The Australian Sign & Graphics Association (ASGA) has invited one of Australia's top business coaches in the trades and construction industry, Stefan Kazakis, to share his expertise with sign business owners in its next webinar.

There is an undeniable surge in recruitment activity in the industry as business gets back to normal post-lockdowns. The Job of the Week is a very senior position with a leading industry supplier, handled by Quest Recruit. Another eight jobs feature in today's newsletter, including an Apprenticeship in WA - so polish up the CV and get busy!

Visual Connections has released links to all of its photos from the National Print Awards and PICA events held in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney on Friday. After such challenging times, it's great to see the industry getting together again, albeit a hybrid of virtual and in-person. Over 400 photos are available.

Fujifilm Group recorded ¥1,205.1 billion ($A14.5bn) in revenue for the six months ended September 30, up 20.8% year-over-year, “reflecting sales increases mainly in the Healthcare segment.” The Materials unit, which includes the graphic communications and inkjet businesses, recorded a 13% increase in revenue.

A collaboration between tech pioneers HP and Microsoft will see users wearing an advanced Microsoft headset as a virtual coach guides them through troubleshooting  - “meaning no time wasted on long service calls, resolutions are swift and press downtime is kept minimal.”

Out-of-Home advertiser JCDecaux will launch its first certified carbon neutral product in Australia in early 2022, with the company’s wide format print business GSP to produce carbon neutral product for JCDecaux’s transit network. 

Roland DG Australia has appointed former Fuji Xerox operations manager Troy Ryan as its new service manager to lead the Sydney-based service and support team. 

Xaar’s printheads have again been selected by industrial 3D printing manufacturer dp polar to power the latest addition to its range, the ‘mass production’ AMpolar i1 - due to be unveiled at this year’s Formnext Show in Frankfurt (16-19 November).

Takashi Otani will take over as Managing Director of Fujifilm Business Innovation from Takayuki Togo who is moving onto a new global challenge. Mr Otani is very experienced both within Fujifilm and the Graphics supply sector.

Ricoh Company reported profit of 11.1 billion yen for the first half of 2021, compared to a loss of 22.1 billion yen for the same period last year but said the economic outlook remains uncertain.

French printing software company Caldera has announced new RIP software to support the Fujifilm Acuity Ultra R2 series. CalderaRIP software supports more than 1600 large-format printers and cutters from major manufacturers. 

Scammers are becoming more and more sophisticated, using technology to make their scams even harder to detect, says ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard, launching Scams Awareness Week (8-12 November) under the theme ‘Let’s talk scams.’

The COVID-19 pandemic has destabilised the global container freight supply chain, with delayed shipments and rapidly rising freight rates putting intense pressure on Australian exporters and importers, according to a new report from the ACCC.

CMYK Colour Online is looking for an experienced Digital Press operator at its Moorabbin, Melbourne site. Print finishing skills are also appreciated but additional training will be given. The company is a fast growing national provider of web-to-print services, with the latest technologies to work with.

The Outdoor Media Association’s (OMA) Best of Outdoor selection for October includes two campaigns urging Australians to get vaccinated. A new initiative that adds to billboards a nameplate with the country name of the traditional owners of the land was also selected.