Features

Metallic inks can generate impressive effects, but you need a printer specifically designed to take them. Nessan Cleary takes a close look at Roland's VS series.

Metallic inks offer the wide-format print company the option to produce truly eye-catching special effects that can help differentiate it from its competitors and open up interesting markets such as labels and packaging. Several vendors offer metallic inks but here it’s Roland's VersaCamm VS series, specifically developed to handle these inks, that comes under the spotlight.

Will you be putting EcoPrint Europe Live 2012 in your diary? You should, and here’s why…

“EcoPrint is an idea whose time has come.” So says Marcus Timson, director of EcoPrint Europe Live 2012, which will take place in Berlin next September. But then he would. The point is, what do you think?

WIDTHWISE 2011:
Industry chiefs come together to discuss the findings of this annual wide-format survey and chew over the state of the sector.

For over 400 years the painted backdrop has been part of the theatrical experience. But can large-format digital print now be used to such dramatic effect? Melony Rocque-Hewitt finds out.

Scenic Backdrops have evolved somewhat since Italian artist and architect Filippo Brunelleschi discovered the principles of linear perspective in 1425. Brunelleschi's system was highly significant as it meant that artists could scientifically measure and paint a scene effecting visual depth onto a backdrop. By the end of the 16th century, the painted backdrop was an established feature of theatrical set design.

Image Reports reveals the winners of the 2011 Angel Awards, which have been chosen based on products introduced to the UK throughout 2011 that the editorial teams thinks are the most innovative and will have an effect on next year's wide-format print sector. 

Industry chiefs Lascelle Barrow from Augustus Martin, Phill Reynolds from Cestrian, David Nicholas from Fosco, Duncan Armstrong from Kingfisher Graphics, Steve Phythian from CPS and Peter Barham from Graphics Works, come together to discuss the findings of Widthwise 2011 and to chew over the state of the sector. 

It was to be expected; the state of the economy and its impact on business was bound to be one of the more hotly debated topics when Image Reports brought together players from across the wide-format print spectrum to discuss the findings of its Widthwise 2011 poll. This annual survey, now in its fourth year, collected data from more than 200 print companies involved in wide-format from across the UK and Ireland, to provide a clear picture of the current state of the market and to highlight issues that impact upon those within it.

…and explore the wider opportunities at Fespa Digital 2012

Money, money, money…and how to get your hands on it more easily via print finance specialists.

With so many print companies diversifying into new and/or changed markets, the question has got to be asked: how valid are customer surveys and are they worth undertaking?

New HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press delivers enhanced productivity and versatility.

With the trend towards greater disclosure and transparency print companies are going to have to get to grips with sustainable reporting. It’s a confusing field, but there are guidelines…

Sustainable reporting: two words that make so many directors feel slightly queasy. You might feel you have a thorough grasp of your company’s impact on the environment. You may even be right. But the challenge is increasingly not just to be green, but to be seen to be green and to be able to prove how green you are. And for the purposes of sustainable reporting, a company has to take a more holistic view of its impact on the world around it, so not just how much carbon you emit, or water you used, but how many employees died at work last year!

Melony Rocque-Hewitt keeps her feet firmly on the ground as she surveys the soaring options for producing print underfoot.

Printed floor graphics have been around now for a good decade or more, but recently, they’ve been given a whole new lease of life. Continuing technological advances and the growing realisation that everyone (including rabid texters) has to look where they’re going, has meant that the floor has become a very attractive promotional/information space for those in the retail, events and exhibitions markets.