The Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) has called a Special General Meeting of its members during PrintEx to consider changing its name and updating the constitution of the peak industry group.

Latest industry consolidation move sees Jenrite NZ acquired by Aarque Group, a subsidiary of the BJ Ball organisation, which is a unit of Ball & Doggett Group – the A/NZ paper company and wide format supply business that was bought in 2017 by global paper giant Japan Pulp & Paper (JP). Jenrite MD Steven Kemp announced he’s retiring in September.

The new Kornit Digital Avalanche Poly Pro system - the industry’s first digital, industrial process for high-quality printing on polyester – will be featured on the stand of local distributor Kissel + Wolf at PrintEx.

Queensland’s largest billboard and signage company has opened submissions for its 2020 Community Partnership Program that offers $1 million in free billboard advertising for up to four community groups or charities.

New Zealand signage businesses struggling to fill vacancies for qualified signwriting staff have begun interviewing a group of about a dozen signwriters from the Philippines who are hoping to migrate.

Epson Australia says the new SureColor F6360, created for soft signage, merchandise, custom décor and clothing manufacturers, combines simpler set-up, user self-maintenance, enhanced production flexibility and an improved total cost of ownership (RRP $11,695).

PrintFactory is a dedicated wide format workflow created by real wide format printers who were dissatisfied with what was available. Erik Strik and his team knew that workflows could improve, and so could colour management but, when the manufacturer-owned RIPs and ‘big’ RIPs weren’t delivering the goods, they decided to write new software themselves, from a working wide format printer’s view.

Leading Whangarei, NZ signage business Dudley & Dennis Signs has rebranded as D&D Signs, with a new logo, a new website and a new paint job on its building. Apart from that, “not too much else is changing,” says the 40-year old company.

This is a final call for registration for the the PrintEx Forums & Business Breakfasts to be held throughout the show next week from 13-16 August at Sydney's Homebush Showgrounds. A great selection of topics and speakers from here and internationally. For the full updated programme with speaker profiles, just click on the image below from where you can also access the booking page for the Breakfasts and also free Forum sessions.

Vivad is excited to announce the launch of Vivtrack 3; an industry leading web-to-print portal exclusive to Vivad. Vivtrack 3 is built for resellers and procurement managers of large format digital print.

General manager Craig Heckenberg has been promoted to managing director of Epson Australia and New Zealand, as well-known industry veteran Bruno Turcato announces he’s retiring from the role after 16 years.

What is Printwear? It’s the pre-fabricated garment sector comprising wearable items that can be decorated using direct-to-garment or dye sublimation digital devices – and is one of the best growth/profit areas for the industry right now. What is Promotional print? It’s any non-paper or apparel product that can be marked using a digital UV printer – such as pens, mugs, USB sticks, iPhone covers, umbrellas, tote bags – even cheeseboards and vacuum flasks. One I like is a mouse mat that charges your phone as you work. If ‘company X’ gave me one of those, I would be seeing their logo all day!

After noticing a gap in the market, Adelaide signage firm The Weather Maker has introduced a new for-trade handcrafted 3D acrylic lettering business aimed at Australian signage companies and architectural firms.

“PVC composite fabrics are fantastic performers but they do have a reputation for being complex and expensive to recycle,” says John Wright, MD of Melbourne-based large format printing media supplier Rojo Pacific, which will feature the new PVC-free Kavalan range at PrintEx19.

The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) has approved the merger of the NZ business of ASX-listed outdoor advertiser QMS Media with radio, TV and digital company MediaWorks. The deal will create "the largest multi-media group in New Zealand." MediaWorks’ owner, US hedge fund Oaktree Capital, will take a 60% stake in the new company.

An independent candidate who ran against Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the federal election will petition the High Court over what he calls "misleading and deceptive" Chinese language election signage supporting the Liberal Party.

Denise and Arn Betteridge of NSW-based Signature Clothing chose to finance their new Roland TrueVIS SG-300 printer cutter through Roland Rental Plus, the latest offering from Roland’s finance program.  The couple are featured in a new instalment of the Roland User video series from Roland DG Australia. 

Xeikon says it will use PrintEx19 in Sydney as an opportunity to highlight the fact that Xeikon technology is "much more than a labels platform.”  The Xeikon stand will include solutions for the wall decoration, POS and commercial print sectors. 

“There are not many industries that haven’t identified the continued need to digitally evolve in order to survive, and print is no exception,” says Roger Labrum of Fuji Xerox Australia, who’s outlined a range of the company’s new technology to be featured at PrintEx 19 (13-16 August).

With two weeks to go until PrintEx19 opens its doors at the Sydney Showground, Spicers is encouraging visitors to check out its on-stand ‘supermarket’ that will feature brands including Re-Board, 3M Window and Graphic films, Ace Outdoor, Yupo, Palboard, Digitac and Corflute, as well as printing technology from Mimaki, Roland DG and Neolt.