Veritiv announces its National Design and Print Excellence Awards

Veritiv, a national distributor of commercial printing and imaging papers is accepting entries for its 2015 Veritiv Canada National Design and Print Excellence Awards. 

“The uVU Veritiv Design and Print Excellence Awards highlight the top designers and print providers in Canada,” Jason Alderman, regional vice president – Canada for Veritiv said.  “To distinguish themselves from the crowd, design studios and printers are producing more innovative, cutting edge and creative work than ever before.  Our uVU Awards program provides an opportunity for winners to celebrate with existing clients while broadening their exposure with potential clients.” >> continued

Nilpeter aims its focus on Canada

Nilpeter, a Denmark-based a narrow web print provider is broadening its Canadian reach by assigning Nilpeter veterans Fran Mayo and Robert Wray to represent the company in the region. The Eastern region of Canada from Ontario east will be represented by Mayo, and the west by Wray. 

“These new opportunities bring a more focused and direct approach to our partners, and broadening our outreach will allow us to better serve our customers and their needs. Doing it with the most experienced and knowledgeable team of sales people will only bring direct value to our customers”, Paul Teachout, vice president of sales & marketing for Nilpeter North America said. “Fran and Rob have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to share with our customers, so our partners will see an immediate impact in their representation.” >> continued

MET Fine Printers acquires Rhino Print’s Calgary facility

MET Fine Printers, a commercial printing company, will expand on its depth and scope of services by purchasing select Rhino Print Solutions assets, including its Calgary facility, which will now be integrated into MET’s operations.

Rhino made news in August when it entered into a deal with R.P. Graphics to sell its Toronto location.

MET president Nikos Kallas and his senior management group will lead the expansion and will be joined by senior members of the Rhino team—all business will operate exclusively under MET Fine Printers. The full terms of the agreement will not be disclosed. >> continued

B.C. company develops an environmentally friendly paper

Social Print Paper, an affiliate of Royal Printers, a family-owned commercial printing business, is making news with its environmentally friendly paper made from waste derived from wheat farming. The Wheat Sheet is made in Northern India, and contains 60% wheat straw fibres and 5% wood fibre from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship. Canopy, a Canadian non-profit is even stating that straw from North American wheat production is enough to save 830 million trees each year. Read more on Business In Vancouver.com. >> continued

Printing dragged into U.S. religious freedom debate

The battle for “religious freedom,” in the U.S. is heating up and print shops are being dragged into the discussion.

Former senator and potential presidential candidate Rick Santorum, a supporter of religious freedom legislation, made headlines this week with these remarks: >> continued

Printing shipments remain flat

Despite the positive numbers showing healthy growth, printing shipments are, in reality, closer to flat. Two factors account for the positive math: there was a small increase in the fall, but the larger reason for the positive showing in 2014, is that Statistics Canada resumed tracking shipments in Alberta, which were excluded in 2013. B.C., which had also fallen off the radar, is back for 2015.

Shipments (in millions)	2014	2013	% change
October	$735.1	$648.0	%13
November	$670.2	$607.1	%10
December	$638.2	$552.0	%16
January	$641.7	$591.3	%8.5

>> continued

The CPEIA teams up with PAC to explore the packaging industry

The Canadian Printable Electronics Industry Association (CPEIA) and the Packaging Consortium (PAC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore how printable and organic electronics can help Canada’s packaging industry.

The MOU is a non-financial commitment between the two organizations to work together on various initiatives over the next two years, including participating in technical working groups and educational events such as webinars, technical seminars and trade shows. >> continued

PPWC and Unifor head to the bargaining table together

Unifor and Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC) have decided to work together in the next round of pulp and paper bargaining in Western Canada.

Both companys — considered to be two of the country’s largest unions in the pulp and paper sector, met in Vancouver last week to re-establish the Joint Pulp and Paper Caucus for upcoming negotiations in 2017.

"Working together will help us better resolve issues in an industry that has significant challenges," Scott Doherty, assistant to the national president at Unifor said. >> continued

Avanti appoints new vp of sales

Avanti Computer Systems Limited, a print management software provider, has appointed John P. Alden as vice president of sales, responsible for leading sales and business development efforts worldwide.

Alden comes to Avanti after 17 years at Xerox Corporation, where he spent the last four of those years as production color sales director. >> continued

Simpson Print appoints new president

Simpson Print has appointed Tony Denison president of the company. Martin Johanns, who bought the company in 1987, will remain the owner and chair.

Tony Denison (seated) and Martin Johanns >> continued