ProPrint June 2021

People Technology Business

www.sprinter.com.au June 2021

Renz Australia: 40 years of service j

Just the beginning

3D’s close encounters

Rob Hansen: A life’s work

Print X One is now in the hands of industry identity Paul Coniglio

3D print broadens the horizons of printers looking to find new markets

The owner of SA’s Hansen Design & Print shares his industry musings

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‘CUSTOMER IS ^ KING AT HERO PRINT’ ...AND IT SHOWS o Queen

AUSTRALIA’S BEST BEST TRADE TRADE PRINTER PRINTER AUSTRALIA’S

EDITOR’S LETTER SHEREE YOUNG

From little things, big things grow The Power 50 has been recognising Australia’s printing industry leaders for 10 years. In that time it has broadened in its representation of industry leadership with more women than ever now represented, as well as leaders of companies that are not necessarily giants of the industry. Two years ago the Emerging 50 was launched to recognise up and coming talent. One of the big issues for the sector is attracting young people to come and work in print, so it is hoped this will help make the industry a more attractive option for the next generation.

Like last year, Emerging 50 nominees will have the opportunity to enter to win a 12-month mentorship with industry association, The Real Media Collective.

For many years the team at ProPrint have been asked why those representing suppliers cannot be recognised and be part of the celebration. Suppliers are integral to the success of a print business and bring vast insights which really impact customer success.

So with this in mind, this year we are adding the Supplier 50 to ProPrint’s growing family of awards.

This is a place where individuals working in supply and service can be recognised for the good work they do.

It won’t be judged, but will run like the Emerging 50 does as an alphabetically ordered recognition.

We have also added a new exclusive award to recognise an outstanding achiever in print, the Industry Achievement Award.

This is to recognise a long-term (25 years plus) leader who really has gone above and beyond to help build the industry to what it is today.

Nominations for all four awards will soon be opening so have a think about who you will nominate.

Planning for the end of year celebration is underway and all nominees to all awards will be invited to this must-attend event. Early bird tickets will soon be on sale.

I would also like to thank Matt Ashman from Durst Oceania, the

4 ProPrint June 2021

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

So much to celebrate in print: Introducing the 2021 Power 50, Emerging 50 and new entrants Supplier 50 and Industry Achievement Award.

platinum sponsor for this year.

We look forward to bringing these awards and event to you again. It will build on the success of last year’s event at the Shangri-la Hotel in Sydney, which was the only industry event to be held in a physical sense all year due to COVID. COVID has shown us the value in meeting people face-to-face. It cannot be underestimated for its importance for not only running successful businesses but also for mental health.

As I write Victoria is enduring another COVID lockdown. My heart goes out to all Victorians and I wish you strength to get through this.

On a brighter note, I hope you enjoy reading this latest issue of ProPrint. It is always exciting to bring you new stories from your industry.

Paul Coniglio’s Print X One is the Star Business for this edition. Rob Hansen, a 41-year print veteran, at Hansen Design and Print in SA is our guest in the Q&A. It was also a pleasure to tell the story of Renz Australia for our cover story.

ProPrint Technical Writer, Peter Kohn, has had a good look at 3D printing as new vistas open up for printers.

There is so much growth in this space with new evolutions of technology and products to match.

We hope you enjoy the read.

Stay safe and go well.

Printed by Hero Print Alexandria, NSW, 2015 Mailed by D&D Mailing Services Wetherill Park, NSW, 2164

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.

www.sprinter.com.au

CONTENTS

32

34 42

12

6

28

Contents June 6-14 Update

DOWNTIME

STAR BUSINESS

Check out the big issues impacting the Australian printing sector

28-29 Women in Print

38-39 Print X One

16-17 Debrief

This year’s breakfasts were all about mental health and did not disappoint

A recap of what’s been happening on sprinter.com.au

30 FESPA Aust golfers tee off

Paul Coniglio says this is just the beginning after purchasing a wide format business of his very own

18 Comment: Gamble

Check out FESPA Australia members enjoying a round of golf in Melbourne

3D PRINTING TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

Man Anchor founder Steven Gamble on the state of mental health in Australia

Q&A

20 Comment: Northwood

32-33 Hansen Design & Print

Find out what’s new in 3D printing in this special technology feature by Peter Kohn

The Real Media Collective CEO readies for the new ‘Power of Print’ webinars

Rob Hansen knows a thing or two about print after 41 years in the industry

DIARY

22-25 Power 50 plus more

COVER STORY

Keep up to date with industry happenings

The Power 50 is changing, the Emerging 50 is back with some new additions

29 PacPrint 2021 The PacPrint Forums return and offer a broad range of industry insights

www.sprinter.com.au

34-36 Renz Australia celebrates 40 years with new equipment Renz Australia has a lot to celebrate - a 40th birthday with a new range of gamechanging case binding equipment now available

42-43 Close encounters with 3D

19 ProPrint Diary Feeling social?

Follow us on: @SprinterNews @SprinterNewsAust @news_sprinter www.sprinter.com.au

June 2021 ProPrint 5

UPDATE

Country Press NSW assessing print options

by Sheree Young

Country Press NSW, a small but growing association which represents regional newspapers, is assessing print options with Australian Community Media (ACM) expected to turn off its North Richmond presses by June 30.

The association’s president and publisher of the Gilgandra Weekly and Nyngan Weekly, Lucie Peart, told ProPrint ACM has advised her members of the North Richmond closure with details about the Tamworth site unclear.

“Members have received communications from ACM. It has been a bit fluid and it is a bit individual, but I am currently aware that those plants will close by the end of June,” Peart said.

The impending closure of the former Rural Press headquarters means regional publishers must now turn to other printers like Spotpress and McPherson Media Group.

IVE Group are also in the mix after signing a five-year deal to print and distribute ACM publications. This also included IVE’s acquisition of ACM’s Western Australian printing operation in Mandurah.

Anthony Catalano bought ACM from Nine two years ago. At a recent Farm Writers Association of NSW media lunch, Catalano said since then he has been focusing on digital, marking a move away from manufacturing.

“We’ve gotten out of our manufacturing – the deal [when ACM was bought over from Nine in 2018 by Catalano and Alex Waislitz’s Thorney Investment Group] came with seven print centres,” Catalano told the media lunch.

“I don’t know much about how to start a press, nor do I want to be manufacturing in a declining industry.”

Peart said these changes mean there are now issues with finding printers.

She said the difficulty is that many regional newspapers have similar deadlines which

Print is not dead: Country Press NSW President and Gilgandra Weekly publisher Lucie Peart. Photo credit Jade Thompson

makes it hard to find room on a press, especially as they are relatively short runs.

“The difficulty is that with smaller print runs, we are obviously not as attractive to a bigger press site but as a collective, Country Press NSW, is working hard to find a solution to that problem,” she said.

“We are looking for a sustainable option that can help members and the industry going forward and allow smaller publishers to begin and other independent publishers to expand and give them confidence in the printing side because we obviously don’t believe that print is dead.

“At this stage we don’t have any solid plans around that and this could mean a number of directions we may take.”

Country Press NSW represents 28 regional newspaper mastheads, but this is growing year

on year. This number was over 100 before Fairfax pulled out in 2016.

Research also shows those in country towns prefer a printed newspaper, to reading online.

Peart said a survey of 4,200 Australians, Media Innovation and the Civic Future of Australia’s Country Press, by Deakin University, RMIT and Country Press Australia last November found there is continued strong demand and passion for the printed product in rural and regional Australia.

It also found audiences overwhelmingly view a printed copy of their newspaper as an essential service for their community.

Another key finding was that while younger local news readers were leading the shift towards reading news online, country readers overall were 2.6 times as likely to read their local paper in print, than in digital format.

Bambra DOCA a chance to “make good”

by Sheree Young

After spending a year in administration, Melbourne’s Bambra Press is back in John Wanless’ hands after all but one creditor voted to accept 20 cents in the dollar for debts.

Wanless and Bambra’s co-director Troy Riley put the business into administration last May after April and May revenue plummeted 80 per cent due to the COVID pandemic.

It was initially thought the business would be sold but with the administrators unable to find a viable option, it has been returned under a Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA).

“I feel good that we have still got a business going and there are still staff here and clients that are supportive. But the most important thing is now this gives us the opportunity to work with suppliers and make good where I can,” Wanless told ProPrint.

Bambra is now at 55 to 60 per cent of 2019 levels with many sectors, most notably tourism, 6 ProPrint June 2021

A chance to make good: Bambra Press director John Wanless.

still not fully back to usual order levels.

Staff numbers have also fallen from 50 to the current 32.

“Our revenue has dropped significantly, and we have had to restructure the business. Some people chose to leave, and we had to make about 10 redundancies to get down to 32 staff,”

he said.

Wanless also said Bambra’s customers and staff have remained supportive through the whole journey.

“Our customers and staff have been very supportive, but a lot of our customers are spending a lot less because they haven’t come back yet.

We had travel clients that haven’t come back, hospitality clients are starting to come back, and education is still not really back as expected but the majority of our clients have stuck with us and say they will support us,” Wanless said.

Reflecting on a year that included putting his business into administration and then going through a pandemic, Wanless said: “Our revenue for April and May last year dropped over 80 per cent and that was then we decided the path forward was administration, in hindsight whether that was a good or bad thing, I don’t know but we have got the opportunity to come out the other end now.” www.sprinter.com.au

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UPDATE

Budget goodies welcomed but are they enough?

by Sheree Young

Printers have welcomed the federal budget which extended the 50% apprentice wage subsidy, loss carry-back and instant asset-write off schemes and reduced SME tax rates from 30 to 25%, but have asked are the measures enough?

The JobTrainer scheme was introduced last year to accelerate education and training during COVID, and will continue for another year.

The program allows for a 50% wage subsidy for new apprentices and trainees who sign up

by March 31, 2022.

Whilst this was well received, many printers said it is difficult finding an apprentice.

Employers must now also pay superannuation for staff earning $200 a month, reduced from $450. Last year’s business tax incentives will continue for another year.

The loss carry-back scheme, which allows for current losses to be offset against profits as far back as 2018/19 was applauded. The instant asset write-off scheme is also continuing.

Europoles owner, Peter Wagener, welcomed the tax incentives but is concerned about international borders staying shut until mid-2022.

Wagener said this created issues for him with seeing fabric samples in US and Europe.

He welcomed the wage subsidy extension.

“Apprentices cost a lot to train, and the difficulty is you just finish training them and then they go somewhere else, but I do feel an obligation to put back into society and we do need to be training people,” Wagener said.

Sandra Duarte, CEO at Centrum Printing, supported the wage subsidies, particularly as this aligns with Centrum Printing’s values.

“We are a medium sized business with 37 people casuals, so any bit helps,” Duarte said.

(L-R) Keith Ferrel, Cactus Imaging; Sandra Duarte, Centrum Printing; Tim Michaelides, Complete Colour and Peter Wagener, Europoles.

“The apprenticeship subsidy works well. We are looking for four new apprentices right now.

The instant asset write off scheme is also of some help, Duarte said.

“The tax cuts will help but are they enough to get some businesses across the line? I don’t know,” she said.

Complete Colour managing director, Tim Michaelides, said the wage subsidies are welcome so long as you can find an apprentice.

“We have been looking to put an apprentice on, but it is hard to find someone who wants one.

“We find they are more interested in going for the building trades so attracting someone

into print is very difficult,” Michaelides said.

“The apprentice subsidy is a good thing but attracting them to our industry is a challenge.”

Michaelides said he is focussed on adding automation, particularly in the bindery.

Cactus Imaging founder, Keith Ferrel, said the instant asset write-off scheme and apprentice funding are the winners, so long as you can find one.

“How do you get an apprentice to come into the printing game? I just don’t know,” he said.

“We’ve been after a printer now for four months, I had one finishing guy come in the other day and did two hours and said it was too hard and walked out.”

Budget falls short on long-term: associations Printing industry associations have welcomed the budget, but many are concerned it has not done enough to address the long-term needs of the industry, particularly as border closures and COVID lingers on.

Print & Visual Communication Association President, Walter Kuhn, said the lack of provision for more formal COVID quarantine arrangements is of huge concern to him and the broader industry.

“Without adequate quarantine, we are always open to lockdowns. As we are majority reliant on tourism and hospitality and the retail sectors, these lockdowns have a major impact on us as an industry,” he said.

Kuhn also said while superannuation changes which reduce the superannuation applicable minimum wage to $200 a month from $450 is good for employees, it will create headaches for business owners.

“Overall, the budget looks good but if you dig deep into it, our main concern is economy buoyancy, and it will only stay buoyant from print’s point of view when these sectors are booming.”

Charles Watson, The Real Media Collective’s GM of IR, Policy and Governance, said the budget while not perfect, is encouraging as fiscal policy is being used to repair the economy.

“Variable business tax concessions, concessions for investment, the potential for work to flow through from targeted industry areas within the budget, continued incentives for taking on apprentices and trainees, along with the extension of the asset write off scheme from last year are likely to bring benefit to our industry,” he said.

8 ProPrint June 2021

“Given the significant capital expenditure required for operating in our industry, TRMC made various representations to government highlighting the benefit of last year’s asset write off and loss carry back measures.”

Visual Connections CEO Peter Harper said while economic recovery will still be impacted by a lack of international travel and migration, there is welcome news in the budget, most notably business support, investment incentives and training.

Harper said the extension of the asset write off scheme is particularly welcome, especially as PacPrint looms later in the year.

“This scheme will provide much-needed support for business owners as they seek to refocus and rebuild in a post-COVID market,” Harper said.

Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said the budget locks in recovery and is about investing in the economy for the longer term.

“The significant investments in skills and training, alongside the focus on social spending including on aged care and the NDIS, make this a forward-looking budget. The budget makes a substantial investment in the JobTrainer Fund; significantly expands the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements wage subsidy; lifts Commonwealth funding for pre-schooling; increases funding for short courses; and offers substantial resourcing of reforms to skills development including to improve the responsiveness of training to industry and employer needs,” he said.

“These measures will over time help people move into higher paying jobs, assist in addressing rapidly growing skill shortages; and, over coming years, will be critical to lifting our lagging productivity growth.” www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE

LIA NSW members talk wide format with Mimaki

by Sheree Young

A group of LIA NSW members recently got together to learn more about wide format print with a technical tour of Mimaki’s showroom.

The evening included a product overview of Mimaki’s range of wide format presses, cutting equipment and 3D print technologies followed by a dinner catch up and more technical discussion at the Carnarvon Golf Club in Lidcombe.

NSW channel manager John Bryson said Mimaki has seen huge growth and market share in the sector and now occupies 30 per cent of this market.

Bryson covered Mimaki’s product range which includes eco-solvent wide format printers, UV LED systems, ‘Print’n’Cut’ technology, flat-bed printing and 3D printing technology which has the ability to print ‘hyper-personal’ life-like human replicas.

Mimaki’s range of cutting tables were also on show with the discussion also covering the role robotics and automation will continue to increasingly play in wide format print rooms.

“Automation and robotics are needed to take the industry to the next level. We understand the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 is a big part of what people want. People say all the time that they want to turn their lights out and that is where we are going,” he said.

Bryson said Mimaki’s market share growth has been driven by having innovative and

Y O U R

Wide format demystified: Members of the NSW branch of the Lithographic Institute of Australia learn more about wide format printing technology at Mimaki HQ in Sydney.

versatile products that offer high levels of print quality but also by the increasing value commercial printers see they can derive from wide format.

“There is no longer an offset guy or a label guy. You can print on anything and you will struggle to make ends meet if you just do one type of print,” he said.

P A R T N E R ,

31

N O T

YEARS

Y O U R

“There was huge growth for us in our Print’n’Cut range in COVID. The majority of those buying these machines were females as their craft or hobby business became a serious proposition during COVID and turned viable.”

LIA NSW president, Angus Scott, addressed the event, and Andy McCourt, publisher of Wide Format Online, gave a presentation.

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UPDATE

HP Indigo unveils solutions at Dscoop

by Hafizah Osman

HP launched a range of new digital printing innovations at Dscoop Edge Fusion, including the HP Indigo 35K Digital Press and HP Indigo Secure brand protection solutions.

HP Indigo Vice President and General Manager, Haim Levit, said over 125 HP Indigo digital presses have now been installed globally from the portfolio announced in March 2020.

“Despite the challenges of the past year, Indigo customers have continued to lead the transformation of the graphic arts industry,” Levit said.

“Our R&D labs continue to deliver on our promise, releasing new capabilities, products and solutions to support the growth of our customers.”

The HP Indigo 35K Digital Press is a new flagship press for high-value folding carton production and is built on the HP Indigo 30000. It is said to provide premium colour and print quality and is 40 per cent more productive.

The speed upgrade is due to faster job changeover and colour accuracy with Spot Master and a more robust paper path from the feeder to the coater.

It also has the ability to print on thinner substrates from 150 microns to capture applications such as rigid boxes. It utilises new HP Indigo ElectroInk Premium White for higher opacity.

Spot Master for HP Indigo 25K and HP Indigo 35K digital presses was also unveiled.

This technology uses a patented algorithm for fast and accurate colour matching which enables converters to reach brand colours within five minutes.

Spot Master is now available on both the HP Indigo 25K and 35K and will be available for the HP Indigo 6K later this year.

To drive digital expansion in commercial print further, HP Indigo also announced a new Automatic Alert Agent 2.0 for HP Indigo Series 4 presses (HP Indigo 12000 and 15K). This

HP Indigo’s latest offering, the HP Indigo 35K Digital Press.

inline inspection system scans every printed sheet and compares it to its digital reference and can automatically identify defects.

It then diverts defective sheets to scrap and reprints them in real time.

There has also been an expansion of HD printing capabilities with the new Fine Line RIP. HP says this RIP and computing infrastructure delivers superior capabilities for small solid text and fine lines, producing the sharpest Kanji fonts and complex security patterns.

Other improvements include an Automatic Pallet Replacement for the HP Indigo 100K which enables continuous print with non-stop stacking for even higher productivity.

The company also introduced the new HP Indigo 6P Digital Press, a narrow-web press dedicated for photo and publishing applications. This press expands the capabilities of the Indigo 6800p with a series of innovations for productivity and versatility, including a larger, 320x980mm image area and faster RIP. The company has also taken the wraps off HP

Indigo Secure, a new suite of security and brand protection solutions, to help security printers and PSPs protect their customers from counterfeit.

HP Indigo Secure includes hardware, software, media and inks for security printing and brand protection. It is based on proprietary HP Indigo LEP technology and partner solutions.

HP Indigo 6K Secure Press is HP Indigo’s first secure digital press designed especially for the security printing market. The press is a onepass, end-to-end security printing solution featuring multiple security layers in collaboration with Jura JSP. The press is available for certified security printers.

HP PrintOS applications were also launcheding including PrintOS Learn, PrintOS Supplies Inventory (an improved integration between PrintOS Production Pro DFE for Commercial Print and Heidelberg Prinect), a new platform of PrintOS Production Pro DFE for L&P, PrintOS Colour Beat for HP Indigo 25K and HP SmartStream Designer for Adobe CC2021.

Next Printing reflects on labels journey

by Hafizah Osman

Next Printing and Renton Labels managing director Romeo Sanuri has revisited the history of his company, which launched in 2004 as a wide format printer and has since then diversified into label printing, during an apperance at Dscoop Edge Fusion.

“The idea of creating Next Printing came after the Sydney Olympics in 2000, when we saw the opportunity in signage and large format,” Sanuri said.

“Large format was something we had little knowledge of back then, but it was exciting and new and as we were keen to learn. We then branched into other parts of printing, like fabric printing.

“But over the years, we were always concerned about the environment. We used to use solvent and as technology developed, we moved 10 ProPrint June 2021

Next Printing managing director Romeo Sanuri with general manager, Andrew Oskar.

into UV printing.”

Four years ago, Next Printing started looking into new areas and labels ticked the boxes.

“The turning point was in 2019, when we acted on it following requests from our existing clients to create labelling solutions for them,” Sanuri said.

It was at this time, Next Printing acquired Renton Labels.

At the time Renton Labels wasn’t delivering on the scale that Next Printing wanted it to, so the business invested in a HP Indigo 6900 Digital Press supplied by Currie Group.

It has not looked back and now has plans to increase its focus in this area even further.

Next Printing also recently beefed up its ability to print textiles for the increasingly popular backlit light box display market.

This focus led Next Printing to be the first print business in the Asia Pacific region to install a HP Stitch S1000 dye sublimation printer. www.sprinter.com.au

www.curriegroup.com.au

www.curriegroup.com.au

UPDATE

Ashley Playford-Browne joins Durst Oceania

by Sheree Young

Ashley Playford-Browne, a well-known industry specialist in wide format and textiles, is the new Large Format Print and Textile Sales Manager at Durst Oceania.

Durst Oceania managing director Matt Ashman told ProPrint Playford-Browne’s appointment is the next step in the Italian print manufacturer’s strategy to further strengthen its foothold in Oceania.

Playford-Browne spent five years with wide format specialists, Fujifilm, with his most recent appointment being at Kornit Digital.

“As Durst has increased its footprint with new technology and product innovation, it was essential that I found a suitable and experienced sales manager to steer the LFP and Textiles business within our portfolio in Oceania,” Ashman said.

“What attracted me to Ashley is his sales acumen, his industry knowledge and his widespread respect in the region.”

In his new role, Playford-Browne will be responsible for the large format print business and the growing textile category.

The growth in textiles was recently put on show with Durst’s release of the new P5 TEX iSUB, which offers next level productivity in the dye-sub space.

The new Durst P5 TEX iSUB boosts

New appointment: (L:R) Ashley Playford-Browne is a welcome addition to the Durst Oceania team, says managing director Matt Ashman.

efficiency as it can print direct to polyester, meaning no calender unit is required. An integrated finishing unit means it can also stitch inline.

“With Ashley on board we can see Durst going from strength to strength – helping businesses in the Oceania region grow following the recent challenging trading period,” Ashman said.

“This is the next step in the evolving strengthening strategy of the Durst Oceania team to support and service our valued and longstanding customers in the region.”

In other automation moves, Durst has also announced its P5 printer range now integrates with Fotoba cutters. Existing owners of Fotoba cutters and Durst printers can integrate them together with a specially made buffer.

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UPDATE

Lamson Group triples solar power input

by Sheree Young

Lamson Group CEO Rodney Frost has tripled the number of solar panels on the rooftop of his company’s factory in Sydney with the trade printer now barely needing to draw any power from the grid to operate each day.

Frost anticipates it will take about six-and-ahalf years for the panels to pay for themselves.

He is glad he made the commitment to further reduce CO2 emissions at Lamson Group and help the environment.

“We are very proud to launch our next investment in our approach to sustainability and prote c t i ng t he env i ron ment for f ut u re generations,” Frost said.

“Our solar installation would be one of the biggest in the industry and we are very proud of it.”

Frost said energy consumption is one of the key environmental impacts at Lamson Group and as such reducing emissions has been part of the business’ strategic plan.

He also said he was facing increasing questions from his customers about Lamson Group’s environmental credentials.

“We are a trade only business and we service a lot of printers and print managers that have corporates as their clients. More and more we are being asked what we are doing around CO2,” he said.

“So, what we have done is help our channel partners by arming them with a good solid, story around doing the right thing for the environment.”

The addition of the extra panels means the Lamson Group is now producing over 1 megawatt of electricity each day on sunny days with the 304-kilowatt system that is now installed.

The extra solar panels build on the 100-kilowatt system that was installed two years ago.

“We are not really drawing too much from

Dubbed the ‘solar farm of Sefton’: Lamson Group has dramatically increased its solar power capabilities.

the grid now, unless it is raining, so it has been really good,” Frost said.

“It’s a great system. We have spent a bit extra to get sensors on every single panel which show the output from each panel as well as indicate which panels are being inefficient.

“If they are inefficient then we can get them changed over from warranty. Most systems just have one sensor per string of panels, so this is really good. We are trying to do the right thing for the environment and reduce our CO 2 emissions.”

Frost expects to see reduced power bills as a result of the installation.

“Our power bill will be drastically reduced but we still have to pay our access charges,” he said.

“However, we will get some feed-in tariffs on weekends when our usage is low so we will get

some money back for that as the energy is sold back into the grid,” he said.

The system also provides live statistics which allows anyone to see solar production rates.

“This is a good transparency model and shows what we are doing. So rather than hide it, people can have a look themselves,” he said.

Frost invites interested members of the industry to check out the Live Statistics feature which can be found on the company’s website, http://lamsongroup.com.au/environment.

“As part of our commitment we transparently share live statistics on our renewable energy generation,” he said.

The Live Statistics function provides realtime data on the energy that is being created by the panels. It also uses the weather forecast to predict how much energy will be created in the coming week.

Fujifilm to show new products in virtual exhibition

by Sheree Young

Fujifilm is set to showcase a number of new ground-breaking printing technologies at its ‘Believing in Print’ virtual exhibition which is set to run from June 24 to July 9.

The virtual exhibition will be held in a 3D exhibition space and will feature the new next generation Jet Press 750S high speed model and provide an introduction about the processless CtP plate, Superia ZX. The Superia ZX is said to offer significant improvements in printability with faster outputs, higher durability and improved robust scratch resistance.

Fujifilm also showed the new Jet Press 750S model recently at virtual.drupa.

The printer promises high speed outputs of 5,400 B2 sheets per hour, along with ultra-high image quality and colour consistency certified

by Idealiance.

“Fujifilm is dedicated to the continued 14 ProPrint June 2021

New Fujifilm products on show: ‘Believing in Print’.

development of innovative products for the digital printing market,” Fujifilm North America Corporation graphic systems division president Tommy Katagiri said at the virtual. drupa launch.

“We are very proud to have introduced the world’s first B2 inkjet press with the launch of the original Jet Press.

“Since then, we’ve continued to listen to, and

focus on our customers’ needs.

“The differentiated features of this enhanced Jet Press deliver the solutions that will help them continue to produce top quality printed materials, quicker and with even more efficiency.”

The ‘Believing in Print’ exhibition will also include demonstrations of digital press solutions for commercial and package printing, and wide-format solutions for signage and display applications.

Also on display will be innovative products and technologies that facilitate business expansion and corporate growth.

These include workflow systems that provide integrated management of all production processes.

To find out more about the virtual exhibition, you will need to subscribe to Fujifilm’s email newsletter by visiting www.believinginprint. fujifilm.com. www.sprinter.com.au

We imagined the technology …and made it happen.

The Jet Press 750S is the product of Fujifilm’s decades of experience and expertise in leading world-class print and inkjet systems. With the next generation of SAMBATM inkjet printheads, the most advanced printheads available today – delivering single-pass printing at 1200 dpi with 4-level grayscale. The Jet Press 750S combines the proven, proprietary Fujifilm Inkjet Technology integrated into an inkjet press like no other.

And we’re about to make it better. Visit www.believinginprint.fujifilm.com to learn more about the new high-speed Jet Press 750SH with up to 5,400 B2 sheets per hour.

Contact Fujifilm and talk with one of our print experts about how it could solve some of the challenges you face in today’s market, and how this unique and extraordinary machine can drive your business forward.

Fujifilm Australia p: 1300 650 504 w: fujifilm.com/au

Fujifilm Business Innovation Australia p: 13 14 12 w: fujifilm.com/fbau

BELIEVING IN PRINT

FUJIFILM Virtual Exhibition 24 June - 09 July 2021 believinginprint.fujifilm.com

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

People Technology Business

www.sprinter.com.au April 2021

Fujifilm Acuity Ultra trifecta at Cactus Imaging j

Sovereign presses on

Fashioning the future

Spot Productions

Ballarat printer beats COVID with Heidelberg CD74 and new premises

Textile, home décor and fashion continue to create print opportunities

Simon Carmody’s take on what the industry needs to thrive in the future

ProPrint April 2021 Book.indb 1

20 april

26 april

29 april

NO CHANGE FOR KONGSBERG CUSTOMERS Australia and New Zealand’s 250-plus Kongsberg cutter owners have been assured nothing will change following Esko’s sale of the company to OpenGate Capital.

Kongsberg Precision Cutting Systems President, Stuart Fox (pictured), told ProPrint sales, service, spare parts and consumables will not change and that it is business as usual.

“Our customers will continue to receive the same level of service from our team and can expect business as usual. They can be reassured they will recognise not just many faces but also the quality of service they receive, and that they will continue to receive the same professional and passionate assistance from our incredibly dedicated team,” Fox said.

QLD PUBLISHER & PRINTER WINS PRIZE Ocean Reeve Publishing, the company that bought Clark & Mackay last year, has won a 2021 APAC Australian Enterprise Award.

The business specialises in publishing the works of independent and self-published authors. Founder, Ocean Reeve, says his business offers a worldfirst tailored solution for selfpublished authors which also includes mentoring. “I created ORP to give first-time authors the tools and support to help bring their books to life and create superhero authors who aim to inspire positive change in the world,” Reeve said. He added the recognition by an international organisation is immensely exciting.

FUJIFILM’S NEW HIGHSPEED JETPRESS 750S Fujifilm used virtual. drupa to unveil its latest version of the Jet Press 750S – a highspeed sheet-fed digital inkjet which can print 5,400 B2 sheets per hour. In addition to all the benefits offered by its ultra-high image quality, colour consistency certified

by Idealiance, and more than 90 per cent up-time, this new model retains all the features of the current Jet Press 750S for commercial and folding carton package printing applications.

21 april

27 april

DYE-SUB SALES BUCK TREND: IDC A new IDC report shows A/NZ industrial printer shipments declined by 35% in 2020 with dye-sublimation printers the only type of printer to buck this trend amid booming demand for retail, souvenir and t-shirt printing. IDC market analyst Muhammad Faris Latief put the overall drop down to the COVIDinduced economic slowdown, sluggish business sentiment and limited hardware and equipment availability. The report also found high costs related to a “sluggish” freight system were also to blame. It also noted a 100% YOY increase in dye sublimation printing shipments to Australia with the growth attributed to the 24-inch dye-sub market. It also found A/NZ is experiencing strong economic growth as a result of increased consumer and business confidence as the COVID-19 recovery continues.

VIRTUAL.DRUPA A SUCCESS virtual.drupa organisers say they succeeded in bridging the COVIDinduced gap by providing an event which allowed the packaging and print sectors to stay connected until face-to-face trade events can resume. The four-day online event showcased 212 exhibitors with visitors from 35 countries tuning in to watch 125 web sessions and demonstrations. Messe Düsseldorf Chief Operating Officer, Erhard Wienkamp, said: “virtual.drupa enabled exhibitors and prospective customers to reinforce their networks, generate new leads and gather incentives for their corporate targets,” Wienkamp said. Messe Düsseldorf Project Director Print Technologies, Sabine Geldermann, added: “The overwhelming number of global players has resulted in an industry dialogue that was particularly important during this time.”

scan to watch Cactus

31/3/21 3:04 pm

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16 ProPrint June 2021

www.sprinter.com.au

UPDATE

4 may

8 may

15 may

HEIDELBERG DEMAND UP Heidelberg says early figures show it has exceeded its own net sales and operating margin forecast for 2020/21. “Thanks to a strong final quarter, sales of around 1.9b euros were slightly above the forecast range of 1.85b to 1.90b,” it said. Heidelberg attributed this to rising demand particularly in China, parts of Europe and incoming US orders of around 2b euro. It says in the fourth quarter orders rose to 579m euro, from 462m euro yoy. Heidelberg CEO Rainer Hundsdörfer said this has meant the business has continued its recovery since the pandemic low earlier. “The upturn in the regions makes us confident that we will be able to continue our upward trend in net sales and margin in the future,” he said.

MINUTEMAN PRESS PRAHRAN’S RECOVERY Vivienne and Nick Kane, owners of the Minuteman Press outlet in Melbourne’s Prahran, have given some tips on their post-pandemic recovery. The journey centres around reaching out to local businesses and making sure they had plenty of high demand stock like calendars, short-run books and POS available. Direct marketing also played a role in helping the business get through and regain customers. “We kept in touch with our customers and remained consistent. Having been in business for many years and having a broad customer base also helped with the recovery,” Nick Kane said. “I visited every café, bar and restaurant in my area.”

PRINTERS SHINE IN OMA COMPETITION Cactus Imaging, Mint Imaging, Grand Print Services and Blow Up Imaging were among the winners in the latest Outdoor Media Association Creative Collection awards. Cactus Imaging won the Big, Bold and Bright category for its Subway campaign, while Grand Print Services received an honourable mention for its Mardi Gras Parade campaign in the same category. Mint Imaging and Blow Up Imaging won the Out of Home for Good category for the Stop it at the Start campaign.

OMA CEO Charmaine Moldrich was thrilled with the entries received.

“We are seeing advertisers return to our channel with vigour, and in the best possible way: with big, bold creative, and clever messages.”

1 may

6 may

10 may

QUADIENT OWNER RELOCATES Smartech Business Systems, the Asia Pacific graphic technology solutions provider which recently purchased Quadient Oceania, has relocated its headquarters from Hong Kong to Sydney. Australia’s economic resilience and growth opportunities in the energy, resources, technology, food and beverage sectors were key decision drivers. Smartech Business Systems President and CEO, Vincent Nair, said political unrest in Hong Kong was another factor. “Australian investors are choosing to invest their money closer to home and back companies that directly participate in the Australian economy,” Nair said. “Due to the complexities of running an international business in Hong Kong at a time of significant political unrest we took the decision to relocate our HQ to my home country.” Smartech has 135 employees in Australia.

INKMAKER GROUP NOW IM GROUP Italian paint and ink manufacturer and supplier, Inkmaker Group, has rebranded itself to IM Group.

Inkmaker Group has acquired several companies in recent years and has expertise in intel, technology and hardware so it says the new name better represents this. “The decision to rebrand Inkmaker Group as IM Group stems from the group’s vision, which is to evolve our technology to expand in our fields and adapt, the advantages of our products, to new markets,” IM Group EMEA and Americas CEO Christophe Rizzo said. “Since October 2019, Inkmaker has made large investments, on the acquisitions of the businesses of Rexson and Valtech, in UK; Tecnopails, in Italy; and most recently Swesa, in Germany. The driving strategy behind these acquisitions was to create a reliable complete supply chain serving predominantly, but not only, the ink, paint and coatings industry, to sustain our core businesses.

FESPA AUST IN SMIB DEAL Fespa Australia is partnering with Sign Manufacturer Insurance Broker (SMIB), part of the Sear Insurance Group, for specialised insurance brokerage.

SMIB is one of Australia’s largest industry specific insurance brokers and deals exclusively with sign, graphics and printing companies. SMIB arranges and advises on commercial insurance matters for clients across the country. “I’ve seen first-hand the devastating impact a major loss can have but knowing that you have a dedicated and experienced insurance broker that understands your business and, more importantly, the industry, definitely offers peace of mind,” Fespa Australia president Nigel Davies (pictured) said. “To be able to offer competitive rates of insurance specifically designed to cater for the risks our industry can face, is a huge benefit to our members.”

SMIB says it has a distinct advantage over any other broker when it comes to this industry.

www.sprinter.com.au

June 2021 ProPrint 17

COMMENT

Let’s talk about mental health Steven Gamble has worked in the Australian printing industry since he was 16. He is the national sales manager for Böttcher Systems but in recent years he has also advocated for increased mental health awareness across a variety of sectors and community groups.

STEVEN GAMBLE

A

s a passionate advocate for positive change in the way we address mental health in our community, I often get asked what I believe is the key to improving the mental health of Australians and I say it is simply “education”.

Now I know a few of you will be thinking education? How is education going to support someone with an acute psychotic disorder or a person having thoughts of suicide?

It is simple, like any other illness the sooner you seek support and treatment the sooner you will be well.

Having an educated community with even the most basic level of mental health literacy can kick start a chain reaction to support positive health with prevention and early intervention.

Prevention, early intervention, and education go hand in hand. With education we provide so many opportunities to improve the mental health of Australians through a few key areas.

• Community perception and awareness; • Normalisation of healthy communication around mental health; • The ability to identify changes in health; • Proactive preventative lifestyle and complementary changes; • Early clinical intervention; • Clear referral pathways; • Reduction in misdiagnoses; • Understanding risk factors such as biological, psychological and social.

Each of the above points are an opportunity to reduce risk, improve recovery times, severity of illness and risk of illness re-occurring.

If we were to look at a snapshot of mental health in Australia today, we would see that 1 in 5 Australians aged between the ages of 16 to 85 will experience a common mental illness in a 12-month period.

The three most common mental illnesses 18 ProPrint June 2021

Man Anchor founder Steve Gamble delivers some useful mental health insights at a recent Women in Print breakfast in Sydney.

for Australians in this age bracket are anxiety disorders, depressive and bipolar disorder followed by substances use disorder.

The breakdown of that would look like is this.

1. Anxiety disorders 14.4%, males 10.8% / females 17.9%; 2. Depressive and bipolar disorders 6.2%, males 5.3% / females 7.1%; 3. Substance use disorder 5.1%, males 7.0% / females 3.3%.

What is important to recognise in the above statistics is that 11.5% of the above Australians are living with one disorder and 8.5% are living with two or more disorders.

Now, if we were to stop here with this basic bit of insight into mental health in our community what would it do?

It would help us: • Recognise how common mental illness is; • Think about the people in your life and their health; • T ake check of your own health.

One other factor that can be heavily influenced by education is the number of

people in Australia living with a mental illness that are not seeking treatment.

Of the three most common illnesses only 35% of people seek clinical support (59% of people with a depressive disorder, 38% with anxiety disorder and 24% with a substance use disorder).

Now there are several reasons this occurs, and I am happy to say that many of these perceived barriers can be removed through education as: 1. People do not know they are unwell; 2. They do not know who to talk to or where to start; 3. Cost and time that it takes; 4. They are afraid of the stigma related to illness; 5. That burden of the illness itself is preventing them; 6. The availability of care; 7. That they have been for help and felt they have not been heard.

The impact of mental health education with prevention and early intervention can drastically change the landscape of health in our country.

As we look at it now, it is the third highest ranked disability behind cancer and cardiovascular disease.

To support and build a better understanding of mental illness within our community and industry, I believe it will be a positive step to unpack the common mental illnesses over the next few editions of ProPrint.

This will support positive growth in our mental health literacy and create an opportunity to look after ourselves as well as those around us.

We will address anxiety disorders, depressive / bipolar disorder and substance use disorder.

We will look at where this disorder is born from, who it affects, what are some of the risk factors and identify potential signs and symptoms and treatment.

If you feel you are in crisis or need support Lifeline is there 24/7 on 13 11 14. www.sprinter.com.au

PRINT DIARY

EVENT

LOCATION

DATE

Fujifilm ‘Believing in Print’ exhibition

Online

June 23 – July 9

TRMC ‘Power of Print’ webinar series

Online

June 23 – August 25

PacPrint

Melbourne

September 28 – October 1

ASGA & FESPA Australia HP Awards

Melbourne

September 28

38th National Print Awards

Melbourne

September 30

Got an event? Send an email to SYoung@intermedia.com.au with all the details and we will put your event on the page

Systems  Printing

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• Near total coverage of roller requirements for the graphic arts sector • Wide range of rollers for printing and packaging, laminating, gluing, transport and nip • Specialised services for non-standard applications • In-house expertise to help you achieve your production goals

Talk to us about the range of services we offer for all your roller maintenance needs.

WWW.BOTTCHERSYSTEMS.COM.AU National Free Call 1800 204 102

www.sprinter.com.au

June 2021 ProPrint 19

COMMENT

Power of Print – the importance of maintaining our A-game The Real Media Collective is building on the success of last year’s ‘Rebuild Together’ webinars with the ‘Power of Print’ series set to kick off in June.

I

KELLIE NORTHWOOD

n 2020 The Real Media Collective launched our first webinar series, titled ‘Rebuild Together’ which was an outstanding success for our members and broader industry. Running across eight weeks the series included speakers from the print industry and from other industries who wanted to share their experiences and knowledge to assist our industry rebuild through a post-COVID year. The series achieved over 24,000 engagement points across Australia which was an unprecedented achievement.

To continue the success and to assist businesses across the industry thrive, and not just merely survive, as we navigate our way through into a COVID-normal environment we are launching the ‘Power of Print’ series.

This follows a partnership with our UK sister group which runs the annual ‘Power of Print’ conference in London.

Our secured platinum sponsors are Konica Minolta and Australia Post with industry partner, Media Super. It must be said that without their support we simply could not run this important series and I do thank them for their involvement on behalf of all our members and broader industry.

We still have a few sponsorship places available, so keep an eye out on who else is supporting you so you can be better armed through this recovery period.

Launching on June 23, the series will run for 10 weeks.

Each webinar will start at 11am AEST, or 1pm NZT. The series will cover topics ranging from understanding our economic recoveries in both Australia and New Zealand to making sure your business is ready to sell or acquire.

They will also hear from customers to help printers understand what they want from their print partners.

There will also be a session on the technical requirements of packaging and brand building.

This series has it all and I have been overwhelmed with the line-up of talent.

Kicking us off is our very own Charles Watson, GM – IR, Policy and Governance. On June 23, 2021, Charles will lead the discussion

20 ProPrint June 2021

The webinars will run for 10 weeks from June 23.

which will wrap up the 2021 Budgets – what does this mean for me?

Charles will explore what was handed down by the treasurers of Australia and New Zealand while also exploring key announcements with a specific focus on our industry and how these apply to your businesses for the current year and planning for the years to follow.

Ensuring each and every business understands any and all opportunities is critical to setting ourselves up for the year ahead and this webinar will be a solid foundation for us all to tap into.

Following Charles, we will hear from Leon Wilson at Revolution Print in week two.

For those who don’t know Leon, I cannot speak highly enough of his passion and enthusiasm for our industry. A selfconfessed ‘print geek’, Leon has built a business with a strong brand presence and identity. This is no easy feat and requires sheer commitment to ensuring you set aside time to work ‘on your business’ and not only ‘in your business’.

In this webinar, Leon will lead our first ‘Share the Knowledge’ session as he explores how to build a brand that sticks.

He will explore the successes and learnings of Revolution Print, how the journey has evolved and the role of engaging brands to achieve success.

Week three is all about data.

This is an opportunity for all printers when considering how to upstream your

businesses for your clients.

Data management and acquisition remains within the top three commitments of focus for marketers across the country, however over 70 per cent admit they do not know how to achieve their targets.

Printers sit in an ideal space of being able to offer this service, take pain away from their customers and extend your offering to customers.

Our third webinar in the series ‘Data – it matters, how you can upstream your business’ is being run by Gordon Loch, Managing Director, List Factory.

Gordon holds extensive experience in direct marketing centres on data - prospect lists, data cooperatives, real time verification, segmentation, and data analytics products. Building from this expertise Gordon created List Factory in 2006 and since then the company has grown into the largest and most comprehensive data cooperative provider across the Tasman.

More speaker and sponsor announcements will follow, this is only the beginning of a wonderful journey with much needed content to grow our businesses.

All webinars will be recorded and available to attend live or listen to later or both. Encourage your teams to listen, host morning sessions with your teams to listen and discuss at the webinar conclusion. Learn from the wisdom and lessons of others to inspire your teams to think outside of the day to day. Register at www. therealmediacollective.com.au/ powerofprint/ The Real Media Collective is a not-forprofit industry association representing media channels that deliver results.

Member companies represent paper, print, publishing, mail, letterbox and distribution across Australia and New Zealand.

All activities and communications are delivered in a considered, researched, balanced and verifiable manner offering a sophisticated industry voice across producers, distributors, buyers and endusers.

Kellie Northwood is the Chief Executive Officer, The Real Media Collective.

For any questions related to this article, membership or if you have any other questions, contact kellie@thermc.com.au

www.sprinter.com.au

UV

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displays, window decorations, banners and vehicle wraps to wall coverings, floor stickers, custom cabinetry, flags and merchandise, Epson has the selection for you.

www.epson.com.au/prographics

YES

NO

1 20

A Z

The industry ranks the top 20 leaders and auditors will check it – no captain’s calls here folks!

Everyone else will be listed alphabetically.

All nominees can opt in or out.

The best part of the Power 50 has not changed.

Everyone can still get together and party.

Great networking — so you can do what you do best.







What is the Power 50?

The Power 50 has been recognising print industry leaders for 10 years and will continue to do so but with a few changes.

Only the top 20 leaders will be judged - everyone else will be named alphabetically.

A criteria to help with peer voting.

Did you know that nominees are also able to judge this peer-voted award?

Nominate someone for the Power 50 who you think is: · committed to lifting print’s profile · prepared to help other printers · passionate about environmental sustainability · willing to move their business forward

How can I get involved?

To enquire about nominations contact Sheree Young on syoung@intermedia.com.au.

To become a valued sponsor contact Carmen Ciappara on 0410 582 893 or carmen@proprint.com.au

PLATINUM SPONSOR

YES

A Z 

NO



Industry nominates a rising star from any part of print.

Each nominee is listed alphabetically.

All nominees can opt in or out.

The Emerging 50 fosters growth with recognition.

All nominees have the chance to enter for a mentorship prize.

Industry panel will again review and decide on the winner.

What is the Emerging 50?

The Emerging 50 recognises rising stars of print with ideally five years or less experience.

Nominees come from all corners of the industry: prepress and graphic design, production, post-press, distribution, sales, account management and administration.

Emerging 50 Mentorship Prize.

The Emerging 50 prize is a 12-month mentorship in partnership with The Real Media Collective. Nominees can enter for the opportunity to further develop their leadership skills.

Emerging 50 rising stars show: · enthusiasm for their work · willingness to learn and progress · eagerness to pass on their knowledge to others

How can I get involved?

To enquire about nominations contact Sheree Young on syoung@intermedia.com.au.

To become a valued sponsor contact Carmen Ciappara on 0410 582 893 or carmen@proprint.com.au

PLATINUM SPONSOR

Suppliers are crucial to a strong print industry.

So nominate who you think is most deserving.

You can nominate as many suppliers as you like.

Nominees come from all parts of supply from sales to servicing.

So, who do you know that is committed and collaborative?

A Z Everyone will be listed alphabetically.

What is the Supplier 50?

The Supplier 50 recognises the people who supply and service the industry to make it successful. Nominations open soon and it is possible to nominate more than one supplier.

Supplier 50 nominees will be listed alphabetically and can also attend the end of year party.

Supplier 50 nominees show: · commitment to providing quality service and advice · collaborative work ethic to find the best solution · proven record to go above and beyond to get the job done

How can I get involved?

To enquire about nominations contact Sheree Young on syoung@intermedia.com.au.

To become a valued sponsor contact Carmen Ciappara on 0410 582 893 or carmen@proprint.com.au

PLATINUM SPONSOR

25+ YEARS

Let’s celebrate an outstanding achiever in print.

Nominations will soon open for this award.

This person will have 25 years plus industry experience.

They will have made significant contributions to the industry.

They will still support print even if they’ve left the industry.

Do you know anyone who fits the bill? If so, please nominate them!

What is the Industry Achievement Award?

This exclusive award honours the work of an Outstanding Achiever in Print.

Nominations will soon open alongside the Power 50.

Who do you think is deserving of this honour?

The Outstanding Achiever in Print will have: · minimum 25 years industry experience · significantly contributed to industry through various board representations · been integral in improving the industry · supported print even if retired or no longer in the industry

How can I get involved?

To enquire about nominations contact Sheree Young on syoung@intermedia.com.au.

To become a valued sponsor contact Carmen Ciappara on 0410 582 893 or carmen@proprint.com.au

PLATINUM SPONSOR

PACPRINT 2021

Popular PacPrint Forums to return The PacPrint Forum Series is set to return to the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre during PacPrint 2021, offering a wide range of sessions to add extra value to the show for visitors keen to ‘review, rebuild and reconnect’ in a post-pandemic world.

P

acPrint has long been the industry’s premier exhibition, with a 50-year history of delivering the latest technologies and solutions to print and graphic communications businesses in a true ‘B2B’ business environment.

These days, of course, the show is broader than ever, not only encompassing traditional and digital print, finishing and production solutions, but also co-locating with the Visual Impact show for sign, display, wide-format, textile, engraving and related businesses, and the Label & Packaging Expo which will shine a light on one of the most perennially resilient and exciting sectors in our industry.

But while the breadth and diversity of the exhibition itself is the major drawcard to a show like PacPrint, it’s by no means the only attraction, with visitors to past shows consistently rating the ability to learn from the experts, stay up to date with trends, and gain important perspectives on business and innovation as a key reason for their high levels of post-show satisfaction.

In that context, it is good news to learn that the PacPrint Forum Series, which has been a fixture of the show for over a decade, will be making a return to the floor of the MCEC during PacPrint 2021, with a varied program of seminars that will offer something for visitors from all facets of the industry.

Sarah Moore, Business Development Manager for Visual Connections, which organises the event and co-hosts it with the Print & Visual Communications Association (PVCA), says the Forum Series is gradually coming together, and visitors can expect a challenging, engaging and interesting program.

“As we’ve done in the past, we’re trying to strike a good balance between broader sessions, considering issues like leadership,

Rowena Curlewis, CEO of Denomination, will feature in the PacPrint Forum Series.

management, diversification and future planning, with more specific sessions on everything from building codes, to sustainability, to disaster recovery,” she reports.

“As in past years, we’ll have some keynote sessions with experts addressing their particular area of knowledge and experience, mixed in with panel sessions bringing insights from industry insiders with a range of viewpoints, which always deliver lively and interesting discussions.”

While Moore says the team is still finalising the program, a couple of highlights have already been confirmed.

“Rowena Curlewis, CEO of Denomination, was a very popular speaker at PrintEx in Sydney a couple of years ago, and we’re delighted that she’s agreed to join us again for

The PacPrint Forum Series will cover topics ranging from leadership, management, diversification and future planning.

26 ProPrint June 2021

PacPrint, this time addressing the hot topic of sustainability in drinks and how innovation is driving progress in this important space,” Moore said.

“We are also glad to announce that Meqa Smith, founder of The Unforgettable Agency, will join us to explore the importance of leadership in managing staff and customers – and how coaching can help businesses in this important space.”

Panel sessions on how changes to building codes are impacting on the signage industry; how businesses can diversify for success; and the secret to businesses which have survived – and thrived – during the pandemic, are among other highlights likely to feature on the program, with more announcements set to be made shortly as speakers are confirmed.

“We are still locking down the final program but what we can say is that the PacPrint Forum Series will once again provide an opportunity for business owners to hear from global experts – not only those from various aspects of our own industry who will speak to the trends and technologies which are driving change, but also more broadly, bringing important economic and business expertise,” Moore says.

“This will help visitors put the technologies, systems and services they see on the show floor into context with prevailing industry and business trends, providing important direction for the discussions which will take place with suppliers and product experts on the show floor.”

The exhibition itself is expected to take up some 7000 square metres of space at the MCEC and is already 70 per cent subscribed, with more than 50 of the industry’s leading suppliers already confirmed as exhibitors and a number of others still finalising their plans.

Currie Group, Fujifilm Business Innovation, Konica Minolta, Spicers, HP, Epson, Starleaton, Hexis, Spicers, Roland DG, Graph-Pak, Europoles, Mimaki, Multicam, Europoles, Print IQ, Aldus, Trotec and Pozitive are among those who will be taking some of the event’s larger stands, with many familiar names as well as some newcomers making up a diverse and interesting show.

PacPrint 2021, Visual Impact Melbourne and the Label & Packaging Expo are co-hosted by the Print & Visual Communications Association and Visual Connections. They will run from 28 September to 1 October at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. To register, or for more information, go to www.pacprint. com.au. www.sprinter.com.au

PRESENTED BY

// 28th September – 1st October 2021 // Bays 1-11, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

Review.

Rebuild.

DATES // Tuesday 28 September 2021 // Wednesday 29 September 2021

Reconnect.

// Thursday 30 September 2021 // Friday 1st October 2021

2021

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

2021

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

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UPDATE DOWNTIME

Women in Print 2021 breakfasts a hit The women of Australia’s printing industry came together throughout May for a round of national breakfasts with mental health awareness and suicide prevention the key theme.

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DOWNTIME UPDATE

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1. Man Anchor founder Steven Gamble addresses the breakfast in Melbourne 2. Ashleigh Boyling, IVE Group; Steven Gamble, Man Anchor and Liz Whyte, Life Foundations 3. Jessica Gibson and Virginia Flint, Media Super 4. Danielle Palmer, Josephine Psaila and Fiona O’Dea of DIC 5. Sarah Moore, Visual Connections; Michelle Lees, HP; Debbie Burgess, Bright Print Group and Carmen Ciappara, ProPrint 6. Marina Garces and Sandra Duarte of Centrum Printing with Sheree Young, ProPrint 7. Marilyn Li, Emily Watterson, Nadja Zuza, Karen Lawley of Cactus Imaging with Tatjana Ferguson and Amanda McCarney of Konica Minolta 8. Women in Print’s Sydney breakfast room 9. Bright Print Group’s Julie Turnbull, Lisa Sharpham, Debbie Burgess and Suzanne Everett 10. Lauren Nguyen, Debbie Smith and Natalie Mortland of Ovato Distribution 11. Jennifer Sampson, Julia Shojai, Kerry Blanksby, Zaf Haq of IVE Group 12. A beautiful setting for the Women in Print breakfast in Brisbane 13. Queensland’s Women in Print Patron, Susan Heaney (second from right) with members of Brisbane’s print community 14. Ovato’s Sonya Beers, Katie Ashford, Julia Farrant, Toafa Filoa, Kaushani Bhattacharjee, Monique Lockington and Verlie Hodgson attend the Sydney event 15. Women in Print gather in Adelaide 16. Liz Whyte, Life Foundations; Sandy Aspinall, SA’s Women in Print Patron; Steven Gamble, Man Anchor 17. Sandy Aspinall, Women in Print SA Patron; with Cheryl Burgess, Alice Toone and Danni McKerron of MCC at the Adelaide event 18. Steven Gamble addresses the Brisbane breakfast 19. Kirsten Taylor, Victorian Women in Print Patron with her daughter Jesseca; Jenny Neumann of Taylor’d Press; Steven Gamble, Man Anchor; Kellie Northwood The Real Media Collective at the Melbourne event 20. Rachel Jenner, Jodie Peterkin, Bronwyn Lucas, Jessica Day, Karla Hopper, Kimberley Skinner at the Perth breakfast 21. Liz Whyte, Life Foundations; Steven Gamble, Man Anchor; Lisa Blachut, Women in Print WA Patron; Kellie Northwood, The Real Media Collective 22. Sigiriya Brown, BOTH with Ball Doggett’s Zaidee Jackson, Claire Newman, Lynn Quigg, Colleen Opie, Jane Jackson and Sofia Cerros in Melbourne 23. Connie Dailakis, Lee Gibson, Olivera Tupanceska and Puji Lestari attend the Perth breakfast

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June 2021 ProPrint 29

UPDATE DOWNTIME

FESPA Australia’s annual golf tournament A keen, lively and enthusiastic group of FESPA Australia members recently took part in an industry golf day at Sandhurst Golf Club in Melbourne. FESPA Australia president, Nigel Davies, says the annual event offers a great way for members to develop relationships with clients and suppliers, while also having a fair amount of fun.

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1. Overall tournament winners Peter Barlow, Image Digital and Ewen Donaldson, Vivad 2. James Fortune, Resolution Imaging and Mark Brooks, Ancyn Screen Printing 3. Matt Abraham, SMIB and David Asker, ImageBox 4. Paul Whitehead, Currie Group and Dominic Borrello, ImageBox 5. Jason Rewse, HVG 6. Greig Wood, Kissel & Wolf and David Asker, ImageBox 7. SMIB Team: Kris Fowler, Patrick Sear, Nicholas Sear and Matt Abraham 8. Mick Harrold, Visual Exposure and Nic Petley, Burnmark Construction 9. ASGA Team: Nic Petley, Burnmark Constructions; Leigh Hocking, Eastwide Electrical; Mick Harrold, Visual Exposure and Adam Whitford, Civic Outdoor Media

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Q&A

A life’s work Rob Hansen has owned Hansen Design & Print in regional South Australia for 41 years. He often wonders why he didn’t opt for a quiet life running the local bookshop, but he says he wouldn’t give it up for quids. Read on to learn more about how he sees the industry right now.

You operate four regional print operations, three in South Australia and one in Victoria, who are your main customers?

The customers at all our locations are very similar. We do government, tourism and transport work and we are also involved in local agriculture, wine and events industries.

We also produce the weekly Footy Budget.

During COVID we were approached by a local entrepreneur to do the graphic design work for the Naracoorte News, a new independent paper here. So, our team of graphic designers pull that together each week. It is printed in Mt Barker by the familyowned Mt Barker Courier, but we do the graphic design component of it.

What is the split between digital, offset work at your business?

This varies but I would say that offset is about 70 per cent of our work but the benefit for us is having offset and digital under one roof. The digital press runs non-stop on small runs and we often have to produce 100 to 500 copies of booklets so digital is perfect for that.

But many jobs require both digital and offset printing. The Footy Budget cover is full colour and the inside is black and white, so we do the cover on the digital and use offset for the insides.

I don’t think we would survive if we didn’t have both digital and offset printing as the versatility it offers is perfect.

The beauty of digital and offset these days is there is not that much difference in the final result. Most people can’t even pick the difference because it has improved so much.

We do a lot of wide format printing here, but not so much packaging. We get a lot of people coming in off the street looking for posters and things like that.

How many staff do you employ?

We employ 20 staff in total with three apprentices – two graphic design and one print machinist. Two apprentices are currently with Print Training Australia and one has just been fast-tracked through TAFE SA because they have washed their hands of print training in South Australia. This means this apprentice (Fletcher Masters) will finish up just before TAFE SA closes the doors to print training, which is extremely disappointing. I’ve been told that from June 30 TAFE SA will not be

Rob Hansen (far left) and his team at Hansen Design & Print in Naracoorte in South Australia

accepting anymore apprentices of any type to do with print. The printing school for print machining closed four or five years ago and when they closed, they sold off their equipment and fortunately I bought one of their machines, the Heidelberg SM52.

Print Training Australia manages the training, but they are not, in my opinion, as professional and thorough as Holmesglen in Melbourne is. So, I am working to try and work out a relationship between the SA Government and Holmesglen so our apprentices can go there instead. The SA Government is supportive but at this stage Holmesglen need an idea of numbers which is difficult to predict. If we can get this worked out it would be like the arrangement Tasmania currently has with Holmesglen.

The issue for TAFE SA is they have to provide a significant number of resources for low numbers. I accept that. But if they make that decision and close it down, they need to offer a professional alternative for training.

What we really need to look at is what is the average age of a printer out there? The printing industry employs a lot of middle aged employees. When they retire the industry is going to be in trouble if we don’t put on more apprentices now.

How has COVID impacted your business?

The day COVID hit it knocked my business for six. In the first month we dropped 60 per cent and I thought “how will we survive this”.

Fortunately, the month or two after that improved and we went from 60 per cent down to 30 per cent and then JobKeeper kept us going until the end of last year, but now we are back on track. This is a sensational result for us as a lot of events are still not being held because of COVID. Fortunately, other than that one horrid month, in which I just stared at the wall thinking how can I gainfully employ all my staff, it just picked up and kept picking up.

Then a guy walked in and asked us if we could help him put together his newspaper so there was a bit of light there and ever since then it has just improved month on month.

It was just such a shock when COVID hit.

My wife came in and saw how white I was, and we talked it through. Fortunately, my staff were incredibly supportive, I had some staff who just came in, closed the door and said I’ve got some holidays, long service leave and I am happy to take it. Without the staff’s support I would have been in trouble.

COVID was also a positive for myself and my business. It made me look at all sorts of avenues of where we need to go to move www.sprinter.com.au

forward so that helped me – you shake yourself off a bit and you think, right that was that, how do we survive this horrid thing?

I would say my business is going better now than it was before. Before COVID hit we were heading for our best trading year ever, pity we didn’t get there.

But we have picked up where we were before which to be honest is still a surprise because the number of events are still not back operating.

What are the biggest challenges facing the print sector right now?

The supply of raw materials and freight.

Paper can be hard to get but I am hoping that we are through the worst of that now.

The problem I see is that paper suppliers retrenched a lot of people when COVID hit.

So, now the people that are left have to hold the fort. It was fairly quiet for a while, but it is starting to pick up again and those people are not being re-employed and this is putting extra pressure on suppliers.

We have had reps that have been with the companies for over 10, 20 or 30 years and they are currently walking the streets with all their expertise wasted.

But it is really a supply issue. There are always issues with the boats coming in and where the paper is manufactured has had COVID problems so it might not be operating as normal in their factories. It was a serious problem two months ago when paper was rationed out, but it is a lot better now.

What sort of support does the industry need to be stronger, in your opinion?

We need a massive campaign to promote printing in Australia. You have to ask why are we getting our most popular cookbooks printed overseas? Every cookbook and large book of whatever topic is printed in China and when you consider what China is doing to us, why should we support them? Locally, our wine and lobster industry is really suffering.

I wonder whether we need to introduce the Book Bounty again? A lot of people won’t even know what that it is but it was a subsidy to help support the Australian print industry. So, if you were producing a particular book and you were competing against overseas printers, the government would support you by paying a percentage to the printer which got the price down to compete against overseas. This stopped a long time ago, maybe over 20 years ago, but it worked, and it was brilliant. It also made people think.

We have the resources to run a campaign like this – we have got the media outlets. But it www.sprinter.com.au

41 years in print: Rob Hansen, owner Hansen Design & Print

needs a lot of money thrown at it to promote it properly on TV, social media and other advertising.

I know The Real Media Collective are very strong on that at the moment, it definitely needs support.

You can’t name and shame the cookbook brands, but you have to ask why proud Australian chefs are letting their books be printed overseas. The publishers and the companies that manage the production of those books are out to get as much as possible for these books and fair enough, we all are. But they really need to have their hands slapped and say “hey, let’s look at getting it done in Australia from now on please”.

I mean the consumer might have to pay another dollar, but these types of books aren’t cheap anyway.

What are the biggest challenges facing your business?

Staffing is always a problem. Getting someone to move to a regional town is damn near impossible. Sometimes we can be lucky. A classic example is years ago we got a printer and his wife to move to Naracoorte. They moved and then the rest of the family followed, and they all were gainfully employed in the town as well. It is a big move for someone who has lived in the city their whole life to come to a rural town. You either love it or you hate it – it is a big call.

What is it that your business can offer, that large printers cannot?

We pride ourselves on having genuine one-onone relationships with our customers. Because of the logistics and the people around here we know their business reasonably well. This means there is an easy interaction between the design and the print teams and that business. I think this is fairly important and we are proud to have a great team of people who readily keep in contact with all our clients.

because I was a city boy. But what I like about it is everyday there is a different challenge, a different project and there is a great variety of work that we do. If we just did the same thing week in and week out, I would go nuts. I also love the crew that work here. The staff I have are sensational so that keeps me going. There are times when I thought why my wife and I didn’t just buy the little bookshop down the road, but this business has given us a lifestyle that has been sensational in supporting ourselves and all our 20 staff.

What are the opportunities going forward?

The print industry changed dramatically. Even here on the Limestone Coast there was a time when a paper rep would make eight, 10 to 12 calls to printers here, but now it is just two.

Consolidation is happening all around, and we are fortunate that we have benefited from this consolidation. We are still here because we offer a total service with design, digital, wide format and promotional print all under one roof.

How do you unwind?

I love to travel but that is limited at the moment. I read a lot of books and we have a scrub block out of town and we go there and get away from it all. It is in the middle of nowhere and is virgin scrub. We go there in winter, have a fire and a few red wines, it is absolutely the best. There are all sorts of animals everywhere, and it is very relaxing.

Back where it all began: Hansen Printing in the 1950s

What do you love about print?

Well, I’ve had 41 years of it! Forty-one years in the same business takes a lot. I did my trade in Adelaide and then I moved to Naracoorte which was a hell of a culture shock for me June 2021 ProPrint 33

COVER STORY

Renz Australia: 40 years on Renz Australia is celebrating 40 years in business with the launch of a versatile range of case making and binding equipment that promises to grant printers of any size a costeffective entry into the lucrative hard cover book market.

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enz Australia has quite a lot to be excited about right now.

Not only is the wholly owned subsidiary of Renz Germany turning 40, but it has also added a new range of game-changing German-made case making and binding equipment to its supply offering, which already boasts a number of well-regarded finishing equipment brands.

The latest offering is manufactured by Schmedt from Hamburg in Germany. It is a modular system made up of five separate pieces which can be combined to suit individual customer needs and budgets.

Schmedt developed the range with the low to mid-volume print producer or finisher in mind. The small physical size of each unit

and the entry-level price tag make them a real option for operators that may have been put off in the past from entering the hard cover book market due to price of entry.

The Schmedt range is best at home producing between 100 and 500 case bound books at a time and Renz Australia sales director, Tim Killen, says this capability fits perfectly with the increasing popularity of self-published books, family history almanacs and photobooks.

A decade ago, a common topic of industry discussion was on whether the hard cover book market would keep growing and if it had seen its day. But the unstoppable rush on hard cover books – and an increasing hunger for them to be more beautiful and tactile – shows demand will only increase.

Killen says if COVID-19 has taught the industry anything it is that demand for highquality hard cover books and specialist publications that exist in the ‘real world’ and are not confined to a computer or mobile phone will keep growing.

“During the pandemic, our customers reported an enormous increase in demand for this type of work and we also noticed an increase in enquiries for this type of equipment. This was predominantly when Melbourne was in lockdown and people had lots of time on their hands,” Killen said.

“There was an increase in demand for tactile products.

“They didn’t want it on their phone, they wanted something that could sit on their table and they could open or could give as a special present.

“I remember having conversations with people 10 years ago who were asking whether the rise of hard cover books driven by the demand for photobooks had reached its peak, however I don’t think we’ve hit that peak yet.

“In the early days, the emphasis was on cheap and cheerful, however these days we’re seeing our customers put more effort into creating beautiful high quality finished products, which is being made easier with the new Schmedt range.”

In the early days, the emphasis was on cheap and cheerful, however these days we’re seeing our customers put more effort into creating beautiful high quality finished products, which is being made easier with the new Schmedt range Tim Killen, sales director, Renz Australia Renz Australia directors Luke Townsend and Tim Killen say the beauty of 34 June is 2021 the ProPrint Schmedt range it can be tailored to suit the need of any printer.

www.sprinter.com.au

Committed to helping businesses grow: Renz Australia directors (L-R) Luke Townsend and Tim Killen.

Killen says in his 20 years with Renz Australia he has had many smaller printers saying they would like to offer case binding but equipement set-up costs were prohibitive.

He says the Schmedt range has created a new entry point and with three Schmedt installations completed in the last 12 months, it appears the range is finding its sweet spot.

“Self-published authors are finding they are developing a growing fan base and some fans are so fanatical about their work that they also want the book or the whole series in hard cover,” Killen said.

“Prior to this new range it required a higher investment to get involved, however, now we are starting to see more people becoming interested and looking to add case making and binding solutions to their business.”

Unpacking the Schmedt range

The range consists of the PräziCoat Type 400 Hot and Cold Gluing machine, PräDeck Case Maker and PräKant Turning-in machine for manufacturing the case.

There is also the new PräLeg XS and PräForm XS which marries the book block and case together and gives it that beautiful crisp formed joint, enabling hard cover books to be printed and finished all in house.

Killen says the beauty of the Schmedt systems is that although manual handling is required, it makes it significantly easier for operators with limited skill or experience in book binding to repeat the process with a consistently high-quality finish.

“The other bonus is that depending on volume requirements, additional equipment featuring significantly higher automation can be purchased to complement the setup,” he said. www.sprinter.com.au

Three happy customers so far

Renz Australia has now installed a Schmedt set-up at Sydney’s Twin Loop Binding and Kaligraphic Print. In House Print in Brisbane has also installed the Schmedt range but added the tablet-controlled GP² Tech G2 Hot Gluer. This gluer is connected to its own water source and start-up times can be preprogrammed, so the glue is ready to go when the operator arrives for work in the morning.

Adding automation

As many operators in the photobook and book printing industry are aware, Renz Australia also imports, distributes and is the service agent for the American made GP² Tech range of equipment. This includes the G2 Hot Gluer, SC-3 Autocase, CT-1 Cover Trimmer and Cover-1 system case making equipment which increase automation and further reduces the requirement for highly skilled bindery staff for higher volume and seasonal operations.

Another evolution for a business as it meets market demands

The additions to the Renz Australia range are yet another progression in the evolution of the company.

When the business was first created in 1981 by Doug Fowler and Paul Cohen it was called Masterbind International and was known for providing top quality service in the document presentation space.

For many years, Masterbind International worked closely with Renz Germany – a company known for manufacturing highquality and well-engineered German-made punching and binding equipment and consumables for the office, print on demand and professional markets.

In 2005, Renz Germany bought Masterbind International and it was renamed Renz Australia.

The name and ownership may have changed since then, but Renz Australia’s commitment to personalised customer service has not.

The Renz range continues to make up the core of the Renz Australia business but in 2019 it made some additions.

These include the Plockmatic and Watkiss offline range of booklet makers and the Morgana range of creasers, folders, PUR binders and rotary die cutting equipment.

Add to this the PlastiKoil plastic spiral inserting equipment, GMP range of lamination equipment, Masterbind Perfect Binders, Guillotines, Paper Drills, Round Corner Cutters, Creasers, Scorers, Perforators and Rotatrim paper trimmers and you have a business that is able to provide the full offering of finishing equipment, consumables as well as after sales support and service to an industry it has supplied and supported for 40 years.

Fowler and Cohen have both now retired and last year Killen and Luke Townsend, who both joined Renz Australia in the early 2000s, became the company’s new local directors.

“If you want to know about hard cover manufacturing and you want to speak to people who know what they are talking about and have runs on the board when it comes to experience, then we are really at the forefront of it in Australia,” Killen says.

For more information about Renz Australia and the productions available, please visit: https://www.renz.com.au/ PP Continued on page 36 June 2021 ProPrint 35

COVER STORY Continued from page 35

Twin Loop Binding Sydney-based Twin Loop Binding has been providing finishing services to the print industry for nearly 30 years. Initially the business provided wire binding services but went on to add spiral binding, saddle stitching, loop stitching and EVA and PUR perfect binding. Recently owner Wayne Rubin noticed increasing numbers of customers asking for case binding.

With a desire to stay relevant, Rubin began researching what was on offer.

Having already developed a good relationship with Renz Australia as he had previously purchased a wire closer and more recently a cello glazing machine, this seemed like the best place to go.

The German-built Schmedt range ended up winning out. This was not only because of its good quality and the training and installation support provided by Renz, but

It just made more sense to go local: Twin Loop Binding owner Wayne Rubin.

also due to its modular make-up.

“There was other equipment we were looking at, but this set up is modulated so it means we can have multiple people working on it at the same time which is quite unique. We are a ‘just in time’

business and a lot of our customers need the jobs in a hurry, so we often have different staff on different jobs and this equipment allows us to do that,” Rubin said.

Rubin used the federal government’s instant asset write-off incentive and has not looked back.

He said the support he received from Renz Australia was top notch.

“There is always someone cheaper, especially if you start looking online, but we did a lot of cost analysis and it made more sense to go with a local Australian company,” Rubin said.

“The guys who are running Renz Australia are young and dynamic and we think they are going to be around for a long time with us. We feel we have a good relationship with them, and this will only continue.”

Kaligraphic Print Kaligraphic Print is a small but mighty printer in Sydney’s inner west which has built a strong customer base of selfpublished authors looking for a printer happy to do short runs - some orders are for as few as 20 books. Many authors also want special editions of their work published in hard cover case bound. Until last year, Kaligraphic Print owner, Katya Shmaiger, was sending the hard cover work to another printer but with demand growing, she decided to invest in a Schmedt system through Renz Australia.

“We have been doing paperback soft covers for some time now so adding this Schmedt system for hard covers has been a natural progression for us,” Shmaiger said.

“It means we have control over timing and quality which is really important.

“When you outsource this part of the job

Grasping opportunities: (L:R) Kaligraphic Print’s Jerome Dizon, Katya Shmaiger, Nikita Shmaiger, Alex Shmayger

it restricts you in certain ways. Now, we can experiment, we can try different finishes and use foils on the covers.

Shmaiger said hard cover work is now about 15 per cent of the total business and she only sees this increasing.

Shmaiger added all five parts of the Schmedt range as she wanted a more automated set up. But she says it is possible to add one, two or three parts depending on what you need.

“We have a small team so we knew we needed to automate as much as we could, so we bought the whole set and have absolutely no regrets as it is perfect for us,” she said.

“The machines are also quite small, and they fit on a table and we have space underneath for storage.”

She said Renz Australia were wonderful to deal with and were accommodating with payment terms.

“We know Renz from previous purchases, and they know our team very well. Luke and Tim are both very accommodating, so it was all very easy.”

In House Print & Design Bob Karlsson started his Brisbane business, In House Print & Design, in 1997. Book publishing is a large part of the business and until recently the hard cover work was sent to China. Last year, Karlsson decided to bring this in-house. “We believe in Australian made. We are a family business with my grandson, granddaughter, daughter, and son-in-law all working here,” he said.

After discussions with Renz Australia, Karlsson decided to install the full Schmedt case-binding range. He wanted more automation, so he added the tabletcontrolled US-made GP² Tech G2 Hot Gluer.

The gluer is connected to its own water source which controls the amount that is supplied to the unit. Temperature and timing can be pre-set so when the operator arrives, the unit is ready to go.

36 ProPrint June 2021

In-House Print owner Bob Karlsson (left) with his grandson, Vivian Matthews.

“It is a very good set up and we are very happy with it. The machines are working well and have proven to be very reliable,” Karlsson said.

“Renz has also been very good to deal

with. They have been very supportive. The products are also reasonably priced which is another bonus.”

The decision is already paying dividends with over 5,000 perfect bound books and 1,200 hard cover books now printed and bound, in house with the equipment.

Bringing this process in-house has also shortened turnaround times from two to four weeks from 12 to 16 weeks.

“My grandson has been taught by Renz about how to operate the machine.

“He is a very precise person which is what you need to produce hard cover books. He is also doing a print apprenticeship at the moment and it is going very well,” Karlsson said.

He adds book printing will continue to grow as increasing numbers of people decide to write their own books. www.sprinter.com.au

RENZ German Made binding machines. Whether you require a small desktop or industrial inline punch and bind solution or something in between RENZ machines provide the world’s most reliable cost-effective solutions for all print on demand, mid and full commercial printers, and industrial trade finishers.

Schmedt Germany have been making hard cover binding equipment since 1967. With the addition of the XS line Schmedt now provides equipment solutions for all operators looking to bring hard cover binding in house.

Over 40-years’ experience in manufacturing finishing equipment under the Plockmatic, Morgana and Watkiss brands. Plockmatic Group offers a greater number of offline / nearline finishing equipment solutions than any other manufacturer, so if you need to fold, cut, crease, perforate, die cut, number, PUR Bind or make an A4 landscape booklet with SquareFold and bleed trim up to 200 pages all in one pass we’ve got you covered.

SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | BRISBANE

1300 859 471 www.renz.com.au

New possibilities await by upgrading, supplementing exiting equipment or bringing your print finishing in-house, make the first move to greater profits and control in your business and get in touch today.

Print X One managing director Paul Coniglio says having agility in premium and niche markets is what sets his wholesale wide format business apart from others.

Just the beginning for Print X One Buying a business and doing an MBA is no mean feat, but Paul Coniglio says his recent purchase of wholesale wide format business Print X, now known as Print X One, is just the beginning.

By Sheree Young

G

oing above and beyond to find the absolute best solution for customers is at the core of everything Paul Coniglio and his team at Print X One in Melbourne does.

Some may think Coniglio has had somewhat of a standing start to his foray into owning his own print business. Print X – the business he came in to run in October last year and went on to buy – had been closed for seven months during COVID. But having clocked up 20 years working in the signage and display space as the general manager of Conect Enterprises before becoming the Asia Pacific head of films manufacturer, Metamark, Coniglio says the prospect of buying a business in the midst of a 38 ProPrint June 2021

pandemic wasn’t as challenging as it may first appear.

He says his entrepreneurship-focused MBA, of which he is three quarters through, has given him valuable learnings which helped him target his sales and marketing efforts to help with the transition. This along with years of print industry experience and good insights into the ups and downs of running a business gave him a strong set of attributes to move forward with his strategic plan.

Coniglio finalised the purchase of Print X from Motor One Group – a specialist in aftermarket window tinting for car dealerships and corporate glass window finishing – in April this year.

And since then, he has worked to re-build an ailing customer base and re-brand the business to Print X One, a name he says reflects the business’ commitment to be the one destination for printers needing wide format work done.

This has all come in the midst of completing his MBA, while also dealing with the constant run of important jobs that must be done when transitioning from the role of being a general manager to an owner of a business.

“I basically had to restart the business from nothing which has been very challenging but with a bit of MBA learning, industry knowledge and relationships and plenty of capacity, we have had the opportunity to build a modern business that is customer-driven,” Coniglio told ProPrint.

Capacity well taken care of

In addition to signing a three-year lease at the current site in Mount Waverley, described by Coniglio as a “beautiful location literally in the heart of Melbourne”, the business’ print capabilities are covered.

There are four Durst printers on site including a 512r five metre printer; a P10 rollto-roll which prints 3.2 metres wide and two P10 160 UV flatbed printers. There are also two MTEX fabric printers, which can handle fabrics 3.2 metres wide.

The finishing side of things is handled with cutters from Zünd and Esko.

This level of capability means Print X One can handle textile, corflute and foamboard printing as it strives to meet customer needs for all manner of point-of-sale items, signage and display.

Coniglio now has a full-time production manager working within a team of 12 with four staff totally focused on sales. Many of the staff came over with the business, bringing with them decades of highly valued industry experience.

“Knowing what I wanted to achieve and having the MBA skills behind me I was able to clearly articulate my vision for the company and what I wanted to achieve and potential candidates, meaning both employees and customers, bought into that,” Coniglio said.

“A lot of those people had 10 or 15 years of industry experience which meant we could hit the ground running. www.sprinter.com.au

STAR BUSINESS PROFILE “From a customer point of view, we have a very customer-centric focus. Our operational model is built around ‘customer-first’ and that has enabled us to rebuild our business based on customer demand.”

Coniglio said specialising in point of sale and textile printing has been a step in the right direction as the business continues to make its mark in the industry and find new markets.

“There are some similarities between our new customers and our old ones, but we have been able to take it to the next level particularly through point of sale and fabric printing, so they are the key areas we are doing really well in,” Coniglio said.

Print X One can print just about anything, but it is its agility and creativity to provide nextlevel solutions that Coniglio believes sets it apart from its competitors.

“We are a totally agile provider, but this brings both challenges and opportunities,” he said.

“There are some challenges with execution and to get around these you need to have a sophisticated operational strategy, but we are an agile provider and have the capabilities to produce a huge range of solutions. There are things we do better at than others but ultimately, we have got the capacity to say yes to everything at the moment.”

Emerging markets

Fulfilling market needs for total solutions is somewhere Coniglio sees the business continuing to develop and grow, particularly in an emerging area of design architecture, or wayfinding.

“We are doing a lot of work for agencies and wayfinding companies, as well as work in the exhibition space as things start to open up again,” he said.

“There seems to be some boutique companies doing architectural wayfinding solutions, so we are doing work for the An example of the types of packaging and point of sale work Print X One can handle, in addition to wide format print.

Print X One has just signed a new three-year lease on this site at Melbourne’s Mt Waverley.

companies that are doing designer high-end projects, but they are not doing the manufacturing themselves, so this means our customers don’t need to invest in equipment.

They can come to us with what they are trying to achieve, and we can collaborate to help them get an outcome.

“We do work for everybody, but essentially it is not just about a cheap banner, it is about a broader solution.”

We do work for everybody, but essentially it is not just about a cheap banner, it is about a broader solution Print X One managing director Paul Coniglio

Coniglio says his years of experience on the supply side of the industry also help when it comes to solving difficult problems customers are trying to overcome with tricky production requirements.

“I really understand the sign and display market and have so much experience in understanding the challenges that small to medium businesses are facing and this helps me understand how we can assist with the technology we have in house,” he said.

“I think my 20 years of working in the family business gives me a strong focus on the customer, as the customer is the most important part of what we do.

“So, I think as a business owner whether I am dealing with customers direct or running the business, I always understand the customer is at the heart of everything we do.”

A question that many printers have, is where are the opportunities for growth. www.sprinter.com.au

For Coniglio he believes the opportunities that exist for Print X One are in helping customers solve problems and building trust with them, so they keep returning.

“Some of my competitors are quite regimented in their volume-driven approach, so if the job is 10mm more than what they can produce they can’t do it.

“So, we see that outsourced signage market to be one that will continue to grow based on speed of turnaround,” Coniglio said.

Dabbling in packaging also relates well to the point-of-sale side of the business and Coniglio can see opportunities for growth developing in this area, particularly as he has two cutters onsite that can handle this.

“I’ve got a lady at the moment who has developed a boutique range of candles and she couldn’t find anyone that could do the design and the print, so we have connected her with one of our clients who is designing the candle labels and the boxes, and we are going to print 1000 or 2000 for her at a time,” he said.

“The line between print and sign and display is rapidly blurring. I think traditional sign companies are evolving – if you can design it, you can print it.”

The road ahead

And what lies ahead for Coniglio, Print X One and future acquisitions?

“As per the rebrand we see ourselves as being the one destination for wide format print and that is based very much around agility, speed and the customer which is giving customers what they want in the quality they expect and, in the timeframe, they need,” he said.

“I would foresee that in the medium term, more acquisitions will be an important part of us being able to grow our capacity to meet our customer needs.

“This is just the beginning. Watch this space.” PP June 2021 ProPrint 39

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40 ProPrint June 2021

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Close encounters with 3D Adding some 3D printing capability to your mix might be the best decision you will ever make.

By Peter Kohn

Y

ou unlock this door with the key of imagination – beyond it is another dimension,” pronounced 1950s sci-fi master Rod Serling in a weekly introduction to his iconic TV show, The Twilight Zone. Indeed, close encounters of the third kind are a figment of sci-fi. But printing commercially in three dimensions is far from fictional.

Now that it has gone three-dimensional,

printing has never looked more like manufacturing. Combining the best of both disciplines, the process follows the classic precepts of adding dedicated gels, liquid or powdered agents to a hardware device and generating printed content – but that content just happens to have height, width and depth.

And it is produced for far less than the cost of constructing a similar piece using conventional manufacturing processes.

3D printing is no longer new or experimental. It has permeated all corners of the community, including our classrooms.

For instance, using 3D parametric modelling software, senior students at St Luke’s Catholic College in Sydney’s Parramatta are printing 3D models as part of an innovative school project under the school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) syllabus. The process can help

Artcom Fabrication, Coleman Group and Composite Images are sign and display companies in Australia that have adopted Massivit 3D technology. Photo credit: Graphic Art Mart 42 ProPrint June 2021

budding 3D designers – perhaps tomorrow’s 3D print professionals – model and prototype an endless array of creative projects.

But what does it mean for Australia’s commercial print houses? For starters, nailing a corner of the modelling or prototyping market is a coup on competitors struggling with diminishing opportunities.

3D winners will be companies already established in the visual display space, perhaps with strong connections on the exhibition circuit.

3D print providers

Artcom Fabrication

Printing 3D collateral is a significant element of the services provided by Western Australia’s Artcom Fabrication, which specialises in signage, wide-format, etching and engraving, acrylic and metal fabrication, and cutting services in waterjet, CNC-router and laser cutting.

Artcom Fabrication installed a Massivit 1800 in 2019 and managing director, Mark Walkden, described it as a “brilliant” machine which has helped open his business up to a broader range of sectors.

The most notable relates to the prototyping of parts for the oil and gas industries, dashboard making for boat builders and public art displays for art galleries.

“We just did a project for a major gas company which did allow them to save hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars as it meant they could keep the rig open,” Walkden said.

“We were able to print the prototype part for them on the Massivit 1800, they were able to fly it to where it needed to go and test it and then go back to the workshop and build it out of steel.”

Public art works are also another major application area for the Massivit 1800 with the machine recently used to print a number of pieces for an upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. www.sprinter.com.au

Konica Minolta has partnered with 3D manufacturer, Markforged, which specialises in producing low-volume, custom parts for the automotive industry. Photo credit: Markforged

“The machine, its concept and the ability it has to print things fast and large is pretty impressive,” Walkden said.

“We have done a few point of sale items for advertising clients as well, so it is an all-round machine for different industries once customers have the mindset of looking at something different.”

Coleman Group

A replica tobacco tin 3D printed by Mammoth3d at Coleman Group. Photo credit: Mammoth3d on Instagram

Coleman Group’s 3D advance led it to launch a new brand, Mammoth3D. Photo credit: Mammoth3d on Instagram

Rod Peter, managing director of Coleman Group, an eight-decades-old printing enterprise in Sydney’s Strathfield South, sees his own career arc as a parallel to the success of this venerable signage company.

“I started off as a signwriting apprentice, and now I’m selling an Australian product to

Suitable for high-end jobs: The Mimaki 3DUJ-553 offers a world-beating palette of more than 10 million colours and is being put to good use at Coleman Group’s Mammoth3D venture. Photo credit: Mimaki www.sprinter.com.au

some 200 dealers across the US from our office in Los Angeles, and we sell it into the UK as well,” Rod said.

The product is REXframe, a globally patented extrusion brand of lightweight aluminium components for temporary displays, which the company initially imported, then began manufacturing locally from 2012. It now has gained its own division at Coleman, and the customers, aside from those in Australia, include a growing cohort of North American printers of signage and exhibition furniture.

The next step for Rod and group CEO Glenn Coleman was to go 3D, with the purchase of a Massivit 1800 Pro, from Graphic Art Mart at Sydney’s PrintEx19.

3D has been a natural fit – with promising results appearing well ahead of the pandemic, then a well-executed investment in PPE. And now, as the pandemic hopefully wanes, the real, long-term business of profitable 3D printing, usually in one-off lots, is emerging.

Large-scale work done on the Massivit 1800 Pro include agricultural applications, such as irrigation products.

“The main reason we got into 3D printing was exhibitions, but over the past 12 months, we’ve found other little avenues,” Rod says.

But he cautions, “The market in Australia will be fairly small.”

The company’s early and ongoing production of large-scale models from the Massivit 1800 Pro has expanded to include smaller items with a higher colour fidelity and finer detail on a Mimaki 3D UJ-553. This diversification led to the company spinning off its Mammoth3d brand.

Rod says, “Mimaki is more your high-end work – we do museum work. There’s less labour in finishing it but obviously it’s a lot more expensive to print. We use it a lot for prototyping, and it’s moved us into a different area, while the Massivit does the much bigger sized jobs but there’s more finishing in those.”

Composite Images

At Composite Images, in Sydney’s Artarmon, 3D printing has slotted in as a dynamic addition to its services in the flatbed and rollto-roll services space.

The company’s marketing manager, Samantha Scott says, “We produce our 3D printing on the Massivit 1800 Pro which is a large-format 3D printer capable of printing a single piece that is 1.2m x 1.5m x 1.8m. We use Rhino 3D software to work with our STL files in a prepress capacity, assessing the printing viability of the file and then preparing files for print.

“3D printing is a market that has seen incredible growth over the last few years, COVID aside.

“With customers’ increasing demand for updated and improved visual merchandising and brands seeking alternative strategies to attract customers to in-person stores and events, I don’t see the growth of 3D printing slowing down soon.

Continued on page 44 June 2021 ProPrint 43

FOCUS 3D PRINTING Continued from page 43

“Initially there was a steep learning curve for us as a business and our customers, in understanding where our 3D printing was best positioned. We have found 3D printing with the Massivit has been most beneficial and applicable in the marketing space – whether this be as props in TV commercials or shows, instore promotions and point of sale advertising, brand activations or events.

“3D printing lends itself to producing bespoke items that would otherwise not be possible within budgets and timeframes, and to the finer detail we are able to achieve,” Scott says.

Reef Design Lab

Sydney 3D printer Reef Design Labs produced an innovative project in which a seawall was redesigned so it could be more aesthetically appealing and environmentally friendly.

The company worked with Canada Bay Council to overhaul the Drummoyne seawall in Sydney. The project involved fixing 3D printed tiles to the seawall to create a space for fish populations to shelter. The tiles also provide moisture, shade and water retention critical for the survival of other marine life, including clams, krill, sponges, oysters and mussels.

Using a professionally designed pattern of 3D tiling, the habitat encourages the proliferation of marine life. The tiles, printed

by Reef Design Lab, were retrofitted to the seawall to enlarge the size of adjacent reefs.

The tiles actually mimic natural formations that host sea life on natural shorelines.

Reef Design Lab industrial designer, Alex Goad, said the company has a highly specialised studio which creates coastal habitat infrastructure, including artificial reefs.

“Our studio collaborates with international research partners to develop techniques for enhancing the ecological performance of marine structures,” Goad said.

The company, which operates from a warehouse studio at Mentone in Melbourne’s

south-east, has received widespread TV exposure on BBC Earth for its Modular Artificial Reef Structure (MARS), an ongoing project originally designed by Goad in 2013 to be used in conjunction with coral farming and reef restoration projects.

3D press vendors

Currie Group

Through its partnership with EVOK3D, Currie Group has leveraged its extensive sales network to offer HP’s MultiJet Fusion technology. EVOK3D managing director, Joe Carmody, tells ProPrint that 3D printing is a significantly different proposition – the skillsets required, from data formatting to generating a ‘build’, to post-process treatment, are quite distinct.

So too is the customer base.

“2D print companies entering this field need to realise they are dealing with new clients – but they may find these in an existing client’s product development division,” Carmody says.

3D printing is used for concept modelling, prototyping, tooling and direct manufacturing. While prototyping is now a mature technology, Carmody says 3D manufacturing has loads of potential.

Short-to-medium volume runs of personalised products is 3D manufacturing’s sweet spot, he suggests.

An example is prescription orthotics, which Carmody describes as the 3D equivalent of variable-data digital document printing.

To further illustrate, Carmody explains that the 3D equivalent of offset printing would be a million identical units, a process that requires a higher investment in tooling and lower-cost impressions.

However, the reality is that identical, repeatable manufacturing is more economically achieved through injection moulding than 3D printing.

And like their 2D counterparts, the shorter, data-rich runs are based on a higher capital investment in a data-intelligent manufacturing process, recouped through

2D print companies entering this field need to realise they are dealing with new clients – but they may find these in an existing client’s product development division EVOK3D managing director, Joe Carmody

higher unit prices for the product.

For medically customised orthotics, a typical Australian production run is somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 per year, using thermoplastics such as a nylon or polypropylene powder agent. Post-processing sees the base of the orthotic combined by gluing together with a neoprene top layer.

The HP MultiJet Fusion portfolio includes two separate platforms.

The 500 Series includes the 540 and 580 devices, designed for inhouse automated production by product development teams, design firms and universities in either mono or full colour. The HP MultiJet Fusion 5200 produces durable end-use parts in low to medium volumes.

The HP MultiJet Fusion machines can nest in 3D space, batches of components within the ‘build’ (print run), and unused product can be recycled, notes Carmody.

Typical post-process work involves de-powdering, smoothing, polishing and painting, he says. For most post-processing, manual intervention is required, with the product unloaded to a processing station, but R&D is moving towards greater inline production for what 3D manufacturers describe as “from art to part”.

For the past two years, the Currie GroupEVOK3D partnership has developed the Department of Defence as a key client, he says.

In the post-2020 era, the Department of Defence is described as: “developing a rapid, agile sovereign manufacturing capability close to the point of consumption”.

For Currie Group, the HP 3D series provides a new vertical market.

Carmody says Currie Group was identified as the optimal partner for EVOK3D because of its track record with the HP Indigo digital press brand.

“Currie Group has made a name for itself as a digital disrupter of what was an analogue printing industry, so this partnership has been a natural fit,” Carmody said.

Graphic Art Mart

This 3D printed reef was recently installed by Canada Bay Council on the Drummoyne sea wall 44 ProPrint June 2021Canada Bay Council in Sydney.

Photo credit:

ProPrint recently watched a Massivit 3D webinar from the company’s Israeli headquarters. Massivit 3D Product Marketing Manager, Nati Azulay, said the Massivit 3D range, particularly the new large-scale Massivit 5000, offers the growing 3D printing market the opportunity to produce “fast and large parts, prototypes and www.sprinter.com.au

3D PRINTING FOCUS

EVOK3D has partnered with Currie Group to offer HP’s MultiJet Fusion technology. Photo credit: EVOK3D

The Massivit 3D printer range is imported into Australia by Melbourne’s Stick On Signs, whose CEO Abe Weiszberger tells ProPrint that 3D printing – and the Massivit 3D range – have created exciting new opportunities for Australia’s print providers.

Graphic Art Mart handles sales and technical support for the Massivit 3D suite in Australia.

Graphic Art Mart’s WA business manager, Michael Liveris, says the Massivit 3D printers can produce full-scale prototypes, moulds and parts within hours.

“It eradicates the time wasted on producing and joining numerous small parts,” Liveris says.

He says the new Massivit 5000 brings to market a new category in additive manufacturing.

“Offering 30 times the production speed of other technologies, it enables manufacturers and service bureaus in the automotive, marine, and rail industries to produce large, custom parts within a matter of hours instead of weeks,” Liveris says.

He adds the Massivit 1800 Pro offers high performance and resolution, and the flagship 1800 continues to offer supersized, unique models, displays, and props.

Liveris believes print providers need to know their customers and their markets to view the potential of 3D printing.

“We have seen exhibition companies excel in this area, as 3D printing allows concepts to become reality by printing unique, lightweight displays that generally their competitors can’t offer,” he said.

Konica Minolta

The Massivit 5000’s increased speeds make it suitable it for additive manufacturing. Photo credit: Massivit 3D

moulds for applications including scenic fabrication and signage and display”.

Massivit 3D, founded in 2013, has drawn worldwide attention with its ability to handle outsized prototyping projects, such as yachts that actually can be tested in water, vending machines, and projects as complex as 16-component vehicle body parts.

A Massivit 1800 was recently used to produce a full-scale concept car for car designer, Takumi Yamamoto.

With the new Massivit 5000, Azulay says, “the speed issue has now been cracked” and notes it takes only six hours to reproduce a a life-size human figure.

He says Massivit 3D’s genius lies in its GDP (Gel Dispensed Printing) technology which he claims is superior to liquid or powder agents. A photo polymer gel is dispensed by the two independent printheads in layers that www.sprinter.com.au

It eradicates the time wasted on producing and joining numerous small parts Graphic Art Mart’s WA business manager, Michael Liveris

are cured by UV light on the fly.

No post-processing (endemic to the printing) is required as the Massivit 3D printers produce ready-to-handle 3D printed objects. Offline painting, filling, sanding and coating are optional, depending on the requirements of a particular prototype. The Massivit 1800 can use media down to 0.8mm thickness, while the new Massivit 5000 can handle resolutions down to 0.5mm.

Matt Hunter, Konica Minolta Australia’s innovation product manager, says his company has access to a cross-section of all technologies, from small to large.

“As we are partnered with both 3D Systems and Markforged, we cover the entire scope of the market with materials and technologies.

Our portfolio includes UV light-cured resin, laser sintered plastic and metal powders, as well as extruded nylons and continuous fibre printing options,” Hunter said.

“We also offer some great industrial software solutions for the 3D scanning and medical markets. There is almost nothing that cannot be made using any of our available technologies.”

He sees strong potential for Australian 3D printing in low-volume and custom parts for automotive production and automation component replacement for equipment where obtaining spares may be tough or prolonged.

There is also growing demand for custom components that need to fit specific geometry – especially in medicine – such as spinal and cranial implants. Parts manufacture in remote locations, like defence and naval, are another opportunity.

3D printing opportunities can also be found “essentially in any engineering need – where what a user needs is not too big and does not need to be mass-manufactured in Continued on page 46 June 2021 ProPrint 45

FOCUS 3D PRINTING Continued from page 45

3D parts printing is increasing in demand, particularly in remote locations. Photo credit: Markforged

3D Systems technology produced mask filters during the pandemic last year. Photo credit: Konica Minolta

huge quantities,” Hunter said.

“Geometrically challenging components with complex internal features are also ideal, as they are usually impossible to make with traditional subtractive manufacturing methods,” he said.

“3D printing is very much a materials game, so we’ll be seeing a lot more stronger and cheaper materials competing in both the cheaper and more industrial machine space.

Tougher nylons and fibre-backed technologies will start competing in the hobbyist space, for example. We will also see expansion of larger part technologies in the manufacturing of larger scale objects, including machines using secondary machining processes like CNC for finishing.

And, of course, the medical space will see a rise in bioprinting of organs and bones, although these components will be a slow burner due to regulatory processes.”

Mimaki Australia

Growth in the 3D market continues to spread globally outwards from North America and Europe, says Mimaki Australia national marketing manager Brad Creighton. Its application is mainly in the manufacturing industry, but it is also making inroads in education, construction and the medical business sector.

The Mimaki 3DUJ-553 has achieved fullcolour modelling with the capability of a world-beating palette of more than 10 million colours based on the company’s 2D professional inkjet technology, he explains.

“We’re proposing new business utilising 3DUJ-553 as having rich colours that are better suited to creating a final product, such as a real object, sign or building model, where adding an extra colour after modelling has previously been difficult.”

Mimaki 3D full colour printers start with pre-pigmented photopolymer resins in CMYK colours and white and clear options – along with a water-soluble support material.

The resins and support material are all in liquid form and are jetted out of industrial inkjet heads as liquid droplets. Once the droplets land, LED-UV lamps cure the liquid droplets to a solid.

Says Creighton, “This technology has come from our traditional LED UV printing tech which the majority of the printing industry is already familiar with. From a hardware tech and output perspective, print providers will

have a small learning curve. Outputting received 3D artwork through our Mimaki 3D Link software is an extremely intuitive and user-friendly operation. The challenge for converters would be the creation of the 3D artwork.”

Creighton sees the 3DUJ-553 as an optimal investment for printers and end-users of object signage, he says.

“We can satisfy professionals’ exacting requirements for the manufacturing of fullcolour and fine modelling with strong attention to detail in the final product. And post-processing, such as over-coating and attachment of screws is also straightforward.”

“Powder-based printing systems have been around for 25 years which print with CMYK inks colouring gypsum-based material,” he says, noting Mimaki has two models for full colour 3D printing, the 3DUJ-553 and the new 3DUJ-2207 which use a liquid resinbased UV cured technology capable of producing over 10 million unique colours.

“The difference between the two technologies, besides the huge gain in colour gamut, is the durability and finish. So, the surface is smoother, the model is stronger, and the colour and detail are far superior to what is possible with a powder-based machine.” PP

The smaller drill is 3D printed on the Mimaki 3DUJ-553 but the differences are hard to pick. Photo credit: Coleman Group

What about 3D skillsets? There is a 3D learning curve - but it is not insurmountable.

Graduating to 3D printing can be a challenge for print enterprises that have established their businesses in the conventional 2D space. There is a learning curve, but it is not insurmountable – that appears to be the consensus between hardware vendors and print houses that ProPrint quizzed.

EVOK3D’s Joe Carmody says printers must have pre-process departments that can handle CAD design software files. More generally, they need to regard 3D as something that is more manufacturing than printing. And in selling these services, they need to think laterally. “There is some overlap, such as point-of-sale and signwriting, but generally they need to identify a very distinct customer base,” he says.

46 ProPrint June 2021

Graphic Art Mart’s Michael Liveris says, “An experienced 3D designer is certainly an added advantage. With an experienced designer, they’re able to create the artwork with the right splices to suit the design.

This helps to maximise speed and gel efficiency for the best product output.”

Mimaki’s Brad Creighton says most Australian print providers understand the 2D design space and have applications implemented under that production.

“Creating the 3D artwork for print production is a niche field, and most commercial and sign related print providers are not set up for this solution. On the technical side, learning about colour texturing is a great start. Applications such as Substance, Blender and ZBrush are all excellent products with a lot of resources.”

Samantha Scott of Composite Images says working with 3D files is very different to regular files, with are a lot more variables to consider. In the pre-process department, there are 3D file formats to master – such as the OBJ geometry definition format, STL stereolithography format, and PLY, a polygon file format.

“The same is true for 3D prints, as the finishing can be quite challenging and time consuming and requires skills that one is unlikely to have come across through regular printing jobs.”

Konica Minolta’s Matt Hunter says, “It is of advantage to have at least one staff member who is confident with CAD work, or has had training in it, to help foster others along to developing their skills.

Everything else comes with time.” www.sprinter.com.au

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Check out our website for more sizes!

Giga Print Silverwater

2 Fariola Street Silverwater NSW 2128 P: 1300 787 718 E: silverwater@gigaprint.com.au W: www.sprinter.com.au www.gigaprint.com.au

ONLY

$62.5

Premium

**All prices are GST Juneexclusive 2021 ProPrint 51

m.au

MARKETPLACE

We manufacture & ship premium quality fridge magnets direct to your door.

Fast. Easy. Cheap.

1300 20 40 60

trade.mistermagnets.com.au trade@mistermagnets.com.au North Sydney NSW (02) 9191 9894 • Tullamarine VIC (03) 9344 1325 Lonsdale SA (08) 6365 4366 • Brisbane QLD (07) 3123 6141 Victoria Park WA (08) 6365 4366

CALL NOW FOR A

FREE $50 GIFT CARD & SAMPLE PACK

trade.mistermagnets.com.au

Mouse Pads Established 7 years. Serving a wide range of customers we pride ourselves on punctuality, reliability and customer satisfaction.

from $3.0 each High Quality with PVC Coating and Natural Rubber Custom Size Available Fast Turn Around

Providing a full rage of services including: 3 Machinery handling 3 General crane hire 3 Forklift hire and transport 3 Packing and unpacking of containers

Sticky Notepads Plastic Cards PVC Labels

Complete factory relocations:

Specialising in a wide range of machinery from Engineering, Metal Work, Printing & Packaging All aspects of printing machinery

E: ben@allworkcranes.com.au 52 ProPrint June 2021

Quality Printer since 1979 Ph: 02-9707 2989 Email: sales@kanprint.com.au W: www.kanprint.com.au

www.sprinter.com.au

MARKETPLACE

JW GRAPHIC ENGINEERING

specialists in fully rebuilt quality printing equipment

Wanted – Polar 92 & 115 Guillotines Polar 92 ED

Polar 56 ECO Guillotine

Serviced and Tested

Serviced and Tested

OTHER EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE • • • • • •

Polar 92 ED Guillotine Polar 66 ECO Guillotine Polar 58 E Guillotine Polar 56 ECO Guillotine Polar 55 EM Guillotine Horizon APG-T61 Guillotine

Contact: Barry Williams 0416 105 340

www.sprinter.com.au

• • • • • • •

GTO 52 N&P Varn Dampening Heidelberg SM 52 2P N&P Horizon Vac100 Booklet Maker Horizon BQ-270C Perfect Binder Duplo DC-645 Slitter/Cutter/Creaser Challenge MS-4 Head Drill MBO T500 Folder with Cross Fold

jwge@bigpond.com

www.jwge.com.au

June 2021 ProPrint 53

We specialise in: FORME CUTTING 10 $1 +GST

DIE CUTTING CASE MADE BOXES CASE MADE BINDERS WOBBLERS DOUBLE SIDED TAPE

RIVETTING/ EYELITTING

$120 + DELIVERY & GST

500

90x55mm BUSINESS CARD MAGNETS

CORNERED) (ROUND OR SQUARE

U

DELIVERED TO YO

10000 S MAGNETIC PATCHE 20 x 40mm - 0.6mm

TS

$1.30

PERFECT BINDING

PER SHEET + DELIVERY & GST

MAGNETIC SHEE

0+ ORDERS -50.04m m 315 x 440mm

REINFORCING HAND ASSEMBLY MENU COVERS WIRE BINDING PLASTICOIL BINDING SHRINKWRAPPING COLLATING PADDING & DRILLING DIVIDERS POLY PROP PRODUCTS MOUNTING STRINGING

4 Lewis Street, Coburg VIC 3058

Phone: (03) 9350 4266

Fax: (03) 9354 1104 Email: sales@ehstat.com.au

www.ehstat.com.au 54 ProPrint June 2021

EH Manufacturing and Alltab pick-ups and deliveries from 3 McDonald Street, Coburg

TABBING/MYLAR

sales@adhesivemagneticsupplies.com.au

Sydney based manufacturing

Manufa from Pr cturing sheets ae-printed vailable

MT Envelopes  Short to medium run specialists  Square envelopes   Banker, wallet, pocket

Special business envelopes  & card envelopes Special window sizes  White & coloured & positions Ph: (02) 9734 8100 E: david@mtenvelopes.com.au www.mtenvelopes.com.au www.sprinter.com.au

MARKETPLACE Your Printing FREE CALL 1800 666 088

Partners

EMAIL: sales@dockets-forms.com

We are the Specialist in NCR Paper Printing Trusted by Printers Nationwide for Over 20 Years Business books, Pads, Set Forms, Tickets ...

Trade Only

www.dockets-forms.com

Easy Online Quote & Order Freight Charge

AU Wide Delivery

Per Order

with Capped Freight Charge

Stickers

CLE V E R Wholesale

> Gloss, Matt, Clear, Hi Tack > On sheets or singles (same price)

Name Badges > Full colour > Frameless > White or black frame > Pin, magnet, pin & clip > Free display board - 1st order > Metallic gold, silver, any colour 4 Easy Steps Step 1: Choose a size

25mm x 76mm Step 2: Choose a holder colour

19mm x 64mm

“your competitors best kept secret”

Step 3: Choose a plate colour

Step 4: Choose a fitting

Full colour sublimated name badges Aluminium plate, plastic holder for extra strength and durabilty

56 ProPrint June 2021

> www.cleverwholesale.com.au > sales@allcleverstuff.com.au www.sprinter.com.au

FRIDGE MAGNETS ary’s Buil ding M ai nt e St M nan ce We O er

Quali ty Work At Sensb iible le Prices Pric es

gemoney.com.au

Terry Dunn

Phone:

0428 443 751 Email: tdunn_sb

O ce:

4777 5528

m@hotmail.c om

SHOWCASING THE LATEST ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY

PRODUCTIVITY In a nutshell, paper goes in one end and the finished job comes out the other end, but let’s explore this amazing machine in a bit more detail

60%

less carbon emissions than current offset printing methods.

VERSATILITY CONSISTENCY

11%

EFFICIENCY

less carbon emissions than current digital printing methods.

SAVINGS

*based on printing 450 x 12 page A4 booklets.

impressions per hour is the i300’s top speed.

That’s 300 A4 pages per minute!

this impressive speed saves you time and money!

faultless stocks are no problem for the i300.

Carbonless books come off perforated, collated and ready for stitching...

Saving time, money and touch points!!

PERFECT FOR SHORT RUN NCR BOOKS

up to 8

data personalisation, numbering and barcoding. Personalise one or all pages of any document.

William Green

multiple

in-house mailing

to compliment our variable data and personalisation unique perforations are possible on each sheet.

different stocks can be used in each document!

100%

colour consistency, from the first page of a job, right through to the last.

1200

perceived image quality on any stock. This means text and images always appear sharp.

STILL ALSO SPECIALISING IN... l NCR, Continuous Forms & Laser Forms (Large Runs our specialty) l Multi-position & Complex Numbering l Continuous Cheques l Stationery & Business Forms l Security Printing l Laser Cheques l Consignment Notes (Continuous and Book form)

T: (08) 9240 6244 E: reception@dataflowsystems.com.au W: dataflowsystems.com.au

www.cyber1976.com