Printing Industry News Digest February 4, 2011

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 41, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. Welcome to the latest edition of PIND, incorporating brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail.

It would still be hard to start anywhere other than The Daily as we have been following the story regarding its release for some weeks. What we hadn’t read anywhere, and therefore didn't fully realise, was that whilst February 2 saw the official launch, that was only for America. Any potential UK audience will have to wait a little longer. Reception of The Daily was mixed; some positive reviews, and some not quite so enthusiastic.

We were absorbed this week by a blog posting from UK supplier M Partners. They have highlighted a recent Andrew Tribute article from PrintWeek which itself examines a US study looking at print volumes in the analogue v. digital debate. The conclusion is that just 3% of print by volume is produced by digital printing equipment, suggesting that there is plenty of life still in traditional production techniques.

We turn again to PrintWeek and its Product of the Week feature which this week focuses on Proofstream, a recently released and very cost effective soft-proofing solution. The two page feature in PrintWeek certainly does the product justice, and highlights its affordability by offering three alternative solutions (in the printed version).

Heidelberg’s digital future seems to be a topic that is attracting great interest from the UK’s printing magazines, and The Print Business has added its take on the story of where big H sees the digital printing market. It’s an interesting standpoint being adopted by the German print giant, which happens to fit all of the product that it currently has in its range!

Tablet talk is due an extended slot this week, with a number of potential big players getting closer to market. Motorola’s Xoom product is getting a lot of attention, and the LG G-Slate catches the imagination with its 3D boast. Dell is never going to be far away from the conversation with its Streak, though a seven inch model still, we believe, has its drawbacks. Two big Android announcements this week will move the market forward for sure, with Android’s Honeycomb version looking to close the gap further on iPad, and the web-based release of Market Place (about time!) doing the same.

An interesting Lifehacker infographic attempts to draw comparisons between some of the leading tablet players, including the Motorola, Dell, and Blackberry PlayBook, along with the iPad of course! For us here at PIND two major issues still separate the players: first, size; seven inches is just not suitable for a tablet in our opinion. It’s just a big phone. If it’s a portable smart phone that you want, iPhone is great, and many Android variants are catching up. The other major difference, we believe, is iTunes, which accesses the App Store. The range of approved, virus free software modules that are available for the iPad is second to none, and everybody else is simply playing catch up, and will be doing so for quite a while. One final note of interest talks about the current crop of alternative products, but also highlights the number of returns of the Samsung Galaxy from unhappy purchasers. We believe that this says a lot about both of the above points!

QR codes keep making the news, with Time magazine incorporating them into its billboard advertising in order to get noticed and get passers-by to participate.
Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 42. Details of new stories will be added to this text page during the course of the week. We are expecting to move our offices this coming week [didn’t happen this week!], so PIND 42 it might take us a little longer than usual to post this next edition.

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Printing Industry News Digest January 28, 2011

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 40, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. Welcome to the latest edition of PIND, incorporating brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail.

We told you The Daily was about to launch earlier this month; we told you that The Daily launch had been put back; and now we are able to advise that rumour now delivers this next week, February 2, as the new launch date. No Mr Jobs at the Guggenheim Museum, but a suitable Apple substitute alongside Mr Murdoch and, what we are promised will be a great multimedia experience from The Daily. Have to say that we are keen to see it in action. Some 100 journalists have been hired for the project, and costs for subscription are now rumoured to be a quite reasonable $0.99 per week. We will look forward to reviewing the product assuming this new launch date is for real!

Meanwhile our friends at Mashable have provided a little more detail on the New York Times paywall. It seems that it will be designed to allow the occasional visitor to still occasionally visit, with the heavy reader being bashed in the pocket for his interest.

In the paper world of newspapers, Daily Express Newspapers have been strongly tipped to be ready to relocate to Luton. There must be a strong belief that the paper product still has some years left to run, as this story comes on the back of the announcement about the company investing in a raft of new KBA presses to produce the product.

Maybe the paper product still does have a good useful life in it, it’s just the business model that needs closer examination. That is certainly the message that comes from Metro, the free morning newspaper, where 2010 provided record-breaking profits.

The world of magazines appears less convinced regarding the future of the paper model, and is still contemplating the best way to get into the tablet environment. A good overview on the topic from the New York Times funnily enough!

At the other end of the production spectrum, TUK Systems has announced a computer-to-plate package for just £99. This impressive solution converts your existing Epson printer into a platemaking device, and works in conjunction with the software RIP, polyester-based plate, and fount solution provided.

Along with the TUK Systems product, the current PrintWeek.com includes the latest features from the magazine, with the “Me & My” page featuring a Xeikon 3030 solution as installed at The Label Makers, as was featured here on PIND in October of last year. In the printed magazine, the page opposite the Xeikon 3030 story illustrates the more traditional offset production tools of Mitsubishi, with the Diamond 3000 featured in the “Tried & Tested” page.

In another shout for the anti-paper brigade, Amazon has announced that sales of digital books overtook the sales for paperback titles in the last quarter of 2010 for the first time ever. In 2009 the company announced a similar feat versus hardback book sales, but paperback is a whole different ball game!

For all of those fans of the business based networking site, LinkedIn, news came to the fore this last week of a public floatation, with revenues continuing to rise. OK, it’s not going to be the same value as Facebook, but it is interesting to see how these businesses are moving mainstream.

This weeks iOS app in focus is Splice, an alternative movie editor to Apple’s own iMovie. The big point in Splice’s favour: it’s free. Well, the basic version is free; an ad free version will cost you $1.99, but it’s still considerably less than the $4.99 for iMovie, all according to the Lifehacker team.

Whilst the US might have been wrapped up in the State of the Union address, we have seen a couple of variants this week on the State of the Web. By far the most amusing angle comes from that great web-wit The Oatmeal. For a more staid, fact-based view of things, take a look at these figures published via Mashable.

One other important event of the week: Happy Birthday iPad. Apple’s tablet celebrates its first birthday, and the rest of the gadget world still attempts to follow in its wake. From a personal angle, only this morning I happened across another Samsung Galaxy demo unit in another high street store; perhaps it’s just me and my high level of expectations, or maybe it’s just duff demo units, but I can never get these to work properly! Pricing appeared only slightly more realistic at £409 (update: currently just £359.20 from Tesco Direct). There was also an Advent tablet, but it wasn’t even switched on. Now if these “iPad wanabees” are going to have any success whatsoever, punters must be actually able to try them out and see what they are capable of doing.

One new Firefox add-on that caught my eye this week when it appeared on Lifehacker: Home Dash looks as if it could provide a highly useable home screen for the busy user. Only minor issue is that it’s been developed for Firefox 4, so unless you are brave enough to be working with the beta version of this software, you (like me) will have to wait a bit!

Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 41. Details of new stories will be added to this text page during the course of the week. We are expecting to move our offices this coming week, so PIND 41 it might take us a little longer than usual to post this next edition.

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Printing Industry News Digest January 21, 2011

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 39, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. Welcome to the latest edition of PIND, incorporating brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail.

Major financial troubles hit the print industry on Tuesday of this week, according to our good friends at PrintWeek. Firstly, in Europe the management board of German gravure giant Schlott Gruppe announced that it was unable to continue trading the company as a going concern after the gravure printer failed to refinance its debt resulting in insolvency. PrintWeek explains that according to the company's 2008/09 annual results, its turnover fell 22% to EUR 365.4m (£305.8m), while its net loss increased from €16.8m to €23.6m. Then in Japan, press manufacturer Shinohara filed for the Civil Rehabilitation Act (CRA), the Japanese bankruptcy protection scheme similar to the US Chapter 11. Many industry observers were less than surprised, with press hardware sales still struggling to recover to anything near the dizzy heights of pre-recession times, and Shinohara’s low profile in many of the world’s key markets.

So, as reported in PIND last week, we might not have seen The Daily in the iPad “flesh” so to speak, but it has been confirmed that a Twitter account has been registered, and the debate about what it might look like still rumbles along. The price would appear to be settled at $0.99 per issue, but the debate goes on re whether this is a clever or a desperate move by Murdoch.

Meanwhile, the pay wall is going up around the New York Times, with a suggested $20 a month fee if you want to read all the news. Sources tell us that this is significantly less than the $11.70 a week that it would cost you to buy the paper version, and that if you are a paper subscriber you will get access to the web site for free. Interestingly the new charge would be somewhat less than the $19.99 currently charged for the Kindle version of the publication, so one imagines that things will need to change on the e-reader.

On the subject of Kindle, we spotted a couple of interesting items on Lifehacker this week: firstly, a Chrome extension to send web based texts to your Kindle for reading later – while on your train commute perhaps! V.similar to using Instapaper on your iPhone really, but good to see this thinking extending to the Kindle. Good also to see the Kindle lending concept expanding with the creation of KindleLendingClub.com

“Early UK exhibition season” is off and running very soon with the easyFairs Packaging Innovations show at the NEC, Birmingham. This two day event, running February 16 and 17, has a good track record in drawing the great and good of the packaging world. For those already preparing themselves and marking the stands of most interest: packaging buyers should seek out Benson Group – they shouldn’t be hard to find as they position themselves right by the main entrance; those in the business of packaging production might like to hear more about digital label printing equipment from Xeikon. Following that, March 1 and 2 will take us to Earls Court in London for the Publishing Expo. UK company Wave2 will be at the event showing off the latest innovations in their software for self-service ad production and recently released product such as Market Place and Merchant.

QR update: as in previous weeks, we offer another collection of web sites that are providing further uses and ideas regarding QR codes. Starting in the newspaper world, the San Francisco Business Times has announced that it is including QR codes in its printed version to allow readers to connect to the latest updates or other relevant material on stories via their phones, meanwhile the Washington Post goes full front page with its QR. A general overview of the growth of QR is here, whilst web site Read Write Biz gives us five ways of using QR codes that might appeal to small businesses; meanwhile Small Business Computing looks at how QR codes can boost e-mail marketing results. You can turn your QR code into a sticker here; whilst marketers will want to understand more about getting analytical feedback from QR use.

Post CES, the tablet talk continues to expound the virtues of the latest new entrants into the market, with the latest information on the following products: HP/Palm looks to have created a gem with Opal and Topaz; while the LG G-Slate is rumoured to be working towards 3D; and Motorola hits the comeback trail.

Looking for the app to help you through that pile of reading material? Reading on the go, whilst seeing where you are going, is offered by MegaReader. The pitfalls of reading whilst walking are also highlighted on this YouTube video before you get too carried away with the idea!

Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 40. Details of new stories will be added to this text page during the course of the week.

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Printing Industry News Digest January 14, 2011

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 38, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. Welcome to the latest edition of PIND, incorporating brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail.

Top of the shop this week was to be the widespread rumour that Mr Murdoch’s digital newspaper, The Daily, was going to be making its debut on Wednesday of next week, January 19. As of yesterday, January 14, that rumour has been officially debunked, and we are told that release is going to be put back a few more weeks due to Apple’s issues with its subscription service. Having said all of that in a somewhat excited fashion, is The Daily going to be anything to get excited about? We have asked the question here before: is there any future in a paid news service? Personally speaking, if I go to the rail station, I will pick up a free copy of Metro; most days I start my day from home with BBC Breakfast News on the TV, the iPhone or the iPad, and might take a look at The Telegraph and The Guardian in web form, and then to the radio for an hourly news bulletin on the wonderful Planet Rock, or Radio 4/Radio 5 Live if I am in the car: no news buying going on here. On the other hand, much of what I have mentioned above is provided by the BBC; well we already do pay for that via the license fee. Other products/services mentioned are paid for via adverts, and we do have to appreciate, of course, that quality journalism does cost. However, the big question remains, who is The Daily going to appeal to? Your thoughts and comments welcomed to PIND.editor@gmail.com

In the printed paper world, regular readers might remember that we mentioned the launch of “i” a few months back, the trimmed down lean version of The Independent. Well, it would seem that “phase two” of the launch programme is now underway, and a TV ad campaign is due to start on Sunday of this week, January 16.

Returning to the digitised side of the fence, the Proofstream product now provides both iPhone and iPad connection, and you can even get a free iPad by ordering one of the high-end Proofstream packages during the next month or so.

Press purchases are still rare things at the moment, so it was good to read of further investment by the Alderson Printing Company, with a KBA Rapida 105 going in to the Surrey-based business as it continues to expand its point of sale venture.

More detail on the SV Two Digital liquidation story mentioned last week: PrintWeek has revealed a total of over £1 million of debt, and 12 jobs losses.

On a more positive note, should any printer be without his myPantone app for the iPhone and iPod Touch? Maybe a good plus for the print salesman? One of the pricier apps that you will find however.

The green debate is always one that the print industry gets excited about, and the e-reader v. printed books contest is one question that can easily get temperatures to rise. Here is a write-up by Richard Romano from What They Think? Which makes for interesting reading. There is also an interesting “tale of the tape” style presentation from The Wall which offers an attempt to briefly summarise some of the key stats in the debate, but seems to lean towards the answer that both can exist side-by-side.

The QR code bandwagon is still rolling along here on PIND, as it has been in recent editions, and further links keep coming to the fore that fans of QR might like to be aware of. Firstly, a very interesting article detailing suitable code creation services that provide analysis and results; a very important factor in any marketing activity. Another interesting article compares the potential of QR codes with tear out forms, whilst the Vancouver Sun is looking at how retailers can make use of this form of marketing. One final example comes from Italy, where a printed restaurant guide includes a QR code for each restaurant. The page that the codes leads to gives the reader up to date reviews and menu details, along with a Google map to help you find it.

CES  is now all done and dusted, but The Telegraph is giving us its thoughts on the show, which will help to guide readers through the electronic wizardry that was on show.

Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 39. Details of new stories will be added to this text page during the course of the week.

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Printing Industry News Digest January 7, 2011

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 37, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. Welcome to the first edition of PIND for 2011, incorporating plenty of links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail.

Our lead story is one that will likely appeal equally to the print, design, publishing and communications sectors, as Apple once again goes game changing! The Mac App store is now open for business and it kicks off with over 1,000 apps , so will be well worth a visit for Apple fans. Mashable offers positive thoughts on the project, whilst Lifehacker brings us back down to earth with the problems that such a move might pose, particularly to existing users. From the neutral perspective (PIND is PC based!), I perceive the move to be another bold innovation from Apple that the PC world can only watch and admire from a distance. To finish the topic on an upbeat note, Mashable provides its thoughts on ten must have apps.

In the world of print, PrintWeek provides us with news of the first known casualty of 2011 as SV Two Digital slides into liquidation. Accentuating the positive, York-based Wood Richardson, a 100-year-old-plus print business, has upgraded its digital production equipment with a Xeikon installation.

The team at PrintSpeak.co.uk have this week offered us a Quick Demo video featuring the Screen 2055VI violet platesetter along with the thoughts of Apex MD Bob Usher.

Regular readers will know that we have been on the QR code bandwagon in recent editions. Further references on the topic need to be added into this edition, not least because the good people of Digital Asset Management tell us that QR codes will be one of the top ten disruptive trends that will shape the year of 2011. We would agree, and so will revisit the topic on a regular basis. Firstly, for those still needing to be convinced on the benefits of the technology, QRazyStuff’s blog tells us of top 10 UK advertisers who are already using this technology. In my opinion, only some of these are good examples – see the Wilkinson Sword piece and the Liberal Democrats MP. Try both of these codes out; they work well. Finally on this topic for now, Mashable delivers some further thoughts on creating your own QR codes.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been dominating the news on the technology and communications blogs and news feeds this week. From what I have seen so far, it actually hasn’t brought that many surprises to the fore: primarily we have seen loads of tablet launch news. A summary of this can be linked to from the following: we particularly liked this IdeaPad laptop with a detachable screen to create a tablet!; you might fancy a dual screen approach, NEC has just the product for you; Toshiba is about to enter the tablet fray – see the video; the Dell Streak 7 is now official; and Asus announces four tablets. On a more general note, you might also like to take a look at this short video of the Connected Home Appliances Tech Zone for a glimpse into the near future!

Oh and just one story that I meant to include last week: you might already have seen stories about the 3D printer, but its worth including again, just to get PIND readers thinking about the possibilities that it might offer. Do please e-mail your ideas on what you might like to print in 3D (keep them clean!) to PIND.Editor@gmail.com

Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 38. Details of new stories will be added to this text page during the course of the week.

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Printing Industry News Digest December 31, 2010

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 36, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. This final edition of PIND for 2010 incorporates lots of links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail. A Happy New Year to all readers, and best wishes for a joyous, healthy and prosperous 2011!

Following on from PIND 35, some further thoughts on QR codes, and some more resources for you to take a look at for further information on this intriguing subject. Firstly, a paper.li QR Codes daily publication; this does update itself by the day, so may not always be packed with information, but do keep an eye on it! Secondly, just after we published our initial article, the BBC detailed how Japan is already moving on from QR codes and onto the next big thing in this technology!

We also came across a wide range of samples featuring QR codes being used in a wide range of different industries; mostly, of course, by featuring the codes in their printed literature. There is the library; the estate agent; the music company; the museum; the manufacturing business; and the marketing company. Here you can also find general marketing comment regarding QR codes and what they might be able to do for a business. Meanwhile the Marketing Blog and NeoMedia outline what 2011 has in store for the 2D barcode.

In tablet world the dawning of the New Year is expected to herald the release of a raft of new devices. Not least, we can expect to see an iPad 2 from Apple; here we provide a summary of the suggested content of this new unit, courtesy of Mashable. News re the first Kno shipments was posted at towards the end of December; Viewsonic rumours abound; whilst Palm stories escalate thanks to the Telegraph. Sharp too is now looking beyond the boundaries of Japan with its range of tablet products, whilst BenQ is rumoured to be launching a 10.1 inch Android based product.

With a focus on the year just about to finish, The Financial Times has declared Steve Jobs to be the person of the year following the introduction of the original iPad and the iPhone 4.

2010 has to be remembered as the year of the iPad, and so it would seem appropriate to incorporate just one more iPad v. Print piece. The question “Will iPad Cannibalize Print” is asked here, and it is of course another worthwhile read.

New estimates from eMarketer in the USA have put the spend for online advertising ahead of newspapers for 2010. Whilst this has been on the cards for some little while, this could be the first year that it has actually happened.

We couldn’t close this issue with reference to Margie Dana’s December posting entitled “I am a Printer” in which she incorporates the fine words of Frank Romano. Please do link to this posting and have a read; it is a very moving and thought provoking piece.

Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 37. Details of new stories will be added at this text link as the New Year gets underway, with publication scheduled for next Friday.

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Printing Industry News Digest December 17, 2010

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 35, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. Published every week, PIND incorporates lots of links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail.

2D barcodes have been something that has intrigued us here at PIND for some little time. Unfortunately we had some bad experiences that put us off for a while, but we do now believe that the time is right for printers to take a closer look at this technology. Since we last visited the subject, the increase in both the available models and the take-up by consumers of smart phones has increased significantly, and this is, of course, the cornerstone of the technology. Brand owners are now beginning to take the topic seriously, and as QR codes specifically appear to be growing as the standard variant of the 2D barcode, we believe that printers need to look closer.

There are two main reader links that we believe you should follow: firstly, this connection to Neo Media’s web site points you (in an overly complex way, I should add) to a white paper on the topic that will provide you with a wealth of data on 2D barcodes. As a more “hand-on” example, you can also click here to download a PDF document from PIND that offers six different QR code examples that will link you to a variety of URL’s, demonstrating the flexibility of the 2D barcode system, and offering you examples of how it might fit into your own promotional plans. For both of these tools you will need access to a smart phone and an application on the phone that will read QR codes, such as QR Reader on the iPhone (instead of downloading the PDF right now, you could point your QR-code apped phone at the two codes on screen here! It will work from screen as well as from paper).

Printers might well be able to profit from gaining a good working knowledge of 2D barcodes, as they are then able to promote such a tool effectively to their customers, and create a point of difference between them and their competitor. One fine example (with some apologies for the American “exuberance”) of how this simple addition can make a difference can be seen in this video. The important thing to recognise is that standard static print can be brought right up to date by incorporating a QR code in the printed item. By scanning this code the reader can link the suppliers very latest information, gain access to a discount voucher or similar, or see the newest product in action. A huge range of possibilities can be created.

The next stage is for you to create your own QR codes, and to do this you will need some additional software. Here is a review of a whole range of code creation options, or you can just use the same one that we did! Let us know what you have done with QR codes: PIND.Editor@gmail.com


Whilst we are not looking to create an annual review here, Apple should certainly be saluted for its launch of the iPad product during 2010, and CNN has produced this tribute piece. Mashable also tells how the iPad is influencing the creation of web apps.

In other general communications news, Google Mail users can now easily maintain an access to multiple accounts. See here for details, and we can confirm that it works well; Opera 11.0 is now live featuring a range of downloadable extensions; whilst Dropbox is now out of Beta, and is a real 1.0 product! Microsoft is trying to stake its claim in the internet newspaper stakes with the release of Montage, a magazine-like, topic based application. Also, you might like to take a look at iTwin, a neat file sharing tool that comes in two parts. Have a read, it’s interesting.

A timely reminder has been posted by the team at Imprint, as they tell us 10 reasons to rethink your web site. We believe that “rethink” might be a touch heavy for some, but it certainly is a timely reminder for companies to think again about their web sites: how up to date are they, is there a strategy to keep things changing and to keep the very latest company news on the front page? A Twitter widget might be a help, announcing latest postings, but new stories and information on your site will certainly upgrade your site in the eyes of the Google rankings!

Social networking has undoubtedly grown by staggering proportions over the last year. The folk at The Wall give us a worldwide view of which products are shaping our lives. In Western Europe, the US, and indeed many other countries, Facebook leads the charge, of course. However, the “1,2,3” table at the bottom of the page makes for interesting reading, with LinkedIn showing up third in the UK, Canada and Australia.

Nice translation app available for the iPhone: point the camera and the Word Lens app at a Spanish sign and the app will translate the text for you, and vice-versa (English to Spanish!). The added beauty of this is that you don’t need network connection for the translation to work. Other languages please?! Need yet another news app for your iPad? Actually the new CNN app is good and works well; worth a look.

Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in our next edition, PIND 36. Details of new stories will be added at this text link as the Christmas holiday progresses, with publication scheduled for December 31!

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Printing Industry News Digest December 10, 2010

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 34, the weekly summary of major news stories from the printing, packaging and communication sectors. Published every week, PIND incorporates lots of links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up the detail.

So the value of print is higher than we might have thought! The world’s most expensive printed book was sold at Southeby’s this week; The Birds of America went for a-touch-out-of-our-reach £7.3 million. I hope that the buyer realised that it had been hand coloured!

Talking of cash, stories emerged this week of currency and specialist security printer De La Rue being pursued by the French. Perhaps it’s because they sound French anyway?!

CS Labels, the Willenhall based label printer, announced the installation of its fourth Xeikon digital label press, a Xeikon 3030. The unit represents the company’s fourth Xeikon purchase in four years. Check out the detail to see how Xeikon equipment is helping this company to win work back from China!

Further to last week’s news regarding Wave2 and Newsquest (London) and a self-service advertisement product, plenty of media coverage has been forthcoming, including: IFRA, News Media (Production Journal’s web site), PrintSpeak.co.uk, and InPublishing.

Printers should certainly take a look at this highly amusing video regarding colour issues. You will have been there at some point I am sure! However, as ink prices from two of the big players continue to rise, you might have to be ever more careful in getting the colour right!

Good news: KPMG came up with some survey results this week saying that four out of five consumers preferred to be reading the real printed thing rather than reading a screen.

It’s December and so it must be time for the “Top 10” list to be unleashed. Whilst GenesisNews dusted off the first of its “Best of” releases this week, we were not alone! The chaps at Lifehacker were looking for votes this week for their best “Top 10”. These are released weekly and consist of tips and tricks on a variety of topics. The listing for you to vote from consisted of 20 of their favourite “Top 10’s”, equally some 200 top tips! One “Top 10” that wouldn’t have existed last year is that for iPad apps. Both that and iPhone apps were posted by the team at Mashable this week.

On the subject of apps, readers might like to be aware of an interesting iPad newspaper based product entitled Extra! Extra! The currently free application (well, it was last weekend!) allows users to view and read the actual front pages of a huge number of newspaper from across the world. There are a lot of American papers; not many UK one’s; but a reasonable sprinkling of product from across the world. Images can be zoomed for easier reading, but new papers don’t seem to arrive until about mid-day UK time.

In more app talk, Future publishing is set to launch no less than eleven titles in iPad format, whilst Mr Murdoch is slowing down a bit, with the launch of The Daily iPad newspaper now being put back to “first quarter, 2011”. End of March then.

Tablet talk this week focuses on the predications for this fledging market, which have begun to appear across the internet media this week. Mashable picks up the forecast that sales will quadruple by 2012, whilst a slightly more focused report on US sales suggests that the country will see a 70% overall increase in tablet sales by that year. Whichever way you look at it, that’s a lot of tablets!

And talking about a lot of tablets, Samsung is back again with the Gloria, a 10-inch tablet with slide out keyboard. Still only at the rumour stage, the product could be equipped with a Windows 7 operating system. It’s a very unconfirmed rumour at this stage, but we think that the format could have something going for it!

The long awaited Google Chrome OS has finally arrived this week. Not had enough time to check it out, so take a look at what these folk say, and do get back to us if you have given it a try! In a busy week, the big G also managed to get its E-bookstore going in the US, Google Docs all working nicely on the iPad, and it announced the launch of its Nexus S Android-based smart phone!

This week we have got a whole bunch of little “go see” links, without loads of intro. Take a look and let us know what you think at PIND.editor@gmail.com Firstly, there is a new method of film distribution, via kiosk and thumb drive (USB drive); Apple is rumoured to be launching in Mac App store on Monday, December 13^th; iPad 2 is coming with two camera’s allegedly; Mashable offers you nine web tools to keep businesses running over the holidays;  real time Facebook newspaper PostPost launches.

Finally, do keep checking back to see what will be featured in next week’s PIND 35. Details of new stories will be added here as the week progresses!

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