Belgians jet off with Agfa

Belgian sign and display company White Link has expanded its product offering to provide complete concepts in interior design and decoration, through a recent investment in a Jeti Mira from Agfa Graphics.

Thanks to the new technology, the firm has been able to switch from stickering to direct printing, claiming that the quality on dibond and forex materials that the Jeri Mira offers is superior to its previous machinery.

According to Agfa, White Light “greatly values the thin ink layer of the Jeti Mira, and the engine’s intuitive graphic user interface, which lets them gain a lot of time when preparing the files.”

The Jeti Mira features ‘Print and Prepare’ technology that allows you to load new media while the printer is still working. It is available with a table depth of either 1.6 or 3.2m against a width of 2.69m. While the Jeti Mira S is equipped with one row of print heads, the Jeti Mira HS has two rows, which Agfa claims offers even higher productivity.

Avery creates vinyl super-power

If the strength and reach of Avery Dennison was in doubt before, its recently completed acquisition of Mactac’s European business from Platinum Equity will have silenced the doubters.

The purchase price was no less than €200m (£173.56m) and this included the debt from Mactac. Once an industry leader in vinyl manufacturing and supply in Europe, Mactac has been outcompeted on an international level by those such as 3M, while losing out to national competitors that could undercut the multinational on price.

Mactac’s manufacturing facility in Soignies, Belgium, along with sales offices and warehouses in Europe and Asia, are now part of Avery Dennison’s global footprint.

Carpenter cycles his way to 60

James Carpenter, managing director of Doro Tape, has pedalled his way into his sixtieth year, by taking part in the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100mile cycle.

Carpenter completed the ride in seven and a half hours, and has so far raise over £3,200 for the Alzheimer’s Society and a local charity called ‘Adam Smile’. He comments: “In the last two years I have taken up cycling and become what is euphemistically called a MAMIL (middle-aged man in lycra).

“It was an unforgettable experience cycling through London, past all the sights we know so well on traffic free roads – except that is for the other 26,000 cyclists who took part!”

 

 

To thanks those who donated, Carpenter printed the names of companies and individuals on his cycling shirt, using Dorotape’s range of Poli Tape flex films to achieve the desired effect.

 

Drytac finds its feet

Drytac Europe has announced the availability of its enhanced Emerytex laminating film, offering protection from UV degradation as well as anti-slip and scuff resistance properties.

Steve Broad, Drytac Europe’s sales director, says: “Emerytex is a high quality, versatile laminating film. Thanks to its superior anti-slip qualities, Drytac Emerytex can be used for laminating floor graphics in a wide variety of environments. Additionally, with its UK Class 0 Fire Rating, it is perfect for applications in public areas that require compliance with strict fire regulations, such as airports, hotels and hospitals.”

 

Youngster’s talent shines bright

With the poor flow of talent into the UK sign industry and ongoing issue for the manufacturing sector and many others, Hollywood Monster and the Astwood Bank Carnival have partnered to help highlight the problem.

The duo started a design competition to revamp the Astwood Bank Carnival’s logo, with local children asked to illustrate an emblem that celebrated the diversity of the event. The lucky winner was then awarded the chance to bring their design to life, collaborating with Hollywood Monster’s Emma Hyland.

Olivia Bevan was crowned the winner, and in addition to her £20 gift voucher, she won the opportunity to visit Hollywood Monster. She spent the day there working alongside Hyland to transform her drawing into a logo that will be suitable for Astwood Bank Carnival events for years to come.

 

Innova strengthens brand with muscleman

In a creative move to promote its high strength range of products, adhesive and bonding specialist Innova Solutions has recruited world top ten strongman Mark Felix.

Renowned for his incredible grip strength, UK strongman Felix is an ideal fit for Innova Solutions adhesive and bonding tapes, as managing director Glenn Dunleavey explains: “It’s great to team up with Mark Felix; he’s a legend on the strongman circuit, and the embodiment of high strength.

 

“His grip strength is unrivalled in the strongman world, making him the perfect figure to represent the equally impressive unbeatable hold and grip strength of our own products. He personifies the Innova Solutions brand perfectly.”

Innova Solutions will use Felix in a series of videos, images, and events to promote their NovaSeal, NovaLite, NovaSol, and NovaWeld structural adhesives ranges. He will also promote the NovaBond range, an eco-friendly, solvent free range of double sided tapes.

Dunleavey continues: “Over the past 14 years we’ve developed our structural adhesives and bonding tapes to be the best on the market, providing incredible bond strength across a range of substrates in the most demanding conditions. Our customers need unbeatable strength with no compromises. One look at Mark Felix and you think high strength; I want the same for when people think Innova.”

Innova Solutions launched the campaign with their very own strongman competition, in which sales director Spencer Kelly went head-to-head with Felix in a number of grueling events.

 

Newtech writes its own success

The last Newtech event, which took place in Bristol, has seen plenty of positive feedback with Dave Chill of Ribbon Writer saying ‘everything ran smoothly from start to finish’. The next event takes place in London on October 4^th.

Chill continues: “Throughout the day we seemed to get a nice steady flow of customers from 9.00am right the way through to 3.30pm. It was great to see a number of our customers throughout the day and let them know about our services and latest products as well as meeting a whole host of new customers introduced from other stand holders.

 

 

“It made it seem like a small family gathering as everyone was so friendly.”

Exhibitor Fraser Anti-Static Techniques also showed the latest techniques for overcoming problems with static electricity affecting quality of performance in printing.

 

Rennicks reacts to new regs

Due to new traffic sign regulations which came into action this year, towns across the UK can now incorporate digitally-printed photographic images on welcome signs using retroreflective materials, a change that has been capitalised on by Rennicks UK.

The most recent Tourist Gateway Signs are in the City of Leicester at twelve key approaches and nine other sites.

“When they're digitally printed onto long-lasting Rennicks Nikkalite retrore?ective materials, you can be sure they will stand out for miles, as well as draw people in for many years to come,” says Rennicks UK’s sales director, Martin Rodgers.

Ritrama sets sail with new products

Ritrama has revealed a new wide-format RI-WRAP Marine series for the boat wrapping market after trends have seen that boat owners prefer to wrap their boats, as the film acts as a waterproof barrier that protects the hull above the waterline.

The RI-WRAP Marine series is available in five colours ranging from blue to grey: Hot Wheels, Blue Indigo, St. Moritz, Grey, and Silver Kandy.

Ritrama has also added a new product to its wall graphics inkjet print media series, the RI-JET Deco-wall 150 Linen, a 150-micron white satin finish polymeric PVC film with a special embossed linen effect texture.

It is ideal for decorating walls in commercial rooms and residential premises and has a thickness of 150µ. The film is said to have many beneficial properties including easy application, maximum coverage, and excellent resistance.

 

Brightsign pushes LED boundaries

Brightsign and Project Audio Visual have teamed up to install an innovative cylindrical LED digital signage column at Westfield Shopping Centre in London, a solution that will draw far less power than alternative HD screen alternatives.

“We claim to be able to fulfil any brief, but this project really put our capabilities to the test,” says Steve Hudson, sales director of Project Audio Visual, adding: “We were required to install a Dynascan curved LED display around a column within a store at the Westfield Shopping Centre.

 

 

“Curved signage gives customers a great view of advertisements and on brand content, wherever they are standing. Curved displays give the appearance of a wider screen, catching the attention of potential customers even in a large space, such as a shopping centre. Through the use of on brand graphics, imagery, and video content, the curved video column provides an effective platform to spread brand awareness.”

 

Zytronic cleans up car wash

Nilfisk Car Wash Business Unit has decided to improve its user experience with Zytronic’s Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT) as the user interface for its self-service car wash systems.

“The screens make our car wash much easier and more intuitive to use, with short video clips on correct operation supplementing written instructions,” says Martin Seitz, product manager for car wash products at Nilfisk, adding: “Operators are also able to increase sales by promoting special offers. For example, it is common to offer a longer wash time during the night at 24 hour stations.”

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