Irish Printer Dec 2014/Jan 2015 by Ashville Media Group

DEC 2014/JAN 2015 // THE VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY // WWW.IRISHPRINTER.IE

NEWS

Horizon Installs Durst UV Printer

WIDE FORMAT

GP Digital Creates Colour Explosion at Style Club

PACKAGING

Esmark Finch Makes Digital Packaging Come Alive

IRISH PRINT AWARDS 2014

The winners and nominees at the 37th awards ceremony

Interpress Celebrates Historic Print Awards Victory IP COVER DECEMBER_Sample.indd 1

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Contents | IRISH PRINTER

NEWS » 4 A round up of some of the latest news from the Irish print industry.

WIDE FORMAT » 14 • Impact Signs Installs EFI Model for POS Work • GP Digital Creates Colour Explosion at Style Club

WHAT’S NEW IN PRINT » 16 • Digital Printer Switches to Thermal Plates and HD Inks • New Security Printing Software From Agfa • Ricoh Ireland Unveils the Future of Graphic Arts Production

PACKAGING » 19 • Digital packaging in Europe will grow annually by 13.4% until 2018 and digital folding cartons will grow annually by 44%. Bob Leahey, Associate Director with InfoTrends, reveals the results of an InfoTrends survey which shows why digital print is growing among Europe’s converters. • Esmark Finch hosted a Digital Packaging Live event for converters and brand owners in Dublin in November. Maev Martin talks to the company’s CEO John Mullane about the advantages of digital packaging.

THE IRISH PRINT AWARDS 2014 » 23-52 • Printer of the Year 2014 • Lifetime Achievement Award • Cliona’s Foundation • Digital Self Adhesive Label Printer of the Year • FMCG Packaging Printer of the Year • Graphic Design and Print Excellence Award • Large Format Digital Printer of the Year • LED Sign Printer of the Year • Commercial Vehicle Wrap Printer of the Year • Letterpress, Oﬀset & Flexo Self Adhesive Label Printer of the Year • Book Printing Award • Brochure Printer of the Year • Luxury Packaging Printer of the Year • Events & Corporate Stationery Printer of the Year • Magazine Printer of the Year • National Newspaper Award • Print Business Innovation Award • Print Finishing Award • Print Manager of the Year • Print Media Apprentice Republic of Ireland • Print Media Apprentice Northern Ireland • Regional Newspaper Award • Report & Annual Accounts Printer of the Year • Screen Printer of the Year

• Sheetfed Colour Oﬀset Printing Award • Small Printer of the Year • Variable Data Printer of the Year • Best Print Graduate of the Year • Best Customer Service Supplier Team Award • Print Integrated Marketing Campaign Award • Digital Printer of the Year

23 THE NIGHT IN PICTURES » 54-57 Check out all the glitz and glam at the Irish Print Awards.

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IRISH PRINTER | Editor’s Letter

espite the ups and downs that the Irish print industry has experienced this year, 2014 has ended on an extremely positive and encouraging note. The 37th Irish Print Awards, which took place on November 28th in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin, once again highlighted the excellent quality of design, print and finishing that our industry has to offer. And, with no less than 10 new categories introduced this year, it was obvious that Irish printers are finding new and creative applications for print and are more than capable of dealing with the challenges posed by digital marketing. The other very significant development is the continuation of the apprenticeship scheme in 2015. Our November issue cover story outlined the concerns of the Irish Printing Federation and of Solas that the scheme might not go ahead next year. If the industry had failed to produce the numbers required to make the scheme viable in 2015, it would also have had far reaching implications for the future of the apprenticeship scheme and for the industry’s ability to generate the skills required to ensure growth in the years ahead. Diane Dignam, Interim Administrator of the Print & Packaging Forum, tells me that the main focus of the Forum’s activities in recent months has been to ensure that the scheme went ahead in 2015 and continues into the future. Thankfully, their efforts have paid off. “Solas were a great support to us in this regard, as were the Irish Printing Federation,” she says. “We will be providing information to print industry employers on the apprenticeship scheme earlier in 2015 than in previous years to ensure that the industry is aware of it and that there are a high number of apprentices taking part. If the apprenticeship scheme isn’t sustained in the years ahead, it will have major implications in terms of retirement and succession planning in our industry. There are more retirees in the printing industry than there are apprentices being trained and that is a pity

because the apprenticeship scheme is very comprehensive and broad in its remit so the scope and quality of the training that apprentices receive means they can fit into any area of a print company’s operations.” That flexibility is important, because the future viability of the print industry in Ireland is contingent upon printers continuing to be creative - actively looking for new business opportunities and revenue streams is what it is all about. One event next year that could provide Irish printers with the inspiration to drive their businesses forward is Sign & Digital 2015. The sign making, display solutions and digital printing industry exhibition returns to the NEC, Birmingham, from March 24th to 26th. Textile printing for interiors, soft signage, and POP & POS displays for retail are three of the growing sectors that the 2015 exhibition will focus on. There will also be a greater focus on business advice, including how to capitalise on growing industry sectors and new market opportunities. According to the organisers, Faversham House, 2015 will see the return of leading brands such as Art Systems, Atech, Bannershop UK, Friedheim International, Hewlett-Packard, Inktec/Jetrix, Paperlinx UK, Agfa Graphics, Colourgen, Hybrid Services/ Mimaki, i-Sub, Soyang Europe, Ultima Displays, and Vivid Laminating Technologies. The February 2015 issue of Irish Printer will feature a comprehensive preview of the event. In the meantime, I hope that all of our readers have a happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

Maev Martin, Editor Email: maeve.martin@ashvillemediagroup.com Tel: (01) 432 2271

THE TEAM Editor: Maev Martin Editorial Manager: Mary Connaughton Art Director: Jane Matthews Design & Layout: Antoinette Sinclair Advertising Designers: Colm McDermott Stock Photography & Illustrations: Colm McDermott, Conor McCabe, Thinkstock Production Manager: Mary Connaughton Production: Niamh Burke Printed by: Walsh Colour Print

Cover Image: The winning Interpress NI team (l-r): David Wilson, Peter Cunningham, Donal Fitzpatrick, Eamonn Doherty and Thomas Carey, celebrating their historic victory at the Irish Print Awards 2014. Contact: Irish Printer, Ashville Media Group, Old Stone Building, Blackhall Green, Dublin 7

All rights reserved. Every care has been taken to ensure that the information contained in this magazine is accurate. The publishers cannot, however, accept responsibility for errors or omissions. Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. © Ashville Media Group 2014. All discounts, promotions and competitions contained in this magazine are run independently of Irish Printer. The promoter/advertiser is responsible for honouring the prize. ISSN 0790-2026

Tel: (01) 432 2200 Web: www.irishprinter.ie

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Thank you to all our sponsors

Irish Printing Federation

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IRISH PRINTER | News

RICOH RECEIVES BEST PRACTICE CSR ACCREDITATION

icoh Ireland has been accredited with the Business Working Responsibly Mark for best practice achievements in the areas of corporate responsibility and sustainability. The Mark was awarded by Business in the Community Ireland (BITC) at its eighth annual CEO Forum held in Dublin Castle. Attended by 150 CEOs from Ireland’s top companies, the theme and focus of this year’s CEO Forum is building trust, reputation and culture in business. Ricoh Ireland, Accenture, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Musgrave Group and Marks & Spencer Ireland were recipients of the Business Working Responsibility Mark for the first time. The Mark is Ireland’s first and only independently audited certification for responsible and sustainable business practices based on ISO 26000 and is valid for two years. Ricoh Ireland was accredited with the Mark after an in-depth audit by the National Standards Authority of Ireland. The Business Working Responsibly Mark is significant for Ricoh on both a local and global level as the company prides itself on being a good corporate citizen and has demonstrated high standards of corporate social responsibility in many key projects. Some recent notable examples include its partnership with ReCreate Ireland to promote sustainability in schools. Ricoh donates and diverts

ABOVE: Pictured at the announcement in Dublin Castle are An Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton, Gary Hopwood, General Manager, Ricoh Ireland and Kieran McGowan, Chairperson, Business in the Community.

end of line and surplus stock and ReCreate reuses this as arts materials at its Creative Resource Centre in Dublin. Ricoh Ireland is also working with Focus Ireland this year on a number of fundraising initiatives. Ricoh Ireland partnered with

Focus Ireland’s Shine a Light Night initiative earlier this year to increase awareness of the homeless. Gary Hopwood, General Manager of Ricoh Ireland ‘slept rough’ for one night in Dublin city and raised approximately €5,000 as part of the initiative.

SCREEN PRINTING NOW

ESPA UK Association’s Screen Printing Now, staged in association with Sakurai UK, in London on September 30th and October 1st, attracted around 100 sponsors, exhibitors and delegates to a packed programme of inspirational presentations from leaders in their fields, as well as live printing demonstrations. Highlights of the two-day event, which is the only dedicated screen printing event in Europe, included a presentation by Professor Tim Claypole MBE, of the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating, during which he provided details of some ground-breaking development projects. Shoichi Komi of Sakurai Japan, talked about precision control in screen printing and special effect varnishes. Dr Wolfgang Schaefer and Jon Bultemeyer from Marabu passed on vital information about new ink legislation and future developments in ink technology, while Dr Kate Stone of Novalia talked about her vision for the future of electronics for the display industry. Sakurai, Marabu, G Bopp and Co Ltd, Natgraph and MacDermid Autotype were the principal sponsors of the event. “This is a 4,000 year old process which is having a tremendous affect on the future of technology,” said Peter Kiddell of FESPA UK Association. “What we saw at the conference definitely confirmed that this is a process for the future.”

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News | IRISH PRINTER

SIGN D SIGN GO THE DISTANCE WITH NEW MIMAKI

Sign D Sign’s Albert Watson and Glenn MacPherson with the company’s new Mimaki CJV30.

ign D Sign is a company that prides itself on going the extra mile. Big on fabrication, its 25 years’ experience has seen it acquire some impressive kit which has been lovingly cared for to keep it in tiptop shape. When they invested in a Mimaki CJV30-160 from local reseller Dennis D Evans last summer, it immediately became an integral part

of their printing setup. The company is owned and run by Albert Watson, who is assisted by Studio Manager Glenn MacPherson. Together they have transitioned the company from traditional signage to a modern operation covering all aspects of design, manufacture and installation. “We’ve got a long and strong business relationship with

HORIZON INSTALLS DURST UV PRINTER

orizon recently installed a Durst Rho P10 250 HS printer from the manufacturer’s Rho P10 Series. Coupled with its other recent installation - the Mimaki JV300 - the company is hoping the new hardware will significantly increase its output over the coming months. The Rho P10 Series includes the two metre wide UV flatbed, the Rho P10 200, with its high level of modularity, and the Rho P10 250 continuous industrial UV flatbed printer, which has been installed at Horizon. The Rho P10 HS Series is the high-speed version of the Rho P10 200/250. It

features Quadro Array 10M printheads with double the number of nozzles in comparison to the Rho P10 200/250. It also incorporates LED Pin Curing in combination with conventional UV drying. The Pin Curing assists in making the higher speeds possible by sealing the drops before final drying. Durst Variodrop technology further contributes to the productivity and also enhances the image quality with better colour gamut and less banding. Other key benefits of the P10 flatbed machines include a continuous printing process which maximises productivity (no pauses for masking

Dennis D Evans,” explains Glenn. “We trust their advice and we have been delighted with the positive impact that the Mimaki CJV30 has had on our services. We are very proud of our reputation for looking after our customers and delivering a first-class service and we have seen customers returning time and time again on the basis of what we’re producing on the CJV30.” Each room of the company’s Belfast-based premises provides an alternative creative output which has resulted in the production of work for some large brands and high street names. In addition to their printers, they house grand-format cutting equipment, laminators and other finishing hardware, as well as an in-house metal workshop. “We have always invested in good quality equipment and then taken the time to maintain it, so we always get the best output possible and the machines just keep on going,” says Glenn. “Mimaki’s build quality fits with this ethos and we know we can rely on the CJV30 to go the distance for us.” The Mimaki CJV30 series is an integrated printer/cutter that provides high-quality printing onto a broad range of substrates and a seamless transition through to cutting vinyl. Available in four sizes, ranging from a compact 60cm up to 1.6m, it is compatible with ecosolvent, solvent and dye-sublimation inksets. found in a table system), optional mechanical front stops which enable parallel printing of boards side-byside, roll-to-roll printing options, and printing of light colours and process colour addition (orange and violet) without loss of speed. The P10 is capable of printing over 400 square metres per hour. The Rho P10 Series is designed for use by all large format printers who wish to provide a level of quality that will allow for close up viewing of a wide range of advertising and corporate promotional material, from backlits for windows or light boxes and indoor and outdoor signage, to luxury goods, including cosmetics, POP and POS material, and small to medium-sized packaging.

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IRISH PRINTER | News

Mimaki Offers Special Package for Productive Pair Purchase

Mimaki’s JFX200 and JV300 is already proving a popular and productive combination with customers.

ybrid Services Ltd, Mimaki’s exclusive distributor for the UK and Ireland, is encouraging potential grand format flatbed investors to pair the new JFX200 LED UV flatbed printer with selected Mimaki 1.6m solvent, latex or SUV roll-to-roll printers. Hybrid’s package offer allows printers to pair the 8 inch x 4 inch flatbed JFX200-2513, which features the latest LED UV technology,

with a choice of selected 1.6 metre Mimaki solvent, latex or SUV rollto-roll printers, including the new JV300, at a saving of up to £5,995 on the normal retail prices of the individual machines when purchased separately. The JFX200 is designed for the production of rigid display boards, packaging and exhibition panels, while Mimaki roll-to-roll printers produce complementary flexible

graphics such as banners, posters and vehicle liveries in high volumes and using a choice of ink types. “With both machines running in tandem, production print houses and sign and graphics professionals can meet the wide and varied demands of individual customers with ease, as well as generating new revenue stream,” says Stuart Cole, National Sales Manager – Industrial Products for Hybrid.

REPROCENTRE TAKES NEW MIMAKIS ON THE ROAD

ollowing the successful Irish launch of the Mimaki JV300 at Reprocentre’s showroom at Nangor Road Business Park in Clondalkin on November 11th and 12th, the company decided to take the Mimaki JV300 and its sister model the JV400SUV on the road to Cork and Belfast later in the month. At the Belfast roadshow (Park Avenue Hotel, November 18th and 19th) the company also exhibited a range of Morgana finishing equipment. The

Cork event took place in the Silver Springs Hotel on November 25th and 26th. “The JV300 delivers stunning photo-quality prints at class-leading speeds and provides the ultimate wide format solution for sign and graphics professionals, sportswear and fashion manufacturers, print shops, and more,” says Reprocentre Group Managing Director Brian Crawford. “The JV400 SUV model has a speed of 18m2/hour. The

exceptionally high durability print comes from the unique ink recipe, with components of the ink keying to the ink-receiving layer of the media. The surface of the ink is then cured using a UV process which results in a vibrant, durable and flexible finish, making it ideal for banner production, pull-ups and display materials, or any application where a combination of vibrant colour and a long lasting, scratch resistant print is important.”

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News | IRISH PRINTER

Wide Format Manufacturer Launches Crowdfunding Initiative

umeJet could become the first wide format manufacturer to launch a crowdfunding initiative to generate additional investment for technology development. The British print technology innovator has launched the campaign on the Crowdbnk platform and is aiming to attract an investment of around £2m (€2.5m/$3.1m), which will give new investors a share of 20% equity. Members of the public, angel investors and anyone from the print industry can become an equity partner in the company. LumeJet has raised approximately £8m to date, mostly through investment from private individuals and publicly-backed institutions, and has already passed more than £1m on the Crowdbnk platform. With this in mind, LumeJet Chief Executive Officer Paul Anson has told FESPA that the new crowdfunding project will not only help generate additional investment, but also allow the company to share its opportunities with the wider industry.

LumeJet is a digital print innovator, based in Coventry and founded in 2010, which is developing photonic platform technology for inkless printing and patterning applications. The LumeJet S200 is a photonic, digital printer and LumeJet’s first commercial offering. The inkless technology features LumeJet’s patented digital print head and works in a similar way to an inkjet using light, rather than ink, to make tiny dots (less than 0.005 mm) on photosensitive media. The printer takes 305mm photographic roll paper for page sizes up to A3 landscape double-page spread, full bleed, including trim (1000 x 305 mm maximum), making it ideal for A3 landscape layflat books and panoramic images. The RGB colour model achieves outstanding colour fidelity, including hard-to-print Pantone special inks like reflex

blue, neons, metallics and pastels, as well as flawless solid black, across the entire printable area. While the company is focused on the development of its S200 printer, it has also started to develop a pagewide, high-speed imaging head, it has demonstrated a UV head for applications such as digital massless lithography for plastic electronics manufacturing, and is in discussions and trials with various manufacturers regarding printhead development and supply.

Canon Claims Prestigious Pick Awards for Printers

anon Europe received three prestigious ‘Pick’ awards from BLI last month for its Canon imagePrograf large format printers. The BLI Pick awards are the result of a rigorous two-month testing process which explores every aspect of the device to provide potential buyers with reliable information about its suitability for their business needs. The Canon imagePrograf iPF780/785 won the Outstanding 36 Inch Colour Wide Format Technical Printer award, the Canon imagePrograf iPF785 MFP M40 claimed the Outstanding 36 Inch Colour Wide Format MFP prize, while the Canon imagePrograf iPF680/685 took the top honours in the Outstanding 24 Inch Colour Wide Format Technical Printer category. BLI commented on the ‘flawless reliability performance’ and ‘outstanding productivity’ of the Prograf range, as well as praising the ease of use of the on-the-fly ink replacement design of the devices and the consistent quality of the print across various paper types. BLI also praised the innovative design of the workflows for using the device, including the ability to print from mobile devices and sharing and printing files directly from the cloud. “The details of the reports from BLI are very important to us as they show where Canon is achieving its goals and also where our devices can be further improved,” says Philip Brady, Head of Canon Ireland. “It is a sign of our commitment that three of our devices have won BLI ‘Pick’ awards and we are particularly proud that, in this report, the Canon imagePrograf iPF785 MFP M40 scored highly across the board, including speed, print quality and ease of use, and especially with the functionality of the scanning solution.”

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IRISH PRINTER | News

MAJOR SERIALISATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT AT CLONDALKIN

londalkin Pharma & Healthcare has installed its first mass carton serialisation capability at its Cherry Orchard facility in Dublin. The installation of the Atlantic Zeiser Digiline 300 provides customers with a solution to one of the biggest challenges currently facing the pharmaceutical industry - the introduction of track and trace technology for new serialisation standards. The investment will support track and trace capability for product movement and will also provide authentication and improved brand protection, creating increased consumer confidence. The finished cartons are fed into a coding stream that utilises a print head and UV dryer allowing fast coding speeds, while the twin vericam camera data inspection system verifies application. This facilitates application, code verification to the master data, and readability. An automated rejection process is also included. “Many pharmaceutical companies are responding to the challenge of serialisation standards by upgrading or installing lines capable of applying a track and trace identifier, but this is often confined to 2D barcoding and batch specific data,” says Mark Rooney, COO for Clondalkin Pharma & Healthcare Specialist

Packaging Division (SPD). “We have the capability to individually code products of various sizes, including flat cartons, both glued and unglued. The system can receive and manage multiple data files and print multiple code. The wide print head with multiple image print capability in the direction of feed allows 2d matrix and code 128 in separate locations once they are within the same print width profile. Should the need occur, additional print heads can be added to extend the print location capability. The two separate camera verification scanning units ensure quality of code read and verification of code, or multiple code, to the master input data.” Since the installation of the equipment, Clondalkin have been approached by several pharmaceutical companies that have identified it as a good fit for their in-house capability and one that avoids costly line reconfiguration and downtime. Malcolm Farnan, Sales and Marketing Director for Clondalkin Pharma & Healthcare SPD Europe, says that continued investment is required in order to provide solutions that make it easier for customers to meet regulation without compromising on efficiency and quality. “Our customers approach us to provide solutions to cope with regulatory

changes or improve efficiencies,” he says. “There are both mass market and niche market demands that are best supported by a competent and experienced packaging supplier rather than an in-house operation.” Clondalkin Pharma & Healthcare produces a wide range of printed components, from cartons, labels and leaflets to extended content labels for the clinical trial sector, from its three facilities in Ireland for customers across Ireland, the UK, Europe and the US. Clondalkin Group’s Specialist Packaging Division has 24 production sites throughout North America and Europe and includes folding cartons, labels, leaflets, literature and inserts/outserts businesses, along with paper packaging and printing components. It operates across an extensive range of markets, including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toiletries and confectionery.

Fujifilm Sets New Short Run Digital Standard

ujifilm recently announced the launch of its next generation B2 sheet-fed digital inkjet press, the Jet Press 720S, which can print a wide variety of applications such as coffee table books, photography portfolios, brochures, variable data direct mail, book covers, calendars and art posters. The new press features SAMBA printheads, which can achieve native resolutions of 1,200 x 1,200 dpi, a CCD sensor, which scans every sheet and makes necessary alterations to the way the ink is discharged from the printheads, and an In-Line Sensor (ILS) system, which is mounted immediately after printing to detect and correct any nozzle and ink deposition inconsistencies in real time and make the necessary adjustments sheet by sheet. The Jet Press 720S also features a completely new system for handling variable data and personalisation. Although it is a single sided machine, it takes advantage of a system that prints a barcode in the non-image area of every sheet immediately after the paper leaves the input sheet stacker. Once the first side has been printed, the sheets are turned over and loaded into the stacker again. The press reads the barcode on every sheet as it leaves the stacker and downloads the correct page information before it prints the second side, guaranteeing front and back page matching. This can all be achieved at the full press speed of 2,700 B2 sheets per hour. This feature allows variable data printing and personalisation on a single sided press, but also means versioned applications are much easier to print, or that applications can be printed in page order to simplify print finishing or post print logistics.

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IRISH PRINTER | News

INTERIOR DECORATION MAKES THE MOST OF PRINT

he Printed Interior Decoration (PID) conference, organised by ESMA, the European association for specialist printing manufacturers of screen, digital and flexo technology, brought the worlds of construction and print together in Dusseldorf on November 26th and 27th. Printed Interior Decoration is a new and lucrative area for large format printers. This first edition of PID presented many innovative solutions but also revealed new opportunities to build strong partnerships and looked at how to succeed in the world of construction and print. Markus Benesch, owner of Markus Benesch Creates and Birgit Spielvogel, DiplomDesignerin (FH), were among the four keynote speakers who explained the power of digital print and how digital print technology can help creative designers build a successful business model. The conference also heard from a host of other speakers and exhibitors, including Coldenhove Papier, Canon, Durst, EFI, Grünig-Interscreen, Hexis, HP, Kala, MacDermidAutotype, Mactac, Marabu, Pongs Technical Textiles, Saati, Sentec International, SGIA, and Xennia. In total, no less than 16 presentations were made on a variety of topics, including the best

use of water-based inkjet inks for interior design, the power of digitally printed paper for interior decoration, and how digital technologies are bringing creative textile printing to the next level. The PID event was supported by EuroShop, a leading retail trade fair held every three years in Düsseldorf, which highlights how materials do influence a buyer´s shopping activity in a shop. “In times where shopping behaviour is drastically changing and online channels are increasingly preferred, customers need additional incentives to enter a store and buy there,” says Elke Moebius, Director of EuroShop. “This is why retail staging is of such importance. Emotionalising store design has therefore become particularly important in order to stand out from e-commerce. PID showed attendees how the new solutions on the market can bring new possibilities, thanks to personalised designs connected to highly economical solutions. This new way of decoration can fulfil 100% of the needs of the customer in any material, any size, format and, of course, colour and design.” The Global Wall Coverings Association (IGI) and the Association of the German Wallpaper Industry demonstrated the growing

importance of wallpaper printing. “Visual communication is no longer a pure poster or banner issue,” says Peter Buttiens, CEO of ESMA. “The interior is increasingly becoming part of a global marketing approach to provide the visitor or consumer with the right surroundings to enjoy his shopping experience, dinner in a restaurant, a drink at the bar or the time spent in his hotel room, to the max. Colours and patterns which can be customised, or even personalised, bring the most out of a design and avoid the standard look and feel. In addition, a new frontier of design and custom-made on-demand products, with an endless choice of materials such as glass, textile, ceramics, wood, laminated floors, wallpapers and carpets, has opened up through digital printing.”

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News | IRISH PRINTER

UNIQUE MAGAZINE COVERS

Provide Digital Print Inspiration

hen Iggesund Paperboard planned the first digitally printed cover for its inspirational magazine Inspire, the ambition level was high. The whole issue was devoted to the possibilities of digital print, and one of the goals was to produce 22,000 unique covers in a way never done before. Just adding a recipient’s name or a serial number was a bit too easy. More interesting was to start from Inspire’s tradition of using graphics on its cover. The Inspire editorial team created a 16-minute-long film where each frame was then used as a cover.

Every one of the 22,000 covers of Iggesund Paperboard’s inspirational magazine Inspire is unique, with variable printing of colour fields, varnish patterns and time codes.

“It might seem like a roundabout procedure but it was far simpler than creating 22,000 individual print files using layout software,” says Motion Graphic Designer Thomas Idebäck. The variation in the printed covers lies partly in the colour fields but also in the spot varnish. The colour field variations by themselves make each cover unique but the varnish patterns also vary. Each cover is also marked with the time code of the particular film frame on which it is based. Digaloo digital printers in Stockholm were sent the 1.4 TB of

raw data that had to be processed into pages. As the work progressed, the amount of data being processed grew to between 3.5 and 4 TB. Fortunately, the printers had invested in a new press and a RIP (Raster Image Processor) IN-100 to increase their processing capacity. “This print run is totally unique,” says Jannes Dahlgren, CEO of Digaloo. “I’ve talked with colleagues in my international network of digital printers and no one has heard of anything similar.” The company took 27 hours of active printing time to complete the project.

RICOH EUROPE OPENS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CENTRE

icoh has opened a new Customer Experience Centre for production print clients which is located within the existing Ricoh Products Ltd factory in Telford, UK. The working print production centre of excellence features integrated solutions from Ricoh and its partners that will allow visitors to see a variety of end-to-end workflows and production processes first-hand as they might exist in their own facilities. The new Customer Experience Centre will help clients identify business and production improvements, allowing them to walk through every process as they explore, test and confirm optimum solutions for their businesses. It will also demonstrate how those improvements can be implemented with Ricoh continuous feed, cut sheet and wide format printers, combined with Ricoh and third-party finishing equipment and software solutions. The new centre will make it more convenient for existing and potential clients throughout Europe to access Ricoh resources, including, for the first time in Europe, Ricoh continuous feed printing solutions. In addition, Ricoh will use the centre to conduct internal and external training, and to test processes, substrates and production approaches that push boundaries and maximise client value.

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IRISH PRINTER | News

Datapac is HP’s UK and Ireland Print Partner of the Year

atapac has been named as the HP UK and Ireland Print Partner of the Year 2014 by Hewlett-Packard at its annual partner conference in London. This marks the first time an Irish company has received this high profile award, which is open to all HP Print Partners throughout Ireland and the UK. Datapac was awarded the title as it achieved significant customer and revenue growth for HP Print. In announcing the award, HP’s Damian Cusick, Channel Sales Director UK & Ireland, highlighted Datapac’s contribution through its focus on key growth technologies. Datapac

Datapac Director Patrick Kickham receives the HP UK and Ireland Print Partner of the Year 2014 Award from Gary Tierney, HP’s UK & Ireland Printing Category Director.

designs, installs and manages print and document solutions for leading organisations throughout the island of Ireland. It has been providing image and print solutions to organisations in Ireland for more than thirty years. “We are delighted to win this prestigious award from HP,” said Patrick Kickham, Director of Datapac. “To be the first partner from Ireland to win this award is not only a great achievement for Datapac but it also signifies the buoyancy in the print market in Ireland. I’m very proud of the achievements of our team and to have our competencies and skills

Sakurai’s David Ryan to join FESPA UK Association Board

ESPA UK Association has appointed Sakurai’s UK Manager, David Ryan, to its Board. “David was heavily involved in the planning and delivery of our highly

successful ‘Screen Printing Now’ event, and in this role he demonstrated his passion for the process and his enthusiasm for communicating its benefits,” says FESPA UK Association’s Peter Kiddell. “The aims and objectives Sakurai has for the continuing development of the screen printing side of its business are broadly the same as our mission to promote the industry and encourage new membership. There is an obvious synergy about this partnership which we believe will add strength, focus and innovative thinking to the continued growth of the Association.” In accepting the invitation, David Ryan says he is “very honoured and flattered” to be asked to join the Board. “I’m looking forward to playing a part in the ongoing development of the FESPA UK Association,” he says.

highlighted in front of such a huge audience in London was fantastic for everybody in Datapac.” Gary Tierney, UK & Ireland Printing Category Director, said he was very pleased that an Irish partner had won the award for best UK and Ireland Print Partner. “Datapac fully deserved this award due to their continued growth and focus on key new HP technology like our X series printers,” he said. “We’re looking forward to further growth with Datapac as we plan some very exciting new services and initiatives for the Irish market together.”

ISO STANDARDS FOR PRINTING – DUBLIN MEETING

he international ISO TC130 committee is responsible for all ISO standards related to printing and graphic arts. That’s everything from stop buttons on presses, PDF, soft proofing, CMYK colour and spot colour to the carbon footprint of print, and much more. The Irish TC130 is hosting a meeting for those interested in ISO standards and how or why they relate to print. A short update will be provided on some of the standards reviewed and improved over the last year and the meeting will also look at those standards on which work will continue in 2015. Anyone with an interest in standards is welcome to attend. The meeting will be held at 7pm on January 20th 2015 and the venue will be a hotel in south County Dublin. Please contact Dan Wilson (Chair, Irish TC130) on (085) 768 2733 for more information or to confirm your booking - RSVP is essential!

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17/12/2014 12:24

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The game-changers Our next-generation range of performance presses are the most advanced and most productive ever seen. Our unique innovations are designed to make a difference – with adjustment-free no sidelay sheet in-feed, the highest production speeds, the shortest makereadies (with even zero downtime at changeover), the greatest stock flexibility and most reliable quality control at full production speed – it’s little wonder that today’s adopters of KBA printing systems are among the fastest growing and the most profitable in the industry. Let KBA power-performance unlock the potential of your business. Call us. Your success is our business.

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KBA (UK) Ltd. world-beating presses | experienced professionals | first class service

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15/12/2014 04/12/2014 14:19 10:03

IRISH PRINTER | WIde Format

IMPACT SIGNS INSTALLS EFI MODEL FOR POS WORK

BELFAST-BASED IMPACT SIGNS installed an EFI H1652 wide format printer supplied by Neopost Ireland at the end of October. “With the addition of this new model, not only can we print exterior signage, we can also deliver Point of Sale and internal and exhibition graphics so we are now a complete one-stop sign shop,” says Managing Director George Smyth. “This investment is about moving ahead of the other small to medium-sized print companies in Northern Ireland and we believe that this machine has the features that will help us to do that. For example, it features LED curing technology that is more enviromentally-friendly than the traditional way of lamp curing, which uses mercury bulbs that have to be carefully disposed of and, as a result, the inks are more ecologically-friendly. The EFI H652 prints directly onto any media, whether it is glass, perspex,

wood, leather or fabrics, and it comes with four-colour plus white ink support for spot colour, as well as under and overprinting, which gives us more print options. With some of the older printers, our operators would have to go through a two-hour process to change the inks and that is now done away with. In addition, the EFI H652 can produce ultra fine quality prints at an affordable price. This is very important to us because we are targeting specialised markets such as interior design and more bespoke types of signage such as wallpapers. We have our own range of specialised wallpapers that we are printing onto for both commercial fitouts and private clients. We also offer CNC routing so everything is done in-house.” George describes Impact Signs as a sign company that has evolved into a digital print company in recent years. “Digital print is a growing market

and we need to get our share of that market,” he says. “And we believe that targeting the commercial fit-out markets with the range of speciality materials that we can print onto is the way to do that. In particular, we are looking to increase our clients in the hotel and bar fit-out sectors and also to increase the number of graphic designers that we work with.” The EFI H652 generates photographic image quality with four-colour and four-colour plus white at up to 42.27 square metres per hour. It is ideal for a wide range of applications, including banners, display and exhibition graphics, flags, indoor and outdoor signage and industrial-membrane switches, as well as packaging, posters and POS materials. Typical substrates that it can print on include foam board, PVC, styrene, corrugated plastics, plywood, MDO, paper, aluminium, aluminium plastic composite, cardboard, acrylic and glass.

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17/12/2014 12:59

WIde Format | IRISH PRINTER

GP DIGITAL CREATES AT STYLE CLUB GP DIGITAL PRINTED A RANGE OF ceiling and wall covering graphics for the Peter Mark Style Club, part of the Peter Mark training academy, on South William Street in Dublin. The interior graphics were printed on Digimura Smooth wallpaper on GP Digital’s HP 8000 press. “We printed four or five different designs for The Style Club and the job was hundreds of metres long,” says Nyssan Deeb of GP Digital. “We were printing for weeks. The ceiling with the pink giraffe design was the largest area to cover. We have completed two other Style Clubs for Peter Mark, one in Swords and another on North Earl Street in the city centre. We now print and install Digimura jobs nationwide and finishes other than the Smooth option are available. In fact, we are completing more and more of these jobs each year on both Digimura and regular vinyl options. This is a growing part of our operation. However, we haven’t done any project on the same scale as the South William Street Style Club. Interior Graphics can be easily printed on Digimura wallpaper and our experience with high-end interior graphics and our attention to detail has made us one of Ireland’s leading suppliers of ceiling and interior graphics. Digimura wallpaper has been specially created to take printing ink and produces photographic quality results. In addition, many of our clients have the opportunity to personalise the Digimura wallpaper with their own designs and branding. We work through every stage of the interior graphics on Digimura process with our clients. We will survey and measure the wall or ceiling space, advise on types of Digimura that are best suited to a particular project, and be on hand for the duration of the project.”

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16/12/2014 17:45

IRISH PRINTER | What’s New in Print?

Digital Printer Switches to THERMAL PLATES AND HD INKS ITALIAN-BASED DIGITAL PRINTER ARTCENTER HAS SWITCHED to Kodak Trillian SP thermal plates, invested in a Baum feeder to work alongside its Kodak NexPress SE2500, and made the decision to use Kodak NexPress light black HD dry inks to further increase the quality of its digital printing. As a company offering digital printing applications, including brochures, technical and fashion catalogues, promotions, instruction manuals and print campaigns, as well as making plates for customers working with offset printers, ArtCenter utilises an extensive range of Kodak solutions. For offset, the company uses Kodak Trillian SP thermal plates and a Kodak Lotem 800 II Quantum platesetter with multi-cassette units. For digital printing, the company has been using a Kodak NexPress SE2500 since 2009. ArtCenter also uses Kodak Prinergy workflow software. “The plates we used before were not resistant enough for UV printing, which some of our customers use,” explains Arnaldo Passeri. “With the Trillian SP plates, baking is no longer necessary for UV printing, and the printers that we supply are really pleased with

the quality of the results obtained. One of the major advantages of the Trillian SP plates is the fact that they require less chemistry to process and eliminate the need for baking, further reducing environmental impact. With the NexPress SE2500, we can print five colours in-line at a speed of 2,500 steps per hour and a maximum sheet size of 350mm x 500mm (13.78 x 19.68 inches). A few months ago, in response to requests for three or four-leaf, or even larger jobs, we decided to extend this format capacity and installed a Baum feeder in-line with the NexPress. Now we can comfortably print covers with

fly-leaves in sizes of up to 350mm x 920mm (13.78 x 36.22 inches).” The company also decided to switch to Kodak NexPress light black HD dry inks earlier this year. These inks produce tones that are more consistent with skin tones and more realistic neutral and grey tones. This solution uses proprietary algorithms that replace specific colours with light black and is ideal for printing high-level commercial images for photographic applications and marketing materials. The fact that these inks are much thinner also provides ArtCenter with greater resolution.

NEW SECURITY PRINTING SOFTWARE FROM AGFA AGFA GRAPHICS ANNOUNCED the availability of the newest version of its Fortuna security printing design software (version 8) on October 30th. Fortuna is used to secure and prevent counterfeiting and theft around the world and is designed for use in the highest security printing applications, such as passports, ID cards, official documents, certificates, tax labelling and ticketing. Fortuna 8, which was developed in close co-operation with the high-security industry, includes numerous advanced improvements that facilitate the creation of fraud-deterrent security designs. By streamlining the PDF file generation in Fortuna 8, its compliance with pre-press workflows is increased. This results in further automation of the production process. “With this new version, Agfa Graphics strengthens its position as a reliable partner to many government institutions and private industries worldwide,” says Andy Grant, Head of Software at Agfa Graphics. “We provide innovative security design tools that help them stay ahead of counterfeiters.”

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17/12/2014 12:59

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New in Print? | IRISH PRINTER

SYNTHETIC PAPER CERTIFIED FOR USE ON NEXPRESS AGFA SPECIALITY PRODUCTS ANNOUNCED on November 13th that its synthetic paper Synaps Xerographic Matt (XM) has been certified as a qualified substrate for use on Kodak NexPress digital production colour presses by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The RIT Print Applications Lab conducted a number of evaluations to determine the optimum engine dependent settings for Synaps XM135. Selection criteria for the different settings are based on dry ink adhesion, colour density, overall image quality, sufficient discharging, and no artifacts, such as excessive curl or blistering. As a result, it was confirmed that Synaps

XM135 functions as expected under the evaluation conditions and is qualified for the Kodak NexPress 2100 Classic through SX platforms with appropriate corresponding NexStation DFE software. Weatherproof and tear resistant, Synaps XM and Synaps Offset Matt (OM) are both polyester-based

and coated for toner and offset printing respectively. Synaps XM also allows for pre-printing fixed data with offset and subsequently individualising with variable data via dry toner printing for a number of applications. It is available in weights of 135gsm, 230gsm, 300gsm and 450gsm.

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16/12/2014 17:49

IRISH PRINTER | What’s New in Print?

Is this the Future of

ABOVE: The Ricoh Pro VC60000. BELOW: The Ricoh Pro C7100.

RICOH IRELAND REVEALED WHAT IT CLAIMS IS THE FUTURE of commercial print on September 26th when it launched the Ricoh Pro VC60000 - a continuous feed, inkjet technology platform for graphic arts, designed for the production of direct mail, book printing and marketing materials. The company also claims that the modularbased system is the most versatile colour inkjet system on the market. Ricoh believes the Pro VC60000 will set a new benchmark for quality in its class as a result of its multi-drop ink technology, achieving a physical resolution of up to 1200 x1200 dpi with a dynamic variable drop size within each pixel, providing significant additional perceived print quality. The Pro VC60000 will meet the high productivity needs of commercial printers with its duplex system and capacity to produce speeds of nearly 100,000 A4 images per hour. Ricoh believes that the Pro VC60000 is the ideal investment for medium to large graphic arts printers seeking to futureproof their business, reach new clients with new applications, and accelerate the offset to digital migration. Shipments are expected to start in EMEA in early 2015. The new press features long-lasting print heads, high-viscosity waterbased pigment inks and the ability to produce premium output on a broad range of media that includes uncoated, coated offset, digital, treated and recycled. The optional protector coat unit provides a durable ‘scratch & scuff

resistant’ layer. “We know that technology-led change has been reshaping the graphic arts industry rapidly over the last decade,” says Stephen Palmer, Head of Production Printing, Ricoh UK and Ireland. “We firmly believe that one step for graphic arts businesses seeking to future-proof their business, keep pace with the speed of change and adapt to evolving client requirements, is to invest in a leading technology system like the Ricoh ProTM VC60000. Printing on offset coated papers in classleading resolution, they will be able to transfer offset jobs to this digital system. Our clients, many of them primarily offset printers, will gain enhanced productivity while carefully controlling costs and creating new

ways to service their clients.” Ricoh Ireland also launched the Ricoh Pro C7100 series of digital colour cut sheet presses recently, which delivers print speeds up to 90ppm and supports media up to 360gsm. The series provides image quality up to 1200 x 4800 dpi and supports an extensive range of media, including new textured media technology. It is suitable for a range of applications such as light packaging, demo packaging, direct mail, books, brochures and business cards. A key feature of the Pro C7100 series is its fifth colour station allowing clear gloss or white applications. The Pro C7100 series, which is available with either the EFi E-43A or the faster and more powerful E-83A print server, will be available in Ireland early in 2015.

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16/12/2014 17:49

Packaging | IRISH PRINTER

IF YOU DON’T HAVE DIGITAL, CONSIDER IT. IF YOU DO, TELL BRAND OWNERS ABOUT IT. SPEAKING AT THE DIGITAL PACKAGING LIVE EVENT in Dublin, Bob Leahey, Associate Director with InfoTrends, the industry analyst firm focused on the digital imaging, marketing and media industries, revealed the results of an InfoTrends survey which showed why digital print is growing among Europe’s converters. A total of 265 European brand owners and 100 European converters were surveyed. There was some interesting feedback from the consumers. 64% of them said that they tried a new product because of its packaging, 41% said that they purchased a product again because of its packaging, and 36% changed brands in part because of packaging. When it came to the factors that influence a shopper’s behaviour, 28% said that packaging had an influence on their purchase of new products. When converters were asked which of the following label or packaging applications they print or plan to print with a digital colour press – product labels, folding cartons, flexible packaging or shrink or stretch sleeves – 67% of them said product labels, 34% said folding cartons, 30% said flexible packaging and 19% were printing or planning to print shrink or stretch sleeves on digital presses. The survey revealed that there is a big trend in Europe for brands to manufacture short runs of products and that trend is growing. Driving this trend is brand owners’ need to target markets and be efficient in manufacturing and logistics. Also driving this trend are Europe’s languages, its changing populations, and its rules about food and drug packaging. Short-run printing for

Esmark Finch’s iGen4 from IBS, a Xerox Company

packaging is growing as a result, allowing new versions of products and private label products. Sustainability is a high priority for most brand owners and digital marketing strategies are also important. Brand owners want packaging to cut their risks and brands want to do new things, often digital-related, such as serialised codes and personalised packaging. Most importantly, from the converters perspective, the InfoTrends survey revealed that brand owners will pay a premium to achieve their top priorities, such as environmentally-friendly paper, film or board media, variable data printing for track and trace codes, variable data printing for personalised print, and electronic security features such as RFID. Interestingly, 45% of brand owners and 45% of converters surveyed said that they were willing to pay extra for one print job with less than 200 labels or packages. Also, 36% of brand owners and 41% of converters were willing to pay extra for one print job for 50 or more product versions. Converters were asked which features or uses of colour digital printing were the most valuable. 53%

said printing multiple versions in one print job, 38% said variable data printing, such as personalised print, 38% said printing of prototypes or samples in very short runs, 28% said rapid job changeover, and 26% said simple pre-press processes. Converters were also asked to name the industries that would be the biggest sources of short print runs for their company over the next 12 months. 51% said gourmet or specialised food, 32% said health and beauty, 25% said beverages and 22% said pharmaceuticals. Proctor & Gamble has over 200 brands for sale in over 100 countries. Their Principal Engineer for Printing and Decoration, Paul France, was quoted in the UK’s Packaging News as saying that “anyone who wants to work with us should definitely buy a digital press or they will find it an uphill struggle in the future.” Bob concluded his presentation by telling printers “If you don’t have digital, consider it! If you do have digital, tell brand owners about it. Especially tell them about true variable data printing for track and trace, for authentication, and for connecting consumers to digital content.”

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17/12/2014 13:02

IRISH PRINTER | Packaging

MAKING DIGITAL PACKAGING

COME ALIVE

ESMARK FINCH HOSTED A DIGITAL PACKAGING LIVE EVENT FOR CONVERTERS AND BRAND OWNERS IN DUBLIN ON NOVEMBER 12TH AND 13TH. MAEV MARTIN TALKS TO THE COMPANY’S CEO JOHN MULLANE ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL PACKAGING.

THE DIGITAL PACKAGING LIVE EVENT was a collaboration between Esmark Finch and Xerox Europe and its industry partners, including Antalis, Esko, Kama and Iggesund. “We wanted to showcase the capability of a fully integrated digital packaging solution,” says John. “The first day was for Xerox clients – print packaging companies from around the UK, Ireland and Europe - who brought their customers to the event. Day two was about demonstrating digital packaging to brand owners – Esmark Finch’s existing customers and potential new customers. We know that Xerox do a great job at marketing their technology but we wanted to take it a step forward so that customers could see the ease with which they could place orders with us and the speed with which we could produce their product. We proved the capability of the digital packaging technology in a live working environment. As a solution for quick turnaround, customised packaging, digital is here to stay.” John has been CEO of Esmark Finch since December 2012. Prior to that he was European Vice-President of European Sales and Global Business Development at global packaging solutions organisation AGI and Managing Director of AGI Media Ltd in Dublin. Based in Clonshaugh Industrial Estate in Dublin 17, Esmark Finch’s 14-strong team provides on-demand digital packaging, as well as design, print and a range of online services. “From initial design to 3D visual mock-ups, samples and prototypes, to creating the finished product, Esmark Finch has all the expertise and technologies to create, redevelop, design and deliver a company’s brand requirements,” says John. “We look after the creative and structural design side as well as digital print for about 30% of our clients. These are smaller companies that want an integrated service. Bigger food services companies tend to be with creative agencies

that manage all of their overall requirements. On the pharmaceutical side, the companies control their own key artwork so we are working with largely approved artwork.” Esmark Finch doesn’t do any trade work. “Our business is with brand owners and one or two print management companies,” says John. “We focus on the food service, pharmaceutical, retail, technology and home entertainment markets. Key clients on the food side include Hogan’s Farm, Galmere Fresh Foods, Quality Irish Foods, Ferdia Luxury Irish Chocolates, and Mondelez. Our pharmaceutical company clients include Forest Laboratories, Quintiles, Servier Laboratories, and Takeda Ireland. Topaz and Tesco Mobile are a couple of our big clients in the retail sector. Some of these companies are digital packaging customers and some are creative design and print service clients.”

WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL DIGITAL PACKAGING PRINTER?

John says that digital packaging is about providing on-demand, low volume, customised packaging. “That is what we do every day of the week and the Digital Live event was about demonstrating to the attendees that you can place an order and within less than 20 minutes have a fully printed, die-cut and glued packaging job on its way to the customer and for us that is the huge advantage of digital packaging. We did that with 50 people standing in a production area watching it happen live. Digital packaging is ideally suited to small volume, on-demand, quick turnaround packaging and it enables marketers to do seasonal promotions so it gives them a lot of flexibility. Digital packaging is never going to be a solution for the large volumes of packaging that are required but it is a complementary technology that sits well around the area that it is best suited to - low volume, multi language

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Packaging | IRISH PRINTER

and variable data. During the summer, we produced packaging for a home entertainment client in the UK who was doing a product launch. The order was placed on a Monday at 12 o’clock and it was delivered into the UK by close of business on the Wednesday. You can’t do that with litho. It doesn’t afford you that flexibility.” John points out that there are types of food packaging for which litho technology is a perfect fit, but that digital packaging in the food service area is good for smaller, niche and indigenous food companies that are building their brand and have multiple products in the marketplace. “These companies don’t want to be making major investments in stock in case they end up with stock obsolescence,” he says. “On the pharmaceutical side, it is suitable for products with multiple language variants, low volume, prototypes, or new or end-ofline products that a pharmaceutical company is producing. Digital works well for that because, again, there is no risk of obsolesence and you can print very low volumes so you have total flexibility. MWV, Colorman, Clondalkin, Marchmont - these are the big names in print packaging but they are in a different league to us. They would offer the low volume requirement as part of a wider book of business that they have with their clients but they are

not our direct competitors. We are in a niche part of the market and very few companies are in that space with us. There is no one in the market offering the fully integrated digital packaging solution that we have.”

A XEROX HOUSE

Esmark Finch’s iGen4 from IBS, a Xerox Company, is the jewel in their printing equipment crown. The press prints on coated and uncoated stocks from 200gsm up to 500gsm (610 microns) and can produce up to 110 prints per minute. On the digital print packaging side, the iGen 4 works well with their Epic coater, which enables them to do aqueous or UV varnish, their Kama die cutter and a gluing machine. “All of that equipment is inline,” says John. “The iGen4 is a €1.5m investment, including the infrastructure and software and hardware that is required, so it is a substantial investment. We have other Xerox technology in our facility so all of the kit in the company is from IBS, a Xerox Company, with the exception of our large format printer and our Printcise software which enables us to manage multiple small orders.”

OTHER SERVICES

Digital packaging constitutes about 30% of Esmark Finch’s business and it is an area that they want to grow.

“We believe that we have a unique capability and we hope that over the next three years, that 50% of our turnover will come from our digital packaging business,” says John. However, apart from digital packaging, Esmark Finch provides a wide range of communication services for a number of sectors. The design and print of marketing communications collateral is a big area for the company. “Our Roland Soljet Pro is an excellent machine and we use it for all of our large format posters and to generate other marketing communications collateral for the retail and hospitality sectors,” says John. “ We also provide small format digital print, graphic design, and litho print packaging as part of a total service for our food sector clients, along with kitting and fulfilment. Up to 35% of our business is conducted through our e-commerce platform ODS and we pick, pack and fulfil those orders within 48 hours. Our online digital solution is a huge part of our business – we create customised websites and we have clients interacting with us in that format across a range of market sectors. Customers love the idea of having their marketing communications collateral, corporate stationery, or digital packaging online with approved artwork that they can amend and then order to their requirements.”

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16/12/2014 17:55

Congratulations to all at

PRINT RUN Winner of the

Report & Accounts Printer of the Year Congratulations to all at

WATERMAN PRINTERS Winner of the

Brochure Printer of the Year Congratulations to all at

BOXPAK Winner of the

Luxury Packaging Printer of the Year

IRISH PRINT AWARDS

2014

Swan Paper, 108 Baldoyle Industrial Estate, Dublin 13 Tel. 01 8393932 • Fax 01 8391107 Email sales@swanpaper.com

Swan Paper • Sponsors of the Award Untitled-1 1 230344_SWAN_ad2.indd 1

15/12/2014 04/12/2014 14:32 10:01

Print Awards | IRISH PRINTER

PRINTER OF THE YEAR AWARD 2014

(l-r): Alan Brown, Managing Director, IBS, a Xerox Company, presents the Irish Printer magazine’s Printer of the Year 2014 award to Donal Fitzpatrick,Thomas Carey, Peter Cunningham, David Wilson and Eamonn Doherty of Interpress NI.

INTERPRESS NI BECOMES FIRST NEWSPAPER PRINTER TO WIN SUPREME AWARD

he Irish Print Awards’ highest accolade, the Printer of the Year award, is chosen by the Irish Print Awards judging panel following a review of all finalists across each year’s categories. This year, Interpress NI emerged victorious and made history in the process, becoming the first newspaper printer to win the prestigious Printer of the Year award since the awards began 37 years ago. “The fact that it is a first makes it even more important to us,” says Interpress NI’s Production Manager, David Wilson. “It is an incredible achievement for us and the press crew deserves huge credit for maintaining the consistently high print standards. There are 24 staff here, 12 on each shift, and they seem to get better year-on-year. We

began trading in 2005 with what remains our core title, The Irish News, and we now publish 30 titles on a weekly basis. We have achieved 13 major print awards in the last 10 years, including the National Newspapers award in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the Regional Newspapers award in 2013, and now the National Newspapers and Printer of the Year 2014 award, which is another significant achievement. The Printer of the Year award is a testament to the endeavours of the entire production team here at Interpress and our suppliers, who support us in terms of sourcing the best materials. This is an incredible accolade to receive from our peers – it is truly overwhelming.” Interpress NI prints the following titles: The Irish News and Farmweek for The Irish News Ltd; Inish Times,

Donegal Post, Letterkenny Post, Kildare Post, Derry News and Co Derry Post for River Media; the Ballymena Guardian, Antrim Guardian, Coleraine Chronicle, Ballymoney Chronicle, Ballycastle Chronicle, Northern Constitution and The Leader for the Alpha Newspaper Group (Northern Group); the Tyrone Courier, Ulster Gazette, Newry Democrat, The Outlook, Tyrone Constitution, and Strabane Weekly News for the Alpha Newspaper Group (Counties Group); the Newry Reporter and Banbridge Chronicle for Hodgett Ltd, the Impartial Reporter for Romanes Media Group; the Down Recorder for W.Y.Crichton + Co; the Co Antrim Post for MD Media N.I.Ltd; the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday Mail for Trinity Mirror; and the Sunday Post for D.C. Thomson.

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17/12/2014 16:17

IRISH PRINTER | Print Awards

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD SPONSORED BY CLOSE BROTHERS COMMERCIAL FINANCE

rish Printer magazine established the Lifetime Achievement Award 20 years ago to recognise an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Irish printing industry. Previous winners are people who have made a lasting impression on their colleagues and competitors and have earned the respect of their fellow professionals because of the quality standards that they espouse and deliver. Swan Paper’s Managing Director Tony Swan is this year’s winner of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Tony Swan was born 70 years ago into a large Dublin family and started his career at the tender age of 14 in CIE. Two years later he began work as a trainee costing and estimating clerk in Cló Oifig Coillte Teo on Wolfe Tone Street, or ‘The Wood’ as it was known, under Fred Geoghegan and Tim McNally. He would later join the Ormond Printing Company’s account’s department but within a year he was back at ‘The Wood’ where he was chosen by Jimmy McNally to be in the first group to study for The Diploma in Print Management. The curriculum was a major breakthrough in the

Adrian Madden of Close Brothers Commercial Finance and Freddie Snowe, Chairman of the Irish Print Awards judging panel, present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Tony Swan, Managing Director of Swan Paper.

trade as it was the first time noncraft persons were taught practical composing, printing and binding. Tony was later to also receive the Marketing Institute of Ireland’s Certificate in Marketing. The young Tony’s sharp analytical mind was always on the lookout for an opportunity and one came along when Harry Wildgust and Tony were approached to set up and manage a subsidiary of a UK-based company called Capital Paper. As well as selling mainline printing papers, this company also sold side runs and overruns at a significant discount to the market price, which was very attractive to Irish printers in the 1970s. Tony had now found his niche and he took to it like a duck (or swan) to water. After a number of years the UK shareholders decided to sell the company to Harcourt Irish Holdings and Tony’s mind was made up - it was time to go it alone. Swan Paper was established, working firstly out of home and subsequently from an office in Raheny on the north side of Dublin. During his years with Capital, Tony had built up excellent relationships with people working in the paper mills and with customers. This became the core of his future success and many of these relationships survive to this day. Tony built a strong team around him and,

in 1992, the company moved to its present location in Baldoyle. Tony has always been a keen sports fan. However, although he grew up virtually in the shadow of Dalymount Park, it was not the ‘Dalymount roar’ that lured him, but the excitement of Croke Park on Sunday afternoon, especially if his beloved ‘Dubs’ were in action. Tony’s interest in sport widened to include following the Irish soccer and rugby teams. At the age of 40 he took to the fairways of Clontarf Golf Club where he remains an active member. He is past President, a past Captain and a major sponsor of TABS Golf Society. Tony’s interest in golf has taken him across Ireland, Europe and the US, where he has played and enjoyed the craic with friends and colleagues. Together with the late Bobby Burke, Bob Fitzsimons and Alex Magill, Tony became involved with the American Ireland Fund and, through golf, raised over a million Euro for Irish charities, including the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust, the Down Syndrome Association, and St Francis Hospice in Raheny. Under his watchful eye Swan Paper, or as they prefer to be called ‘The Swan Team’, continue to thrive and today are the largest independent, wholly-owned Irish paper merchant in the country.

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Print Awards | IRISH PRINTER

ALMOST €4,000 RAISED

FOR CLIONA’S FOUNDATION AT IRISH PRINT AWARDS IRISH PRINTER MAGAZINE WAS DELIGHTED TO PROVIDE TERRY AND BRENDAN RING OF CUBE PRINTING IN LIMERICK WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO OUR 400 GUESTS AT THE IRISH PRINT AWARDS ABOUT THE UNIQUE WORK THAT IS BEING CARRIED OUT BY CLIONA’S FOUNDATION. THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF THE IRISH PRINT COMMUNITY, THE FOUNDATION SUCCEEDED IN RAISING ¤3,822.55 ON THE NIGHT.

erry and Brendan founded Cliona’s Foundation in 2007 in honour of their daughter Cliona who died as a result of an inoperable brain tumour. The Foundation, which is a registered Irish charity, provides financial assistance for non-medical expenses when other support avenues have been exhausted. These might be petrol, parking, meals, laundry, child care, alternative therapies and even, sadly, covering the cost of a child’s funeral. Cliona’s Foundation has already raised in excess of €500,000, which has helped more than 200 Irish families that have a child with a serious illness who are under extreme financial pressure. According to 2012 statistics from the HSE, an estimated 1,400 children are critically ill in Ireland today. “Nonmedical expenses are wide-ranging, significant and insidious, particularly for parents living outside Dublin who have to visit their sick child in a Dublin hospital, and those expenses can run to more than €100 per day,” says Brendan Ring. On November 18th last, the couple launched an important guide entitled ‘Practical Financial Advice for Parents Coping with a Child with a Life Limiting Illness’. This informative guide, which contains practical and helpful advice, was developed by Cliona’s Foundation following consultation with families, doctors, nurses and social workers, and aims to support and inform

Brendan Ring addresses guests at the Irish Print Awards.

families with a child that has a life limiting illness, whether as a result of an ailment, injury or a chronic condition. Commenting on the free booklet, which is funded by Cliona’s Foundation, Terry Ring says that learning that your child has a lifelimiting illness is a devastating time for parents and families. “While emotional and medical support may be plentiful, to date there has been no practical financial guidance, or information on the day-to-day nonmedical expenses that arise, that is readily available and easily accessible.” Brendan and Terry believe that no family should have to face any added financial stress when they are already struggling with the nightmare, devastation and trauma of having a seriously ill child. It is their intimate understanding of the diversity of expenses that can be incurred that has ensured that a booklet is now available to inform these families. “The ordeal of a child’s grave illness or injury tests families far beyond their endurance, taking an enormous toll emotionally, physically and financially,” says Terry. “Cliona’s Foundation wants to help these families to cope with their often heart breaking journey by providing financial support when all other resources have been exhausted.” The booklet - ‘Practical Financial Advice for Parents Coping with a Child with a Life Limiting Illness’ – is available free from Cliona’s Foundation and in a downloadable

Terry and Brendan Ring with Miriam O’Callaghan, who is patron of Cliona’s Foundation, at the launch of the booklet.

format on-line from the charity’s website. The booklet is also available in all children’s hospitals around the country, citizen’s advice bureaus, and The Irish Cancer Society. For further information visit clionasfoundation.com or Facebook: www.facebook/ clionasfoundation.com

THE 37TH IRISH PRINT AWARDS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH IBS, A XEROX COMPANY IBS, a Xerox Company, ensured that guests at the 2014 Irish Print Awards didn’t leave empty handed. All of our attendees received a two-candle Max Benjamin luxury wellbeing gift set from the Gold Collection, which is exclusive to Brown Thomas, courtesy of IBS, a Xerox Company. And Irish Printer would also like to congratulate our three lucky winners of the €500 vouchers for use in any establishment that is a member of Ireland’s prestigious Blue Book collection of country houses, hotels, castles and restaurants, and to thank IBS, a Xerox Company, for their generosity.

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