ProPrint June 2020

People Technology Business

www.sprinter.com.au June 2020 $8.00

Graphic Art Mart helps out in a crisis 3D Print to the rescue

Star Business

Visual Connections

Covid-19 gives 3D printing a much needed chance to show its worth

What’s next for Next Printing as shutdowns continue to bite

Virtual Trade Show fills gap as expos postponed due to the pandemic

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EDITOR’S LETTER SHEREE YOUNG

What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger The year 2020 did not start well and nor has it improved as it has gone along. The new year was heralded with large parts of the country burning and then a month later the unthinkable happened.

Despite Bill Gates, one of the world’s richest people, make an eerie prediction in 2015 about a deadly virus outbreak, it is fair to say most of us were blindsided by Covid-19.

This brutal virus has assaulted our health and our economy. It has killed hundreds of thousands of people globally and cost billions in lost GDP. On the health front, Australia has come through relatively unscathed with just over 100 lives lost. But the shutdowns ordered by the federal government to stop the spread has created a world of pain for many with the unemployment queues and the number of businesses under pressure a sign of that.

Printing is one of the first industries to suffer in a downturn.

But this was more than a downturn, it was a complete halt of activity – it just stopped, dead.

Many inventive printers found ways to keep printing and keep their valued staff in a job.

The provision of personal protective equipment, counter shields, sanitising gel stations and directional signage to keep your 1.5 metres were some of the lifelines many printers grasped onto.

Others were not so lucky.

As the bad debts climbed and the work dried up, one business to be hit was Melbourne's Bambra Press which is now in voluntary administration.

Our thoughts are with Bambra directors John Wanless and Troy Riley as administrators work to find a buyer for this esteemed business.

It remains to be seen how long it will take but with many restrictions now beginning to ease and society slowly coming back to normal, we can only hope the situation will improve soon.

We hope you are fairing relatively

4 ProPrint June 2020

Editor Sheree Young (02) 8586 6131 SYoung@intermedia.com.au National Sales Manager Carmen Ciappara 0410 582 450 carmen@proprint.com.au Design and Production Manager Carrie Tong carrie@i-grafix.com Managing Director James Wells james@intermedia.com.au

Creative in a crisis: Carbon8's Kenneth Beck, Daniel Sutherland and Peter Musarra

well and enjoy reading this edition of ProPrint.

It is always a pleasure to speak to you and find out what you are doing to survive the current crisis.

This issue coincides with the launch of the first-ever Virtual Trade Show, by Visual Connections. The trade show features a number of key industry suppliers and will operate online 24 hours a day until the end of September taking the place of the cancelled Visual Impact.

This issue also features some of the printers that have gotten ahead of the wave to survive the pandemic.

Sydney's Carbon8 were quick to develop a face shield and sign a distribution deal with a medical wholesaler to keep their heads above water.

Another creative company to find ways to survive the virus is the subject of our Star Business feature, Next Printing.

Also featured is Focus Print Group CEO Mark Shergill who shares his insights in the Q&A. If any good can come from the pandemic, it could be that it has given 3D printing a chance to shine.

Technology companies, schools and universities wasted no time in producing PPE as global supply chains were disrupted.

This allowed the flexible nature of 3D print to be displayed and may have opened up many people's eyes to the opportunities of this technology.

We hope you enjoy the read.

Stay safe everyone and go well.

Subscriptions (02) 9660 2113 subscriptions@intermedia.com.au Subscription rate (6 issues) Australia $69.95

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ProPrint is published bi-monthly by Printer Media Group, registered in Australia ABN 47 628 473 334. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this magazine, it is a condition of distribution that the publisher does not assume any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which may result from any inaccuracy or omission in the publication.

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CONTENTS

40 3D models made with HP 3D technology, photo courtesy of Whiteclouds

34

10 42 30

28

Contents June 8-20 Update

VIRTUAL TRADE SHOW

TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT

Keep updated on major printing news including the latest on the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic

30 Visual Connections

38 Xeikon's dry-toner innovation for digital labels

22-23 Debrief Recap of all the major developments published on sprinter.com.au

24-25 Comment: Northwood

Visual Connections unveils a 24-hour a day, four-month long Virtual Trade Show to replace the cancelled Visual Impact

PRINT DIARY

The Real Media Collective CEO Kellie Northwood covers the highlights of the Rebuild Together webinar series

31 What is ahead in print

26 Comment: Romano

COVER STORY

Industry legend Frank Romano provides an overview of how the coronavirus is hurting the US industry

34-37 3D print out of the shadows

28 Q&A with Mark Shergill Focus Print Group owner gives his thoughts on the industry right now and his journey so far 6 ProPrint June 2020

2020 has been a year of change, don't miss the diary to stay informed

The coronavirus has given 3D printing a chance to shine with many new applications coming to the fore - read how commercial printers could apply this technology in their businesses to add extra revenue streams

This next generation technology is based on the newly introduced Cheetah 2.0 printing technology using dry-toner printing

STAR BUSINESS 40-41 Next Printing Next Printing has its roots in signage and display printing but a decision to move into labels proved worthwhile when the pandemic hit

POSTSCRIPT 58 James Cryer Recruitment expert, James Cryer of JDA Print Recruitment, shares his thoughts on the printing industry and what must be done for its overall health going forward www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE

PM targets IR reform and skills in JobMaker plan

by Sheree Young

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has put key printing industry issues – industrial relations and skills – at the heart of his plan to revive the economy with his JobMaker plan.

Morrison said, in an address at the National Press Club, that a system that gives business the opportunity to flourish was the only way to create jobs and put the economy back in the black.

An overhaul of the industrial relations system, which he said was “not fit-for-purpose”, and removing the “clunky” system that determines skill shortages was urgently needed.

The TAFE system and its variances between states also needed close examination, as this was resulting in students not taking the vocational education path.

“It is no wonder that when faced with this complexity, many potential students default to the university system, even if their career could be best enhanced through vocational education. I want those trade and skills jobs to be aspired to, not looked down upon or seen as a second-best option, it is a first best option,” Morrison said.

Overhauling the complicated IR and skills systems are not easy, but if, as the PM wants, all parties – employers, industry groups, unions and government – come to the table and carve out an agenda for giving Australia a much needed recast, it could be very positive for all.

Federal Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter is coordinating five working groups which are to report back with a plan in September.

The topics to be covered include award

Preparing for an overhaul: Prime Minister Scott Morrison

simplification, enterprise agreement making, casual and fixed term employee standards, compliance and enforcement and greenfield (new business) agreements.

The Print and Visual Communication Association and The Real Media Collective welcomed the announcements and look forward to contributing to the discussions to shape a brighter future for the industry.

PVCA CEO Andrew Macaulay said productivity had been held back for too long.

“You can’t really talk about industrial relations without talking about skills and vice versa, they are totally interrelated,” Macaulay told ProPrint.

“It is a really exciting announcement for print and packaging as the dialogue is driven by the need for us, as a nation, to dramatically improve productivity, which means that a lot of sectors are going to have to be far more innovative than they have in the past.”

TRMC CEO Kellie Northwood said she would be seeking representation on the roundtables, adding simplifying employment awards would go a long way to making business easier for many printers.

“The awards are very difficult to understand and are so open to interpretation,” Northwood told ProPrint.

“These need to be tightened up so industry knows what it needs to do. Having dedicated teams of IR working in factories and print businesses is just unaffordable when manufacturing already has some of the leanest margins.

“Our industry needs to take a firmer position in regards to skills training, transitioning and apprentice programs that benefit our commercial print industry needs specifically.”

Macaulay said the PVCA would be represented in the discussions through its connection to the Australian Chamber of Commerce Industry (ACCI).

The PVCA would also benefit from its relationship with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), Macaulay said.

News Corp stops presses in community and regional digital push

by Sheree Young

News Corp Australasia has announced major changes to its newspaper publishing with the bulk of its regional and community newspapers to be produced in a digital-only format from June 29 with some smaller community papers to close completely.

Executive chairman Michael Miller said Covid-19 had impacted the sustainability of community and regional publishing and this combined with readers increasingly reading the news online had led to the decision.

“Despite the audiences of News Corp’s digital mastheads growing more than 60 per cent as Australians turned to trusted media sources during the peak of the recent Covid-19 lockdowns, print advertising spending which contributes the majority of our revenues, has accelerated its decline,” Miller said.

Over 100 regional and community mastheads will become totally digital publications, and at least 13 others will merge together.

A spokesman for News Corp told ProPrint it was unclear what impact this would have on print sites as the company was still working through the detail. News Corp and Fairfax, now Nine, share print sites across the country.

News Corp said the changes will mean some 8 ProPrint June 2020

Fundamental change: News Corp Australasia announces massive cuts to newspaper printing

job roles will change and there will also be expected job losses.

Miller thanked those employees that have been impacted by the changes for their professionalism, dedication and contribution.

“They have provided News with invaluable years of service. Their passionate commitment to the communities in which they live and work

and their role in ensuring these have been informed and served by trusted local media has been substantial,” he said.

“These initiatives are significant. They will involve fundamental changes to how we operate our business but they are necessary,” Miller said.

Major regional titles The Hobart Mercury, NT News, Cairns Post, Townsville Bulletin, Gold Coast Bulletin, Toowoomba Chronicle and Geelong Advertiser will continue to be published both in print and digitally.

Regional titles to shift digital-only include the Mackay Daily Mercury, Rockhampton Morning Bulletin, Gladstone Observer, Bundaberg News Mail and the Fraser Coast Chronicle.

Community titles to be digital-only include the Melbourne Leader titles.

It is the same for the NSW and ACT NewsLocal publications including the Macarthur Chronicle, Central Coast Express, Hills Shire Times, Manly Daily, Northern District Times, Parramatta Advertiser, Inner West Courier and the Southern Courier.

Production on 16 titles will completely cease with the news content to be used in other publications. www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE

Michaelides predicts 12-month recovery time from Covid-19

by Sheree Young

Complete Colour managing director Tim Michaelides says his business weathered the initial Covid-19 impact reasonably well but is expecting continued difficult trading conditions until previously scheduled work for June returns.

Michaelides also predicts it will be at least 12 months before a solid recovery begins to be felt.

For the print industry, which relies heavily on producing advertising material, this period will be keenly felt as the businesses that do survive the pandemic will need time to feel confident and have the available cash to commit to advertising.

Michaelides said his Melbourne business has stood up reasonably well to the challenges with revenue down about 40 per cent across the board.

“We have clients in various sectors and that has been advantageous to us. We did have an initial impact and we are seeing things just quieten down a little bit further now. There was that initial shock and maybe there will be a bit more of a shock coming along,” Michaelides told ProPrint.

“There is just a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

I think it will take 12 months before things improve.

“People have got to have confidence to advertise and print is advertising. In all areas of the market businesses will close and those that do come back may not initially have large amounts of cash available to advertise.

“Sure, they will advertise but where, how and by what medium they advertise will be the challenge, getting a stable foot to make that commitment will be a challenge for all businesses. It is going to be tough that coming back.”

This 40 per cent drop meant Complete Colour was eligible for the JobKeeper scheme. The business has also reduced work hours of the company’s 30 staff by some 20 per cent to further shield the business while still providing capacity to meet current demands and beyond.

The company is now finalising work it had in the pipeline and has a good base of work scheduled for June.

“We have made all the adjustments that we need to make in the business.

“We are fortunate that we have a good spread of clients, no one client is a large amount of our turnover, so we are less exposed in that regard,” Michaelides said.

“We are in a reasonably good position financially so we will just ride it out.”

The main areas of downturn Complete Colour has seen are in the short-run digital space with spontaneous jobs disappearing.

“For us that is frustrating as we are currently installing a second iGen5 press (through Fuji Xerox) when the first wave of restrictions was introduced, due to social distancing the install at 80 per cent has been put on hold for now,” Michaelides said.

“Those short-run jobs have just fallen off an absolute cliff so at the moment we are just working on the bigger volume work.” www.sprinter.com.au

PRINT BY NUMBERS

7 The number of tonnes of plastic saved from landfill through HP and Currie Group action p16

33 Tough times: Complete Colour managing director Tim Michaelides faces challenges of the pandemic

What happens after the JobKeeper scheme finishes?

Michaelides commended the JobKeeper scheme but is worried about what happens in September.

“I think the government has been pretty good with the incentives they have offered,” he said, while pointing it out it may have been fairer to structure the payments based on a percentage of a person’s wage.

“Getting through this is important but it is really about what it is looking like on the other side. So, we are just bracing ourselves for that.

“Everyone thinks ‘the government has given us this stimulus and that’s great’ but what happens when that stops, how are people going to handle it?

Is there going to be another shock?

“When companies and people aren’t receiving funding from the government to support them, the downturn in business will still be there and may increase.”

Keeping print in Australia

If there was any good to come from the pandemic, it is that it has opened our eyes to the importance of boosting manufacturing capabilities in Australia and keeping print onshore as well.

He has signed the Print & Visual Communication Association petition to keep print onshore, particularly the high value, long-lead time print work that is often sent overseas due to cheaper pricing.

“I agree entirely with the petition. What they are talking about is the projects that have a longer lead time like government departments that produce books on an eight to 12-week timeline. That should be staying here.

“Yes, it can be done cheaper overseas but when the government here imposes measures for when you are employing people like compulsory superannuation, paying a decent wage and paying all of the government costs and yet they send work to countries that don’t force these rules on companies, it is an oxymoron and beggars belief. It is ridiculous,” he said.

Michaelides said he is hoping a government directive might encourage departments to have all their printing done onshore.

“I think this whole thing might have opened up the eyes of various people that we are good at manufacturing here and we have pushed manufacturing offshore,” he said.

The number of regional newspapers News Corp will move to digital-only publication p8

5 Maximum number of years of industry experience for Emerging 50 recipients p12

24 The hours per day Visual Connections Virtual Trade Show will run p12

2 The number of 3D printers now at Coleman Group p34

152 The metres per minute that the HP PageWide T250HD can print p42

3500 The number of delegates that attended EskoWorld’s virtual tradeshow p23

June 2o2o ProPrint 9

UPDATE

Carbon8 adds staff to produce high volume face shields

by Sheree Young

Carbon8, one of Sydney’s leading creative commercial print businesses, has answered the call for much needed personal protective equipment (PPE) and is producing tens of thousands of face shields for the health sector each week.

When the warning signs of what lay ahead as Covid-19 took hold, Carbon8 directors Peter Musarra and Kenneth Beck knew a creative approach would be needed to keep their business going and their 23 staff employed.

Carbon8’s industrial designer, Daniel Sutherland, came up with the face shield idea knowing it would be possible to produce the shields in high volumes using existing cutting and other manufacturing equipment at Carbon8’s Marrickville factory.

Musarra says Carbon8 saw the opportunity well before the government call out and innovated out of necessity to get ahead of the curve by mov ing quick ly to ma ke multiple prototypes.

From there, Musarra and Beck began the process of not only shoring up raw material supply chains, but also ensuring the production techniques and specifications of the shields met with NSW Health protocols.

Then there was the critical part of finding a wholesaler through which to sell the shields and get them where they were needed most – with frontline health workers.

A cold call by Musarra to Sentry Medical, a medical wholesaler in Sydney, who were supportive from the start, proved fruitful and the deal was eventually done to supply the shields.

“We were successful in securing a significant

Creative thinkers: Carbon8’s Kenneth Beck, Daniel Sutherland and Peter Musarra with the new face shields

contract to produce the face shields and that came at a crucial time when we were looking to reduce employee hours due to the downturn.

Instead, we’ve been able to keep our entire team working and bringing in additional casual staff with production expanding to one and half shifts six days a week to meet demand,” Musarra told ProPrint.

“We are supplying much needed PPE to the

health space, both kept and created jobs, and Carbon8 now has a lifeline revenue stream that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.

“We are extremely proud of that.”

Musarra says Carbon8 found a creative solution in this difficult climate, while supplying critical PPE. He adds that this exemplifies the inventive nature of the company and its team.

AFI Branding pivots into funky face masks

by Sheree Young

AFI Branding, a specialist producer of printed textile signage, has joined the ranks of Australian manufacturers to move into new areas to answer critical community demands brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

When the virus first began to spread in March, AFI Branding was swift to respond by designing and installing perspex counter shields in pharmacies and retail outlets.

It has now added to its Covid-19 response with the launch of a vibrant range face masks which are designed to provide everyday Australians with a little more extra protection against the virus while also freeing up critical supplies of medical masks for frontline health workers.

The masks come in nine varieties and are sold in packs of four via www.heroeswearmasks.com.au. They are made from a high grade, warp knit 200gsm polyester fabric and are machine washable.

They can also be branded specifically to a client’s needs.

The dye sublimated printed masks are cut on AFI’s grand format cutter and sewn by the 10 ProPrint June 2020

An example of some of the funky designs AFI Branding is printing on the masks

company’s own in-house stitch operators at the company’s production headquarters in Victoria’s Carrum Downs.

AFI Branding managing director Glenn Watson said the initiative was generating a positive result with a steady flow of orders coming in.

“Since Covid-19 hit, we’ve been working with

our clients and partners to see how we can adapt our offering. In recent weeks, we’ve designed and installed perspex counter screens in pharmacies and retail and rolled-out a range of hand sanitising units,” Watson told ProPrint.

“At the core of what we do at AFI is fabric printing so it seemed a natural solution to start creating face masks. We had a sewing team with time on their hands so we thought, why not? It’s been a fun and positive process coming up with the designs and seeing our team come together.

“It’s new territory for all of us – from us making the masks through to Australians wearing them. We wanted to offer some fun, bright and budget friendly designs for those people that do want to wear them when heading out.”

Last year, AFI Branding launched a fabric take-back sustainability initiative in partnership with fashion technology platform and marketplace for recycled textiles company, BlockTexx.

The scheme allows for all fabric printed by AFI Branding to be returned for recycling where it is sorted and separated and provided to BlockTexx for repurposing within Australia. www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE

Bright Print Group adds binding service

by Sheree Young

Debbie Burgess and John Bright, the co-directors of NSW’s Bright Print Group, have filled a void left by the recent demise of Sydney Binding with the launch of a new company, Twenty-20 Bindery Pty Ltd. The brother and sister team have now purchased a high volume Acoro PUR binding line and other auxillary equipment which was owned by John McPherson and Peter Halters, independent of the Sydney Binding business of which they were part owners.

McPherson is now employed as a consultant at Twenty-20 Bindery Pty Ltd with Sydney Binding officially in liquidation.

Four Sydney Binding employees, including senior team member Jun Hu, have also been employed at Twenty 20 Bindery with hopefully more to be employed as work returns to the industry.

The Acoro machine is continuing to operate at Sydney Binding’s Rockdale site but plans are underway to move it and other equipment purchased to a separate warehouse space at the rear of Bright Print Group’s factory in Wetherill Park.

Burgess told ProPrint that a month ago she and her brother would not have considered being the owners of a trade print bindery, but with the closure of Sydney Binding they felt they had little choice.

Bright Print Group had utilised the services of McPhersons/Graphic Bookbinding and then Sydney Binding for over 30 years.

Bright Print Group joint director Debbie Burgess

“Three weeks ago if someone had have said we were starting a trade bindery company, I would have said ‘I don’t think so’,” Burgess told ProPrint.

“It’s all happened very quickly. John and I needed to make that decision very quickly but we felt it was absolutely necessary that that Acoro machine was still available to the industry.”

Twenty 20 Bindery will provide similar services to those that were provided by Sydney Binding, including PUR, folding and stitching.

It currently does not offer case binding but Burgess did not rule out adding that provision if demand required it.

“Where we take Twenty-20 Bindery will depend on demand in the future but at the moment the important thing is ensuring ourselves and other printers in Sydney have access to a longer run PUR machine,” she said.

“The loss of Sydney Binding creates a huge void within our industry and a significant dis-

ruption to the work we can provide.

“The situation really didn’t leave us with an option but to step in and do something for ourselves and the industry really.”

Burgess also wanted to make it clear that Bright Print Group or Twenty-20 Bindery Pty Ltd had not purchased Sydney Binding, but rather just some pieces of equipment associated with it.

“Twenty-20 did not purchase Sydney Binding. Twenty-20 has purchased a few pieces of equipment, such as the Acoro PUR line which was owned by John McPherson and Peter Halters, independently of Sydney Binding. Equipment owned by Sydney Binding is likely to go to auction in the coming weeks under the direction of the Receivers,” Burgess said.

At the time of Sydney Binding’s demise, Halters told ProPrint the situation was brought on by a general downturn across the sector and the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s all a bit of a mixture between a downturn and the coronavirus and I just couldn’t see an end to it to tell you the truth,” Halters said.

“I think a lot of people are tricking themselves if they think there is going to be an end to this quickly.

“It was OK beforehand but the work just stopped. March was OK but in April there was virtually nothing and it was going to just be that way for the next few months, I could see that.”

Sydney Binding formed in 2016 after the merger of the long-running McPherson Binding and Graphic Bookbinding.

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UPDATE

Industry mentorship prize announced for 2020 ProPrint Emerging 50

by Sheree Young

ProPrint and its Emerging 50 initiative, which recognises the industry’s rising stars, is partnering with The Real Media Collective to help build the ‘next generation’ of industry talent with a 12-month mentorship for one lucky recipient.

The partnership will see The Real Media Collective, an association which represents the paper, print, publishing and direct mail industries, deliver a 12-month mentorship to help develop, guide and support one member of the 2020 ProPrint Emerging 50.

The mentorship programme offers the opportunity for the winning recipient to learn more about the parts of the industry they are seeking a career within, as well as areas they may not be so familiar with.

It will include engagement with industry leaders, site tours and client introductions with each interaction tailored to suit the recipient’s interests and career objectives.

It has been designed to offer the mentee an opportunity to learn about parts of a printing operation they might not get to work within in their day to day life, while helping them focus on the career path they are looking to take – press operator to sales cadet, bindery to marketing co-ordinator.

The mentorship programme will be led by the Collective and its chief executive officer, Kellie Northwood. It will include monthly catch-ups with Northwood and a cash prize to assist the winner in setting up their career or opting into a training module. “ This is a tremendous pa r tnership

Future leaders: A large contingent of 2019 ProPrint Emerging 50 members attended the Power 50 awards night in Sydney

opportunity and one I am personally very passionate about,” Northwood told ProPrint.

“Mentoring our next generation is critical to a strong industry future and one the Collective members welcome. I have been privileged in my career to meet and learn from an amazing network, team and client base – offering the opportunity for a future leader to be introduced to the broader industry is one I look forward to supporting.”

Industry supplier association, Visual Connections, and renowned wide format printer, Cactus Imaging, are also sponsoring the 2020 ProPrint Emerging 50.

Nominations will open soon for the 2020

Emerging 50 and Power 50, which is again proudly sponsored by Konica Minolta Australia, for the tenth year running.

All Emerging 50 nominees can enter the mentorship competition by answering some questions in written or video form about the future of the industry.

A panel of judges from the Power 50, sponsors and partners will assess the submissions for the mentorship competition to decide the winner.

Emerging 50 nominees are invited to the annual ProPrint Power 50 and Emerging 50 cocktail party that will be held in late 2020.

For more more visit: www.power50.com.au.

Currie Group signs up for Virtual Trade Show

by Sheree Young

Currie Group has joined the exhibitor list for Visual Connections’ virtual trade show for the print, sign, display and graphic industries where it will feature with the largest presence in the four-month long 24-hour show.

The virtual trade show, which runs from June 1 until the end of September, is the first of its kind for the industry.

Currie Group Sales and Marketing Director Phillip Rennell says the company will use its stand to showcase latest technologies and innovations from Currie Group’s market-leading partners, including HP Indigo, Scodix, OMET and Horizon.

“The show is well timed as Australia moves past the lockdown stage and into recovery mode,” Rennell said.

“While no-one really knows what the second half of this year is going to look like for businesses, there’s real hope we will be able to start moving towards a more normal business environment as restrictions start to ease.

“It’s important we keep providing people with the information they need to discern market trends, identify opportunities for their businesses, and consider new investments, so that they’re well-positioned to recover, consolidate 12 ProPrint June 2020

Vital opportunity: Currie Group’s Phillip Rennell

and grow their businesses into the future.”

Plans for Currie Group’s stand are still being finalised but Rennell says it is expected to centre around product videos and demonstrations – plugging a vital gap in the absence of physical expos like Visual Impact and drupa – and education, with expert presentations and downloadable information.

The company will also take part in the virtual seminar and workshop series.

Rennell says the virtual trade show is an important part of the ‘industry eco-system’ and as such Currie Group views its participation as a statement of its support for the print and graphic communications sector.

“Expos provide a vital opportunity to connect and collaborate with our customers, colleagues and competitors, learn about new options and opportunities, and recognise and celebrate what we do,” Rennell says.

“Obviously, it will be a while before we can all get together in one physical location, but in the interim, the Virtual Trade Show will go some way to filling the need for the industry connection and dialogue which physical expos deliver so well. We welcome this innovative initiative from Visual Connections and we’re looking forward to being involved.”

The Virtual Print, Sign, Display and Graphics Trade Show will run 24 hours a day from June to September on the Visual Connections website www.visualconnections.org.au.

Joining Currie Group with major stands are Epson, HP and Roland, joined by Ball & Doggett, Böttcher, Ecolease, Eurotech, Fujifilm, Hexis, Mutoh, Screen, Trotec, and other exhibitors including Control Zone, Epson, Europoles, Gravotech, Mimaki, Sign to Badge Solutions and Starleaton.

To register, email exhibitions@visualconnections.org.au or, if you wish to secure a stand contact Peter Harper directly on 0418 267 952 or at peterh@visualconnections.org.au. www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE

Bambra Press in voluntary administration

by Sheree Young

One of Australia’s most well-known and highly regarded printers, Bambra Press, is in voluntary administration with the directors citing an 80 per cent drop in work due to the coronavirus and bad debts as the cause.

John Wanless and Troy Riley advised the industry through a statement on Friday May 22 of their difficult decision.

They apologised to their staff, suppliers and customers but said they had to take this step as it was clear the only way the business would survive was through an expensive restructure.

The long-standing 40-year-old business is continuing to operate under administration, with administrators now looking to sell it as a going concern.

Wanless told ProPrint the decision was incredibly difficult but necessary.

“We could have dragged this out until 30 September when JobKeeper ends but we would have still have had this mountain to climb over.

The cost of making the redundancies we needed to make were sizeable,” Wanless told ProPrint.

“The brand is strong and our suppliers and customers have been very supportive. I think the times are really challenging and people appreciate that some businesses are going to struggle even though they might have a good brand.”

In the statement, Wanless and Riley pointed to what led to this difficult decision.

“We’ve spent hours, days and weeks analysing different scenarios, also using this time to see if there was any significant bounce back in

Difficult decisions: Steven Haas, Bambra’s former CEO, with directors John Wanless and Troy Riley

sales. Sales have not bounced, and the only option for the business under any of the forecast scenarios is to restructure to a manageable size (about half or less than current),” Wanless and Riley said.

“The cost of restructure is out of our reach, which has led us into voluntary administration.

The business will continue to operate as normal under voluntary administration, with the administrators looking to sell the business as a going concern.

“Leaving our staff, suppliers and customers in this predicament is the hardest and most

unimaginable position we ever thought we’d be in.

“There’s an emotional attachment to all of the people we have worked with over the years, but unfortunately emotion needs to be put to the side, and the fact is that the hard decision had to be made.

“Knowing what the ultimate outcome would be, we felt obliged to call it now rather than dragging it out for everyone.

“We thank all the people and businesses we have had the pleasure of dealing with over the journey and apologise wholeheartedly.”

PVCA petition for onshoring of print nears 5,000 signatures

by Sheree Young

A Print & Visual Communication Association petition calling on all government bodies to have all their printing produced in Australia has now been submitted to the federal government.

The petition to lobby government at all levels, government departments and governmentowned institutions including national and state art galleries to stop sending print offshore and instead support local operators is adding to a groundswell for a return of manufacturing to Australia.

PVCA CEO Andrew Macaulay said he was amazed with the number of signatures on the petition. The petition was also supported by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union and Wayne Eastaugh of Marvel Bookbinding.

Macaulay is now working on a submission to the federal government to support the petition.

“We are heading towards 5,000 signatures.

We are having amazing feedback from industry and outside of industry and from politicians across the spectrum and government as well.

The next question is what the government does about it?” Macaulay told ProPrint.

14 ProPrint June 2020

PVCA petition gathers large support from industry

“It’s a no brainer. If the government and government departments are already spending this taxpayer money, then why send it overseas especially when the government is working so hard to stimulate the economy right now.”

Citing a 2019 Ibis World report, Macaulay said $340.9 million worth of print was imported into Australia. Of that $150 million of mostly eight to 10 week lead time print work was ordered by government or governmentowned institutions.

The Ibis report shows that in the same period the domestic industry generated $7.6 billion in total revenue.

Imported print has risen to $340.9m from $207.1m in 2010 and Ibis has projected this will increase to $365m in 2024.

Macaulay says the cost justification made by government for offshore procurement must be addressed as Australian printers can’t compete with operators in China and Vietnam, as these countries do not have the same overheads, including higher wages and energy pricing, as Australian companies.

“We know that some of these foreign countries, China in particular, support the export of print, they subisidise the cost as well as having lower energy costs and lower workplace health and safety standards and lower environmental standards, the government supports through the Belt and Road Initiative, the export of manufactured product which includes print,” Macaulay said.

“So, we are spending taxpayer money in markets where the government is subsidising competition with our own private industry and that is poor government practice and it is not a level playing field and it is not free trade.” www.sprinter.com.au

Introducing Fujifilm’s most affordable flatbed The Vybrant UF10 is a true flatbed printer offering high-quality printing on a range of rigid and flexible media, supported by four dedicated vacuum zones.

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Using Fujifilm’s Uvijet inks, you can produce vibrant colours using minimal ink while helping reduce production costs.

To find out more visit www.fujifilm.com.au or email ffau.graphics.marketing@fujifilm.com To book a personalised demonstration call 1300 650 804

Vybrant UF-10 at a glance: • 16m² per hour in production mode • Versatile 6 channel CMYK with White • Variable drop sizes from 7 to 21 picolitres • Handles flexible and rigid media up to 51mm thick • Four dedicated vacuum zones to minimize masking • Long-lasting, low energy LED curing system • Fujifilm Uvijet UV cured inks • Anti-crash sensor • Anti-static bar eliminates static on the media surface

UPDATE

SOS Print + Media co-founder Bob Gardner passes

by Sheree Young

Bob Gardner, a co-founder of the long-running SOS Print + Media Group, passed away in Perth in May after a long battle with cancer and has been remembered as an extraordinary person who was always ready to learn new things.

The foundations of SOS Print + Media were formed in 1976 when Gardner and two of his then colleagues at Xerox, Michael Peel and Andy von Faber-Castell, left their corporate jobs and started SOS Instant Print.

That business eventually evolved into SOS Print + Media, which came under the ownership of Pegasus Print and AAB Holdings in 2018 but still operates today as a stand-alone operation at Alexandria in Sydney.

SOS Print + Media general manager Michael Schulz was employed by Gardner in 1992.

“Bob had a real enjoyment of life and he truly lived it,” Schulz told ProPrint.

“He helped create a fairly adventurous company. We were often the first with new technology and a lot of that was due to Bob. “We had the first inkjet used in publishing.

We had a Xeikon which not many people had, we had an early Docutech as we were always open to digital printing and this was probably because all the founders came from Xerox.

“There is a lot of innovation and that kind of spirit at the company still exists today and a lot

Truly lived life: SOS co-founder Bob Gardner has passed away in Perth after a long battle with cancer

of that was driven by Bob.” Schulz said Gardner always said hello to everyone in the factory each morning.

“His spirit is shining through I think,” Schulz said, especially in these hard COVID-19 times.

“At the moment we need to do whatever it

takes. Some people are packing boxes and helping in the warehouse and nobody is throwing any attitude back saying that is not in my job description so I think that is great and we can be proud of it.

“That is definitely what Bob stood for.”

HP, Currie Group save over seven tonnes of plastic from landfill

by Hafizah Osman

One year into the launch of the Take Back Program, HP, together with Currie Group, have made promising progress in its work with Close the Loop.

So far the companies have saved over seven tonnes of plastic from landfill by offering sustainable recovery solutions to customers using HP Indigo digital presses as part of its commitment to lower the environmental impact of commercial printing and to minimise the waste of ink and toners that end up in landfill.

In total they have collected 7.7 tonnes of metal HP Indigo Series 2 and 3 ink cans; one tonne of Series 4 plastic ink tubes for recycling; and 2300 BIDs, or 11.5 tonnes, which are being sent back to Israel for remanufacturing into new HP Indigo digital presses.

The Take Back Program is a global initiative to reduce the overall impact of HP Indigo print operations on the environment. In March 2019, the program launched in Australia and New Zealand, allowing all local HP Indigo users to recycle their used BIDs, ink cans and ink tubes through Close the Loop.

The sustainable solutions company facilitates a cost-free recycling process, from the 16 ProPrint June 2020

HP and Currie Group are working together to close the loop

collection of BIDs and used ink cans at local customer sites to the separation of materials.

Recovered metal and plastic materials are cleaned and shredded as part of the recovery process before being sent for recycling and repurposing.

At the end of the process, metal materials are sent for recycling while plastic is sent to manufacturing vendors to be used in the creation of new products.

“The progress towards a more sustainable future cannot be achieved without working closely with our local customers and partners to explore innovative ways to recover and give

new life to used materials,” HP South Pacific industrial country manager Craig Walmsley said.

“The Take Back Program is an important step in driving HP’s zero-waste-to-landfill commitment for printing supplies, and working closely with Currie Group and Close the Loop has been instrumental in making the Take Back Program so successful.”

According to Currie Group operations manager Marcus Robinson, sustainability initiatives have always been front of mind for the business.

“By working closely with HP on the Take Back Program, the results achieved have been tremendous. We encourage all HP Indigo users across Australia and New Zealand to join in this effort and congratulate participating customers on their own journey towards creating a sustainable future,” Robinson said.

To participate in the program, printers can register their business with Close the Loop by contacting hpplanetpartners.com.au in Australia and hpplanetpartners.co.nz in New Zealand. Once registered printers will be provided with a Contact ID which must be used to book all collections with Close the Loop. www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE

Imagination Graphics installs new AccurioPress C14000

by Hafizah Osman

Emmanuel Buhagiar of Imagination Graphics has installed Australia’s first Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000 after flooding decimated his Sydney business in February.

Buhagiar says he decided to order the new press, which came to market in March, as he worked out what investments he would make to replace his destroyed equipment.

In doing so, Buhagiar has become the first Australian printer to install the latest offering from Konica Minolta.

“I had to replace two machines, which I lost in the flood. So, I did a bit of research on the machine and negotiated a price with Konica Minolta. I replaced it with insurance, one of my other machines, and paid a bit more,” he said.

Buhagiar said the speed of the printer is what attracted him to it.

“I read that it was performing really well in the US and since it was arriving in Australia in a matter of weeks, I thought why not have it at Imagination Graphics,” he said.

“It can print over a metre long in duplex.

“It has a faster speed than all the other ones, and we added the finisher with it so it can produce saddle-stitched books quite quickly. So, the whole production process using the machine is much faster and much more reliable than all the others that I’ve found.”

According to Buhagiar, it also works hand-inhand with the other machines at Imagination Graphics.

“I’ve got the C6100 and the C14000 works seamlessly with it. Once the AccurioJet KM-1

Seamless addition: Imagination Graphics owner Emmanuel Buhagiar with his new AccurioPress C14000

comes in, which will be around end-August, we’ll have some fire power again,” he said.

“We can now expect more speed on our side, and that it can print log sheets. It has allowed us to offer this extra service.”

Buhagiar and his wife Colleen lost all their equipment in the flood, but they were heartened by the support they received from other printers who offered to help cover their work until they were back on their feet.

Ezprint completes finishing kit with new Horizon bookletmaker

by Sheree Young

Melbourne offset, digital and wide format print business, Ezprint, now has the capability to make landscape booklets thanks to the addition of a Horizon SPF-200L bookletmaker purchased through Currie Group.

The addition has rounded out Ezprint’s bookletmaking capabilities with a range of Horizon gear now housed in its very own temperaturecontrolled room in south east Melbourne.

With the machinery in place, Ezprint can offer portrait and landscape bookletmaking and perfect binding all under one roof.

Ezprint co-owner Daniel Mayson said landscape bookletmaking was becoming more popular and this prompted him to make the investment so that he didn’t have to outsource this work anymore.

“There aren’t many printers around that can produce landscape A4 booklets so this machine has really added to our capabilities,” Mayson told ProPrint.

“Both of our digital machines are doing landscape short-runs and the A2 press can also do landscape, so it is good to have this for when people want that option. We can now produce landscape booklets without having to outsource.”

18 ProPrint June 2020

A room to itself: Ezprint has a dedicated room for its Horizon finishing gear

The equipment was sourced through Currie Group Account Manager, Vince Pignataro, who has known Mayson for many years.

During this period, Mayson has purchased multiple Horizon products through Currie Group.

“Currie Group has installed the Horizon AC-564 Auto Folder, Horizon BQ-270 Perfect Binder and the most recent purchase and installation was the Horizon A4 Landscape

bookletmaker,” Pignataro said.

“Danny and I have a great working relationship and I look forward to continuing to work with Danny and EzPrint.”

Initially, Mayson housed the Horizon equipment on the open factory floor, but decided to move the kit to its own purpose-built and airconditioned room.

“I had the room built for another purpose but as we started filling up the factory, I decided to convert the room which is self-contained, air conditioned and temperature-controlled for the bookletmaking area,” he said.

“It now houses all three machines and it is a nicer environment for them.”

Ezprint bought the new factory site in October 2019 and the business also had its finances streamlined at the same time.

With the impacts of Covid-19 now being felt, Mayson is relieved he took these steps as it has strengthened Ezprint’s position.

Ezprint now has 14 staff but is hoping to go back to its pre-Covid-19 levels of 16 as business starts to return as the economy reopens.

“Our overheads are pretty low and having our own building also really helped us,” he said.

Mayson has also recently installed a HP wide format press. www.sprinter.com.au

RETHINK EFFICIENCY WITH THE ALL NEW ACCURIOPRESS C14000 SERIES

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To rethink efficiency, simply visit konicaminolta.com.au/AccurioPressC14000series

UPDATE

ProPrint publisher launches virtual events

by Sheree Young

The Intermedia Group, the publisher of this magazine, Australian Printer and online news hub Sprinter.com.au, is offering a virtual events solution to give companies an online platform to show their latest products and services.

Virtual Events offers businesses opportunities to deliver virtual events, webinars and product launches through The Intermedia Group’s distribution channels.

The announcement comes as tradeshows around the world have been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus.

The platform offers solutions to companies that may have missed out on showing their products at a range of tradeshows across all industry sectors.

The platform can deliver live and recorded content to audiences directly to help brands boost their engagement, awareness and lead generation by live stream or long-term hosting.

According to The Intermedia

20 ProPrint June 2020

Group managing director Simon Grover the solution is a natural extension for Intermedia, which is a leading Australian B2B publishing, event management and technology business.

“We’re in the business of connecting brands with their customers – so we’re very excited to be launching Virtual Events, which provides our clients with dynamic new marketing opportunities and makes events accessible to everyone, irrespective of geography or social distancing rules,” Grover said.

“A natural extension to our existing media solutions, Virtual Events enables companies to continue to engage and interact with our audiences, sharing expertise, showcasing brand credentials and building relationships with customers, even in these unprecedented times.”

For more information, please call Printer Media Group national advertising manager Carmen Ciappara on 0410 582 450.

GJS to distribute Schulze DTG gear

by Sheree Young

Australian printing equipment distributor, GJS, has completed a deal with German manufacturer Schulze to distribute its direct-togarment (DTG) pre-treatment machinery.

GJS managing director Greg Stone sa id t he Ger ma nengineered, automatic pre-treatment solutions are designed especially for DTG printers with two models available now via GJS. “These new pre-treatment machines are two of the highestquality automatic garment-coating options for both beginners and experienced garment decorators,” Stone said.

“Add in the ability of both machines to switch seamlessly between two different pre-treatment liquids and it makes them perfect for people with two different brands of DTG printers.”

The Schulze PRETREATmaker Basic is the entry-level automatic pre-treatment machine and has been created for those just getting started with DTG printing but would like to automate the pretreatment process.

The model is equipped with a single, high-precision nozzle with the maximum spray area of 40cm wide by 45cm long. The length can be adjusted to nine individual settings, each with 5cm intervals for precise coverage and reduced wastage. The operator can adjust the nozzle to spray uni or bi-directionally and the spray output can also be regulated with the speed of the carriage.

The second new Schulze pretreatment solution available from GJS is the PRETREATmaker IV, a premium, automatic pre-treatment system for experienced direct-to-garment printers.

Like the PRETREATMaker Basic, the length of the spray can also be adjusted, but in smaller 2cm intervals. The operator can adjust the nozzle to spray uni or bi-directionally with a maximum spray area of 40cm wide by 60cm long.

Unlike other automatic pretreatment machines, the unit is equipped with a switch-valve that allows the operator to easily alternate between two different pretreatment liquids.

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UPDATE APRIL - MAY TIMELINE

Debrief Recapping the major developments since your last issue. Stories are breaking every day at www.sprinter.com.au

April issue April 2020

People Technology Business

www.sprinter.com.au April 2020 $8.00

7 april

2 april TRMC APPOINTS CHARLES WATSON The Real Media Collective boosted its industrial relations advisory service with Charles Watson, the former general manager of HR and workplace relations at Workforce Guardian joining the team. Watson previously headed up the industrial relations team at the former Printing Industries Association of Australia for 13 years. TRMC CEO Kellie Northwood said Watson is returning to the industry at a critical time due to COVID-19. “This is a devastating time for our members and broader industry,” Northwood said.

“Our industry needs industry expertise, not outsourced solutions, call centres or online HR, we need an expert and Charles is the leading industrial relations expert for our industry.”

COOKE EXTENDS AT KONICA MINOLTA Dr David Cooke will stay on as managing director at Konica Minolta until his replacement, Yohei Konaka, is able to travel from Japan. Dr Cooke announced his resignation in February but would stay on until mid-July to see out the Japanese financial year and facilitate a smooth transition to his successor. “Previously we have announced that Yohei Konaka will be taking over as Managing Director as of 1 April however due to the borders being closed to Australia it has been decided that I’ll stay in this role until it’s possible for Yohei to travel to Australia, so I look forward to continuing to work with you all,” Dr Cooke said. Dr Cooke also reflected on the personal and professional challenges brought on by the pandemic and how these will result in a rethink of the future. “I know we’ll get through this time, and that Konica Minolta will continue to create genuine value for our customers and society with our technology, our solutions and our people,” he said.

4 april

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News happens every day at

sprinter.com.au

XEROX WITHDRAWS HP OFFER Xerox has withdrawn its tender to acquire HP confirming it would no longer seek to nominate candidates to HP’s board due to market turmoil caused by COVID-19. It said the global health and economic crisis had created a non-conducive environment for Xerox to continue its pursuit of HP. “While it is disappointing to take this step, we are prioritising the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers, partners and other stakeholders, and our broader response to the pandemic, over and above all other considerations,” Xerox said in a statement. But it still sees value in a combined business. “There remain compelling long-term financial and strategic benefits from combining Xerox and HP. The refusal of HP’s board to meaningfully engage over many months and its continued delay tactics have proven to be a great disservice to HP stockholders, who have shown tremendous support for the transaction,” Xerox said. This announcement came after HP advised shareholders this was not the time for the company to be involved in Xerox’s acquisition proposal due to the pandemic.

21 april VALE MEMJET CEO Memjet CEO and chairman Len Lauer passed away unexpectedly on April 13 at his home in California, aged 62. During his 30 year career, Lauer held leadership roles with global technology innovators, including Qualcomm, Sprint, Bell Atlantic and IBM. Memjet group president of R&D and operations Tony Duddy said Lauer’s business acumen, competitive spirit and family values drove his success and that these qualities will have an everlasting impact on Memjet, its partners and the the printing industry.

14 april PRINTING OF COMMUNITY PAPERS SUSPENDED A decline in advertising revenue forced News Corp to suspend printing 60 community newspapers in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

The newspapers will continue to be produced in a digital form only. News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said the decision was not taken lightly. “The suspension of our community print editions has been forced on us by the rapid decline in advertising revenues following the restrictions placed on real estate auctions and home inspections, the forced closure of event venues and dine-in restaurants in the wake of the Coronavirus emergency,” Miller said. As part of the suspension, News Corp offered readers a free 28-day digital subscription to community and metropolitan mastheads.

Miller said News Corp is committed to serving Australia’s communities with professional journalism and as consumers increasingly turn to digital news formats, the amount of local coverage would be increased. He said COVID-19 added to the impact on the media with the ongoing refusal of digital platforms to pay publishers to use their content.

Sign up for our free daily news bulletin.

22 ProPrint June 2020

www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE 14 may

ENFOCUS NEW RELEASES Enfocus, a division of Esko, has released new prepress software PitStop Pro and PitStop Server 2020 which it says offers innovation, automation possibilities, new preflight checks and fixes for working with vector graphics. Enfocus says customer feedback has informed the product changes. It says a highlight is the patent pending, Computer Vision. This technology enables PitStop Pro and Server to ‘see’ the visual content of a PDF file meaning it can look for images and graphical shapes like logos and check if they are present or absent in a PDF file. It says this feature is particularly useful when files have particular legal or design restrictions such as a corporate identity or compliance rules. One of Enfocus’ customers said the Computer Vision function had been invaluable additions to PitStop. “The new Computer Vision functionality and ability to trace rasters to vectors are invaluable additions to Enfocus PitStop,” Matthew Kay, workflow specialist at the Bluetree Group in the UK said.

HEIDELBERG’S NEW CONTRACT OPTIONS Heidelberg has expanded its data-based contract business by adding to its existing subscription portfolio under which customers no longer pay for the equipment they use, but just for the number of sheets produced. Heidelberg is focusing on its partnership-based approach with the new options supporting the Smart Print Shop concept which it developed to boost efficiencies. The Print Site Contracts provide a variable combination of consumables, service, software, performance consulting, training and equipment solutions in a single package. The contracts are available as either lifecycle agreements or by subscription with four packages to choose from. These range from a ‘Lifecycle Smart’ contract which includes services and consumables to a ‘Subscription Plus’ package which covers consulting, training, service, consumables, Prinect software and equipment solutions.

2 may EPSON WINS RED DOT AWARD Epson’s large format printers, SureColor SC-P7560 and SureColor SC-P9560, have won the Red Dot Award in the product design category in Australia and New Zealand. This means the presses are regarded as being the industry standard for reproducing high quality images in fine art, proofing and photo laboratories. The awards are recognised globally as one of the most prestigious in the design field. A jury of experts evaluated the products and select the best design based on innovation, functionality, ergonomics, ecological compatibility and durability. The functional operability features of the printers were also recognised. These functions include internal lighting to check printed material and a neutral colour for making colour adjustments. The win marks the fourth successive time that Epson’s products have been recognised in this award. The company’s printers were also recognised for their second successive Red Dot: Best of Best Award. Epson Australia general manager of marketing Bruce Bealby said winning any award is good news.

www.sprinter.com.au

20 may

5 may

OMA BEEFS UP MEASUREMENT TOOL The Outdoor Media Association is lending more support to its MOVE platform to provide even more accurate audience measurement for Out of Home (OOH).

MOVE was launched in 2010 to simplify the planning and buying of OOH by producing audience metrics for any combination of signs or tailored packages. MOVE has invested $1.3m in a study which is being undertaken by Neuro-Insight to examine how people see outdoor advertising and how that influences recall and purchasing decisions. The OMA has also committed up to $10m to allow MOVE to more accurately measure digital sign audiences. “As our digital signs now represent almost 56 per cent of OOH revenue, we must update and future proof our current audience measurement system,” OMA CEO Charmaine Moldrich said.

7 may

15 may

CHILI PUBLISH COVID-19 DISCOUNTS Businesses suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic can now access cloud-based online document editing solution, Chili Publish, at a discount while and also access a Workflowz starter package. Workflowz, a global pre-media software company, says Chili Publish is a simple and affordable option to help businesses continue to provide their services, no matter their size or skillset. “Having an online document editing solution that makes digital publishing easier, more efficient and intuitive, offers a totally remote way to create branded marketing material plus it is easy to set up and is no longer something which only large companies can afford to utilise,” Workflowz managing director Alan Dixon said. “Chili publisher is already at the leading solution with unique capabilities driven many B2B and B2C web-to-print and brand management platforms and is now offering its online document editor as a service.” Chili Publish has reduced the cost of its online service.

“There is no more hardware, no managing servers, no ongoing maintenance — no headache. A simple, affordable solution to help businesses continue to provide their services no matter their size or skillset,” Dixon said. “Its dynamic layouts allow untrained staff to create branded social posts, adverts and visually enticing material within restricted brand guidelines.”

VIRTUAL ESKOWORLD A SUCCESS Over 3,500 delegates from the printing and packaging industries attended the 2020 EskoWorld two-week virtual technology trade show which replaced the original live event to be held in the US in April. The virtual event marked a first for the global supplier of integrated hardware and solutions and included a range of webinars and discussion sessions and 20 dedicated online sessions for brands and their packaging supply chain partners.

Delegates attended the show either ‘live’ or by downloading the sessions which included latest innovations in packaging and label artwork management, prepress workflow automation and digitisation.

Brand owners were also able to drop-in to online conferences and recount experiences of using Esko products, along with training sessions from the Esko team. “This is the first time we have taken EskoWorld online and we are absolutely thrilled with the results,” Melissa Plemen, Esko senior director of Inside Sales and Marketing said. “Across the ten days, we delivered a version of the same content we had planned for our eagerly anticipated live event, with experts hosting a range of exciting educational workshops and interactive learning opportunities.”

June 2o2o ProPrint 23

O n e C o l l e c t i v e I n d u s t r y.

PLATINUM SUPPORTER

SUPPORTERS

INDUSTRY PARTNERS

Rebuild Together — the series that is uniting our recovery KELLIE NORTHWOOD

T

he Collective launched the Rebuild Together program in April, calling on all of industry to come together and recover. It isn’t the first ‘all of industry’ approach the Collective has developed in the recent COVID-19 pandemic, announcing very early in the piece that all COVID-19, Industrial Relations and other collateral would be provided to all members and the broader industry. A leadership stand that the industry has welcomed with high attendance and growth in new members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebuild Together seemed like a reaction to COVID-19, but in reality we had been working on an educational piece for industry for some time. These sessions were to be presented as a series of events across Australia, however when COVID-19 hit we quickly realised bringing the industry together for networking and educational events was not going to be possible.

However, our supporters and the team knew that now more than ever we needed to have this information for members and the industry. With that in mind, there was no way it was just going to be put on the backburner. It was time to shake up the scrabble pieces and think about how we

24 ProPrint June 2020

At the time of writing this, we had received 2,192 registrations, attendees, webinar recording views and ‘Class Notes’ downloads.

LinkedIn has achieved wide socialisation of the topics with 5,646 views across all Rebuild Together posts and an extended 208 visits to the Rebuild Together page on the website from LinkedIn.”

could still share the knowledge with the industry whilst in lockdown — webinars and class notes concepts were developed.

The webinars provide the opportunity to share the knowledge via a live recording, however there is also the opportunity for those who couldn’t attend to download the recording for future reference. To support the webinars, a commitment to develop a ‘Class Notes’ document to provide the opportunity for every webinar speaker to summarise their presentation as well as a way to record the question and answer sessions at the conclusion of the live recording was made.

As I write this, Rebuild Together is in its third week and the engagement has been staggering. At this point, we have received 2,192 registrations, attendees, webinar recording views and ‘Class Notes’ downloads.

LinkedIn has achieved wide socialisation of the topics with 5,646 views across all Rebuild Together posts and an extended 208 visits to the Rebuild Together page on the website from LinkedIn. The speakers are to be commended. Their content has been on point, relevant and succinct. It has been easy to listen to, understand and put to good use. If you www.sprinter.com.au

SPEAKERS

CHARLES WATSON

DEBORAH CORN

STEVEN GAMBLE

PEOPLE & POLICY – Industrial and Workplace Relations + Government Stimulus

REINVENTION IN RECOVERY – Creating a new reality for your business post-corona

MENTAL WELLNESS – The signs of mental health, knowing them and starting the conversation

The Real Media Collective launched the Rebuild Together webinar program as a way for the industry to come together and recover. Here, the Collective’s Chief Executive Officer, Kellie Northwood, writes about the series and the journey thus far.

missed the previous three, here is an insight into who has said what to date.

Charles Watson — our very own General Manager — Industrial Relations, Policy and Governance, kicked off the series with an overview on JobKeeper for those who were still working through the details of eligibility and registration. His presentation followed a submission the Collective made to the Fair Work Commission on behalf of the print industry — the only association to do so with specific focus on print industry matters.

This submission resulted in the FWC referencing the RMC independently in their ruling and marked a powerful positioning for the commercial print sector. Charles explored what this ruling meant to industry and how businesses could communicate the changes.

Key highlights from Charles’ presentation included enterprise bargaining agreements, individual flexibility arrangements, workplace health and safety and further general considerations for organisations to begin documenting if they haven’t already.

Deborah Corn — Print Media Centr — covered week two of the series, moving the discussion from IR to Recovery. Technical glitches saw Deborah presenting on the www.sprinter.com.au

other side of the world blind to the slides she was presenting, however the following morning we ran a re-recording which provided greater content and engaged audience feedback flowing in.

Deborah explored how we could use this pandemic time to rebuild our own businesses with the key takeout to workshop your businesses with people who are prepared to challenge the status quo.

This included asking who will your future customer be? How can you help your existing customers re-open? How can you approach doing business differently? How to be more streamlined? What solutions, operational procedures and more are available with ‘outside of the box’ thinking?

Steven Gamble — Man Anchor — discussed Mental Wellness, which is a topic critical to us all. Steven created an open and at times raw conversation as he outlined the serious statistics across mental health, particularly with men, across the country. In a maledominated industry such as ours, these figures hit home. The question and answer session was sobering with honest questions and comments from the listeners.

Steven highlighted, how to identify in ourselves and our colleagues when we’re

struggling, as well as how to approach the discussion with your peers and how to seek help. The step by step, practical approach to address mental wellness with an ‘outcome’ focus was something that all listeners could take genuine tips from.

The following weeks include Media Super discussing the impact of superannuation changes and investment modelling, Fuji Xerox Australia will explore finance and cashflow-management, direct mail — how to and more. To anyone who has missed the first few weeks, go to the website and have a listen or download the Class Notes. Also register for the future webinars, we are continuing to build on these topics and opportunities to share knowledge and most critically — Rebuild Together.

Kellie Northwood is the Chief Executive Officer, The Real Media Collective. An industry association representing paper, print, mail, publishing and packaging sectors across Australia and New Zealand.

Northwood is also the Executive Director of the Australasian Paper Industry Association.

Contact: hello@thermc.com.au / www.therealmediacollective.com.au June 2020 ProPrint 25

UPDATE COMMENT

Printing in a time of pandemic Frank Romano provides some insight into how the coronavirus is impacting print in the United States with many printers working on finding new work when face-to-face meetings are not an option.

FRANK ROMANO

L

ike most countries, the United States has taken a medical and financial hit that may require years for recovery. At first, the US government did not define printing as an essential industry and thus allow it to continue to operate. But forceful lobbying by US printing associations changed the definition, mainly by putting printing in the same category as mailing.

Seventy nine per cent of print industry executives now state that the crisis has had a significant impact on their business, with a further 19 per cent indicating a critical impact. All strongly agree that COVID-19 will cause significant ongoing market disruption.

The decline in print volumes is being tempered by increased print demand in the healthcare and government sectors. Overall, 70 per cent of all printers are seeing a significant decline in print volumes.

Some printers immediately began producing masks and other protection gear.

And almost all lost business as their customers cut back or cancelled scheduled work. Some printers found work in medical forms, advisories, mailers and even signage used by hospitals and businesses.

The suggestion of mail-in ballots for our national election excited many printers because of the need to print almost 300 million ballots and their envelopes.

However, the idea is still being debated as national elections loom in only a few months.

A majority of printers have reduced spending and put investments on hold.

Seventy two per cent have cut costs, with 24 per cent saying that they have made staff redundancies. This will ripple through the supplier community and perhaps force some mergers.

The challenge is finding new work in a time of pandemic.

Face-to-face meetings are limited. Some printers have used direct mail and have even re-discovered variable data printing.

In fact, printers with digital printing are seeing new interest in variable data printing.

People quarantined at home now appreciate personalised physical mail.

On-demand book printers are using social media heavily. At least 11 short-run book printers are using Google Ads and Facebook to promote on-demand publishing. Families are publishing photo books and cookbooks, just to have something to do.

26 ProPrint June 2020

Magazine publishers are still producing their editions but some advertising has been cut, which reduces page count. Catalogue marketers are holding their own, but amazon.com is seeing a huge surge in business. And they print mostly boxes.

Smaller newspapers are eliminating one issue per week and pushing readers to their digital version. They have suffered because the many businesses that run ads are closed.

A large volume of advertising has moved from print to social media sites.

Trade exhibitions have been cancelled or postponed. We all know that the venerable drupa show has been re-scheduled to 2021.

Packaging is the major growth area. Panic buying has emptied store shelves of just about all items. Breakouts of the virus have closed some food plants but they are coming back into operation.

Most meetings are now via Zoom and there are no copies of presentations. You save a PDF. Governments once ran on paper, but now a lot of communication is via their websites. Paper trade associations report that printing and writing paper volumes have been down for several months in a row.

So, what are printers printing on?

Those printers with wide format and flatbed inkjet are seeing a surge in signage.

Some are producing advanced face shield and retail counter guards.

There have been Federal bailout packages designed to infuse a trillion dollars into the economy. Much of that money went to giant corporations, not to small and mediumsized business. Now they are talking about another such infusion. Most states are seeing monumental numbers of applications

for unemployment payments. So many workers have been laid off that unemployment funds are being depleted. US unemployment is at levels unseen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

There is cautious optimism for recovery.

Thirty one per cent are cautiously optimistic that business could return to normal in less than three months. However, 45 per cent expect it to take up to a year. Some expect it to take longer or do not believe that there will be ‘business as usual’. Many positive reactions tend to be wishful thinking.

Sixty seven per cent state that they will need to change their operating model going forward. Fifty seven per cent state that they will be bringing new products and/or services to market, mostly involving digital printing.

With PDF job input and internet communication for proofing, as well as the ability for graphic designers to work from home, jobs can be created and transmitted.

We just need more jobs.

Until a vaccine is universally available and applied, the situation will be more of the same. There is great conflict between the need to self-isolate and the need to open businesses to get the economy back into growth mode. Without customers creating work, printers have nothing to print. There is some work, but it is not sufficient to maintain growth.

Printing flourishes when the economy flourishes and that will happen when the scourge of this pandemic is over. Then we must re-build our lives and our businesses.

Hang in there Australia - we’re all in the same boat.

Zoom meetings have become the new way for printers to discuss options with clients

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Mark Shergill fighting fit Mark Shergill won the 2020 Australian Masters amateur title at the age of 54

Mark Shergill went from selling franking machines to owning successful print business, Focus Print Group.

Here he talks about his journey and the grit needed to survive.

1. How did you get into printing?

Now that seems like a lifetime ago. I would have been around 19 and I worked as a sales rep selling franking machines! The business I worked for purchased a print business but it closed up approximately 12 months later.

I knew the printer, Jack Kroon, and one day as he was walking past and asked if I wanted to start a print business. At this time I was 20 years old and had no idea of what I was getting into but decided to give it a go and we formed JAMAR Printing which were the letters from both our names JAck and MARk. We started the business in a small shopfront on Addison Road, Marrickville.

Jack looked after the printing and I took care of the sales. A couple of years later we brought in another partner, Kieran Singh.

The first few years were a hard slog to make it work. We all had young families and we knew we had no other choice but to just make it work.

2. What was your first job in the industry?

Kieran and I were both involved in sales while Jack worked as a printer. Sales was built on relationships and consumers remained loyal with one printer and didn’t move around so much, especially as printing plates and artwork were harder to move to opposition printers back then.

One of the memories in the first few years was having to take my eldest son Rohan to work with me. He was still a baby and I would make a bed for him with two visitor chairs.

Once he was off to sleep I would then get on the phone making cold calls to build the business.

My wife also had to work and childcare was very expensive.

28 ProPrint June 2020

3. What do you love about the printed form?

I like the feel of the different textures and the smell of a printed product. You can’t see or feel any of these things in an electronic format.

And you also don’t have to switch anything on!

4. What do you love most about being the CEO of Focus Print Group?

My wife and three children work in the business with me and this makes my role and the challenges it brings a little easier to deal with. I have loved seeing my kids grow up in the business.

I also have a great team of quality people around me. It has been really good to be able to get to know them on a deeper level. I always try to help my team with their life problems which can also be quite challenging. I do believe that I tend to get more involved than most owners would.

The other big challenge is making sure there is enough sales coming in to pay for everything. I have a lot on the line so I have to just make it work.

5. Career highlights?

The biggest career highlight for me was purchasing our first five colour Heidelberg B2 press back in 1998 when we were at our Botany site. It was a major goal of ours and we bought it second-hand from overseas.

This year has also been significant. We have integrated our multiple businesses into one and have moved to our Granville site. This location is quite iconic in print as it was once owned by Bob McMillan.

6. Three people you would like to have dinner with and why?

Muhammad Ali – He was my hero. I enjoyed and always felt challenged watching him fight.

He was light on his feet and moved so well for a heavy weight. He also stood up for what he believed was right at the time, even though it cost him.

Bruce Lee – When I was growing up I watched all of his movies. I loved watching his speed.

Michael Jackson – I absolutely loved his music growing up. Michael Jackson was a great entertainer.

The fact he could move and sing at the same time is a lost gift.

Q&A 7. How do you cope with pressure and unwind after a busy week?

I have always played in a basketball competition with my kids which has been a great way to unwind and stay fit. More recently I have gotten back into boxing again – my last fight was over 40 years ago.

I am lucky to have a gym right across the road from work which has made it easy to maintain a training routine. I go to the gym to train normally around three to four times a week which really keeps me feeling positive.

Keeping active in sports is something I have always done since I was a kid. Boxing is probably the most challenging, especially at the fighting level. I like the all over body training and agility that comes with boxing.

8. What are the biggest issues impacting the printing industry today?

Covid-19 has had a massive impact on the printing industry and will probably continue to have a big impact moving forward.

We have noticed some of our customers are now opting to go online rather than print during the coronavirus pandemic period. It will take a lot of hard work to convince these customers to come back.

On the positive side, I hope that some of the print work that we have lost to China will start to come back. Maybe this pandemic is a wake-up call to some businesses not to rely on China and buy local instead.

9. What are the answers to these issues?

I think the federal government should provide incentives to manufacturing businesses, like printers, to encourage consumers to buy local.

10. How much has printing, and the approach printers must take changed in the last two decades?

Print volumes have decreased dramatically and time lines and pricing has changed big time.

Everything is demanded at a faster pace and at less cost.

I think the printing industry itself has not helped the issue of reduced pricing. By falling into the trap of charging too little for the service that is provided is not a good thing for the industry broadly.

It’s a vicious cycle that is very hard to get out of.

11. If you didn’t work in the printing industry, what do you think you would be doing?

If I had not have gotten into print I probably would have become a sports teacher. I have always enjoying playing sports and I think it is a great thing to do for all over health.

12. All time favourite holiday destination?

A few years ago we visited Africa for a family holiday. It was surreal. The variety of animals we were able to see and get close to was very memorable.

13. First band you saw live?

Michael Jackson in 1996 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Totally amazing! www.sprinter.com.au

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FOCUS 3D

3

D printing is by no means new.

The technology has existed for over 30 years but its understanding in the public consciousness has soared as the coronavirus pandemic swept the world bringing with it a critical need for fittings for face shields, face mask filters and parts for lifesaving ventilators.

Never before has 3D garnered so much public attention.

Through the height of the crisis, it made the news everyday as universities, governments, schools, motorsport teams and teenagers busied themselves producing urgently needed components.

Yes, this uptick was driven by a sharp rise in demand and the grinding halt of supply chains, but what it also did was highlight the applications of 3D print and reframe the thinking around what it can be used for.

Many in the printing industry would be familiar with 3D print and the layering technology it employs to produce real products in three dimensions.

3D printing was invented as a way to create prototypes which set the course for traditional mass manufacturing.

But as the quality of the gels and inks that are used to create 3D products have improved, and as the printing technology has reduced in price and become more user friendly, this notion of 3D just being for prototyping is shifting into a more end-use mindset.

This shift has opened up new avenues for 3D printing.

Adding 3D A number of printers – particularly signage and display specialists – are already using 3D as part of their offer with great success.

Other companies may have started in traditional printing or print management and have now morphed into being a 3D print only business on a pay per print model.

Adding 3D works better for some printers than others, but the prospects in this sector are becoming more apparent, particularly if a printer has the right clients and a willingness to step into this new area.

Sydney’s Coleman Group is an exhibition Some of the face mask connectors that Konica Minolta customer Erebus created using 3D Systems technology

34 ProPrint June 2020

3d print out of the shadows and signage specialist and last year stepped into 3D printing by investing in a Massivit 1800 Pro through Graphic Art Mart at PrintEx19.

When Sydney’s Coleman Group signed on the dotted line the idea was to produce channel lettering for existing and new customers.

And while yes, these applications have been put to good use, the technology also came in handy when the coronavirus pandemic created an almost overnight need for lifesaving personal protective equipment, or PPE. The filters were then fitted to these snorkel-like face masks

Graphic Art Mart were quick to support their Massivit customers – Coleman Group, Artcom Fabrications and Composite Images – through the provision of a 19 kilogram bucket of gel and the digital files to make face shield channels.

But even prior to pandemic, Coleman Group’s 3D print journey was proving worthy.

So much so that the company has recently invested in a second 3D machine, this time a full colour Mimaki 3D UJ-553, which prints smaller items in high level detail with a full vibrant colour range.

Coleman Group director Rod Peter told ProPrint the company chose the Mimaki as more and more customers loved what the Massivit could do but also wanted 3D printed products in smaller formats with higher colour fidelity to the real thing.

The interest was sufficient for the company to launch, Mammoth 3D, which is a new brand under the Coleman Group banner.

Coleman Group directors Glenn Coleman and Rod Peter are still working out the market for the Mimaki, but do have a few loose ideas up their sleeve.

“We don’t really know where we are heading with it. We have always been the go-getters out the front of the market, buying new equipment. We don’t tend to go where www.sprinter.com.au

3D FOCUS 3D steps up to challenge

The coronavirus pandemic has given 3D printing the opportunity to shine and prove its worth in manufacturing when supply chains are disrupted.

By Sheree Young

3D models made with HP 3D technology, photo courtesy of Whiteclouds

Graphic Art Mart’s WA business manager Michael Liveris said the coronavirus has given 3D printing the opportunity to come into its own as a supplier of parts.

His experience has shown that the signage and display printers that have moved into this area have been able to create markets and generate extra revenue.

“The coronavirus has really put 3D printing on the map,” Liveris told ProPrint.

Liveris said Coleman Group, Artcom Fabrications and Composite Images in Sydney all began producing the face shield frames when the pandemic hit.

“Anyone with a Massivit printer managed to get benefit out of it and it really opened them up to new clients at the same time,” he said.

“The 3D printing creates a channel so they can slide the PET plastic into it so they could make the face mask. Then the printer could cut the plastic on the CNC router or by laser cutting.”

Artcom Fabrications installed their Massivit in early 2019 and have been finding great success with the machine.

In addition to manufacturing PPE, they have also been making dashboards for boats and other items. Most recently was the production of an amazing coral reef which uses creating lighting to create different imagery.

The provision of parts for the oil and gas industries and the motor and maritime industries are other areas where the Massivit technology can be employed with great effect.

3D partnerships other people go, we like to go where people aren’t,” Rod said.

“We first saw the 3D technology with the Massivit and we are just trying to educate clients that there are possibilities outside the flat two dimensional signs.”

Rod said the quality that could be produced off the Mimaki was mind boggling.

The other noteworthy feature is the simple post-production finishing – all that is needed is for the item, once set, to be placed in a bucket of water to soak off the supports.

The Mimaki was purchased through Julian Sing at Headland Machinery, whose passion and interest in 3D printing was undeniable.

“The Mimaki is perfect for anything that requires an highly realistic high-fidelity colour, so museums, exhibition spaces, medical fields and as training tools in medical training, it can be used to create a museum of human body parts for students to study, including hearts and kidneys that are so life like,” Sing said.

“Mimaki’s understanding of colour management, resolution and blending colours has made this printer really stand out,” Sing said.

“It is able to print 10 million colours.

“The next best thing out there that does half a million colours but also when you are www.sprinter.com.au

talking about skin tones and subtle differences between colour, the Mimaki can do it.”

Konica Minolta has also entered the 3D space by partnering with US companies, 3D Systems and Markforged.

Continued on page 36

A prosthetic made with HP 3D technology, photo courtesy of NACAR

June 2o2o ProPrint 35

FOCUS 3D Continued from page 35

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, one of Konica Minolta’s customers, supercar company Erebus, contacted the company to offer its services using 3D Systems technology to 3D print a face mask connector. After several iterations, the final product was approved and then printed in bulk using 3D technology.

Konica Minolta then contacted its 3D customers to see if they could join the effort.

The result was fruitful with many operating around the clock to produce the items to answer a critical demand.

Eric Holtsmark, General Manager — Strategy, Transformation and Technology, at

Konica Minolta said the pandemic has allowed 3D printing to show its worth and will continue to grow.

“3D is increasing, it is a growing market absolutely,” Holtsmark said.

“As all of the material properties, whether it be plastic or metal develop, also comes a whole new range of opportunities of what you can actually switch over from traditional CNC to 3D and it is just continuing to grow.”

Mirroring the digital print transition

Matt Hunter, Konica Minolta’s innovation product manager, likens the growth of 3D to Face shield channels produced on the mighty Massivit

the offset printing to digital transition, which similarly was driven by the demand for variable data and personalisation.

Like digital printing, 3D allows for easy design adjustments in CAD which in turn minimises waste as the exact amount of material is used to produce the item.

This type of production also reduces freight charges as the design can be emailed to a local provider, who can print the item in the same location.

“What is happening is quite similar to the transition from offset to digital. Like traditional print, manufacturing runs minimum order quantities but as the world shifts and we become more focused on a product that is just for me, rather than a product that is mass manufactured, manufacturing runs get shorter and shorter,” Hunter said.

“It ends up becoming more cost-effective to transition these manufacturing processes from a traditional process, like an offset process, to a digital process, which is a 3D printing process.

“So there are some real similarities there to what we went through when we went through that massive transition from offset printing to digital printing.”

Currie Group, which distributes the HP Indigo digital printing technology plus other brands in Australia and New Zealand, is also now operating in the 3D space after investing in 3D company EVOK3D last year.

The investment has allowed Currie Group to use its vast sales, distribution and service network to supply HP 3D printers in Australia and New Zealand, with around 20 HP 3D production units now operating around the country in a variety of sectors.

Currie Group Sales and Marketing Director Phillip Rennell nominates orthotics as one of the key markets for 3D printing in Australia, as it relies on a customised product.

Rennell agrees the coronavirus has made people stop and think about supply chain and distribution and how to safeguard against potential disruptions in the future.

“What this pandemic has done is highlight that you can print on demand in 3D and you can do things that previously were not 36 ProPrint June 2020

Impact guaranteed with this PS2 handset model made on the Massivit

www.sprinter.com.au

Lifesaving components: Konica Minolta worked with its 3D partners to produce urgently needed face mask connectors

thought possible,” Rennell told ProPrint.

“So people are now thinking about where are my vulnerabilities and how do I eliminate those from my supply chain.

“I think this is where it is at. In terms of mass production in China that is going to be there, that is going to stay. But when you come down the chain and you need to replace a component in Alice Springs and I can’t get that from China you then need to be able to make that part locally.

“I think we are starting to see that transformation take place. People are more accustomed to it. The digital file is available and the item can be printed anywhere in the world.”

Rennell says 3D printing requires a different understanding compared to digital printing and will therefore have its own market, but this does not mean a digital printer could not turn their hand to it.

“For me it is not a matter of saying ‘could a printer do it?’. Of course, a printer could do it,” Rennell said.

“But you are not working with the same files. You are not working with a PDF file which is a flat single dimension file, it is a three-dimensional file instead which has a different format and has different characteristics so you need to understand that.

“I think if you are a printing company who wants to offer 3D as a service then you would need to go and get that expertise to understand it.”

Sue Threlfo, Konica Minolta’s general manager of production and industrial print, shared a similar view about the ease with which a commercial printer could implement 3D into their service offering.

She said if a printer had clients in the medical fields, it could be possible to extend into 3D as a way to further service those clients.

“If you had the right client base then it really would make sense and be a new opportunity and a new conversation to have with your customers and add value to their business,” Threlfo told ProPrint.

“But it wouldn’t be for everyone. You would have to have the right sort of market or have a whole new business to apply it.” PP www.sprinter.com.au

Coleman Group produced the smaller drill on its new Mimaki 3D printer

June 2o2o ProPrint 37

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assess the status of the press from a distance.

The interface also communicates the specific actions the operator needs to perform.

The Machine-Machine interface allows for the integration of pre and post equipment either inline or offline. Throughout this interface, relevant information about the jobs is transferred digitally to the appropriate individual module to eliminate human errors, as the information flows seamlessly through the manufacturing process, which again contributes to the overall OEE. Built-in technology reporting on performance and availability, in real time, provides data that can be translated into information for fact-based decision making.

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Design considerations his next generation is based on the newly introduced Cheetah 2.0 printing technology using dry-toner printing.

Cheetah 2.0 technology The new technology is based on the proven, scalable Xeikon press architecture that includes five print stations and a full rotary process with a variable repeat length. It also features a dry toner printing process operating at 30m/min (98ft/min). The web width can vary between 220mm (8.6”) and 512mm (20.3”) wide using a LED imaging head operating at 1200x3600 dpi delivering offset/gravure image quality.

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New generation interfaces and cloud connected technology

The so-called Man-Machine interface has been designed in a way that the operator can 38 ProPrint June 2020

In designing the Cheetah 2.0 platform, ergonomics for both service engineers and operators were a focus, plus it uses components that have been built to last to reduce maintenance and repair times.

Integrated quality management systems monitor and automatically adjust press operation. This includes the density and tone curve of the process colour and the density of identified brand colours and registration.

New workflow possibilities The workflow capability of Xeikon with the X-800 digital front-end is really appealing. To stay successful in the label market, you need to look further than just the digital press. You need a support infrastructure for the digital press and you need to look at the total process as well.

Filip Weymans, Xeikon’s VP of global marketing comments, says: “For three decades we have experienced the importance of workflow and we keep on innovating in that aspect. The Cheetah 2.0 series, of which the Xeikon CX300 is the new kid on the block, has built-in technology reporting on

performance and availability in real time, providing data that can be translated into information for fact-based decision making.”

The new digital press powered by Cheetah 2.0: the Xeikon CX300

Based on Cheetah 2.0 technology, the Xeikon CX300 can easily operate in a three-shift operation and still deliver high value work.

Strong, growing end-use markets such as food, pharmaceuticals and other markets using self-adhesive labels can be supported with the Xeikon CX300. Its dry toner technology surpasses any other digital printing technology with respect to food safety. The Cheetah toner also incorporates the recently announced QB toner technology, making it even more future-proofed against upcoming legislation and regulatory requirements.

Other markets ideally served by the Xeikon CX300 are those that use challenging substrates such as natural structured papers.

This includes wine and spirits, craft beer, luxury food and more. Health and beauty labels also benefit from high-quality fullcolour printing and single-pass opaque white toner. These are just a few of the end-use market applications that make the Xeikon CX300 a versatile solution that can also be used for the production of heat transfer labels, in-mould labelling, wet glue, wraparound labels, and cartons.

“The Xeikon CX300 can be the cornerstone of digitising label manufacturing,” Weymans concludes. “Its built-in technologies enable label converters to address current and future industry demands: connectivity, responsiveness, flexibility and scalability. We believe the Xeikon CX300 can be a valuable addition to any label shop floor and the spark that ignites a digitization process that is unmatched in the industry.” www.sprinter.com.au

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Next Printing meets Covid-19 head-on

All staff gather outside Next Printing’s factory in St Peters, Sydney

Like many printers, signage and display specialist Next Printing has felt the pain of Covid-19, but it is doing its best to keep its head above water.

By Sheree Young

S

ydney’s Next Printing felt the pain of Covid-19 pretty early in the piece.

It was on a visit by ProPrint to the signage and exhibition print specialist in St Peters in late February that the first daunting signs of the economic fallout were felt.

“Well the phone is not ringing as much and demand is down, but I am hopeful things will be okay,” managing director Romeo Sanuri said as I arrived.

The other indicator was some freshly printed textile signage that had just been completed for an international sporting event to be held that very night that was waiting to be packed off.

“That job just came in yesterday. The printing was done overseas but it is stuck in South Africa so we had to do it, the game is on tonight.”

These were the early rumbles of trouble, but the full economic blowout would hit about a

factfile Age: 16 years Staff: 31 Owner: Tom Tjanaria and Romeo Sanuri Strategy: Innovation and speed are Next Printing’s key strengths. The company is always finding ways to bring client ideas to life and makes careful investment decisions to ensure this happens.

40 ProPrint June 2020

month later when the federal government called a halt to large gatherings and enforced the closure of bars, clubs, restaurants, gyms and places of worship.

Shopping centres became ghost towns with some major retailers – including Myer – opting not to open for fear of spreading the virus.

Trade shows and large events were also included in the broad closures.

All of these closures and cancellations were felt heavily by the team at Next Printing.

“We certainly saw the impact in sales due to the numbers of major event cancellations. It is a tough time, especially as we are not certain how long this will last,” Sanuri said.

The business was forced to very quickly adjust to this new world order – staff were wound back to three days a week and then once JobKeeper was announced, the application for that was made and received.

Some investment decisions that were made in 2019 also showed their value as a supplementary revenue stream, in ways that were not originally thought of.

Next Labels

Label printing might not be an area that would seem like a natural fit for a wide format specialist, but that is exactly where Next Printing went at the end of 2019.

This diversification strategy involved purchasing a HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press and setting it up in its own room at Next Printing’s factory with an ABI Digicon cutter and laminator system, all sourced through Currie Group.

Fortuitously, these investments coincided with the owners of Sydney’s Renton Labels deciding to put their business on the market.

Sanuri and his partner Tom Tjanaria decided it made sense to buy it and run it under its original name at the Next Printing factory site in St Peters.

“We didn’t have any knowledge of labels,” Sanuri said.

“But thankfully around October and November last year Renton Labels wanted to sell as they wanted to get out of the market. We thought why not? We don’t have any knowledge so two of their staff came over and we are continuing to run the business under the business name Renton Labels. While at the same time building Next Labels clients through our contacts from Next Printing.”

This decision is now something Sanuri and Tjanaria are very glad they made.

Of all the print sectors to hold up against the impact of the pandemic, labels, was one of the stronger ones.

“Labels have been very busy for us. We have been working with the original Renton Labels clients but also through doing some SEO marketing we have expanded that list of clients,” Sanuri said.

“We have doubled the production it was doing when we bought it but there is still a lot of capacity, the Indigo can print up to 40 linear metres per minute, so it is very quick.”

With large scale works for retailers and events drying up, Next Printing had to come up with some creative ideas about what it could on-sell to keep some revenue coming through the door until the economy begins to reopen.

It has been busy producing hand sanitiser stations using the environmentally friendly and recyclable Re-Board and it is also offering decal packs for customers.

But to take the offer one step further, it has imported into Australia a handful of handheld thermal fever scanners which it can also sell to customers.

At the same time Next Printing is also looking into other health related products that can benefit Australian consumer and business alike.

“There are a number of different things we are planning to do about helping our clients get back on track including offering hand sanitiser stands and decals,” Sanuri said.

“We have also now just received a shipment of thermal fever scanners which we are selling.

“Looking at the experience of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) – bars, clubs, schools, universities and office buildings will be temperature testing employees and patrons for a long time to come.

“So, we thought the scanners might be a good idea.”

Pre Covid-19

Before the pandemic, Next Printing was doing well for itself.

The business which started in the 1980s as a photographic developer in Randwick, which still exists today, was thriving with a full range of wide format textile printers on its floor and a bustling team of 20 staff.

Sanuri says the company has made carefully considered investments to stay ahead of the game and continues to provide top quality work for clients who chiefly come from the high-value cosmetic, fashion and retail sectors as well as the exhibition sector.

In addition to its Durst textile presses, it has also recently added Asia Pacific’s first HP Stitch S1000 dye sublimation press to its ranks.

The investment has enabled the business to www.sprinter.com.au

STAR BUSINESS PROFILE

Andrew Oskar displays some samples of Re-Board

Andrew Oskar and Romeo Sanuri with Next Printing’s new HP Stitch S1000 just before the pandemic hit

print shorter run and vibrant textiles primarily for the use in light box displays.

It has also added an Océ Colorado to handle the print work for all its non-textile applications, including wallpaper and various adhesive vinyls.

Its finishing area is also well catered for with Zünd and Kongsberg cutting tables.

The company is also on a mission to lift sustainability in the signage and display sector.

It is doing all it can to share information within the industry to promote the use of products that less significantly impact the earth, including working with supplier Ricky Richards to test a fabric made from recycled PET on its HP Stitch S1000.

passion for environmental sustainability is clear.

The positives of Re-Board, which is supplied in Australia through HVG Graphics Media, are extensive.

It’s lightweight for a start meaning less people are needed to build a display and unlike heavy MDF there are no nails in sight. It is also reusable meaning if a brand changes its look it can be easily reskinned. And best of all it is recyclable.

No more MDF

But its key achievement to date has been its use in the last five years of the hardy Swedish cardboard product, Re-Board.

Next Printing uses Re-Board to create innovative displays for leading cosmetic brands, including Sephora, and the interest in the product is growing as consumers switch their thinking to more environmentally positive products.

The board is so strong that it has been constructed into a front office reception desk for Next Printing and has not missed a beat since it was installed a few years ago. It can also act as a bedside table unit or coffee table.

Tjanaria spotted the fluted core cardboard in Japan just over five years ago and saw how fastfood brands KFC and Subway were using it as an easy way to create pop-up displays in train stations.

He thought if it can be done there, why not in Australia.

The responsibility of increasing customer take-up of Re-Board was given to Next Printing general manager and member of the ProPrint Emerging 50 in 2019, Andrew Oskar, whose www.sprinter.com.au

Our goal is to end the use of MDF for displays. It is not the way of the future Next Printing general manager Andrew Oskar

Next Printing has also signed a deal with waste management company, Remondis.

Under the arrangement, each week Remondis collects the used Re-Board from both Next Printing and its customer sites. The Re-Board is baled up and taken to a paper recycler in Sydney where it is turned into fibre packaging.

The facts about the product alone are enough to convince many brand owners of its worth. But the rising tide of consumers demanding brands be more active in their own environmental sustainability is another factor driving the take-up of the product.

“There are plenty of printers that use Re-Board but there are not many that are using it to design in the way we are,” Oskar said.

“Many printers are using it just for plain signage, so it can be hung up simply and there is no structure. But for us, we have been using this and pushing it for more than five years now, we believe in this product.”

Print’s sustainability story

The sustainability story of Re-Board and the use of other recyclable materials for printing are no doubt resonating with consumers.

This would only increase if the public was more aware about the role of sustainable print and the types of products that are not harmful to the environment.

Sanuri says bringing the sustainable print story out of the shadows is critical for increasing demand for products like Re-Board and for print in general.

“At the moment Sephora are mainly talking about their products being animal free but I think they will bring this idea of Re-Board to their regional office in Singapore so they are aware of it,” Sanuri said.

“I see many brands are now having a sustainability manager so they are all looking at what more we can do to be more responsible in whatever we are doing in printing.

“Re-Board is one of the answers that we have given them.

“We are saying this is basically one material you can use to be more responsible for the environment.”

Where to from here

Sanuri expects it will be a good seven to nine months before the economy really picks up again after the pandemic.

“We have been speaking to a few exhibition companies and they are expecting it will be a number of months before the rules are relaxed enough for large events to take place,” Sanuri said.

So, in the meantime, Next Printing will keep plugging gaps with creative ideas about other products it can sell to survive the coming months until the economy starts to open up some more.

And of course, there is always the labels to think of. PP June 2o2o ProPrint 41

PROMOTION

HP’s PageWide T250HD with Brilliant Ink available late 2020 This latest press uses new inks to print an expanded colour gamut with deeper blues and reds on coated and uncoated media with an inbuilt Ink Optimiser removing the need for priming.

H

P has unveiled its new PageWide T250HD inkjet web press which can print up to 152 metres per minute on coated and uncoated media using HP’s Brilliant Inks with an inbuilt HP Ink Optimiser removing the need for priming or bonding.

The new press with Brilliant Ink was to be shown at drupa in June 2020 but with the megashow postponed until April 2021, HP instead presented the new PageWide features in a global virtual presentation.

HP says the key benefit of the press is its upgradeability and versatility to print high quality, personalised prints on uncoated and coated offset media including gloss on gloss stock and matte on matte stock.

It also has been built using HP’s High Definition Nozzle Architecture (HDNA) which allows the press to generate super clear and realistic prints with smooth tones and subtle gradations.

Yale Goldis, HP’s global head of product marketing management, said the press comes with a new HP Ink Optimiser, or what he dubbed a ‘secret sauce’.

“This Optimiser removes the need for a companion press for priming as it prevents strike through to the back side of the paper by keeping the pigments where they need to be,” Goldis said during the presentation.

“What the Optimiser does is it allows the print to look uniform across the coated paper and it also allows the print to look very colourful with a high optical density on the uncoated paper.

“It keeps the pigments more on one side of the paper and it has low strike through on the back side of that paper. Now this is an easy solution, it is part of the press, it is all digital.

It only uses it where it is needed on the page so with this ‘secret sauce’ you can bid on more work and you can print more jobs for your business.”

Goldis says it is possible to achieve high quality imagery on all kinds of stocks including gloss, silk, matte, dull and 42 ProPrint June 2020

uncoated for a wide variety of applications including advertising, direct mail, publishing or transactional print.

It was also possible to print high volume work or high value work on the press with a setting to suit each type of work.

HP Brilliant Ink This Ink Optimiser is what allows the HP Brilliant Inks to really sing.

Goldis says HP’s team of chemists scoured the world for the right pigments to add value to these inks and bring deeper blues and reds.

“This press has a wide gamut. It prints more reds and more blues and the way it does that is that our ink chemists looked all over the Earth to find the right ink pigments and they put more of those pigments into this ink,” Goldis said.

“And they also designed, specific molecules to go with those pigments so they could print smoothly on the coated surfaces and they could be vibrant and colourful on the uncoated papers.”

Print that is good enough to eat Goldis says the Brilliant Inks that were generated through this indepth research process have delivered a stronger gamut and more reds and blues than ever before.

“In the end what we get is an ink or a printing solution as a gamut that is 30 to 50 per cent wider than the Gracol and Fogra standards,” Goldis says.

“So if you think about this you could print strawberries or blueberries that are good enough to eat right off the page.”

Colour Vision This process of superb colour management is also helped along with Colour Vision and an in-built spectrophotometer that ensures colour quality and consistency.

The press also comes with print heads that

have been specifically designed to maximise the performance of these inks.

Goldis said Colour Vision frees up staff members for other higher value activities.

“The HP Brilliant Ink is a highperformance ink,” he said.

“That means it can print on this wide variety of coated stock without a problem. It prints on gloss, silk, matte, dull and uncoated papers all with the one press and it allows you to print on a wide variety of applications, advertising, direct mail, publishing, transaction or if you have other kinds of print that you are producing this press can fit your business.

“You can print your high volume on this press and you can print your high value work on this press as well.”

Economic sense Goldis says HP is constantly examining how to make its presses more economical.

“We think everyday about the economics of our solutions and how you can make money with these machines,” Goldis said.

The first economic benefit for the PageWide is it can print on coated and uncoated paper, removing the need for a companion press. The second, he said, is the cost per page is the same or better than the cost page with the solutions already in the market.

The other benefit is its upgradeability.

“If you have a T200 series machine you can upgrade that device to get this level of capability,” Goldis said.

It is also industrial strength and will prove to be a long lasting piece of kit in any print factory, with the added value of being upgradeable when new technology is developed as has been the case with the earlier iterations of the PageWide press.

The PageWide T250HD with Brilliant Inks will be available in late 2020 or early 2021.

Expanded red and blue colour gamut: The Brilliant Inks in the HP PageWide T250HD deliver new levels of vibrancy www.sprinter.com.au

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POST SCRIPT

Moral dilemmas abound in a post-corona world James Cryer of JDA Print Recruitment highlights some of the thorny issues facing the print sector and broader industry as Australia looks to embrace a post-pandemic world.

JAMES CRYER

S

omeone once said there is a purpose for everything — although it’s hard to see anything positive from a virus that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

But it may be better to not look upon it as a pandemic.

Think of it more as a wet weekend where you’re forced to do all those jobs you have been putting off because you’ve been too busy having fun.

Having fun is what we do between crises: we enjoy our affluence as if it will continue forever.

This is the honey-trap of ‘globalisation’ — cheap trinkets for us in the First World, derived from cheap labour in the Third World. What’s not to like about so-called ‘free trade’ agreements?

No matter that they require the participants to become dependent on each other, so if one goes down — they all go down. Sound familiar?

This brings us to Australia’s manufacturing industry in general and the printing industry, in particular.

The post-corona bounce-back will be a missed opportunity unless we address some hard questions.

Is the printing industry really part of ‘manufacturing’ or is it a ‘service’ industry?

Print has one foot in each camp, but one thing is certain, within our sector, employment opportunities will be 90 per cent in service or client-facing roles and only 10 per cent of jobs will be on the factory floor.

So, our first moral dilemma: should we even both with apprentices going forward?

Most production or technical roles will be more about operating digital equipment, which are primarily software based — not requiring too many levers to be pushed.

Even offset presses are virtually totally automated — not too different from a jumbo jet. Maybe there could be a course called “How to operate a piece of highspeed equipment worth many millions of dollars” and at the end you could either fly a jumbo to London or operate a heat-set

58 ProPrint June 2020

web press that prints at over 50,000 metres per hour.

Fanciful? Possibly.

But what I’m highlighting is how many industries have grown up in silos based around traditional definitions — but in the brave new world of post-corona, there’s no real difference between a jumbo and a Lithoman: they’re both expensive pieces of kit that are operated from a console.

So, one of the first challenges will be the realignment of TAFE courses with the industries of tomorrow.

Another dilemma will be the competition between capital versus labour as we bounce back. Both of these “inputs” compete to reclaim lost ground — like foxes and rabbits foraging after a European ice-age.

Should governments offer tax incentives to encourage companies to put on more staff? Or offer depreciation allowances to encourage more equipment and less staff?

Should unions encourage more people to enter the workforce by moderating wage demands or demand higher wages for their members only? Even economists can’t agree on that one, as employees are both a cost (to the company) and consumers.

Should we be dismantling the so-called ‘free trade’ agreements (which allow the influx of cheap imports) in favour of more self-suffiency, even though we all may have to pay a little more for locally made items?

This is a tough one, as everybody likes the idea of self-sufficiency, but nobody warms to the notion of ‘protectionism’.

Training must move beyond traditional definitions

Should we strive to be better employers and not just better printers? Roger Kirwan at Foxcil has introduced a four-day week. If it’s good enough for his staff, why not apply it across the board? Admirable as that idea is, there is a deeper issue at stake: the Sydneybased printer freeing-up of the workforce, to enable more flexibility.

This is possibly the greatest moral dilemma of our time (to mimic Kevin Rudd’s words): the need to dismantle our archaic industrial relations architecture, which flows from Justice Higgins’ decisions, made back in 1907. And while they may have been enlightened at the time, they’ve embedded high fixed-costs into our cost of labour. The aim should be not to make jobs more insecure, but to make them more flexible.

And the one thing that would transform Australia’s workforce — at the stroke of a pen — would be a clear definition of what is an employee and what is a contractor? The cat-and-mouse game played by governments and the ATO, “We won’t tell you which one you are — see you in court” has been hugely disruptive and has forced the ‘casualisation’ of much of the workforce, to the point we probably have hundreds of thousands of workers working illegally.

Which brings us to the grand finale of all moral dilemmas: Do we have the appropriate industry associations to reflect the needs and wants of a post-corona world?

Our current industry association, formerly the PIAA now the PVCA, like so many hangovers from last century, is really an ‘employers’ association, not truly representative of the industry’s best interests.

This is another stumbling block, as an industry body, going forward, should be truly reflective of all its participants — not just the bosses.

These are some of the thorny issues facing us all in the industry.

As we venture forth into the brave new post-coronavirus world, we look to our industry associations to do what they are paid to do: drive legislative reform and the starting point is employment flexibility.

Everything else flows from that. www.sprinter.com.au

WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS We just want to reach out and reassure all our valued customers, partners and colleagues that Dataflow Business Systems are fully operational and here to continue uninterupted production throughout this difficult time.

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