Large Format is one of 32 categories in this year’s Print Industry Creativity Awards (PICAs), which run in each state with the winners going on to compete in the National Print Awards, to be presented this year during PacPrint 2021 in Melbourne on Thursday 30 September.

At 4pm AEST today, HP will host a webinar on sustainability as applied to the corrugated board and carton markets. HP's Pagewide technology is making inroads inroads into the packaging boards sector with both sheetfed and web Pagewide solutions, using water-based food-safe inks.

Mimaki will introduce two new printers at the first virtual.drupa (20-23 April), designed to "open new application opportunities in the large format and fashion industries.” No further details have yet been released. The company’s interactive booth at virtual drupa will also feature its new 100 series.

The Tractus range of 3D printers from The Netherlands is considered right at the top for industrial and signage use. Represented here by Jetmark, they are well supported with branches in every state, territory and in New Zealand and cover a huge range of sizes all the way up to 2.1 metres in height.

The Outdoor Media Association (OMA) has released a special 'Best of Outdoor' International edition for March that features campaigns about International Women’s Day and a ‘Good Guys Guide’ designed to raise awareness of situations in which women feel unsafe.

Growing Melbourne-headquartered Total Image Supplies has been named large format Business Partner of the Year by Canon Australia, with Sales Manager Ben Luke citing highest growth rates in the Large Format category. This is the third consecutive year the Total Image has won the award.

SA International (SAi), developer of software for global signmaking, wide-format printing and CAD/CAM industries, has released EnRoute 7, the newest version of its popular EnRoute program.

For the last six years, the Nyala flatbed printer has been the most popular product in its category in Europe, according to Swiss research institute Infosource.

Enfocus, the developer of PDF editing and workflow automation for the graphic arts industry, says its new BoardingPass allows instant checking of PDF files for a range of issues. 

According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, industrial printer products in Australia and New Zealand unit shipments fell 35% YoY in 2020. Market Analyst Faris Latief has researched shipment in Graphics, CAD, Industrial Textile, Direct-to-Shape, Direct-to-Garment and Labels & Packaging. The good news is that shipments and installations are on the rise again.

The PacPrint floorplan is looking great, with six months still to go before the show opens. News of the NZ-Aus 'travel bubble' is perfect as, usually, 300-400 of our Kiwi cousins hop over the Tasman to 'have a squizz' at what's on offer at the Melbourne trade event. April 18th is the blessed day. Andy McCourt commentary.

More than 70 companies including HP, Agfa, 3M, Avery Dennison, Canon, Epson, Kongsberg, Mimaki, Mutoh, Roland DGA, Samsung, swissQprint and Zund will be showcasing their latest products at this week’s ISA International Sign Expo 2021 – VIRTUAL (April 7-9).

New Zealand sign company Harland Graphics, in business for 115 years and based at Taumarunui in the central North Island, has had a change of ownership, with experienced signwriter Gareth Dunn and his wife Sarah taking over. The business has been renamed Vivid Signs. 

The Outdoor Media Association sees “green shoots and improvement” for the Out of Home (OOH) industry despite a 24% fall in revenue to $158.1m for Q1 2021, compared to $207.8m for the same period last year.

Many roll-to-roll wide format printers don't have room for a flatbed machine, or just prefer to farm flatbed work out. The good news is that flatbedprinting.com.au (a division of Display 1, Strathfield South, NSW), is now open for business online and ready to print high-quality flatbed work, on all materials, at great Trade Only prices.

Print X, a wholesale print company specialising in large and grand format digital printing, has announced that its General Manager, Paul Coniglio has purchased the business from Motor One Group, and will rebrand the company as Print X One.

Driven by strong demand for short-run beverage and craft beers cans,  Bevcraft Group, has ordered the UK’s first Tonejet Cyclone direct-to-can digital printer. This marks the third Cyclone installed in a production environment globally - and there is an interesting Australian connection to the technology.

Industry experts will examine NSW’s response to the National Construction Code, including concerns over combustible cladding regulation, in a free webinar presented by Fairview Australia on 22 April (10am-1pm).

As announced here last December, Esko - a Danaher-owned company - commenced a sale process with Open Gate Capital for the sale of the Norway-headquartered Kongsberg CAD cutting systems. The company has now announced the completion of the sale, and Kongsberg is no longer an Esko company.