jeti Tauro H3300 UHS (aka The Beast) printing live. The UHS models - available in 6- or 4-colours with white or white and primer - offer 3.3m wide printing, and printer on show in Amsterdam is capable of printing on both rigid boards and rolls with automation options.

The relatively new Oberon RTR3300 3.3m wide UV LED roll-to-roll printer will also be on show, along with the recently launched Avinci CX3200 dye-sublimation machine. You can also expect to see Asanti 5.0 being showcased along with Agfa’s complete software suite.

Mimaki is planning the first live demonstrations of the JFX600-2513 and JFX550-2513 LED-UV inkjet printers for the high-volume throughput. It will also debut its 3DUJ-2207, a small-scale 3D printer utilising UV-curing inkjet technology, and show-off its 100 Series printers.

OneVision has said it will be working with Canon and Zund to demonstrate how print products from a wide range of materials can be prepared and nested with Wide Format Automation Suite. Output will be printed with Canon’s printing systems and then cut on site with the Zund S3 L-1200 cutter.

Wide Format Automation Suite software, so called ‘middleware’, is a workflow management system that can be integrated with existing IT (e.g. MIS, web shop, DFE). It downloads print files from FTP, web or e-mail servers and sends the files through defined workflows for automated print file preparation. The software then automatically transfers the required production files to printers and postpress systems. swissQprint will present its latest neon inks for UV printing, and also show the speed model of its Karibu roll-to-roll printer, which has an option for automatic, double-sided printing.

Keep an eye on the Image Reports website for further updates as the show nears.

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 9

Technology | What to Watch

LAST THOUGHTS BEFORE YOU WRITE OFF INVESTMENT IN FINISHING KIT THIS YEAR, JUST CONSIDER WHAT’S BEING INTRODUCED TO FILL THE GAPS IN THE MARKET. Finishing investment looks pretty flat. According to the 2021 Widthwise survey of domestic PSPs, few are currently looking to fork out on such kit. Perhaps most of those PSPs that really needed to did so last year, when the opportunities for diversification into PPE etc. took a hold. But that doesn’t mean technological development has come to a standstill. There are always gaps that need to be filled, and here’s what key suppliers are doing to fill them. So should you be rethinking your buying plans?

Take Zund. Like everyone else, it has noticed the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit, with an increasing number of its large-format customers looking to improve efficiency, achieve greater productivity, and deliver cost reductions via automation. But it also notes that the sector has on the whole lacked automated production solutions that could deliver end-to-end print-and-cut workflow with the use of robotics.

In response, Zund formed a technology partnership with Inca Digital to develop a fully automated print, cut and robotic offload workflow solution for the large-format print community.

The solution allows PSPs to benefit from a complete workflow solution from pre-press automation, cloud-based set-up, print job completion and direct to cut finishing to improve efficiency, boost productivity, and increase material handling capabilities. It is based on the use of the Inca Onset X HS printer and robotics with a Zund D3 L-3200, dual beam cutting table. The Zund digital cutting system hardware is fully integrated with the Inca Onset printer using APIs. System features include a dual robot with High 5 Double-Sided Printing capability for rigid materials - of great assistance to those with long-run production, and reducing job changeover times and the need for manual intervention between runs.

Currently, it can process sheets and corrugated board up to 3.2m in width, with a maximum weight of 5kg per 1.5 x 3m sheet.

The automated system can be tailored to requirements, and smaller footprint solutions are also available to provide a fully bespoke solution suited to each application.

The company has also released Zund Connect, which compiles production data from integrated Zund cutting systems into key performance indicators, and identifies areas in the digital cutting workflow with potential for optimisation.

The web-based monitoring tool gives the user access to cutter-performance data at a glance. The system records productivity levels over a freely definable period using Zund Cut Center (version 3.4 or later) as the data source, and supplies key performance indicators.

Zund Connect consists of multiple dashboards with specific options for evaluating data. An ‘overview’ dashboard

10 | October / November 2021

provides past production data and indicates, for example, fluctuations in machine utilisation. The user can select various views and switch between indices for overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), availability, and capacity.

In addition, a filter function can be used to compare performance across different shifts.

‘Job list’ shows a list of processed jobs, what they entailed, the time it took to produce them, and the cutting distance travelled per job. Diagrams show the time spent by each individual material/substrate, processing method, tool, and module. In reference to materials, for example, bar graphs show the processing time for each material used during a specified time frame.

A ‘loss detection’ view visualises losses in terms of time.

It shows, for example, when process interruptions tend to occur most often. Loss detection enables the user to evaluate factors such as the specific time frames, materials, or tools most likely to be associated with interruptions.

‘Interruption statistics’ lists the reasons for such interruptions. The user can filter for time of day, material, method, tool, or module. The statistical representation shows the user how many hours the cutters were unable to produce during a specified period because of machine interruptions.

Zund Connect is available in a ‘Monitor’ or an ‘Analyzer’ version. As the name suggests, Monitor consists of a graphical display of overall equipment effectiveness and is available to all ZCC users for free. Analyzer provides the necessary tools for the user to be able to evaluate the production process and recommend improvements.

Stuart Fox, president, Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems, says the pressure on the wide-format, sign, display and packaging markets “to produce faster, safer, and more efficiently, without any restrictions that limit the imagination is why Kongsberg has underlined its commitment to fusing technology and creativity to deliver the most robust and reliable digital cutting solutions.”

For creative freedom within display and POS manufacturers he points to the Kongsberg VariAngle - a single tool that cuts straight lines at any angle selection in half-degree increments and at up to 100m/min.

“Fitting the tool makes existing Kongsberg C and XP tables completely self-sufficient and capable of delivering almost any creative design. It enables cutting at any angle from 0o and 60o at high speeds, delivering total freedom in the design of 3D creative displays. It also completely removes the need to stop production when changing tools.

“For the first time ever, converters can make 60-degree V-notch cuts enabling the making of triangular pillars, something which has been impossible until now. It can also cut angled curves, dependent on radius size.”

Fox adds: “Importantly, the tool behaviour is defined from within the structural design software, therefore no operator input is required at the cutting table itself, boosting productivity by a further 25%.”

In June this year Kongsberg also introduced the C20, its smallest high-speed production table at 1.6m x 1.4m.

“We know that industrial manufacturers, as well as small sign and trade shops, require a high-speed cutting table to keep up with the manufacturing process, but floorspace comes at a premium. The high cost of owning

Technology | What to Watch

The Klieverik Vertex

The Kongsberg Variangle

The Kongsberg C20

The Zund/Inca demo room

The Kongsberg Motorized Roll Feeder Zund Connect dashboard

or renting space is a serious problem for many in the sign and display market. With the new Kongsberg C20, there is no longer any need for those businesses to compromise on production and quality due to a lack of available space,” says Fox. “The cutting table combines an aluminium composite tabletop, a rack and pinion drive system and dynamic table mapping. Multiple tool combinations are available during production, and the tooling system includes a material thickness probe and an optional camera for registering printed and un-printed material.”

For the soft signage market, the Kongsberg Motorized Roll Feeder is responding to what Fox sees as a need for the continuous production of high-volumes of wide-format soft signage jobs.

“With the Motorized Roll Feeder users can achieve the perfect final cut - even on challenging and tensile substrates,” he says. “The built-in Kongsberg iPC software compensates for any distortion, while a curve registration algorithm determines the exact cut size, taking into account all material properties for shrink, stretch or melting. Not only that, but the Motorized Roll Feeder can also handle rolls up to 300kg.

“Easy to install and operate, the Motorized Roll Feeder moves on wheels and docks to the Kongsberg cutting table with magnets. It is simple to load and very intuitive to use. It can also serve as a passive roll-off if tension control is not crucial, for example with lighter rolls and shorter print runs. When used in combination with the Kongsberg Take-Up Unit, the Motorized Roll Feeder enables true roll-to-roll production.”

CMYUK, a distributor of Klieverik heat presses in the UK/Ireland, is now selling the company’s Vertex, a hybrid transfer printing calendar launched earlier this year and aimed at those looking to expand into décor, soft furnishings, fashion, sportswear and apparel applications.

An entry-level unit, it is considered a perfect companion to Epson and Mimaki printers.

With a working width of 165cm, the Vertex calendar can handle both single pieces and roll-to-roll fabrics, and is said to be ideal for sublimating PES (polyesters). It can cope with rolls of sublimation printing or by using the infeed table single fabric pieces can also be pressed. Fabric and printed paper are tensioned controlled together via air pressure. A touchscreen pad provides easy control.

In addition to the printing of PES materials, Vertex can also be used for setting pigment inks onto natural materials such as cottons and linens for fade resistant printing.

It is also a good companion for heat fixing the DuraVibe range of soft furnishing textiles developed for use with HP Latex ink technology.

CMYUK is also a distributor of AE Sewing machines.

The latest model is the ASA 2075-LS/ECO, a single needle lockstitch, direct drive sewing machine that features a mini conveyor.

Designed for staff that have no prior sewing experience, it can be used for sewing fabric and PVC textiles, thus ensuring flat seams are achieved for applications such as silicone/PVC beading, keder or SEG attaching. The conveyor features a 0.75m wide by 2m length, tactile lined blue PVC belt and is specially developed for the transportation of fabric while the sewing operation is in motion.

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Technology | What to Watch

AN INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION INCREASINGLY, INKJET PRINTER MANUFACTURES ARE EXTENDING THEIR REACH

BY ADDING INDUSTRIAL PRINTERS TO THEIR OFFERING? BUT, WHAT DO THEY MEAN BY ‘INDUSTRIAL’, AND DO MACHINES MATCHING THAT DEFINITION HAVE ANY PLACE WITHIN GRAPHICS SECTOR PSPS?

The Mimaki Tiger-1800B, one of a number of ‘industrial’ large-format printers on the market today

What makes an industrial printer just that? Is it a question of productivity and volumes, of application type and capability, of where it fits into a manufacturing process, a mixture of all the aforementioned? Does it even matter if they’re not aimed at your type of business? Or are they? As manufacturers extend their product portfolios we asked a selection of them to define ‘industrial’ printer and market positioning to try and clarify just how relevant they are to the wide-format graphics sector.

Let’s start at the alphabetical beginning, with Agfa.

Bobby Grauf, sales manager UK and Ireland, says: “Industrial is a core ingredient in all our solutions whether it’s a lower investment point with Anapurna or a higher one with Jeti. In our eyes, printing begins with fast, error-free delivery of print files to the pressroom.

The ability to process jobs ensures the printers are fed with the right data at the right time. Every PSP can benefit from this approach, which is the first step to industrial printing.

“Next, one can look at loading and unloading times, and how those can be optimised with automation.

“Then there is another element in regards to industrial print, which is the integration of our products in adjacent industries. A good example is our flooring solution InterioJet, which uses a large part of the Jeti Tauro Series as its base but is modified to run special flooring papers with Agfa-made water-based inks. Another one is leather printing with the Agfa Alussa. Again, we start with a Jeti Tauro, but here we have adjusted transport

12 | October / November 2021

WHEN WE REFER TO INDUSTRIAL PRINTERS, WE ARE USUALLY REFERENCING APPLICATIONS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE GRAPHICS AND SIGNAGE MARKETS

mechanisms to hold the leather on the belt, print with specific, ultra-flexible UV LED inks, and finish off with bespoke coating to protect the finished product from scuffing and scratching. These two solutions, as well as dedicated inks for other industrial sectors, form our Industrial Inkjet segment.”

At Canon, Derek Joys, product marketing manager, production printing products, says: “When we refer to industrial printers, we are usually referencing applications that are outside of the graphics and signage markets. More specifically, this may refer to when the printing of a substrate forms only one part of the application manufacture. An example of this is membrane switch printing, where printing is just one component of the control panel of the machine.

“All of Canon’s large-format printers, whether flatbed or roll to roll, are built to an industrial standard, and are designed to suit many markets.”

“What I refer to as ‘industrial’ production is 24x7 operations and where the key focus is on reliability with minimal downtime,” explains Peter Bray, managing director, Durst UK and Ireland. “Ceramic, textile and corrugated markets spring to mind as good examples of continuous production.

“More recently, we have introduced Durst software and analytics that are enabling customers to better understand productivity and how to make the best use of their technology.

“As to the question of who the ‘industrial’ machines are aimed at, it depends on the individual circumstances and

Technology | What to Watch

set-up. If you are talking about large PSPs, these days, many would be expecting to run 24x7 operations and would be talking about industrial-scale production. On the other hand, a small graphics house or sign maker might need a machine that produces only two-three hours of work per day. The tipping point for the ROI is always going to be somewhat difficult to nail down in general terms.

For me, the answer would depend on a number of factors, which will include the type of applications being produced and at what price being sold.”

Phil McMullin, head of sales commercial and industrial printing, Epson (UK), points out that the company addresses the industrial sector with two distinct strategies.

“Firstly, Epson sells its Piezo inkjet printheads to other manufacturers for integration into industrial printers.

In addition, we have two printer ranges that specifically address the industrial print space - the SurePress family of label presses and Monna Lisa range of textile printers. The SurePress machines were developed for label converters. However, they are also proving popular for high-volume sticker production, particularly in Europe and the US. “For the direct-to-fabric sector, the Monna Lisa Evo Tre is the well-established industrial digital textile range based on total solution - a fully integrated system where all components belong to the same process to guarantee the best printing results. This is the result of the synergy of Epson inkjet printing technology with engineering by Robustelli and pre/post-treatment and inks by For.Tex [both now part of Epson]. The Evo Tre range has recently been complemented by the introduction of the entry-level ML8000 printer.”

For Jane Rixon, business development manager for signage and decoration, HP UK and Ireland, “there is something of a conflict between perception and reality when we consider the term industrial print, and/or what might qualify as an industrial printer.”

She explains: “The perception is that ‘industrial print’ can be defined by the purchase cost or performance level of the printer - if the printer costs over £25,000 or the production performance levels cross a certain volume threshold, then many might consider that printer as being ‘industrial’.

“The reality - and certainly from the point of view of most manufacturers - is that true industrial print is more likely to be defined as print applied as part of a more elaborate and far-reaching manufacturing process, one where the print itself is not the final product, but rather the items printed - for a decorative or functional purpose - are simply a component of the end product.

“Decor applications, for example, could be considered to be industrial, but only when on a large scale. One printed piece of wall art wouldn’t be considered industrial, but rolls of wallpaper produced in volume as part of a larger industrial manufacturing process could be.

Equally, you wouldn’t describe print as being ‘industrial’ when you’ve printed a single door on a flatbed printer - it’s not manufacturing, and it’s certainly not industrial in scale. But inkjet printing integrated into a laminate flooring production line, used to apply a decorative grain effect, is most certainly an industrial print process.

THERE IS SOMETHING OF A CONFLICT BETWEEN PERCEPTION AND REALITY WHEN WE CONSIDER WHAT MIGHT QUALIFY AS AN INDUSTRIAL PRINTER

“There are relatively few graphics PSPs that currently have a full-scale industrial print set-up as part of their offering - not least because the demands from their sales channels differ so vastly. The technical and production support requirements for an industrial business are also very diverse.

Ben Woodruff at Jetrix classifies an ‘industrial user’ “as a company that is printing for its own use. For example, we have a customer that uses its Jetrix LXi8 to print 6,000 vehicle number plates every day. We have another that prints the glass fronts for gaming machines. Another uses a Jetrix LXi8 to print office dividers and glass partitions. A funeral director uses one to print coffin lids. In fact, I would say that between 2030% of our Jetrix user base in the UK could be classed as industrial now.”

He adds: “The leading UV flatbed printers are wellbuilt, making them equally suitable for the graphics market and the industrial sector. Entry-level machines start around £65,000 which when financed over 5 years is not much different to leasing a car.”

Duncan Jefferies, head of marketing and business development at Mimaki’s distributor for the UK and Ireland, Hybrid Services, says: “In our experience, the term ‘industrial printing’ can be defined by a number of factors. At its simplest, it’s assessing at what volume print becomes ‘industrial’, and a lot of the time that will be down to the print provider themselves to define. We have many Mimaki installations where companies are running an industrial printing operation, producing high volumes of print as part of a manufacturing process (a good example being sportswear, fashion and homeware production companies), however their hardware may be the same as a smaller textile design company - it’s just that they have more of it.

“Equally, Mimaki offers multiple industrial hardware solutions including the Tiger 1800, a textile system capable of outputting almost 400m2/hr. Its size and productivity make it every inch an industrial solution.

“In many cases, companies benefit from the flexibility they get from running a bank of machines and equally, the built-in redundancy of having the reserve of one or more machines in the unlikely event of a technical issue. But, of course, opting for a ‘typical’ industrial machine has some definite advantages too. Consumables costs are generally going to be lower because of the volumes involved and there may be reduced staffing costs as well.

“However, Mimaki’s latest tranche of products sport many of the labour saving core technologies that have cascaded down from its industrial solutions. So the products most commonly invested in by PSPs can be utilised as a multiple installation for industrial volumes of output.”

The final word comes from swissQprint, which puts it rather succinctly: “A large-format industrial inkjet printer is designed to support a 24/7 manufacturing operations that need to minimise defects and ensure high equipment availability or uptime, while printing at the highest possible performance.

“There is certainly a place for industrial printers in the graphics sector PSP - one of the reasons the swissQprint Nyala has been the best-selling UV printer in Europe for the past six years.“

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Environment

WATCHING YOUR WASTE LINE THE NEW DISPLAY AND POS 2 RECYCLING SCHEME HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO HELP YOU TRIM YOUR WASTE AND EXPAND YOUR RECYCLING RATES. SO SHOULD YOU BE WEIGHING IT UP? With the UN issuing a ‘Red Alert’ for climate change, legislation like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPT) and Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) coming into play - and the anticipation of other legislation in the future - there’s no option really but to green-up. A new Smithers report, ‘The Future of Green Printing to 2026’, highlights the imperative, and our own 2021 Widthwise survey of large-format PSPs confirmed it - 70.77% said it had become more important for them to be seen as environmentally friendly than it was two years ago. So, how companies manage waste and recycles are of paramount consideration.

This summer the BPIF launched the ‘Display and POS 2 Recycling Scheme’ in partnership with Prismm Environmental. With support from the still relatively new BPIF display and POS sector interest group, the scheme was scoped to cover the requirements companies need to abide by to exhibit high recycling standards for this sector.

Aligning itself with the waste hierarchy - which ranks waste management options according to what is best for the environment - it gives top priority to preventing waste in the first place. Then, when waste is created, it gives priority to preparing it for re-use, then recycling, then recovery, and last of all disposal (e.g. landfill).

The bottom line is that this scheme is here to help companies improve and maintain their waste management and recycling. It provides a baseline and scope on requirements, support, and an ongoing direction to improve environmental sustainability with the visual display and POS sectors, adhering to a set of pledges and targets. And it has been developed - and continues to be developed - with the understanding that waste management is something companies need to constantly work on, with changes in requirements, legislation, brand and consumer needs.

So for those of you interested in taking part in this scheme, here are the pledges and targets you will need to adhere to: PLEDGES • All waste produced has been included into the scheme to ensure accountability.

• The waste hierarchy - where commercially viable - has been implemented.

• Maintain records of waste collections and treatment

routes used.

• Introduce and utilise media that is more widely recycled where possible.

• Promote environmental sustainability through the supply chain.

• Encourage clients to make environmentally preferable choices.

THE SECTOR HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD IN WHAT WILL BECOME THE NEW NORMAL ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES

TARGETS • Upon your acceptance into the scheme, Prismm Environmental will prepare an initial report that outlines media usage and waste output.

• This will be reviewed annually and the changes achieved analysed - beneficial or otherwise - and include a summary.

• Recycling, recovery and landfill volumes will be recorded by Prismm Environmental and issued to the site monthly.

• The BPIF visual display and POS steering group will receive annual recycling, recovery and landfill volumes for each member site, to enable ongoing sector analysis.

Basically, this scheme provides the wide-format sector with an opportunity to be able to prove good waste management and to create a progression plan for the future - now such a key requirement for many brands and manufacturers.

“This is an exciting time for the sector, as it has the opportunity to lead in what will become the new normal across all industries. As we move towards an EPR model of waste management, we need to have a fundamental rethink regarding print design and output - and in particular being mindful of the print technologies and substrates we use. By doing so, we will remove many of the challenges related to the safe disposal and recycling of print in the sign and display sector and embrace a more environmentally friendly way of operating,” stresses John Draycott, marketing manager at ArtSystems, part of the BPIF display and POS group.

Of course there’s a cost to all this - the scheme management charge is £50 per month. For that Prismm Environmental works with you to ensure the pledges and targets outlined above are met. It will prepare the initial report, which will detail recommended changes to improve recycling/recovery and forecasted financial benefits. A proposal to manage the site’s waste under the scheme will be included and Prismm will provide an ongoing total waste management service, including the handling of all waste related issues, contractors and invoicing.

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 15

Business | Talking Point

talks to...

Michael Green, Earlier this year MacroArt appointed a non-executive chairman to help it realign and grow its business. The Covid pandemic having caused so many PSPs to reassess their operations, I talked with MD Michael Green about the value of bringing in non-executive directors.

Michael, I suppose the first question has got to be why did you feel you needed a non-executive chairperson?

As a company partly owned by a private equity interest, the inclusion of a non-executive chairman as part of the MacroArt board is, whilst not mandatory, preferred, for two reasons. Firstly, an appointment of someone who can bring additional expert input from fields outside of our traditional industry sectors adds a further depth of experience and fresh eyes in respect of previously unconsidered opportunities. Secondly, a highly focused non-executive chairman is able to ensure that shareholders’ interests are both well represented and reflected in corporate planning and strategy.

So when did you start to looking for someone to fill this role - and where did you start looking?

The advantages of - and need for - additional board level expertise had been under consideration by the team at MacroArt for some time, and well before the impact of the Covid pandemic. Its arrival in early 2020 understandably accelerated this decisionmaking process.

With MacroArt’s traditional business sectors shut down, literally overnight, with the cancellation of exhibitions, shows and events, it became clear that we needed to explore and target as many previously untapped markets as possible to fill the void. The search began to identify sectors where our transferrable skills and experience would quickly make us effective, appealing and competitive, and clearly, the addition to the board of an experienced professional strategist with contacts and backgrounds in disparate business areas, would inform and speed our search.

16 | October / November 2021

The appointment to such a key and influential role for a company of our size is not one to be taken lightly, and requires significant research and in-depth analysis of candidates’ suitability. As such, we realised at an early stage that conventional general advertising of the post would be time consuming and labour intensive. A decision was taken to employ the services of a highly skilled and industry focused professional headhunter, and we were delighted with the contribution and advice that Angus Hartley from Augment Equity was able to provide in the identification and selection of an exceptionally high standard short-list of candidates, the very best of whom was Dominic Riley. We were thrilled when our discussions with him resulted in his acceptance of the role.

What specific qualities were you looking for?

As I mentioned, our primary focus before the pandemic and increasingly so during it - was to reduce our reliance on work from a quite limited business sector, thus broadening our scope and futureproofing the business.

Dominic Riley’s extensive experience in organisations as varied as FTSE100-listed RELX, the BBC, and the Morgan Motor Company, provides a wealth of key corporate skills in areas such as innovation, market exploitation and sustainable growth, and his plans to take advantage of MacroArt’s high profile within the large-format sector in opening new sectors and developing fresh markets was perfectly in tune with those of the board.

What impact has your new non-exec chairman Dominic Riley had so far - and what are his/your longer-term goals?

As Riley has said, “MacroArt is a business with

Business | Talking Point

MD, MacroArt enormous untapped potential and a huge commitment to excellence. I am excited by the growth opportunities.

The factory is well invested, the team is on board, and I feel sure that we can deliver results, in terms of new sector development, market share and profitability. I see significant possibilities for further development at this strongly established firm.”

Dominic’s impressive experience in successfully driving businesses forward - in both the exploration of new markets and services, and in terms of profitability - has been perfectly in tune with the ambitions of our firm from his first day in post.

In his forward looking, dynamic approach to innovative strategies, Riley had provided the whole team with the opportunity to take a fresh look at the ‘nuts and bolts’ of both our structure and our outward facing offering. This has led to significant progress in the development of a strategy to position MacroArt as a premium provider of effective brand solutions, rather than simply a printer of graphics and signage.

Our ability to support clients in the delivery of powerful, on-brand results as part of the creative process, also opens up a wealth of new markets, including retail, heritage and sporting events, to complement the business from the returning exhibition sector.

What happens when you disagree?

I’m pleased to say that, thus far, this has yet to happen, which is perhaps an indication that our aims and aspirations are very much aligned! However, disagreement is not disapproval, nor is it necessarily a roadblock to effective compromise or collaboration. In fact, healthy discourse over two very different points of view often

delivers an elegant solution that is better than either individual standpoint, and we very much welcome ideas that challenge the status quo.

The key to all discussions on the board is the growth, development, and profitability of MacroArt, and when it comes to realising these benefits, all opinions are valid.

What would be your message to other PSPs regarding bringing in a non-executive director?

As with almost any established group, the injection of new thinking, and new approaches can be transformational.

The best laid plans can be blunted and dulled by the unintentional determination to adopt the same approach that has always been taken. “We’ve always had good results doing it this way” is a phrase often heard and all too seldom challenged. The introduction of a new observer, who has none of the pre-conceptions of the best way of doing things in a given industry, can often reveal extraordinary new avenues of opportunity, that have simply laid unexplored. And this is particularly true in respect of the introduction of the right non-executive director to a board. This fresh thinking, beneficial in itself, is further enhanced when its source can also bring experience and high-level contacts from areas of business that are completely outside the existing arena.

“We have found the experience of being able to tap into a host of innovative, pro-active and inspirational opportunities to be as rewarding personally as it has been professionally. The injection of a greater level of commercial experience, rigour and strategic thinking, drawn from new areas of industry, can transform and refresh a business. This has certainly been the case at MacroArt.”

WE VERY MUCH WELCOME IDEAS THAT CHALLENGE THE STATUS QUO

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 17

Business | Leadership

BE MADE SMARTER DO YOU KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE MADE SMARTER LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME - AND HAVE YOU CONSIDERED JOINING IT? IF YOU WANT TO MIX WITH BUSINESS CHIEFS FROM ACROSS DIFFERENT SECTORS TO GLEAN INSIGHT ON SMARTER MANUFACTURING IMPACTS, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD. Want to work smarter? Well, this month (October 2021) the Made Smarter Leadership programme will be running once again, offering SME manufacturers in the North West the opportunity to arm themselves with the vision and the skills to pursue smarter manufacturing.

This will be the sixth cohort of managers and directors to embark on the programme, co-created by Made Smarter and Lancaster University Management School (LUMS), and among the 60 leaders across manufacturing that have already been empowered to transform their business have been a number from the wide-format digital print sector.

Many have used knowledge gained from the programme to make an impact on their businesses.

Now, those running SME digital print operations are being encouraged to register their interest for the next two cohort intakes - it’s a tad late for the one starting 7 October, but another begins on 10 November.

The programme takes place over eight months and includes seven workshops, led by both academics delivering leading edge thinking and business practitioners demonstrating adoption in real business settings.

The aim is for participants to gain insight into auditing their business to reveal how digital-ready they currently are, how to measure the true impact and value of any changes they make to the way they work, and how to successfully bring employees and other stakeholders along on their journey of business transformation.

The programme includes site visits to other manufacturers that will demonstrate their journey of adopting digital technology and the impact it is having on their business. These include Runcorn-based Hosokawa Micron, a manufacturer and supplier of powder processing systems and equipment which has transformed its production performance through the application of digital technologies, and Veka Plc, a Burnley-based manufacturer of PVCu window systems.

Delegates will then embark on special project ‘sprints’ to test new ideas based on real life scenarios in their business.

Learning Forums will provide the opportunity to discuss business challenges in a group setting designed to encourage honest, unbiased, constructive feedback.

The programme also uses peer-to-peer coaching to create a trusted network of leaders, many of which, according the organisers, have remained in close contact after they ‘graduated’.

Professor Angus Laing, Dean of Lancaster University Management School, said: “When we co-created the

REGARDLESS OF YOUR SIZE OR WHAT YOU MANUFACTURE, ORGANISATIONS HAVE MANY OF THE SAME CHALLENGES, AND THEY CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER Professor Angus Laing

Leadership Programme with Made Smarter, our hope was to create a space for leaders to build their confidence, capacity and capability, to identify, test and adopt new technologies.

“It has been designed to empower participants to transform their individual businesses through the use of highly advanced manufacturing methods.

“It is clear from the feedback from so many of the leaders from the five cohorts who have now embarked on this programme that they have reaped great benefit from taking vital time away from the business to develop a strategy to adopt hi-tech and digitally-based manufacturing techniques into their own production processes, while bringing employees and other stakeholders along on their digital transformation journey.

“Those who have completed the programme, including those in the digital print sector, have spoken of the benefits of being able to share ideas and experiences alongside their peers in manufacturing. They are reassured that regardless of your size or what you manufacture, organisations have many of the same challenges, and they can learn from each other.”

The Leadership Programme is a key element of the Made Smarter Adoption Programme in the North West, a collaboration between UK Government and industry designed to support the increased use of digital technologies.

Since 2019 it has worked with more than 1,200 businesses, including many in the digital print sector, supporting them to introduce digital tools and technologies to help boost productivity and growth, and navigate the impact of Covid-19.

More than 600 manufacturers have received intensive support including expert, impartial technology advice, digital transformation workshops to help manufacturers take their first steps to transform their business, and funded digital technology internships.

154 businesses have secured £3.82m matched funding for 192 projects, leveraging £10.2m of private sector investment.

These projects are forecast to deliver an additional £150m in gross value added (GVA) for the North West economy over the next three years, create over 920 new jobs, and upskill 1,764 existing roles.

Such has the been the success of the North West programme, it has been expanded to the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the West Midlands regions, meaning more company chiefs can access support to adopt digital tools to increase their growth, productivity, efficiency and create high value, well-paid jobs of the future.

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Business | Top Tips

Decisions, decisions Decisions are the lifeblood of a business, which makes it all the more remarkable that we make so many of them in a disjointed, ad hoc and impulsive fashion. The good news, as American billionaire Warren Buffett likes to point out, is that you only have to get a few of them right, as long as you don’t get too many of them wrong. This guidance might help you improve your success rate.

SOMETIMES, THE TOUGHEST THING TO SAY IN A MEETING IS ‘I DON’T KNOW’ - BUT OFTEN IT’S ALSO THE SMARTEST THING YOU CAN SAY

WALTER HALE EXPLORES THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS, AND OFFERS POINTERS ON HOW TO MAKE BETTER ONES.

1.

SEEK DISSENT

It’s all about the brain. The human mind is a magnificent creation but it’s not perfect. One of its flaws, as Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman has identified, is that on its default setting it prompts us to jump to conclusions. Kahneman calls this tendency What You See Is All There Is (WYSIATI). When we make decisions, we do so on the basis of what we know - or think we know - and we use that knowledge to build a coherent story which, even if it is inaccurate, we choose to adhere too.

What we don’t tend to do is reflect on the things we don’t know about a given situation, which might help us make better decisions. This is perfectly understandable.

As a rule, we like to agree with the boss (especially if, as is too often the case, the boss has indicated their preference before the discussion starts). Saying something like ‘Yes, but …” can make us sound weak or indecisive and, to expedite matters, we are often presented with binary choices (which, as we will explore, are often unhelpful). To encourage a genuinely informed, and open discussion, leaders need to make sure they seek out dissent, rather then penalising it.

3.

2.

IT’S STILL ALL ABOUT THE BRAIN

One reason we fall into the WYSIATI trap is that we are susceptible to confirmation bias. We are more likely to accept information that confirms what we already think and less likely to accept information that contradicts it. So many executives will embrace any data - no matter how inaccurate or irrelevant - to resist change or to support the consensus. This tendency is exacerbated by what Buffett calls the ‘institutional imperative’, which he describes as an unseen force that means “any business craving of the leader, no matter how foolish” will be indulged by docile managers.

This imperative will often be strengthened by colleagues who act as ‘mind guards’ who see their role as shielding the group from inconvenient information.

This is one of the mechanisms driving the phenomenon American psychologist Irving Janis dubbed ‘groupthink’ where shared assumptions can lead us to make disastrous decisions - the entirely avoidable scandal of Watergate being the ultimate example.

IT’S SELDOM AS EASY AS A OR B

Many managers - especially those who can’t quite control their inner bully - like to boil a decision down to a binary choice. There’s some logic to this - it can clarify debate, focus minds, and encourage a quick decision - but there is always the risk that this method doesn’t simplify a choice, it distorts it. At the very least, a leader should share the process that whittled those choices down. Were any other options considered? Why were they discarded? What information is not being presented to us? These are all valid questions and by deconstructing the process, teams may come to a better decision. It may well take longer - to the annoyance of some gung-ho colleagues - but the decision may well be the right one, which is surely the point.

20 | October / November 2021

Business | Top Tips

SO MANY COMPANIES END UP EMULATING THEIR RIVALS ON A HOST OF MATTERS - AND, AS AN INEVITABLE CONSEQUENCE, FAIL TO DEVELOP A DISTINCT COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

4.

DON’T MAKE UNNECESSARY DECISIONS

Andy Grove, the famous CEO of Intel, used to argue that sometimes the best decision a manager can make is not to make one. The internal pressure to make decisions right now can be intense - hence the quip ‘The manager’s indecision is final’ - but sometimes it pays to wait until the ambiguity of the situation you are facing is resolved. If you don’t resist the pressure to decide early, you could make the wrong move. This is not an excuse for ‘analysis paralysis’ but Lord Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s favourite prime minister, made the case very well when he said: “When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change.”

6.

“A MAN’S GOT TO KNOW HIS LIMITATIONS”

Clint Eastwood said this at the end of ‘Magnum Force’, the second movie in which he starred as maverick cop Harry Callahan. People who over-estimated their own abilities in Eastwood’s movies tended to pay the ultimate price. In business, the cost of such delusions may be less dramatic but they still exist. As you might expect, Buffet has a term for this, saying once: “Only evaluate decisions within your circle of competence. The size of that circle isn’t vital, but knowing its boundaries is.” Sometimes, the toughest thing to say in a meeting is “I don’t know” - but often it’s also the smartest thing you can say.

UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF PERCEPTUAL CONTRAST

This principle, identified by American management guru Robert Cialdini, applies to every workplace and each department within each workplace.

Here’s how it works. A manager asks you for £150,000 to bolster your online presence and promote the business on social media. Thinking that you could buy a new digital printer for that, you demur. When the manager returns with a new proposal, for half of that investment, you instinctively feel you should accept. The perceptual contrast between the original cost and the second sum nudges you towards endorsing the plan. This instinct is heightened by our need to reciprocate - because they have made a concession, we feel obliged to do the same. Our urge to reciprocate is so strong that when, in the 1970s, an American academic sent Christmas cards to random strangers, most of them sent him one back. The difficult skill is to step outside the situation itself and ask whether the plan is important, useful and likely to succeed. When those questions are raised, you might decide that £75,000 is: a) too little; b) a good idea but not right now; or c) better invested elsewhere.

8.

5.

7.

DON’T IMITATE, INNOVATE

Because we all know our own business inside out, we know our weaknesses as well as our strengths. When we consider our competitors, it is harder for us to see beyond the image they project in the marketplace, so we may well overestimate their strengths - and be blind to their flaws. This is one reason that so many companies end up emulating their rivals on a host of matters - from bonuses to capital investment and products - and, as an inevitable consequence, fail to develop a distinct competitive advantage. Such neglect can have serious repercussions for the business when times are hard. (The herd mentality, in which we are encouraged to make decisions on an emotional, not rational, basis by our peers, has been confirmed in numerous studies.) It makes far more sense to reflect on the competitive edge you have - and take decisions that make the most of that edge.

DON’T FLATTER YOURSELF

You may be thinking that this advice is all very obvious but it is astonishing how often organisations fail because they forget the obvious and make astonishingly bad decisions. Think of Enron, Royal Bank of Scotland, Westfarmers (the Australian business that acquired Homebase for £340m in 2016 and sold it two years later for £1), VW (and, it turned out, many other car makers) systematically fixing emissions tests, Decca (turning down the Beatles because “bands with guitars are on the way out”), the litany of self-inflicted wounds is as long as the history of business. Such errors certainly bear out Buffett’s famous observation: “Ask yourself, could a fool run your business? Someday, a fool probably will.” In recent years, it has sometimes been hard to distinguish between a rising market and a genius. That certainly isn’t the case at the moment - and probably won’t be for the foreseeable future.

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 21

Think Bigger | Gallery

a. Wrap this up please Embrace Building Wraps has teamed up with artisan Debbie Griggs (AKA Griggsy) to turn digitally printed former building wraps into bespoke bags.

a.

Embrace, which made news recently with its record breaking Selfridges Birmingham wrap (also seen here), already takes printed scaffolding banners into Banner Karma repurposing scheme. It has now announced investment into Griggsy Bags, covering the initial set-up costs to roll-out the wrap repurposing project. This will involve lifting the working design templates onto scaled pdf templates for laser cutting of three styles of bags and a contribution towards the leather and press-stud embellishments that form part of the distinctive designs.

b.

b. Smell the coffee This fab coffee dispensing billboard caused quite a stir outside the new Jägermeister Coffee Haus in London.

c. Pushing the boat out Local print and display company Liberty Signs recently took on a mammoth print and installation project across 23 locations - including a canal boat - for the Manchester International Festival. d. Day and night Imageco has printed a day/night switching 5m x 2.5m wall graphic of downtown Bangkok for Zaap Thai Street Food restaurant, which opened recently in Headingley, Leeds.

d.

c.

e. An outcome to savour Signbox completed one of the most involved signage projects it has ever been commissioned to fulfil at Pernod Ricard’s new 7896m2 UK headquarters at Chiswick Parkestate in West London.

The job demanded wide-format digitally printed wallcoverings in each of 25 meeting rooms among other things. e. Solopress scores Solopress has become the official print partner for Southend United football club, and is also sponsoring its North Bank stand at the Roots Hall ground as the ground now reflects.

e. f. www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 23

Forum

DIGGING BELOW THE SURFACE WITH INDUSTRY MOLE Comments please to industrymole@imagereportsmag.co.uk

Alright, I’ll come clean. I voted for Brexit. I didn’t care about immigration, nor did I believe that Eurocrats wanted to regulate the shape of bananas.

What I did think that was, if leaving the EU made the British economy self-sufficient - by, for instance, encouraging us to buy more British-made cars - that the inevitable short-term pain would be followed by long-term gain. Now, five years after I cast my vote, and nine months since Brexit actually happened, I’m still hopeful but not as sure as I was.

Like everyone else I know in the trade, Mole Graphics has spent much of this year wrestling with the disruption of supplies (especially consumables), the cost of supplies, and the stop/start lockdown economy (which, although a lot of people have moaned about, I regarded as essential to try and protect public health). At the back of mind, I’ve also been worrying that if we got a really big order, whether we could fulfil it and whether, therefore, I should stock up on materials, stick them in the warehouse and, quite possibly, lose money if the business didn’t come in.

Obviously, no-one could have foreseen the

pandemic. It added to the confusion but it also gave the Government an alibi for its own shortcomings. All of the blatantly obvious risks that came with Brexit confusion over rules, paperwork and taxes; a dearth of HGV drivers (already a problem before we left the EU), supplies getting stuck in ports or at customs seem to have completely confounded left ministers and officials, none of whom seem to have a passing acquaintance with the concept of scenario planning.

Their first response was to mutter about inevitable “teething troubles”. Then they set up a support fund for SMEs to manage Brexit, which hasn’t supported anyone I know in the trade, probably because the online application process is more complicated than rocket science. As cunning plans go, this government’s Brexit strategy wouldn’t have passed muster with Baldrick, let alone Blackadder.

Now they’ve just stopped talking about it, hoping things will get better. Which they will - over time. A good idea implemented by idiots does not become a bad idea. So, despite the constant ribbing from my Remainer friends, I still think it was worth the risk, just about.

IPIA RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE GALA AND EXPO

HEIMTEXTIL

SIGN AND DIGITAL 2022

When?

12-15 October, 2021

When?

2 December, 2021

When?

11-14 January, 2022

When?

22-24 March, 2022

Where?

RAI, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Where?

Crowne Plaza, Stratford-upon-Avon

Where?

Frankfurt Messe, Germany

Where?

NEC, Birmingham

Cost?

80 Euro, reduced to 50 Euro by using one of the promo codes you can find on Fespa marketing collateral

Cost?

Various, starting at £12 for IPIA/BAPC members and £14.40 for non-members.

- check online.

Cost?

45 Euro on the door for one day entry, 33 Euro in advance

Cost?

Free

Who will be there?

Initially scheduled for October 2020 (in Madrid), then moved to March 2021 (to replace the originally scheduled May 2021 event in Munich), this event, for obvious reasons is now due to take place in October (in Amsterdam). Some of the key companies are missing this time around and the show features have been curtailed.

Who will be there?

This is the IPIA’s first physical event for almost two years, and has the backing sponsors Antalis, Canon, Duplo, Fujifilm, Imprint MIS, Konica Minolta, Vivid, Xerox and Xmpie.

Additional exhibitors are expected too.

Who will be there?

Retailers, wholesalers, designers, furniture and bedding stores, interior decorators, interior architects, architects, hotel outfitters etc are likely to attend the annual event specifically aimed squarely at the textile market.

Who will be there?

The SDUK event which was due to take place in May 2021 was scrapped due to the Covid pandemic, and will next take place in 2022.

Traditionally, this show brings together those wanting to come and see developments in the sign and digital print market, but we’ll have to see how things evolve.

Should you go?

Travel restrictions may have been eased, but the exhibitor list is still shorter than usual, there are no seminars and there’ll be less networking opportunity.

Should you go?

Perhaps more worth it for the networking than the expo

Should you go?

Only if textile print is your thing, in which case it may be worth undertaking the travel.

Should you go?

Need to wait until closer to the event to check-out the exhibitor list

EVENTS

FESPA GLOBAL 2021

24 | October / November 2021

Rating

7/10

Rating

6/10

Rating

6/10

Rating

7/10

Forum

OVER TO YOU...

PETER NICHOLLS, MD, JKN DIGITAL WWW.JKNDIGITAL.CO.UK

JKN Digital in Preston was formed in 1988 and is now a full service exhibition and events graphics specialist, and a trade printer. It was an early adopter of HP latex technology and now runs only such printers - three L570 roll-to-roll printers and an R2000 flatbed machine. So why all the investment in HP kit?

Peter, you were one of the first to buy a latex printer. Can you tell us what impressed you then and give us an overview of the HP printers you’ve bought over the years?

We were using flatbed printers when I initially went to an open day to see the first latex printer, which was roll-to-roll. The print quality was the best I’d seen in the industry. And I liked the fact you could change the printheads yourself so you didn’t have to wait for an engineer. I quickly bought my first latex machine, a LX6000. We moved on to two L65500, then the wider L3000. As most of our jobs were up to 1.6m wide we sold the larger machine and bought six, then seven, smaller L360 roll machines, which we’d run overnight. The latex printers are very reliable so you can do that! It makes for very efficient operation.

The HP kit you have now - the three L570s and the R2000 - have been purchased over the last couple of years. Let’s look at the roll-to-roll machines first - was reliability a chief factor there then?

Yes. And having run a number of HP latex machines we fully understand the technology and how it’s evolved. The kit has become more and more user-friendly. We get the sense that HP is always looking to progress the latex machines they offer, and the L570s have taken things to the next stage.

We bought two originally, then the demand for floor graphics [during the Covid pandemic] meant that in June 2020 we bought another.

I know that you’ve had a plethora of large-format flatbed printers and then switched to concentrate on roll-to-roll machines. The R2000 has brought you back to flatbeds. Why? Over the years we’ve had four or five different makes of flatbeds, and the prices were starting to go ridiculously high - on one machine I’d spent close to half a million pounds. When the latex first came out I looked at the quality and thought that was the way

to go, so I got rid of the flatbeds. Until the R2000 the other flatbeds I’d looked at hadn’t impressed me, either because of quality or their price. When I saw the R2000 in Barcelona I was pretty blown away by the print quality and build of the machine, and I think we were only second or third to get one in the UK. The reliability has been the best I’ve had in the 30 plus years I’ve been in the industry. We didn’t need to have an engineer out in the whole of the pandemic, thankfully given the lockdown. Had it failed we’d have had to turn work away.

How are your HP printers allowing you to diversify your offering?

When we had UV ink flatbed printers we used to do a bit of printing onto timber for instance, but the issue was that the ink covered the grain of the wood. The R2000 lays down an ink layer that bonds with the substrate and allows the grain to show through. We’ve built up quite a number of customers who like that. The white ink has opened up opportunities for us too. Plus, we can back that up with the eco-credentials of the ink - a real important aspect now. Even just five years ago, people talked ‘green’ but when it came down to it they weren’t that bothered. Now people are more serious about it. So the HP printers are a good aid to us tapping into that.

Do you expect to keep investing in latex technology?

It is making us more competitive, so yes. If more advanced machines come out from HP we’ll certainly be looking at them.

LEGAL EAGLE LEGAL EAGLE

HANDLING NEW PARENTS FROM MENZIES LAW

From a legal perspective, an employee’s return from maternity leave is quite a curious one.

During pregnancy and maternity leave, there are quite clear timescales and protections in place. This ‘protected period’ lasts from when the pregnancy begins to the end of the ‘additional maternity leave’ period or (if earlier) when the employee returns to work after the pregnancy. S does this mean that an employee returning to work is no longer protected, as they are no longer within a ‘protected period’?

The answer is yes - and no.

There is a gap in the Equality Act 2010 which means that there can still be ‘maternity’ discrimination after someone’s maternity leave has ended, where the unfavourable treatment “is in implementation of a decision taken in the protected period” (section 18(5) Equality Act 2010).

This means that decisions taken during pregnancy and/or in someone’s ‘absence’ can still be challenged if the impact continues after the return to work. So, decisions to re-jig

the job role, remove responsibilities, change work allocations or alter a client base can be challenged after the ‘protected period’.

There are some specific challenges with maternity returners. For instance, there is no statutory right to time off for breast-feeding, but nevertheless, employees have certain protections. Importantly, there is a duty on the employer to conduct a risk assessment personal to the mother’s individual circumstances.

You may also need to agree flexible working practices to accommodate a breastfeeding employee. There is good case law to back this up and a failure to accommodate an employee’s breastfeeding requirements could amount to indirect sex discrimination.

In terms of any sickness arising from pregnancy/maternity leave, it is still possible for an employee to be dismissed for capability after a return to work. We recommend you seek legal advice in such circumstances.

A return to work can often trigger a request

for flexible working. Whilst the attitude to flexible working is improving, too many mothers still report a negative experience. A flexible working request must be looked at fairly by an employer and a decision made within three months. Only recently an estate agency lost at the employment tribunal and had to pay out £184,000 in compensation for sex discrimination. This case revolved around a failure to accommodate a flexible working request when an employee returned from maternity leave.

Having spent years running training sessions on maternity for line managers, we’ve always found plenty of good intentions. However, there tends to be a lot of confusion and general lack of confidence, with the result that managers did not always feel able to interact positively with the employee. Our biggest tip is to invest in upskilling your managers. This is most likely to yield both a positive return to work for an individual and a greater chance for you to retain talented employees in your business.

www.imagereportsmag.co.uk | 25

Zeitgeist

Preparing for the Plastic Packaging Tax GIVEN IT’S AUTUMN 2021, SPRING 2022 MAY SEEM SOME WAY OFF. BUT DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT. NOW’S THE TIME TO START READYING FOR THE NEW TAX, WHICH COMES INTO FORCE NEXT APRIL.

So you want to reduce your plastic usage. Who doesn’t?

It’s healthier for the planet - and it’s likely to be healthier for your bank balance when the Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) comes into force next year. But it’s fair to say there’s some confusion within the visual communication sector about how this might affect PSPs - a point that’s been recognised by Chris Green, Antalis’ director of visual communications, and who has been taking a long hard look at what it might mean for this sector, and how its impact can be minimised.

As he points out, there had been some concern that the PPT might apply to some visual communication applications such as FSDUs or dump-bins, which could be deemed by some as packaging. Thankfully, in the Government’s ‘Get your business ready for the Plastic Packaging Tax’ document, these are defined as ‘packaging components that are not subject to the Plastic Packaging Tax’. They fall under Category 3 - products that are primarily designed to be re-used for the presentation of goods to a consumer or user and have been permanently set aside for this purpose, before or as soon as they have been manufactured or imported.

But, as Green reasons: “While that puts visual communications out of scope for now, it’s important to look ahead in preparation for amendments that will bring more forms of plastic packaging under the tax. I think it is inevitable that it will come under greater scrutiny and could be incorporated into the tax liable products somewhere down the line, and arguably with good reason

26 | October / November 2021

IT IS LIKELY THAT CONTRACTS WILL NEED TO SPECIFY IF COSTS ARE EX. PPT OR INC. PPT

“No one likes paying taxes, but the new Plastic Packaging Tax has a very worthy goal. According to the Government’s policy paper, its objective is ‘to provide a clear economic incentive for businesses to use recycled material in the manufacture of plastic packaging, which will create greater demand for this material. In turn this will stimulate increased levels of recycling and collection of plastic waste, diverting it away from landfill or incineration.’

“The tax applies to plastic packaging produced in, or imported into, the UK that contains less than 30% recycled plastic. The current proposal suggests that a charge of £200 per tonne will be required to be paid by the first business in the chain to commercially exploit the plastic packaging, although liability can be passed to parties further down the chain. As such, it is likely that contracts will need to specify if costs are ex. PPT or inc. PPT. Businesses that import less than 10 tonnes of plastic packaging in a 12-month period, however, will be exempt.”

So, how to reduce the impact of the PPT on your business?

“Reducing the amount of plastic packaging used might be easier than people think. Probably the biggest source of plastic packaging use among Antalis customers is stretch film to wrap pallets. It’s a product that is frequently overused, but fortunately it’s a relatively easy issue to rectify. Through a free consultation and audit offered by the Antalis packaging team, we have helped customers to make savings of up to 70% in cost and waste, simply by matching the film to their machine and ensuring the machine is calibrated correctly.

“Another way of reducing or even eliminating the use of plastic is through smart packaging design. In designing bespoke packaging, it is possible to minimise the use of plastic and other packaging materials as well as creating packaging that offers optimum protection along with other benefits such as speed of assembly.”

Green advocates the use of recycled plastic packaging, saying: “The important figure to remember with regard to the PPT is 30%. Plastic packaging containing at least 30% recycled plastic will be exempt from the tax. Over the last few months, we have been developing our Antalis Packaging range of tax-exempt products. It’s an ongoing process and we are continuing to work with our suppliers to source and develop more products. Among our current portfolio of tax-exempt packaging products are: white poly mailing bags (75% recycled content), grey mailing bags (100% recycled content), sealed Air Mail Lite and Master In Mailers (bubble liner has 60% recycled content), hand stretch blown film (17 micron or above has 30% recycled content), loosefill (100% bio-based and recycled content), and Airspeed Renew air bags (50% recycled content).

“Finally, consider replacing plastic packaging with paperbased products - though only if it doesn’t compromise protection or increase environmental impact. We recently helped a global beauty company to eliminate plastic from its transit packaging. The company had been using plastic air sacs for void fill, so we suggested they trial Fillpak TT,

by Ranpak, a flexible, portable void-fill system in which fanfolded kraft paper sheets are crumpled in the converter to form the filling material. The trial was so successful, they went on to buy four units from us.

“There’s no doubt that it will be a challenging period for many businesses while the new tax beds in. As well as the cost of the tax itself, there will be associated administrative costs for all businesses affected. That’s why thinking about the changes you can begin to make now in preparation is so important.”

Weblook | Inks / Hardware

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