Lowe-Martin commemorative envelope honours the Charlottetown Conference

The Lowe-Martin Group has collaborated with Canada Post again, this time printing commemorative envelopes to recognize the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference. 

Lowe-Martin printed 8,000 170mm by 155mm envelopes with an image of the conference of delegates on the steps of the Government in Charlottetown. The images used are from the public archives and records of P.E.I. 
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Intertainment Media completes sale of Magnum Printing

Intertainment Media has announced the final closing sale of assets of Magnum Fine Commercial Printing limited to 1337478 Ontario Inc., an entity controlled by Media-Vision— a company that specializes in print, web, direct mail, displays and packaging, and premium and incentives work.

The sale transaction closed on Sept. 2 and all Magnum printing assets and employees have been transferred to Media-Visions’ head office on Passmore Ave. where production is located, Media-Vision CEO John Popovski said. >> continued

Howard Graphic Equipment gives back to the community

Printing machinery supplier Howard Graphic Equipment Ltd, donated hundreds of shirts, hats and jackets to the Scott Mission of Toronto earlier this week. The mission has helped and cared for the city’s underprivileged since 1941.


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Onwards and upwards for Prodigy Graphics

Prodigy Graphics has donated $12,000 to Evangel Hall Mission (EHM) a charity group that helps homeless individuals get off the streets. The president of the trade shop, Gordon McCauley, presented the money to EHM on July 29.


(left to right) Bob Price, Drop-In Manager EHM; Gordon McCauley, President Prodigy Graphics; Joseph Taylor, Executive Director EHM; Jo Ann Hislop, Director of Programs EHM. >> continued

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

Job growth on the horizon for 4over Mississauga

Trade printer 4over displayed one of its latest pieces of machinery during an open house held Tuesday. According to 4over’s national press manager, German Ramirez, the 6-colour, 40" Komori Lithrone S40 press, was purchased for the Mississauga location with faster printing times and future job growth in mind.


 Left to right: CEO Zarik Megerdichian, plant manager Paul Kett >> continued

BL Litho's demise and rise

B.L. Litho, a sheetfed commercial print shop with a history going back decades, filed for bankruptcy on September 5, only to have the company bought and relaunched a few days later, PrintCAN has learned. 

New owner Stephane Marcil said B.L. Litho ran into  financial difficulty and was forced to shutter its doors and lay off its 45 employees. Marcil, whose brother-in-law works at B.L. Litho, came in and bought the company in its entirety, though he hasn't yet taken possession of all the equipment. He expects that to happen in a couple of weeks. "I was at the right place at the right time," said Marcil. "I approached [former owner] Richard Beaulieu, we talked and established a good relationship." >> continued

Let's get the industry talking on #IPD14

In an effort to get people talking about the world of print, Print Media Centre has launched International Print Day. On Oct. 8, web-savvy members of the global print community are encouraged to share information about print and integrated marketing on social media using the hashtag #IPD14.
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Pioneer Press celebrates 120 years

Jim Edgar was only 16-years-old when he started working at Pioneer Press Ltd as an apprentice—13 years later he became the owner and has since been at the helm of the full-service printing house. 

Pioneer Press was founded in 1894 and is celebrating its 120th birthday this month. An open house has been planned for Thursday to celebrate with clients and employees—many who have been with the company for almost 30 years.


pioneerpressltd.com >> continued

IKEA promotes the power of print with its 2015 bookbook

When IKEA released its 2015 catalogue, the company decided to give it the Apple treatment and spoof the popular brand. You know those apple commercials, a representative sits against a white background and the camera zooms in on a set of hands playing with the latest gadget. Switch out the apple rep for IKEA’s Chief Design Guru Jörgen Eghammer and the latest tech for the 328-page catalogue, and you get a clever, tongue-in-cheek ad that’s already gone viral.

So what exactly do you get with your IKEA catalogue? Well the bookbook is pre-installed with thousands of home furnishing ideas. It contains 328 hi-definition pages; it's 8mm thin, and weighs less than 400 grams. One of its top selling features: an eternal battery that promises to stay fully charged until the end of time. What Smartphone can promise that?
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