Digital printing giant HP, which had planned to take the entire hall 17 again at the Messe Düsseldorf, appears to have joined a growing list of major exhibitors to withdraw from the April 2021 global print expo because of concerns about Covid-19.

“If your business is manufacturing products (Print, signage and so on), then you may return to work but only up to 90% of your peak workforce,” says ASGA Victoria chair Mick Harrold on Melbourne’s Step Two announcement. In terms of signage installation work, Harrold said: “We have been in contact with the Government and we are being told that there will be further clarification around this.”

“It is a new normal,” says Jacinta Jacobson, general manager of Hobart trade printer Focal Printing, in a new episode of Ball & Doggett’s YouTube series RESET. “Things aren’t like they used to be and I don’t think they ever will be. I think we’re in this new chapter of life, really. And we’re looking after each other, as management and staff.  We’re actually stopping, we’re eyeballing each other and saying, ‘Are you okay?’”

“For many of you this means you and your staff are no longer eligible for JobKeeper payments,” according to Hicksons Lawyers, legal advisor to the Australian Sign & Graphics Association (ASGA). The current JobKeeper scheme ended on Sunday, 27 September 2020 and the changes introduced under JobKeeper extension period 2 started on 28 September 2020.  In an update to ASGA members, Hicksons outlined “which changes may apply based on your business's circumstances and what action you may need to take.”

 Under an easing of Covid-19 restrictions announced by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, manufacturing can return with up to 90 per cent of its workforce from 11.59pm Sunday (Sept 27). There will be additional obligations for some employers, including regular testing and training of staff, nightly deep cleaning and separating workers into bubbles.

Australian Sign & Graphics Association Victoria chair Mick Harrold says he's hoping an announcement on Sunday from the Victorian Government will shed light on how a move to stage two Covid-19 restrictions will impact the sign industry.

The Australian Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell says the Federal Government has thrown a lifeline to thousands of struggling small businesses with its plan to overhaul insolvency rules and allow companies to trade while insolvent. But she’s called for $5,000 vouchers to be made available so struggling owners can access ‘critical’ financial advice. 

Landa Digital Printing has confirmed as the headline partner for the next FuturePrint Virtual Summit to be held over 5 days in October. The free online event - with days dedicated to Wide Format Print and Industrial Print – will feature speakers from Agfa, Canon, Epson, HP, Mutoh, Ricoh, Roland DG and other digital print companies.

HP Inc. and the Arbor Day Foundation are teaming up on a pledge to plant one million trees by the end of 2020, saying “this is the crucial decade for addressing climate change.”

Solimar Systems, a provider of workflow solutions for print production and digital communications, says its new ReadyPDF PrePress Server has achieved impressive reductions in PDF size and processing times in customer trials and lab tests. 

In breaking news from Epson’s Germany branch, the company has announced its entry into the Flatbed UV sector with the 10-colour Surecolor V-7000 and an aqueous ‘latex-like’ resin ink-based 6-colour roll printer. Epson Australia will make an official announcement in early October.

Kodak says “these uncertain times” make it difficult to commit resources to the global print expo, scheduled for April 20 – 28, 2021 in Düsseldorf.

With the goal of helping sign and large format businesses have a strong final quarter of 2020 as they get back to work and re-open, SAi has announced details of its next ‘Workflow Wednesday’ (Thursday in Australia and NZ) online educational session.

“Travel restrictions that have now been put in place and a renewed rise in the number of infections simply pose too great a hurdle for our very international event,” say organisers Messe Frankfurt. Global textiles expo Heimtextil, which had been billed as the restart of business in the textiles industry, has been postponed from January to 4-7 May, 2021. The move will increase speculation about the date of rescheduled print expo drupa, due to take place in April, 180 km away (1hr 20m by train) in Düsseldorf.

Global print and mail franchise network Mail Boxes Etc. has opened its 40^th Australian franchise in Port Macquarie NSW and says another five MBE sites are set to open around the country before the end of the year.