News

Inkcups founder and CEO Benjamin Adner has taken on a new role as chief innovation officer as part of a rejig of the company’s executive team. The changes, which have been planned for a year, see Rick Hajec become CEO.  James Burns, vice president of sales, has been promoted to chief commercial officer.

Epson has launched a successor to its SureColor SC-P20000 large-format production printer for the photo and fine-art markets. The new 64in, 12-colour, SureColor SC-P20500 will be spotlighted at Drupa (28 May-7 June, Dusseldorf).

The next Fespa Global Print Expo will take place 6-9 May 2025 at Messe Berlin, Germany. The figures for this year’s expo and sister events - held in Amsterdam over four days last month - show 12,706 unique visitors attended, with 45% attending for more than a day.

A new US-based company called Taktiful Software Solutions has officially launched, promising to unveil its first three products for the print embellishment space at Drupa (28 May-7 June, Düsseldorf). Founder and CEO Kevin Abergel said the UK wide-format print sector is within its sights following an initial focus on its domestic market in 2024.

The British Coatings Federation (BCF) - the trade association representing the interests of the printing inks, decorative paints, industrial and powder coatings, and wallcovering manufacturers in the UK - has announced an ‘Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) Charter’, a public commitment that recognises and celebrates companies in the sector that are committed to working towards a more balanced, fair and high-performing market. 30 members have so far signed up, including HP.

Signelements.com has redesigned and substantially updated its website to help users find vehicle blueprints and vinyl ready graphics for wraps and livery design. The site also holds millions of professional stock photos, vectors and cut-ready graphics for vinyl output.

The construction sector returned to growth in March, ending a six-month contraction according to the S&P Global UK Construction PMI report.

New data from a Higher Education Business Community and Interaction (HE-BCI) survey shows that between August 2022 and the end of July 2023 76,619 university-business interactions took place, a decline of 5% from the previous year. In response, the National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) is warning that the UK economy is at risk without strengthened university-business collaboration.

Roland DG has donated £6,000 to the YMCA Brunel Group, a charity focused on helping youngsters across the south west of England with work, supported housing, health and wellbeing.

Wednesbury Commercial and Car (WCC) has bought a Mimaki JV300-160plus eco-solvent printer/cutter from CMYUK as a keystone of its newly launched vehicle graphics division.

Venture Banners is celebrating its 15th anniversary with a £400,000 investment that includes an expansion in production space and new fabric printing and cutting equipment.  In addition, the company has welcomed seven new members of staff across its production, studio, and sales teams.

Zund has confirmed that its new Q-Line cutters with BHS180 board handling system and integrated undercam optical capturing system will be shown for the first time at a trade show at Drupa.

At a pre-Drupa press conference this week a number of companies announced their intentions to introduce new products relevant to the large-format digital inkjet print sector. Full details will follow but initial information includes the following…

Enfocus has made significant updates to PitStop and Griffin to streamline wide-format print production.