Shipments on the rise for 2014

There's a big jump in shipments this period but the news is a little too good to be true as sales in most of the country remain flat. The big difference accounting for the jump is that Stats Canada is now tracking Alberta shipments again, after an extended absence.

Shipments (in millions)	2014	2013	% Change
February	$592.8	$547.4	8.3
March	650.4	592.5	9.7
April	652.7	623.0	4.7
May	665.6	627.5	6.0

Year-to-date shipping numbers for 2014 are $3.15 billion. That's a 7.7% jump from the $2.93 posted for the same period in 2013. >> continued

Third quarter brings greater profitability for Transcontinental

Transcontinental is posting higher profitability in the third quarter. As revenues increased by 1.9% in the third quarter to $500.0 million from $490.7 million at the same time last year, its net earnings rose to $44.2 million from $30.1 million.

The improvements are mostly due to the company’s recent acquisitions: Capri Packaging and Sun Media Corporations’ weekly newspapers in Quebec, as well as new agreements in two operating sectors. However, the company quoted a softer advertising market, which affected revenue growth.

Adjusted earnings rose 11% to $58.3 million from $52.5 million due to the contribution from acquisitions, new printing and distribution agreements, and company-wide optimization of its cost structure and its printing platform. >> continued

The Xerox Color C60/C70 Printer

The Xerox Color C60/C70 is suitable for various environments including print shops, in-plant operations, agencies, small businesses and manufacturers. It offers image quality of 2,400 x 2,400 dpi and enhanced front-to-back registration accuracy. There are inline finishing options that include stapling, hole punching, folding and face trimming. The C60/C70 can print on linen with the help of its emulsion aggregation toner, and its low-melt technology helps it navigate the traditionally difficult peaks and valleys in linen and other specialty substrates like polyester.

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Standard Horizon ColorWorks Pro Plus for Versant 2100 press

The new Standard Horizon ColorWorks Pro Plus 2100 press is an all-in-one document finisher that performs booklet making, creasing, bleed trimming, folding, stitching, and stacking. The press is a product of an engineering alliance between Horizon International and Xerox. It has an icon-based touch screen for quick setups and edge-to-edge full colour control bleeds.
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HP's Indigo 7800 and WS6000 Digital Press series

HP Indigo 7800 Digital Press offering print service providers a range of new capabilities including the ability to print directly on synthetic substrates and plastic cards and a new colour management experience with an in-line spectrophotometer. The press supports HP Indigo ElectroInk Digital Matte for spot coating effects on glossy substrates in addition to other special inks, including HP Indigo ElectroInk Invisible Red and Light Black. Special features include raised print, textures effects and digital watermarks.

The HP Indigo 7800 is driven by HP SmartStream Production Pro Print Server Version 5, the fastest digital front end available on the market that enhances performance with 30 percent faster Raster Image Processing. >> continued

Enfocus: Switch 12 update 2

Enfocus’ latest update provides users with the tools to make connections between folders that must interface and/or exchange data with each other. Switch 12 was created to integrate seamlessly with companies’ existing systems, connecting the different applications and steps needed to process files while saving time, money and resources and making better use of employees’ efforts. >> continued

PPE Launches OKI 5+ Printer with White / Spot Coat

The new C9 multi-media production platform series from OKIDATA is being represented by Printer’s Parts & Equipment in Canada. The company has unveiled three new presses: The 4-colour C911 and C931 and the 5-colour C941.  >> continued

Epson SureColor F2000 Inkjet Printer series

Epson spent three years creating new imaging technology dedicated to printing directly to garments. The company hopes its purpose –built PrecisionCore TFP print head and UltraChrome DG garment ink technology will push the series to becoming the benchmark in high-performance garment imaging. The precision head consists of 8 channels of 360 nozzles with six ink cartridge bays. The resolution is 1440 x 1440 dip for white ink and 1440 x 720 dpi for colour ink. >> continued

Kodak delivers the Prosper 600

Kodak has unveiled the Prosper 6000 inkjet web press, which the company says expands the reach of inkjet beyond transpromo, direct mail and books, into catalogs, journals, inserts and manuals, among other commercial applications. Kodak says it is able to do this by laying down more ink than previous generations of presses, printing on standard offset stock, including glossy paper, and increasing output. >> continued

Standard Horizon to unveil its latest die cutter, the RD-4055

The new Standard Horizon’s RD-4055 creases, perforates, slits, hole punches and round corners various substrates up to 0.019” (diecutting only) thickness for digital and offset printed sheets. Feeding, diecutting and separating are achieved in one pass at a speed of 6,000 cycles per hour and both the setup and the operations can be controlled through the RD-4055’s touch screen.

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