Printing Industry News Digest No.139, March 24, 2013

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 139, providing a summary of major news items from the printing, publishing, packaging, digital, and communications technology sectors. PIND incorporates brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up that all important detail, digging deeper behind the headline.

IPEX 2014 grabs the headlines yet again this week with the publication of an open letter to all IPEX stakeholders, as first published via PrintWeek.com on Thursday of last week, aimed at promoting the positives of print. A series of cost saving measures for exhibitors have also been communicated as organisers Informa seek to show their understanding of the price of shows in these harsh economic times.

Prior to all of that excitement, the build up to its stable-mate show, North Print & Pack, is well underway. The Harrogate-based exhibition is the only major print focused show in the country this year, and the last event of any significant size in the run up to next years IPEX exhibition.

“Why Newspapers Still Matter” lecture occurs in the same week as debate continues in UK re Leverson, while newsrooms continue to cut back on journalists, and contract print revenues continue to struggle.

Shareholder unrest in the digital world as HP sees big protest vote against re-election of directors.

The Google Reader issue won’t go away. TechCrunch asks what of those users just stop using a news feed system. It also takes a look at the history of the feed reader. Feedly is tipped as the likely successor for many users, but who pays for all of that server power that this will require?

Google has, however, this week introduced a new package: Google Keep is a note-taking tool. Nothing sensational, but it might be another handy solution to those of us with failing memories! [still recommend Evernote though!]

Meanwhile, a realtime API interface with Google Drive is now something that developers can get excited about.

Android Tips: Regular readers just knew it wouldn’t take us long to start fiddling with the screen display of the Note II phone – the arrival of which was posted just last week. Our first screen creation on this device offers a decidedly monochrome theme, inspired by a glorious wallpaper image, coupled with some of the basic thoughts of the Holo Cards theme recently shown on this site, and a semi-transparent icon set entitled Glasklart. Our favourite Nova launcher provides the base, which allows us to employ a 5 x 9 grid and six dock buttons: phone, email, settings, text message, Opera browser, and Spotify. A basic nine app buttons reside in the lower / centre of the screen. We find this “simple” structure easier on the eye. The straightforward analogue clock face follows this same principle.

The four additional buttons along the top of the screen are in fact page-links. They connect to four additional screens offering further apps grouped by topic. The four buttons shown lead to: a tech settings page; a files page, including links to our favourite cloud storage sites; a “play” set of apps, including music, TV, films, and books; and a “links” page, including bookmarks to regularly visited news, print, and sports sites. Each of these pages includes a similar set of icons at the top of the screen, with the addition of a home button to return to the “home” screen.

Additionally, a swipe down the screen will take the user to a digital clock screen combined with weather info, along with an open Google-based diary for today with the next four appointments on show. A swipe up the screen offers a quick route to the browser with news headlines. For more technical details email PIND.editor@gmail.com

Keep your finger on the pulse: grab an RSS feed of PIND (copy this link into your feed reader); click here for the GenesisNews #Print Daily to get the latest daily stories; or click here for regular Tech & Comms updates in blog or RSS form. You can also connect to a free subscription of the Print Daily for an update on print, publishing, packaging and associated technology delivered straight to your in-box every day! For details on Genesis Marketing – publishers of PIND – click here.

PIND139    

Missed Issue 138, with inkjet and newspapers? Then simply click here!

Issue 137: SRA1 format
Issue 136: offset installs
Issue 135: PUR binding



Get your Tech & Comms updates direct from the blog, use the RSS feed, or keep updated via Twitter.

Printing Industry News Digest No.137, March 9, 2013

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 137, providing a summary of major news items from the printing, publishing, packaging, digital, and communications technology sectors. PIND incorporates brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up that all important detail, digging deeper behind the headline.

Further to last weeks stories of new litho installations, there is one more new press to focus on: Geerings Print has become the latest print business to do its calculations and realise that its not, in the main, a B1 printer but an SRA1 printer! Check out the massive savings that the directors calculated prior to placing an order for a Ryobi 925 with coater. In the digital world The Langham Press has unveiled its MGI Meteor device.

IPEX 2014 continues to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons, with Canon becoming the latest heavyweight to pull out. One digital supplier is going to open their eyes soon and realise that they could make serious mileage out of being the star of this show.

Want a brighter printed future? The team at Duo Media has detailed the results of a survey of industry consultants who were asked for their predictions of the future. One aspect of future print, 3D printing, has taken some interesting turns this last week: 3D print production of a piece of human skull, for example, or a vending solution for small sized 3D printed parts.

I wonder if it includes newspaper publishers getting into education? That’s exactly what News Corp. appears to be doing: tablets for education from Mr Murdoch. Interesting! And if you’re one of us in the over 50 bracket, you might want to know what teenagers get about the internet that us grown up don’t.

Are you a cloud storage fan as yet, or does it still give you an uneasy feeling. Dan Gillmor gives voice to his concerns in an article from the Guardian.

By the way, if you have a tablet that let’s you choose your own favourite browser, you might want to take a look at the latest Opera (available in the Play store). It’s much neater then previous versions and extremely swift in our experience.

Android Tips: Nexus 7 fans have been anticipating the arrived of a dedicated, purpose built docking station for several months from Messrs Google & Co. The good news? It has this week been posted as available for order on Google Play. The even better news [for us at PIND, at least!] is that our order has already arrived - just two days after being placed. Most impressive - especially when the site said to allow at least two weeks from time of order. The less than good news? Word is that stock has already run out!

OK, so now we have your attention at least. A brief hands on review, with as little gloating as is possible, is the least we can do for other Nexus 7 fans. The summary: it's just fine. It does what it says on the tin. It supports the Nexus 7 in landscape mode, charging as it goes if you plug in your standard charging lead into the rear of the base. This does actually leave the original USB-mini socket free and available. Plug an OTG link in there to accommodate a standard USB stick, a keyboard with a wire, or (as in our picture) the business end of a cordless mouse. Presumably it would be possible to connect up a USB hub and plug in all three at one: we don’t have one right now, so we can’t try it.

Enough said I suspect. It is fine, appears to be just as well built as the Nexus 7 itself, and helps to extend the ability of the tablet, giving a pretty reasonable impersonation of a laptop when coupled with said cordless mouse and our favourite Apple Bluetooth keyboard (other keyboards are available!). Any questions?

Keep your finger on the pulse: grab an RSS feed of PIND (copy this link into your feed reader); click here for the GenesisNews #Print Daily to get the latest daily stories; or click here for regular Tech & Comms updates in blog or RSS form. You can also connect to a free subscription of the Print Daily for an update on print, publishing, packaging and associated technology delivered straight to your in-box every day! For details on Genesis Marketing – publishers of PIND – click here.

PIND136    

Missed Issue 136, with news of offset installs? Then simply click here!

Issue 135: PUR binding
Issue 134: Digital publishing
Issue 133: Hard times for heavy metal



Get your Tech & Comms updates direct from the blog, use the RSS feed, or keep updated via Twitter.

Printing Industry News Digest No.132, February 2, 2013

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 132, providing a summary of major news items from the printing, publishing, packaging, digital, and communications technology sectors. PIND incorporates brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up that all important detail, digging deeper behind the headline.

Morgana Systems, a leading UK-based manufacturer of post-press equipment, has been acquired by Plockmatic International. The Swedish-based company is also well know as a developer and manufacturer of document finishing technology, with a strong focus on inline booklet making systems.

The IPEX 2014 team came out fighting this week with some revised plans for next year’s event, including a reduction in the length of the event from eight days to six, and a white paper which summarises the state of the printing industry extremely well, in our humble opinion. If you haven’t read the Explore PDF yet, download it here and read it today. It might help crystallise your thoughts on your business as well as on IPEX.

Earlier in the week UK Ryobi press distributor Apex Digital Graphics announced that it would also be in a position to provide the range of Konica Minolta digital printing machinery to print businesses.

Money still outstanding from Goodhead Group? Looks like you are in good company. Unsecured creditors are owed a total of some £9 million, and are unlikely to see anything but pennies it would seem. Consumables suppliers to take the biggest hit, you will not be surprised to learn.

After doing the sums a total of 40 regional journalist jobs look likely to go as Trinity Mirror seeks to share more share more news stories across its 100-plus titles. The new strategy? You guessed: digital first. Mind you, this is a drop in the ocean compared to Time Inc. where about 500 lay-offs are looking likely at the 21-title publishing house.

So just why is the Guardian not going for paywalls? Interesting look at the various monetising strategies for news publishers from Mashable.

French government sorts out Google on behalf of publishing sector to the tune of £52 million. Germany liking the sound of this.

So, eager to get your 3D printing business up and running? What products are in the market you might ask: well, Engadget offers its consumers guide to 3D printer products. Once you get one, you can print your own robot!

Least surprising stat: tablets show year-on-year growth of 75% as Q4 2012 numbers reveal a whopping 52.5 million tablet devices were shipped. The detail is more interesting, revealing that Apple is still way out in front in Q4 2012 with 43% of the market, but that shows a decline from 51.7% in 2011, though a leap in actual numbers from 15.1 million to 22.9 million units in Q4 2012.

We all like a bit of crystal ball gazing don’t we? Our chums at Mashable certainly do: you might like to gaze curiously through their 38 predictions for the future. Meanwhile you might also like this software – it makes predictions for tomorrow’s news by analysing today’s headlines!

Android Tips: Nova Launcher is a must for Android tablets in our humble opinion. It's a highly customisable launcher / home-screen replacement software for Android 4.0 and above. Key features include infinite screen scroll (loop of screens); the ability to define how many user screens you have and what order they appear in;

increase number of apps in dock – we use eight on the Nexus 7 for example; and have scrolling dock. Basic Nova Launcher is free, but we suggest you spend just a few pennies to upgrade to the Prime version – install the free software first and add Prime after. This adds a very good gestures capability for app launching, and unread counts for email apps. It's not just us! Some 32,000 five star ratings on Google Play suggest that others like this launcher too!

Keep your finger on the pulse: grab an RSS feed of PIND (copy this link into your feed reader); click here for the GenesisNews #Print Daily to get the latest daily stories; or click here for regular Tech & Comms updates in blog or RSS form. You can also connect to a free subscription of the Print Daily for an update on print, publishing, packaging and associated technology delivered straight to your in-box every day! For details on Genesis Marketing – publishers of PIND – click here.

PIND132    

Missed Issue 131, including Kodak out of IPEX? Then simply click here!

Issue 130: Start of Android Tip Series
Issue 129: Educational publishing
Issue 128: RSS news readers



Get your Tech & Comms updates direct from the blog, use the RSS feed, or keep updated via Twitter.

Printing Industry News Digest No.131, January 26, 2013

Welcome to Printing Industry News Digest (PIND) issue 131, providing a summary of major news items from the printing, publishing, packaging, digital, and communications technology sectors. PIND incorporates brief summaries and links to the week’s key news stories so that you can look up that all important detail, digging deeper behind the headline.

After a relatively quiet start to 2013 big stories have started to break this week. Just yesterday, Kodak announced that it was not going to be showing at next year’s IPEX event in London. Not the first big name to withdraw, questions might well be asked about the exhibition format. More news expected in the coming weeks.

Two heads are better than one? That might be the thinking behind news announced earlier this week regarding a possible agreement between Japanese offset-press manufacturers Ryobi and Mitsubishi. Discussions are taking place between the two, with a deadline set of June 30 for a final agreement.

Jobs cuts have been announced at the Financial Times. Some 25 jobs are at risk as the paper seeks to shift its focus and resources to online from the printed paper edition.

An optimistic post from Mashable on the wonders of print! “Why Printed Books will Never Die” sounds like a good read!

You have probably realised most of these, but here are eight ways in which 3D printing is different from printing (One: its in three dimensions . . . !). Printing a phone case is certainly something that your average print engine might struggle with.

Two articles that caught our attention last weekend: Don’t Mourn HMV says that there are better ways of finding music, and that small, specialist music shops will still survive; Every Company is up for Disruption focuses on keeping a focus on simple products, entering a market at the bottom. The two articles actually do connect rather well in our opinion, and might set some thoughts in motion.

There is a lot of guidance coming forth from some of our regular feed reads this week: you might like to scan through a few. How about 10 Good Tech Habits for starters; Fix the Internet’s Biggest Annoyances for a second; Four Social Media Lessons; and Six Blogging Mistakes as highlighted by Mashable. It might also be worth having a look at Eight Great Technologies Benefit from £600m in Government Funding as highlighted by The Guardian.

Android / iOS Tip: Adding a 3G network to a low-cost Android tablet always seems a little excessive. Indeed many models don’t even offer that as an option. Our Google Nexus 7 has no such facility for sure: but wait! Most smartphone users already have the ability to transfer their 3G capability from phone to tablet. If you are an iPhone user, check out the Personal Hotspot facility (under Settings). Basically, it will switch you to 3G mode and allow that 3G capability to be ported to another device. This can be done wirelessly: once you have switched the feature on at the phone, check your tablets list of wi-fi availability – you should find an iPhone option there. Your iPhone will advise you of the password. Key that in to get your link going. We have achieved a slightly better signal on the Nexus 7 by connecting the standard cable from the iPhone with the USB end hooked into an OTG cable that clips into the tablets mini-USB port. OK, this form of tethering only transfers the 3G signal from one device to the other, but this can be a significant benefit. Small phone screens can be hard to use for extended period of time. Seeing the bigger picture on a seven-inch screen is easier on the eye.

Keep your finger on the pulse: grab an RSS feed of PIND (copy this link into your feed reader); click here for the GenesisNews #Print Daily to get the latest daily stories; or click here for regular Tech & Comms updates in blog or RSS form. You can also connect to a free subscription of the Print Daily for an update on print, publishing, packaging and associated technology delivered straight to your in-box every day! For details on Genesis Marketing – publishers of PIND – click here.

PIND131    

Missed Issue 130, including our first Android Tips item? Then simply click here!

Issue 129: Educational publishing
Issue 128: RSS news readers
Issue 127: manroland to close Plauen



Get your Tech & Comms updates direct from the blog, use the RSS feed, or keep updated via Twitter.