Two new appointments at PaperlinX to 'improve customer-focus, performance and profitability'

PaperlinX has made two new appointments which it says signal its commitment to improving customer-focus, performance and profitability.  Andy Buxton has assumed the role of Sales Director for PaperlinX's Commercial Print sheet business and Mandy Gallego has been appointed as Sales Operations Director.

Buxton will manage the Group’s Account Management with an overall brief to drive improvements to maximise reach and profitability, whilst Gallego will be responsible for the Group’s branch network and will focus on sharpening and shaping operations in order to ensure the delivery of first class customer service and support levels.

“Both are charged with developing and growing our Commercial Print business and improving the service we deliver to our customers,” says the company's Commercial Director, Ian Hunt.

In November, PaperlinX announced its intention to create a flatter management structure and unified account management team within its Commercial Print division. “Despite the challenges posed by an ever-shifting market there is still a massive opportunity for growth. This restructure will ensure that as a Group we’re better placed to meet the needs of our customers, increase our reach and improve profitability,” comments Hunt.

The new business model that will unify product sales across all three companies with a common product range and price list will enable the Group to respond to customer opportunities faster. A dedicated Account Manager, acting as a single point of contact, will provide customers with access to the Group’s entire product portfolio that includes paper, packaging, graphics, digital wide format printers and print consumables.

“These two appointments are the first step in our strategy for growth which will see us offering customers a broader portfolio of products, a greater depth of stock and superior service levels.  Commercial Print is our core business, we are the market leaders and our focus is firmly on growth.

"Our aim is to provide customers with an unparalleled portfolio of products and services and to cement our market leading position in this sector.  This new structure will guarantee that all our products are represented across the country by specialist teams with expertise and experience relevant to the needs of each individual customer and places us in a great position to add value to our customers’ businesses,” concludes Hunt.

Sun Chemical releases 2012 Sustainability Report

Sun Chemical has released its 2012 Sustainability Report which it says 'showcases the company’s leadership in eco-efficiency through established data-driven metrics', as well as detailing examples of how raw material suppliers are contributing to the company’s environmental footprint.

The report describes a balanced scorecard approach that Sun Chemical uses to assess suppliers’ environmental performance and provides details about questionnaires that were sent to suppliers asking about their sustainability policies, carbon footprint emissions, the potential impact on deforestation, etc.

The report cites two case study examples of raw material suppliers who published sustainability reports and described their contributions and practices to eco-efficiency.

“We’re going beyond providing meaningful data that will help meet customer goals,” said Gary Andrzejewski, Sun Chemical’s Corporate Vice President of Environmental Affairs. “We are showing concrete examples of things our raw material suppliers are doing to help Sun Chemical meet and improve upon its eco-efficiency goals. It is our goal to manufacture products that help our customers better meet their environmental goals and we can only do that by ensuring our suppliers are also doing their part to contribute to sustainable practices.”

The report shows data collected every year since 2005 from approximately 170 Sun Chemical sites in over 25 countries. The key sustainability metrics measured in the data include: energy consumption/conservation at production and non-production sites, the energy carbon footprint at the production sites, process waste reduction, water consumption, materials safety, and employee safety.

Providing a report that shows the ongoing management and monitoring of key sustainability metrics is an important part of Sun Chemical’s sustainability policy.

“Our sustainability policy pushes us as a company to improve the eco-efficiency of our processes and products,” Andrzejewski said. “Our R&D efforts are a pivotal part of this process as we provide our customers with solutions that will be both eco-friendly and save them money. These data-driven sustainability reports have played a key role in helping our customers achieve many of their eco-efficiency goals.”

All of Sun Chemical’s sustainability reports, along with the “Carbon Footprint Report 2010,” which outlines the results from nine independent environmental analyses focused on quantifying the carbon footprint of its product lines, are available to customers and can be requested online at www.sunchemical.com/sustainability.

Customers in the U.S. can also calculate the initial carbon footprint for their facility operations by visiting www.sunchemical.com/suncare.

Jon Thompson appointed as APS' South West Sales Manager

All Print Supplies (APS) has appointed Jon Thompson as the company’s new South West Sales Manager.  Jon, who started his new role in December 2012, brings with him nearly a decade of specialist sales experience in the signage sector and will be responsible for the South-West region.

Kevin Wallace, managing director of All Print Supplies, comments, “Over the past few years, we’ve seen our customer base in South-West England and South Wales grow significantly. As a result of this, we’ve now appointed a dedicated sales manager for this area to ensure all our customers in this region continue to receive this highest level of customer service from APS.  Jon brings with him a wealth of experience in the signage and wide format sectors and he is a great addition to the team.   Jon is tasked with providing continued support for our existing customers and increasing the awareness and sales of All Print Supplies products across an area that has some great opportunities for us.  We welcome Jon on board and look forward to working with him to grow our business in this region.”

Jon Thompson adds, “I am delighted to accept the role of South-West Sales Manager, particularly at this exciting time for All Print Supplies as it seeks to grow its business in the South-West and Wales.  I’m very impressed with the team at All Print Supplies. They have a straight-forward and very strong proposition to take to the market - the best products in the market backed by best customer service from a team that deliver on what they promise.”

With Jon Thompson now assigned to the South-West of England and South Wales, All Print Supplies’ Sales Manager, Dave Bates has been given responsibility for leading APS’s sales team in the South Central region of England, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire.

Roland DG confirms plans to participate in Packaging Innovations 2013 exhibition

Roland DG has announced its plans to participate in the upcoming Packaging Innovations exhibition alongside its packaging partners, ESKO, and CGS Publishing Technologies.  The event is scheduled to take place at the NEC in Birmingham on 27th and 28th February 2013. Visitors to stand D4 in the Print Innovations section of the show will be able to experience first-hand the versatility of Roland DG’s LEC- printer/cutter as well as the ORIS Flex Pack // Web contract proofing solution which Roland believes will revolutionise packaging prototyping and proofing.

Roland’s LEC-540 printer/cutter will be demonstrating the ease with which visually stunning packaging prototypes can be designed and printed. Unlike traditional prototyping and proofing systems which are slow and expensive, the LEC series allows users to create realistic samples quickly and using virtually any material, including final production stock. The option to print mock-ups with white and gloss ink, and embossed effects on-demand offers real versatility to the packaging sector and gives printers and design agencies the freedom to produce creative prototypes without escalating costs.  

CGS  Publishing Technologies new ORIS Flex Pack // Web Solution, which includes ORIS software and Roland’s VersaCAMM VS-series of printer/cutters, was exclusively developed by CGS as an on-demand alternative to legacy systems for packaging proofing. The package is a turnkey solution for flexible packaging proofing and mock-up production which delivers huge savings on consumables with no compromise on the quality of the final product. Roland’s VS printer/cutter will be printing a range of prototypes on various materials using white and metallic inks live on the stand.

Steve Chappell, Packaging, Proofing & Industrial Labelling Business Manager at Roland DG comments, “We are delighted to be exhibiting at Packaging Innovations again this year with CGS and ESKO. At Roland, we believe wide-format print has an increasing role to play in the packaging sector and we are proud to be the printer manufacturer pioneering this change. We’ve had a brilliant response to the versatility of our LEC and VS series of printer/cutters so far, and we look forward to introducing the benefits to a new audience in Birmingham.”

Roland will also be running an exclusive competition for visitors to the stand with a grand prize for the eventual winner. Visitors to the show can go to Stand D4 during the exhibition for more information on the competition.    

For more information on Roland DG’s LEC and VersaCAMM VS series of printer/cutters please visit www.rolanddg.co.uk

Hampshire Flag Company supports The Coldest Journey project

An array of flags and banners have been donated by the Hampshire Flag Company to The Coldest Journey project - the first ever attempt to cross the Antarctic continent during the polar winter whilst raising money for charity.  The company has provided 12 flags, 12 lengths of bunting, two banners, banner frames and flag poles for the expedition led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

The Coldest Journey is attempting to raise US $10 million for Seeing is Believing, a charitable initiative that raises money to prevent and treat avoidable blindness. Expedition members and equipment sailed from the Thames to South Africa last month, and are now en route to Crown Bay in Antarctica.

Hampshire Flag donated five Commonwealth flags, one printed Union flag and six custom flags featuring The Coldest Journey logo. It also produced eight lengths of PVC bunting and four lengths of knitted polyester featuring the Seeing is Believing logo, a PVC banner and a mammoth 15m banner with The Coldest Journey logo printed twice. Banner frames and flag poles complete the package of donated products.

Graham Wilkinson, Hampshire Flag’s Managing Director said, “Our flags not only get to clock up some miles but they often help raise awareness of some great causes - and the flags and banners we donated to The Coldest Journey are no exception."

The traverse will take place between the two seasonal equinoxes, 21 March 2013 - 21 September 2013, with the ice team travelling from Novolazarevskaya (Novo) to the Ross Sea in the Antarctic winter. During this six month period, the expedition team will have travelled 2,000 miles, mostly in complete darkness in temperatures close to minus 90 degrees.

"We wish all the team the very best for their amazing and worthwhile fundraising expedition," said Graham.

Throughout the traverse, the expedition team on the ice and the ship will undertake a number of scientific tasks to provide unique data on glaciology, marine life, oceanography and meteorology.

Sign Wise UK buys Mutoh ValueJet 1624 from Colourgen reseller Random Choice Solutions

Sign Wise UK Ltd has bought a new Mutoh ValueJet 1624 from Colourgen reseller, Random Choice Solutions. The machine will work alongside Sign Wise’s existing Mutoh printer, which it bought 15 years ago.  Sign Wise was the first company to purchase the new model when it was launched in January 2012.

Based in Reading, Sign Wise is one of the UKs leading sign creators, supplying various signs from exterior shop signs and point of sale materials to banners, safety signs and graphics for vehicle graphics. Although Sign Wise creations can be seen almost everywhere - including Sainsbury’s and Carphone Warehouse - the business mainly supply to other sign companies, and is virtually a trade-only supplier.

On purchasing the new Mutoh machine, Sign Wise's owner and managing director, Gerry Poulton, explains, “The business has been steadily growing this year and we have always found the Mutoh to be a useful printer. The theory was that we could run one job across two printers simultaneously. Of course, the reality was that the inks were different on the two printers due to the changes in ink formulations over the past 15 years. But it still means we have two excellent printers and we couldn’t function anywhere near as well without the ValueJet now.”

The new printer has enabled Sign Wise to take on extra work and means it can turn work round much faster. Since it purchased the ValueJet 1624, Sign Wise has bought four further printers and now has nine wide format printers installed.  Business turnover has increased by 25 per cent.

The new 4-colour, ValueJet 1624 (64") wide format printer appeals to established businesses as well as start-ups.  Incorporating Mutoh's proven design features, the printer has a brand new drop-on-demand printhead with 1440 nozzles to deliver stunning performance at up to 29m²/h as well as improved print quality at higher speeds. The ValueJet 1624 is targeted at the production of long term indoor and outdoor applications with Mutoh Eco Ultra ink.

Verdigris asks print & paper industries to 'Go Google-less'

Verdigris, the environmental awareness initiative, is asking the printing and paper industries and their customers to ‘Go Google-less’ in response to Google’s Paperless 2013 campaign which urges people to stop using paper. Verdigris wants the industry to stop using the Google search engine and related products such as Google+, Chrome or Android in the hope that Google will reconsider.

The Paperless 2013 campaign (www.paperless2013.org) claims that relying exclusively on digital communications instead of using paper benefits the environment. However, Paperless 2013 is more about getting people to use cloud storage, online bill management, accounting and e-signatures.

Verdigris claims that Google and its campaign partners are using an environmental message to encourage use of their own technologies, not to aid environmental sustainability. “Their arguments are ill-founded and potentially damaging to the environment,” says Laurel Brunner, Verdigris founder.

Electronic devices cannot be recycled; paper can. Unlike paper, electronic devices are not based on a sustainable resource, but depend on oil-based plastics and rare earths neither of which can be replenished. Electronic devices require huge amounts of energy to support and maintain the content they deliver, whereas paper based content has a one-time carbon footprint. Electronic devices create an environmentally damaging waste stream that cannot easily be managed. Paper can be reused, recycled and disposed of responsibly when it reaches its end of life.

Verdigris wants enough people Go Google-less to encourage Google to reconsider its campaign. “At the very least, they might try to better understand the environmental impact of media and about what industry can to do help reduce environmental impacts,” says Laurel. “The higher the number of users, the higher Google can charge advertisers. Reduce the number and we undermine the source of Google’s income. The threat of harm to its revenue model might encourage Google to become better informed and be more responsible in its environmental positioning, particularly as relates to print and paper.”

For more information on Verdigris, please visit www.verdigrisproject.com.