Articles

Publishers tend to know what they want to publish, although they may not know how they want it printed. It’s a step too far to care about the production of a book or magazine, when you’re tearing out your hair to get the content and sales projections right. This is unsurprising: production and printing are…

The VIA LIBRIS is a paperback-sized treasure book. It leads its user to a predetermined location, using a special compass dial and by giving cold, warm, or hot clues. At the treasure location, a gift card pops out of a hidden slot in the book. It’s a great surprise for the gift card recipient. A…

The topic of ISO standards is pretty dreary, but it’s a subject that can make a difference to the success of your wild format projects. Standards published by the International Standards Organisation are created and developed by people like you. It’s a cooperative and consensual process rooted in local groups who come up with ideas…

It’s hard enough getting to grips with carbon footprinting, but that is only a small part of the environmental impact calculation. In 2018, regulators and shareholders in mature markets are sharpening their focus on the life-cycle environmental impacts of products. This will impact all parts of the graphics supply chain, from design to procurement. At…

What should the graphics industry expect for 2018? This is easy to answer: more of the same. It would be great to hint at exciting new technologies waiting just around the corner. Or to share with you some amazing new business models for print and publishing. But in fact the graphics industry is awash with…

Since drupa 2016 and even prior to that show, there has been a lot of interest in packaging printing. Several manufacturers have introduced digital presses for this application, most notable EFI and HP. Printers can be confident that they will have solid support if they decide to get into this business. But all parties should…

For Kodak, reborn and re-energised, sustainability in every sense has become the company’s foundation. According to its recently published 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report (CRR), the first since 2013 when the company had just emerged from Chapter 11, Kodak aims to be the leading company for sustainability in the graphics industry. It has published some ambitious…

Another week another sector specific sustainability initiative, this time in the cosmetics business. The Responsible Beauty Initiative (RBI) wants to improve sustainability in that sector along with improving ethical and social performance, focusing on sustainable procurement. At the core of RBI is EcoVadis a provider of supply chain sustainability ratings, working with four big names…

One of the biggest problems for makers of paper based on recycled printed matter is quality, meaning cleanliness. Ensuring that the waste paper entering the recycling stream is sufficiently uncontaminated for use as a raw material for new products is hard. Generally pulp and paper mills rely on a test procedure to check that the…