A remarkable initiative!
Issues like Female foeticide, alarming decline in sex ratio have become a serious concern to the society at large. We need to make serious efforts to prevent such evils prevailing in our society. On this line, taking a remarkable initiative National Duniya, along with non-govt social service organization SRV Sewa, recently launched a Table Calendar of 2013, containing twelve drawings of Saara, made on the gender disparity and the importance of girl child in the family. Saara, daughter of Sandeip Vishnoi, is a six-year old student of 1st Class, living in Ghaziabad – Vaishali. Her name has been recorded in Golden Book of World Record for being the youngest to get her calendar issued.
The calendar was launched in the august presence of Mamta Sharma, chairperson, National Commission for Women, Padma Shri Alok Mehta, editor-in-chief, National Duniya, Surabhi Bahadauria, director, National Duniya, Mukesh Sharma, Parliamentary secretary to CM, Surender Pal Ratawal, former minister, Swami Agniwesh, social activist, Surender Nagar, member of Parliament, Mohammad Abeed, member of Parliament, Dr Aditya Arya, director general, Home Guard.
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Enabling more sustainable textbook printing
China’s Shanghai Xinhua Printing to meet environmental standard with DuPont Cyrel flexographic plates
In line with the green printing initiative undertaken by the General Administration of Press and Publication of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, DuPont Packaging Graphics is enabling more sustainable textbook printing. Complying with the government guidelines, the primary and secondary school textbooks are required to meet China’s green printing standards by 2014, and DuPont Cyrel flexographic systems are helping make it possible to deliver books meeting these standards to Shanghai classrooms as early as the spring of 2012. Shanghai Xinhua Printing Co Ltd, affiliated with Shanghai Printing Group, has successfully printed 3,50,000 sets of three textbooks – 10,50,000 in total. They are the first to print books using water-based inks and DuPont Cyrel flexographic technology in China.
“Textbook printing using flexography marks our transformation from traditional modes of printing to greener and more environmentally friendly methods,” said Lu Youhai, deputy general manager of Shanghai Printing Group, adding, “Compared to traditional offset printing technology, flexo printing has distinct advantages in terms of environmental protection, productivity and efficiency, and standardization of operations. Environmental protection is our major consideration in our decision to adopt flexo printing. And, as the inventor of flexo plates, DuPont has played an important role in improving our quality of printing with its excellent product quality and professional technical support.”
DuPont Packaging Graphics hosted the senior management of Shanghai Printing Group at its Cyrel Customer Technology Center in Shanghai – one of ten around the world – to learn more about flexographic printing methods and using water-based inks, which are non-toxic and non-polluting. The visit was followed by a feasibility study of textbook printing which proved very successful. DuPont provided high-quality Cyrel flexo plates, technical support and guidance in plate making throughout the process from the project feasibility study phase to the completion of the printing project, enabling Shanghai Xinhua Printing Co, Ltd. to smoothly transform the textbook printing operation from offset to flexo printing.
“This is an extremely rewarding collaboration to bring more sustainable printing technologies to the China market,” said Matthias Heinzel, global business director, DuPont Packaging Graphics. “Sustainability, along with quality and productivity, are critical to our customers, and we continue to deliver technologies that establish flexo is no longer an alternative – it’s a solution in all three areas. DuPont CyrelFAST thermal plate systems that enable the elimination of solvent processing of plates, Cyrel digital plates and imagers that enable the elimination of the entire workflow associated with imaging of graphic arts photo tools, and the introduction of safer processing solvents are all examples of our successes in providing more sustainable solutions to the
printing market.”
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Rado Packaging expand their installation base
Adding further to their installation base, Rado Packaging Machines Pvt Ltd recently made installations of powder extractor systems, plate punch benders and dampening filtration solution at some prominent printers based in Noida, Haryana and New Delhi. Their recent installations include powder extractor for Heidelberg CD-102 at Kumar Printers, Manesar; for India Offset (P) Ltd, Okhla and for Komori Lithrone-28 at Synergic Impression, Okhla; powder and plate punch TY-200PB for KBA-105 and Mitsubishi at PR Packaging, Faridabad; along with dampening filtration solutions machines for Ryobi at
Golul Offset, Okhla and for
KBA-105 at Rakesh Press, Noida.
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Manugraph presents
printing solutions meeting customer needs
Manugraph India Ltd sets technology benchmarks for the industry, introducing the latest addition to their stable, an efficient web machine catering to the book printing industry. Short web path ensures excellent print quality and reduced waste, which provides an excellent price performance ratio. The other leading products from Manugraph include Smartline: 4x1 with a speed of 70,000 cph, the first Indian manufactured double width machine and Dreamline: 50,000 cph, a double width single circumference eight page newspaper press for flexible newspaper printing.
At the Printpack India 2013 show (hanger No 1, stall # H14/05), to be held at India Expo Centre, Greater Noida, NCR Delhi during February 23-28, 2013, Manugraph would present whole new customer driven printing solutions. So visiting their stand, one can witness an exclusive preview of the new technologies offered by them.
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Enabling to re-define
print business
-with VINSAK thermal platesetters and plate processors
Offering VINSAK TPS1160 thermal platesetter and VINSAK TPP 1300 thermal plate processor, Creed Engineers continues focusing on re-inventing the print business of their customers, ensuring profitability in a big way. It becomes more important as film has dried up, and outsourcing is expensive and unreliable.
VINSAK TPS1160 thermal platesetter is a technologically sophisticated solution that helps to make that quantum leap in a comfortable manner. At a blazing speed of 24 plates per hour, this platesetter enables imaging an 8-up plate. Powered by 64 channels of infrared semi conductor laser, one will be imaging with an absolute peace of mind. An easy to use control panel ensures that no time is wasted during every day operation. Designed to produce very sharp and accurate dots, the TPS1160 can image at 300 lpi providing an extremely smooth tonal gradation. Advanced optic technology, enables fine registration of colour over colour. Due to the advancement in mechanical, electrical, optics and precision engineering, this platesetter takes away the burden of consistency from the human element to modern technology.
While, VINSAK TPP 1300 thermal plate processor compliments the platesetter’s overall throughput. Built keeping the every day production needs in mind, TPP 1300 is an intelligent and robust solution that will ensure high throughput of plate is delivered reliably. Equipped with advanced micro-processor controls, ensuring reliability with usage of various plate processing settings, this system also enable maintaining thew developer temperature accurately within +/-0.3 degree celsius. The high quality rollers are acid/alkaline resistant providing
high quality processing for extended periods.
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News media evolution!
Imparting new skills and knowledge with
WAN-IFRA throughout the year
Editors and publishers seeking insight on how news media will evolve in 2013 – and how they can use these trends to advance their media enterprises – will be well served to check out the conference programmes and a ‘strictly digital’ study tour that WAN-IFRA has planned for the new year. Apart from the 65th World Newspaper Congress, 20th World Editors Forum and 23rd World Newspaper Advertising Forum to be held during June 02-05 in Bangkok, Thailand, four major regional and global events are scheduled between January and April, providing an array of presentations on everything from maximizing print profits to the latest digital developments.
A conference and workshop for South Asian news media executives that presents successful digital publishing initiatives and strategies from around the world, Digital Media India 2013 will be held in New Delhi during January 28-30. Its confirmed speakers include: Johnson Goh, vice president for strategic marketing & head of Singapore Press Holdings Online Classifieds, who will present SPH’s mobile strategies; Anita Nayyar, CEO of Havas Media for India & South Asia, who will present a digital advertising case study from an agency point of view; Stig Nordqvist, executive director, emerging digital platforms at WAN-IFRA, who will present a digital trends overview; and other speakers to be announced.
Other regional events include: Digital Media Europe 2013 (in London from 15 to 17 April 2013), a major conference on new media developments from across the continent that focuses on managing media industry change, growing digital revenue from all sources, and providing ideas for innovation from pure digital players; Printing Summit 2013 (in Hamburg, Germany, during March 19-20), focusing on maximizing the power of print, which remains the generator of most newspaper company revenues; the eight Middle East Conference (in Dubai on February 26-27) to present an overview of news media innovations from around the globe for Middle East audiences. Ravindra Dhariwal, chief executive officer of The Times of India will also be one of the speakers at the Middle East Conference.
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MWV strengthens its
presence in India acquiring Ruby Macons
One of the global leaders in packaging and packaging solutions, MeadWestvaco Corporation (MWV) announced the completion of the purchase of Ruby Macons Limited (Ruby Macons). This India-based producer of high-quality corrugated packaging materials becomes a central component of MWV’s packaging platform in India and a key element of the company’s plans to grow in emerging markets.
The acquisition of Ruby Macons expands MWV’s presence in industrial packaging in India, which also includes a converting facility in Pune making rigid, humidity-resistant corrugated packaging. MWV also delivers innovative packaging solutions for a variety of consumer goods markets in India, including healthcare, beauty & personal care, home & garden, and beverage. Under the terms of the transaction, all Ruby Macons employees will become MWV India employees and the Ruby Macons management team will remain in place, including Ashraf Nathani, managing director, Ruby Macons, who becomes vice chairman and president of the business.
Ruby Macons, one of the market leaders in corrugated packaging materials in India, currently produces over 150,000 tons of containerboard annually at two mills containing three paper machines in and around the city of Vapi, Gujarat. These assets, as well as a significant expansion project underway, will significantly increase capacity and accelerate MWV’s profitable growth in this fast growing region.
“We are excited to welcome Ruby Macons into the MWV family, marking an important step forward in our long-term commitment to growth in India,” said Peter C Durette, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for MWV, who oversees the company’s
business in India.
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Landmark Goss Sunday press order from UK
Signifying a very positive outlook for York Mailing and marking the first UK installation of DigiRail for commercial heatset printing
High-end UK commercial printer York Mailing has placed an order for a new 48-page short-grain Goss Sunday 4000 web offset press. The press will be installed at the company's Pindar Scarborough site, which is dedicated mainly to high-quality catalogue production for the retail market. Scheduled to be in production by October 2013, the press for York Mailing will comprise four units with a 435-mm cut-off, configured with a Goss SG-3 pinless folder, an Ecoset dryer and a Contiweb FD paster. It will also be the first commercial heatset press installation in the UK to feature Goss DigiRail digital inking.
In changing to Goss technology, York Mailing's confidence in the reliability of Goss International as equipment and service supplier was a key factor in the choice of the Sunday 4000 system. "We spent six months evaluating all the options, running print quality and runnability tests on presses available in the market. The Sunday 4000 came out on top by a long way for its technical capabilities but also because we felt far more confident in Goss International as a long-term partner for the future,” comments Mike Newbould Jnr., group managing director of York Mailing.
The unique gapless design of the Goss Sunday press series combined with a pinless folder will provide York Mailing with sustainability and cost benefits through reduced paper wastage. The Goss Ecoset dryer technology has been shown to minimize energy consumption and emissions by as much as fifty percent in some applications. In addition, the high automation of the press will ensure fast and efficient makereadies enabling frequent job changeovers and more run-length flexibility. The Goss DigiRail digital inking system - which York Mailing tested at a number of European sites - is a key element of this improved efficiency, using digital on/off pulsing to precisely control the flow of ink in relation to press speed.
According to Newbould the new press "slips very nicely" into York Mailing's existing equipment portfolio, which includes seven web offset presses across the two sites in York and Scarborough. Along with recent purchases in perfect binding and sheetfed capabilities, he says the Sunday 4000 press is an investment that signifies a very positive outlook for York Mailing: "Conversely to many industry reports these days, we feel quite excited at the future opportunities for the web offset market and we're equipping to ensure we can exploit that potential. Ongoing discussions with our customers continue to support the assertion that print - including high-volume, web offset print - has a very clear and a vital role in the sales and marketing mix, and that, far from dwindling, it looks likely to increase with investment in the right capabilities."
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Another accolade to AVT
Advanced Vision Technology (AVT), one of the world leaders in print process control, quality assurance and colour control for the label, packaging, folding cartons, and commercial print markets, was presented a Certificate of Merit Award by the ABFLEXO/ FTA in Brazil. The award was presented at the annual quality awards ceremony in Săo Paulo, an event attended by more than a thousand industry executives. AVT received their award in the category of accessories and peripherals and they were congratulated for providing products that contributed significantly to the development of flexography in Brazil. Notably, the Quality Flexo Awards is celebrating its 20th Edition this year and is one of the most important events of flexo awards worldwide. The ABFLEXO / FTA-BRAZIL (Brazilian Flexographic Technical Association) is the largest association in this sector in Latin America and one of the most active in the world.
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Creed Engineers moves
to new facilities in Rabale, Navi Mumbai
Well known for introducing latest technologies/innovations in the field of printing, Creed Engineers announced that it has shifted its existing branch location in Mumbai to new facilities in Rabale, Navi Mumbai. The new facilities will act as the company’s local base of operation in western India, having office as well as warehouse. The company cites benefits of the new branch location including proximity of shipments, controlled storage facility and more space as the business is growing. As per Mohan Pailwan, AGM, “This is a part of our growth initiatives, we will have more spacious office than it had in the old location, and also a new warehouse as well as new opportunities to engage with the local printing and packaging community and business people.”
In the past two decades, Creed Engineers Pvt Ltd has enabled many businesses succeed financially by providing them customized solutions that are well integrated and supported. These include manufacturers of print that extend from large and well-established brands to entities that are in their nascent stage of growth. The vision of Creed has brought solutions that were innovative, high quality and more critically an ideal fit for businesses to succeed in today’s competitive environment. These are the commitment to serve the customer’s business interested which have enabled Creed Engineers growth that now spans extensively across the nation.
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ABB gets major order for
MPS PlateWorkflow
-management and monitoring of the plate-making process
One of the leading suppliers of automation solutions for the newspaper industry, ABB recently announced a major order for its plate production management system, MPS PlateWorkflow. The order comes from the NeueZuercherZeitung (NZZ), one of Switzerland’s best-known newspapers. ABB will also supply the hardware for the new system. This means that ABB’s virtual machine (VM) concept based on Microsoft’s Hyper-V configuration can be used. The new system is expected to go into operation in August of this year.
MPS PlateWorkflow replaces the existing solution at the NZZ’s print site in Schlieren, just outside Zurich. “But this is not a simple one-to-one replacement,” says Boris Falk, head of sales at ABB Printing, “The new solution provides a wide range of new functionality that makes the prepress management easier not only for the NZZ but also for its customers.” One of these new functions that helps NZZ serve its customers better is the ‘external control center’. This gives customers of the NZZ an online means to check and approve print products using the actual print data (ripped TIFFs). Authorized users can not only browse through the whole print product, but can also inspect and approve the individual pages and separations as well as the positioning of content within the print area.
Another feature that Boris Falk emphasizes is the much tighter integration with the press management system, ABB’s MPS Production. “This seamless integration means that every change in the planning of the print product is reflected immediately in the plate production,” says Falk. “The prioritization and control of the plate production in MPS PlateWorkflow has always been based on the production planning in MPS Production, but now we can go a large step further in the handling the dynamics in this process. One small example: if the plate production strategy is changed from forced panorama plates to normal broadsheet within a print job, then only those plates that have not yet been produced will be outputted in the new format.”
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Syrian cartoonist wins
Gebran Tueni Prize
Renowned Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat, whose satirical drawings targeting corruption and lampooning dictators have been published worldwide, has been awarded the 2012 Gebran Tueni Award, the annual prize of WAN-IFRA that honours an outstanding individual from the news media in the Arab region. The award recognises Farzat’s unprecedented contribution to freedom of expression and acknowledges his unwavering commitment, despite physical attack, to exposing the excesses of power through his cartoons.
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Leveraging advantage of initiative at right time
Glunz & Jensen’s growth strategy in China is now paying off. In June 2012 Glunz & Jensen established a new production facility in the Suzhou region of China. Glunz & Jensen Asia expands on the company’s existing production facilities in Slovakia and USA, delivering the widely acclaimed Glunz & Jensen products to the Chinese and South-East Asian markets. Along with own manufacturing Glunz & Jensen also has dedicated products, dedicated logistic- and service personnel and local warehouse for Equipment and Consumables in China. This is a perfect set-up for being much more competitive and transparent to local competitive offerings and improving customer service and after-sales service for both distributors and end users.
The new and dedicated Glunz & Jensen products for the medium to high end Chinese market, Kylin and Tiger are built for customers who choose to enjoy processing quality and consistency. The factory is up and running and Glunz & Jensen is already grapping market shares by delivering Kylin and Tiger processors to Agfa Graphia Asia in Shenzhen and to Penghui Fenghua Group in Guangzhou. “Our new set-up in Suzhou has so many advantages for our customers”, says CEO Keld Thorsen. “We can offer quick and efficient sales, order handling and technical support within our customers’ time zone. We have employed professional and service minded local staff to be sure to breathe in the Chinese business culture and detect every possible opportunity that helps our customers to be successful.”
Notably, for more than thirty years Glunz & Jensen has been represented in China through distributors and is currently holding approximately ten percent of the market for offset processing equipment. With the new facilities, Glunz & Jensen will be closer to the market and have the opportunity to improve customer service and after-sales service for both distributors and end users, which should lead to an increasing market share in China.
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Kodak to monetize key digital imaging patents
Achieving one of Kodak’s key restructuring objectives, Eastman Kodak Company has completed a series of agreements that successfully monetizes its digital imaging patents. The proposed transaction follows other recent major accomplishments that include an agreement for interim and exit financing for the company’s emergence from its Chapter 11 restructuring, and resolution of US retiree non-pension benefits liabilities. Kodak’s monetization of IP assets further builds on its momentum toward a successful emergence in the first half of 2013.
Under the agreements, Kodak will receive approximately $525 million, a portion of which will be paid by twelve intellectual property licensees organized by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation, with each licensee receiving rights with respect to the digital imaging patent portfolio and certain other Kodak patents. Another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which is acquiring the digital imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previously existing licenses.
The transaction also includes an agreement to settle current patent-related litigation between the participants and Kodak, which avoids additional litigation costs and helps to ensure that management and the company’s resources focus on enhancing the operations of its core future businesses.
Commenting on the developments, Antonio M Perez, chairman and chief executive officer, Kodak said, “This monetization of patents is another major milestone towards successful emergence. Our progress has accelerated over the past several weeks as we prepare to emerge as a strong, sustainable company. This proposed transaction enables Kodak to repay a substantial amount of our initial DIP loan, satisfy a key condition for our new financing facility, and position our commercial imaging business for further growth and success.” The transaction enables the company to continue innovating in its core commercial imaging technologies that are fundamental to its future. Commercial imaging is a business in which Kodak has significant competitive advantages and strong growth prospects. “Kodak remains a major center of invention and innovation,” said Perez.
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APL Machinery offers
two new inspection systems
Adapting itself to the changing market demands, APL Machinery Pvt Ltd further increased their business portfolio by offering two inspection solutions from UK based Lake Image Systems. The new offerings from APL include latest generation print quality inspection solutions Discovery PQ and Discovery MultiScan.
Discovery PQ: With high resolution line scan cameras, Discovery PQ is capable of imaging in entire web for continuous printing applications unlike area scan cameras which capture a specific area of a document with one snapshot. Line cameras have a single line array of sensors which process a target moving underneath the camera and build the image one entire line at a time. The system can acquire high resolution image of up to 6000 pixels wide at speeds up to 300 m/min on all presses, narrow web label presses and rewinders.
It immediately identifies print defects such as streaks and voids, alarms notify operators of defective print in real time, user defined tolerances stop false alarms. Defect map gives, coordinates and images of faults within a printed reel for easy identification and removal of defective print. Run-on print is automatically calculated, preventing costly re-work and setup. Comprehensive reporting module for job and print run data assists job scheduling, productivity and quality assurance.
Discovery MultiScan: The print and mail integrity solutions Discovery MultiScan is suitable for real time data integrity and print quality inspection for mail processing, secure printing and label inspection applications. Based in Discovery platform it leads the way in performance, ease of use and flexibility pulling together the images and data from a wide variety of camera and scanner based technologies and allows the implementation of any number of Discovery software tools to read, control, inspect, verify, log and report – providing 100 percent quality inspection and print data integrity.
Discovery MultiScan can read OCR, Barcode, 2D, QR Code, PDF417, Postal Barcodes
and OMR.
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Major step taken to secure freedom of expression
in Africa
A Pan-African Parliament resolution to protect media freedoms was welcomed by WAN-IFRA, calling it a tool for African governments to dismantle criminal defamation and ‘insult’ laws that remain widespread on the continent. The resolution encourages all African leaders to sign the Declaration of Table Mountain, a continent-wide campaign to repeal criminal defamation laws and put press freedom higher on the African agenda.
“The resolution is a major step to securing freedom of expression in Africa,” said Alison Meston, director of press freedom for WAN-IFRA, adding, “The Declaration of Table Mountain has been gaining steady influence and raising press freedom to the top of the discussion, and with the Parliament’s endorsement we hope to see a number of heads of state committing to the principles of a free press.”
The Declaration, drawn up by African editors during WAN-IFRA’s World Newspaper Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2007, is a response to measures including the jailing and persecution of journalists and the widespread scourge of 'insult laws' and criminal defamation, used by repressive governments to stifle critical reporting. “Such laws are regularly used to punish journalists and deter investigative reporting into corruption and abuse of power,” said Meston. “As a means of guaranteeing a more transparent, open society, repealing defamation will encourage the development of free and independent journalism - an essential element of any democracy.” Notably, the Parliament’s resolution, approved earlier this year but communicated recently, comes at a time when African media are growing but press freedom remains under threat.
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Prakash Webtech to demonstrate fully
loaded 36,000 speed 4-high tower
at Printpack India 2013
Faridabad (Haryana) based Prakash Webtech Pvt Ltd - an ISO 9001:2008 certified web press manufacturer operating with adequate strengths to offer suitable printing machines for newspapers, books and semi commercial printers - will be showcasing their fully loaded 36,000 speed 4-high tower at stall H-17/09, in hangar 02 at the Printpack India 2013 expo.
As per Saurabh Gupta, director, Prakash Webtech Pvt Ltd, “Our stall at Printpack India 2013 will be demonstrating fully loaded 36,000 speed 4-high tower live in action. The Tower will be equipped with state-of-the-art technologies. The focus of the live demo will be on showcasing its significant cost saving feature in terms of paper wastage, premium printing quality with optimum ink-water balance.”
Robust construction, precision engineering and quality raw materials differentiate Prakash presses from others in its class. They provide an unequalled combination of highest print quality and cost-effective operation, enhancing competencies through machines and innovative technologies including 4 high towers, mono units, three-colour satellites, and folders. Prakash’s four high tower can print 4+4 comprises four nos blanket to blanket printing stack mounted one upon another, for four-colour printing on both side of a single web or two-colour printing on double web. It ensures perfect registration because of vertical web lead, RCR’s and side registers provided in each printing stack. Besides, their three-colour satellite (to print 3+0, 2+1) press comprises of three printing couples surrounding a common impression cylinder which facilitates three colour printing. The three-colour unit provides extra multi colour facility with no loss of page capacity. Prakash Mono Unit (to print 1+1) is available with inbuilt reel stand for minimum web travel and gives excellent print quality. It is also available in separate stacked unit, which can be mounted on reel stand. Their folders can produce broad sheet and tabloid newspapers with optional attachments for magazines/quarter fold and double parallel/direct fold (with cross slitting/perforation) for book production. These machines can perform with speed from 16,000 cph to 36,000 cph.
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Enabling revenue from print + digital dynamic
The New Year’s resolution for the International News Media Association (INMA) in 2013 is to facilitate an urgent news industry discussion on how to maximize revenue and engagement from the emerging print + digital ecology over the next twelve months. INMA began this discussion with two recently released reports, including: ‘News Media Outlook 2013: The Print + Digital Dynamic in Exponential Times’, and ‘Making Print + Digital Work For Advertisers’.
The exponential changes that technology will bring in how information is processed and consumed in the next five years requires a relentless drive by news publishers today to diversify revenue streams and take full advantage of the unique synergies of print and digital platforms. This is the central conclusion to the new INMA report titled ‘News Media Outlook 2013: The Print + Digital Dynamic in Exponential Times’. Written by INMA executive director and CEO Earl J Wilkinson, this marks the 12th annual strategic assessment of opportunities and threats for news publishers by the non-profit association specialising in global best practices to grow revenue, audience, and brand. The report covers seven key areas, including: the key issues in the emerging print + digital ecology, the revenue opportunities most likely to replace print advertising, an honest assessment of where print fits in multi-media plans, the transformational mobile moment confronting us, the exponential times of abundance we live in, leading the hybrid news industry in a time of extraordinary change, and what happens to journalism and brands in this age of transition.
Encouraging publishers to focus relentlessly on core competencies as drivers of a robust portfolio of profitable products, the report encourages news publishers to “keep innovating with digital, but such innovation doesn't necessarily have to be at the expense of print with its fervent core audience that can't live without its tactile experience.” Central to the report is the idea that as publishers are in the middle of the transition from print to multi-media, the transition point in 2013 is a unique place that is all about the synergies between print and digital. As per Writes Wilkinson, “It doesn't have to be 'print vs. digital.' It can be 'print + digital, ' a hybrid ecology where honesty about platform values can elevate the standing of your company and brand.”
Combining print and digital platforms with quality news brands delivers superior results for advertisers, according to the INMA report ‘Making Print + Digital Work For Advertisers’. The report focuses on: print and digital are effective in activating awareness for advertisers; quality news brands are environments for emotion, credibility, relevance and awareness; publishers are creatively filling the roles of agencies and media buyers; and print can be used either as a lead or support medium depending on advertiser needs. The report features 20 case studies by news publishers illustrating the creative use of print + digital: reach extender, complementary combination, and dimension builder.
Activities galore…
INMA will advance the discussion further with two upcoming global activities: the INMA Awards competition, rewarding excellence in news brand marketing across platforms; and the INMA World Congress in New York (April 28-30) featuring the theme ‘Monetizing the New Print + Digital Ecosystem’. Poised to become a global best-in-class conference for news media companies, the 83rd Annual INMA World Congress (www.inma.org/worldcongress) aims to: focus on the emerging revenue growth opportunities, identifying ways to enhance relevance with readers shifting to new platforms, and guiding decisions on how much time and money to invest in print vs. digital.
Regionally, revenue generation and alternative revenue streams will be keys to five upcoming INMA seminars: Innovative Advertising Seminar, Miami (February 11-12); Ideas Day – Advertising, Brussels (March 14); Irish Media Day, Dublin (April 18); French-Speakers Seminar, Paris (June 14-15); and Dutch-Flemish News Media Conference, Genk (June 21-22). In the second half of 2013, INMA will complete the year’s ‘INMA conversation’ with regional conferences in New Delhi, Lima, Las Vegas, Berlin, and Săo Paulo.
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The largest Chinese-language daily in Canada orders new Goss press
Sing Tao News Corporation has ordered a new six-tower Goss Community press for the Sing Tao Daily, Canadian eastern edition. The publisher’s experience with Goss equipment and personnel was crucial to the choice of supplier for its latest technology upgrade. The installation coincides with a relocation to a new printing plant in the city of Markham, within the Greater Toronto Area. According to Peter Li, vice president – operations for Sing Tao Daily, Canadian eastern edition, there are a number of advantages to be gained from the installation: “Our objective is to improve production efficiency and reduce waste while also increasing colour capacity for daily editions and supplements. Goss is not unique in the ability to meet these needs but we have always used Goss equipment so we know it well, and confidence in the long-term support was also an important consideration.”
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Chinese press freedom violations condemned
WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum have condemned Chinese censorship in a case that has provoked a rare show of public protest in support of press freedom in China. In a letter to president Hu Jintao, the global press organisations called on the Chinese authorities to ‘end the culture of state censorship’ that frequently targets critical publications and stifles freedom of expression.
Recently, state censors blocked publication of a pro-reform editorial in the Guangdong-based Southern Weekly newspaper. The title – one of the most outspoken in China – was due to run with an article calling for the realisation of a "dream of constitutionalism in China" to protect people’s rights. Censors replaced the article without the knowledge of the paper’s editors, a move which provoked unprecedented public demonstrations and strike action by journalists in support of freedom of expression. While the strike ended after censors agreed to refrain from any future meddling in the paper’s editorial line, it remains to be seen just how long lasting such concessions will be.
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Print Media Academy, India completes its fourth ‘Operator Development Programme’
With an initiative taken for training the operators of print-shops in the country two years ago, Heidelberg India’s Print Media Academy (PMA) recently completed its fourth ‘Operator Development Programme (ODP)’.
“ODPs are just getting better and better every passing year. The fourth Operator Development Programme (ODP) was a grand success with excellent support from our fellow printers. We designed the programme in such a way that the operators could grasp the technology behind each vital division of the print production chain i.e., prepress, press and postpress, in detail. Just like previous ODPs, we were successful in striking the right balance between practical and theoretical sessions,” conveyed professor Rajendrakumar Anayath, head - PMA India, mentioning, “We trained fourteen operators this year and besides regular subjects, we included a special course on print colour management which gives in-depth understanding of colour separation, prepress techniques, preflight checking and proofing methods.”
As per Mahendran from Shree Maruthi Printers, Coimbatore - one of the participants of the fourth ODP, “This training programme was an ink-water balance, colour management, press maintenance, safety procedures, ink application for commercial and packaging printing and so on. Training on ‘print colour management’, in particular, was very useful.We gained knowledge on how to enhance the data in prepress stage itself, which saves time during printing”, expressed Shashidhara from Mangala Art Printers, Bangalore – another ODP participant. The participants also had a chance to visit some local commercial and packaging industries in and around Chennai.
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PacPrint13 sets to stage
in May 2013
Future of the printing industry is vital for a new transition. In response to such development, PacPrint13 Forum Series will be firmly on the future. Painting a picture of that future, in both general and industry-specific terms, and giving businesses the resources they need to transition in the best possible way, will be the aim for the PacPrint13 Forum Series.
The Series, themed on ‘An Industry in Transition’ will comprise three sessions running from 11 am to 12.30 pm from May 22-24, 2013, complementing the exhibition which will be held from May 21-25, 2013 at Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. The topics to be covered are i) How the World Will Change in the next 20 years…and the implications for business; ii) Perspectives on Print – Past, Present & Future; and iii) Leadership & Managing Successful Transitions.
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Strategic partnership between NELA and Glunz & Jensen
As a part of a strategic partnership agreement with NELA to jointly support newspaper pre- press solutions worldwide, Glunz & Jensen has sold their punch/bend activities to NELA Ternes Register Group Inc. Under the mutual agreement, NELA will be promoting processing equipment manufactured by Glunz & Jensen, and Glunz & Jensen will now be promoting punch/bend equipment manufactured by NELA. It forms a very strong strategic partnership, providing by far the most solid and proven automated plate handling solutions to newspapers worldwide.
NELA and Glunz & Jensen have more than 3000 in-line systems for offset plate production installed in the newspaper industry and are the leading suppliers worldwide within their own business areas.
