News

Industrial Inkjet (IIJ) has doubled the size of its manufacturing base in Cambridgeshire following a 50% sales growth and increase in staff from 25 to 40 this year. Further recruitment is currently taking place and IIJ is also ramping up its R&D, where a six-figure investment has been made in test and manufacturing systems in the past month, as well as adding in a mezzanine floor to its UK headquarters.

A few months ago Mida Sign Services decided to invest in a flatbed cutter to expand the range of services they could offer. They spent a great deal of time researching the market and considered a variety of options.

SAi has bundled its PixelBlaster print-to-finish production software with the Dip-Tech AR18000 digital ceramic in-glass printer, officially recognised by Guinness World Records under the category of ‘largest digital flatbed printer’ at 18m in length and capable of printing a single pane of glass with a total area of up to 64m2.

Online print specialist Pixartprinting has created the Pixartprinting Project to cater specifically for small businesses, retail chains and agencies seeking customisable, themed point-of-sale and location displays. ‘Land of Ice’ themed products are already available on the company website and will shortly be joined by three more lines: Forest Walk, inspired by the magic of the woods; Christmas Carol, for an emotion-filled Yuletide; and Fantasy Tales.

Cestrian has launched outdoor advertising product Railingwraps by using its own railings as a showcase. The company has created two 75m images outside its own headquarters in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire. The railing wrap reveals two separate Christmas themed illustrations when viewed from different angles. From one, the team has integrated a Royal Mail post box located next to the railings to create a 3D scene entitled ‘Santa’s post box’ – in which the big man himself can be spotted collecting letters. 

Under the motto of 'touch the future’, Drupa 2016 will focus more heavily on future-oriented technologies such as printed electronics, 3D printing and inkjet printing for industrial applications. 

Small businesses will benefit from measures announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement according to the BPIF. “While tight public finances have clearly left the Chancellor with limited scope this autumn, we are pleased that a number of targeted measures to help smaller firms have been introduced covering lending, business rates, tax credits and infrastructure investment,” said membership director Dale Wallis. 

ARC-UK is on a mission to quadruple turnover in the next two years and has bought another Océ Arizona from Canon to drive growth in the retail sector specifically. 

Independently managed commercial finance company IGF is warning small firms in the UK to be prepared for cashflow shortages in the run-up to Christmas and the first few weeks of the New Year, and to ensure that they have access to a flexible supply of funding to cover the inevitable delays in payment. 

Lufthansa will offer discounted flights for visitors to Fespa 2015 in Cologne next May, a continuation of the partnership formed for Fespa Digital 2014 in Munich. 

printMax has taken on Martin Cole as a technical and sales consultant following the addition of the Mimaki range of products to its printer portfolio.

GEW has brought out a faster version of its LED UV curing lab system for those developing and testing new UV LED ink formulations.

W.A.E. Group says that it was a 'no brainer' switching to Nazdar 202 Series inks from QPS. Whilst saving the company significant amounts of money, there was – crucially – no loss in terms of print quality. 

Large-format print specialist Your Print Partner has installed a 3.2m wide Mimaki 320 to bring its annual textile print capacity up to 250,000m2. The kit will be used to help YPP release a new range of fabric display products in the New Year. The investment follows a 46% increase in like-for-like sales this year over last, and is part of the company’s five year growth strategy, which includes recruiting five new staff over the winter period.