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The graphics world has been abuzz with automated template-driven 'Cloud' design SASS applications but do they all understand the needs of hard working printers regarding design, file quality, resolution, PDF versions, colour and so on? Most importantly - how do you convert a design into a paying print customer every time? Over 800 customers around the globe have discovered that India-headquartered Design 'N' Buy is the 'bees knees' application that brings in the business.

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Innovation to meet pressing demand for greater digitisation, sustainability, productivity and automation will be essential to the ongoing evolution of the print industry through to 2031, according to industry researcher Smithers.

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Italian luxury fashion brand Brunello Cucinelli has turned to Epson's sustainable paper recycling system PaperLab to reduce its paper waste and ‘embrace the circular paper economy.’

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Colour management specialist ColorLogic, part of Hybrid Software Group, has released ColorAnt 8, an advanced colour measurement and correction tool that now supports X-Rite i1iSis 2 spectrophotometers.

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SAi has released another great tutorial viddie, this time on how to vectorise in Flexi. It could be the most useful five minutes you spend today!

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The Small Business Ombudsman has welcomed the extension of the federal SME Recovery Loan Scheme that provides small and family businesses with access to finance as they work to get back on their feet.

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3M says its new $A133 million manufacturing plant at Hilden, close to Düsseldorf, in Germany will significantly increase the production of 3M Graphics Films for global markets including Australia. The films are used for vehicle design, advertising and promotional activities.

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In what appears to be a dispute over licence fees, Pantone colour libraries are set to be dropped from the built-in features of Adobe's Creative Cloud suite which include the ever-popular Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Capture. For some designers working only in CMYK digital output, this might not be a big deal but for others, and their clients, it could be a recipe for colour communication confusion and inaccurate spot colours.

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Long-established UK (now 50% Australian-owned) brand Ilford Imaging, originally in the photographic and prepress sectors, has released a new range of Ilford Galerie Décor canvas in rolls from 24-inch (610mm) through to 64-inch (1625mm), targeted at the expanding home décor market.

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“Pulp, paper and paper products manufacturers will face further pricing pressure, and it appears that in addition to higher paper costs, the Printing sector will have additional input costs from chemicals and other materials,” according to pulp and paper industry researcher IndustryEdge, which said: "The costs of manufacturing have been rising for more than a year and the size of the increases is growing."

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Sign and print media supplier Spandex Asia Pacific says its rigid material pricing will be updated on 4 January due to ongoing ‘extreme challenges’ in global supply chains. Graphic Art Mart & Amari have announced an increase of 5-10% across its product range from Monday, 31 January 2022. Competitor Spicers this month increased its prices by 8% on all print & packaging products due to what it called “unprecedented” supply conditions.

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For almost forty years, industry specialised textiles supplier Ricky Richards, established in 1983, has remained family-owned and operated and is now one of Australia’s leading suppliers of specialised textiles. Apart from printable media, Ricky Richards supplies high-quality technical, industrial and agricultural textiles to sectors from Boating, to Camping & Outdoor, Healthcare and Mining. Always keen of holding good stocks, Ricky is promoting its Starlight Display recycled front-lit banner rolls in time for the festive season.

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PrintIQ - the Queensland headquartered management workflow cloud-software developer has successfully expanded globally, particularly in the UK market where it has joined the online expo, printing-expo.online with a virtual booth. Believing in person-to-person shows as well, PrintIQ will be exhibiting at the Sign&Digital show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham next March.

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Despite the best efforts of Omicron covid variant, it looks like a dozen or so important industry trade fairs will go ahead in 2022. As someone who has attended most of them (or their variants), Andy McCourt surveys the global expo scene so you can pick and choose to suit your calendar and extra-curricular wishes.

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The world’s largest trade show organiser Messe Frankfurt, which last week had to cancel its printed textiles flagship event Heimtextil, says the physical trade fair business model is alive and well but the company’s recovery from Covid is set to take longer than originally thought.

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Outdoor advertiser oOh!media, owner of wide format printer Cactus Imaging, has sold its youth-orientated digital publishing business Junkee Media to focus on OOH advertising.

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Demand for printing ink products continues to surpass supply and global raw material and freight availability has been heavily impacted, according to the European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA). Shipping container costs in some routes have increased by 8-10 times the norm, it said.

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“The supply chain challenges and rising costs experienced by all suppliers to the printing industry are showing no signs of losing momentum,” says global printing ink manufacturer Flint Group, which announced a further increase in all sheetfed inks and coatings, press room chemistry and transfer media products from February 1, 2022.

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Epson has launched the SD-10 spectrophotometer - a highly accurate, compact and affordable colour measurement device. Battery-powered and equipped with a precision MEMS Fabry-Pérot tuneable filter, the SD-10 is small enough to fit in a hand or pocket and recently won a Good Design Best 100 award 2021.

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The Outdoor Media Association’s latest 'Best of Outdoor', a monthly selection of local and international Out of Home (OOH) advertising, includes RSL Remembrance Day ads and a UK campaign highlighting unsung climate heroes. Also: “Calm Your Inner Karen.” 

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Continuing the series of helpful 'how to' webinars based around its popular Flexi software, SAi Europe's Application Specialist Jasper Jauwens Will host a webinar on Thursday December 9th from 11:00am Central European Time.SAi also has a new feature in Flexi21, for making jigs to print multiple-up objects on flatbed printers.