Innovation may be the last thing on the minds of sign business owners as they reopen after COVID-19 restrictions, but with sources of capital under pressure like never before, some sign companies are reinventing themselves, writes Melissa Coutts of the New Zealand Sign & Display Association (NZSDA). 

Onyx Graphics says its new ONYX Automation Libraries will help print shops to automate faster, improve print workflow efficiencies and reduce manual errors. The libraries Include example Quick Sets for banners, wraps and a variety of finishing mark settings.

Commercial printer Clarke Murphy Print has teamed up with the NRL to produce hundreds of corflute cut-outs of fans to fill empty stadiums following the re-opening of the season last Thursday. Fan in the Stand is expected to be rolled out further in coming weeks.

HP Australia’s new Large Format Academy webinar on Latex True Print & Cut solutions is hosted by Kevin Gregory, application specialist, large format printing, HP Australia (Thursday 4 June 11am AEST/ 1pm NZST.). Spaces are limited.

The inaugural Visual Connections Virtual Trade Show (31 May-30 Sept) is underway, with Epson introducing a range of new product videos and offering free gifts including a $200 Epson online voucher for the first 20 registrations to attend a printer demo.

Ricoh has introduced a new industrial inkjet printhead, the RICOH TH5241 - the first Ricoh printhead that uses a thin film piezo actuator*1(PZT) - which will be available globally from June 1st, 2020.  “There is an increasing demand to meet a variety of customer needs for sign graphics and textiles such as smaller run sizes and shorter delivery times," the company says.

Canon Australia has introduced the company's new imagePROGRAF TA-20 wide-format colour inkjet printer that was rolled out in the US earlier this month.  The 24″ wide system, with scan-to-copy and file, is designed for low-volume, entry-level customers.

“These severe situations influenced by COVID-19 are expected to continue and we need to pay close attention to the risk of a downturn in the domestic and overseas economies,” said Fujifilm president Kenji Sukeno.

The CHILI publish Version 6 of its graphics software program CHILI publisher, to be released on June 15^th,  includes improved online editing and faster production of on-brand visuals.

Fuji Xerox New Zealand managing director Peter Thomas has told staff the company plans to cut about 100 jobs after the collapse of its print business during COVID-19, according to a report by NZ news website stuff.co.nz. 

With so many industry events being cancelled or postponed this year, it's good to hear that PacPrint - Australia's leading show for print, sign, display, labels and packaging - has been rescheduled to 28 September - 1 October 2021. “This will make the Melbourne show the industry's first major expo for two years so it's likely to be a bumper edition, with the new dates also ensuring PacPrint maintains its position as an important post-drupa event,” say the organisers. 

“Industry is facing a downturn of historic proportions, forward orders have collapsed, and yet the Federal Government won’t commit to spending our taxpayer money on buying Australian made to support Australian workers and businesses,” says Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) national secretary Paul Bastian. The union has joined the Print & Visual Communications Association (PVCA) In a campaign to pressure governments to buy Australian-made products. 

Screen GP Australia has announced the global parent company’s plans to target the package printing field as a strategic business area and progressively strengthen its inkjet digital product line-up and solution development for this market.

The manufacturer of digital printing solutions for textiles posted a Q1 2020 loss of $13 million due to COVID-19 but said it was “very well positioned to seize the market opportunity ahead of us.”

User-generated messages of love and unity are being displayed on digital out-of-home (DOOH) screens worldwide, with social media amplification ensuring the messages are seen by millions at home. Outdoor company QMS Media is delivering messages to people in Melbourne via the Grand Visuals platform.

Covid-19 has had a dramatic effect on many service providers to our industry, not the least David Crowther's Colour Graphics Services who help printers maintain ISO, G7 and other critical colour standards. He has been unable to travel into production sites and is giving limited assistance via phone and Zoom, but needs to clear some stock in a once-only below cost sale that ends on June 30th.

HP Australia’s webinar titled Expand your Large Format Horizon with HP Latex will focus on unique water-based HP Latex inks and applications they deliver. The Zoom session will also look into thermal printhead technology. (Thursday 28 May 11am (AEST), 1pm NZ)

Note: It has been pointed out that all of Adherettes' physical assets were sold off by liquidators Pitcher Partners in February, using Hilco APAC. The Port Melbourne premises are vacant and for lease, no manufacturing or staff exist there.

Good news is hard to find right now, so the news that the renowned Adherettes trading name has found a buyer in Joey Bacic's dynamic seven-year old OMG! group is a breath of fresh air and could be a sign of greater things to come.

Epson will use its patented Dry Fibre technology, the same technology used in its PaperLab A-8000 system, to start producing face masks for its employees and medical institutions.

Employer association Ai Group called for urgent legislative reform "to restore fairness" after a full bench of the Federal Court ruled that regular, ongoing casual workers may be entitled to paid annual leave. “The potential cost impacts on employers…for annual leave alone, are between $5.7 billion and $8 billion,” it said. The AMWU tweeted: “Huge win for workers.”

Downloads will soon be available of a white paper prepared in the US by the International Sign Association (ISA) and Keypoint Intelligence, and sponsored by Avery Dennison and Roland DGA, titled Reaching Today’s Customers: A Guide for Wrap Shops.