L R Duncan Groom (PFE) is officially welcomed by Cathal O'Boyle MD Neopost IrelandNeopost Ireland, a leading provider of end-to-end mailing solutions has announced the acquisition of Print Finishing Equipment (PFE).
The acquisition was made to enhance Neopost Irelands future growth and performance and to position the company as one of the countries leading suppliers in the graphics and print finishing market.
PFE brings in market-leading solutions from well known suppliers such as Duplo, Roland, Eurofold, Komfi, Drytac and Fuji. The company has a well established base within the print Industry in Ireland and is regarded as one of the leading suppliers within this sector.
“Neopost Ireland is delighted to announce this acquisition” states Cathal O’Boyle, Managing Director, Neopost Ireland. ‘PFE is a leading supplier of solutions to the print sector, which represents a huge growth opportunity for Neopost. In addition, we believe we can grow the graphics / print finishing business throughout Ireland and offer the best levels of customer care through our combined service team of 17 people and our ability to finance equipment through Neopost Finance”
“We are delighted with the move” states Duncan Groom who together with all PFE staff will remain with the business. “The move offers us a huge opportunity to grow our business with greatly increased service offering and a combined service team of 17 people. We will now also be able to offer Neopost finance on our machinery which will increase our ability to do business in the current climate.”
Tel: 00353 (0) 1 01 6250900
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McGowans Print’s latest digital press, the Scodix1200™, can take any print job to the next level – literally.
The Scodix1200™ is a digital enhancement press to make print stand out and offer clients effective brand differentiation using spot UV and embossed finishes. It does this by registering clear polymer to images in variable thicknesses and textures from 20 to 70 microns.
Scodix pressMcGowans, a leading solutions provider for exhibition, general print, outdoor, retail, digital enhancement and vehicle graphics with production facilities in Dublin and Belfast, has recently opened in London.
The company’s managing director, Tony Roe, said: “The Scodix has been a huge hit for our creative clients from day one. Up to now spot UV and embossed finishes were considered a costly and time-consuming luxury. However with the arrival of the Scodix 1200 McGowans is now in the incredible position of being able to offer both finishes in the one pass. If you also compare the cost of traditional spot UV or embossing, the Scodix is a fraction of that cost and there is an obvious time-saving element also.”
Roe stressed that in line with the firm’s eco policies the Scodix 1200 is a clean, green process with no VOC emissions and uses the smallest amount of clear polymer while still producing fantastic effects.
“We have a special offer on the Home page of our new website,” he added. “It’s for a set of digitally enhanced business cards, free of charge, to get people used to setting files up and also to see the uplift in their print.
“Our London office is up and running and is being staffed by two sales agents, both with experience in this location,” said Roe. “The office is primarily functioning out of necessity as our more frequent dealings with UK-based multi-store retailers who are having issues with logistics when shipping to their Irish stores require us to have a presence there. With the success of the Northern Ireland office, we see no reason that it won’t be a similar success, with the introduction of some production facilities, as and when it is required.”
McGowans Print
Republic of Ireland: 3 Poppintree Industrial Estate, Dublin 11.
Tel: 00353 (0) 1 410 6700
Northern Ireland: 22 Edgar Road, Belfast BT8 8AN.
Tel: 028 90 812108
London: The Media Village, 131-151 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 5BB
Tel: 0044 791 2288211
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|
 The original car in the background with part of the new colour wrap in fron |
 Avery Applicators applying the new light blue Supreme Wrap film to the V. Passatt |
 Avery Applicators Hard at Work |
 David Ryan organiser of Print Solutions Open Days |
 Interested visitor watches Avery Applicator at work |
 Print Solutions Open Days 27-28th March 2012 |
In March, Print Solutions ran a two-day event at its premises in the Western Industrial Estate, Dublin 12, with Avery Dennison. The purpose was to demonstrate car wrapping techniques and also to launch Avery's Supreme Wrapping Film.
Three vehicles two professional Avery applicators, video footage backdrops and loads of stock discounts were available to visitors each day.
Liam Hannon, technical specification specialist, Avery, was on hand to oversee and advise on proceedings and said: “I’m part of Avery Dennison technical support services in the UK and Ireland and also for Rail (trains/trams) in Europe. My job basically is to offer technical support, instruction to Avery customers. We are not in the business of just selling vinyls where people may struggle with application or other problems. Avery has services where we assist people through the entire process. So if they require training on application, workshops or support for end users we can provide all these. One reason I am here is to assist two professional Avery Network applicators who are demonstrating various car wrapping techniques.”
A highlight of the event was the launch by Print Solutions of Avery’s new top of the range Supreme Wrapping Film.
“It’s an 80 micron dual cast layered film,” Hannon said. “That’s made up of 50 micron of cast solid colour with a further 30 micron of transparent cast on top. So the new wrapping film is dual cast. This gives the product a really good gloss level, makes it much easier to handle at 80 microns than a normal 50 micron grade, gives a superb finish and it has dirt repellent film characteristics which makes it ‘self cleaning’.”
Avery terms the new film ‘EARS’ which in layman’s terms means “easy apply, repositionable and slidable”. The film also has an air aggress system which allows air bubbles to escape through micro channels in the adhesive.
Hannon added that Avery believed it was the only film in the marketplace with a horizontal warranty. In other words, the warranty extends to bonnets and roofs which have horizontal exposure to much more sunlight than any other part of a vehicle.
The Avery film also boasts an impressive durability lifespan. Black and white is 12 years; colours are 10 years and six years for metallic.
Central to the two-day event was the car wrapping demonstration by Avery specialist applicators. This involved altering the colour of a Volkswagen Passat from its original dark blue shade to a light blue colour using a metallic film from the new Avery Supreme Wrapping Film range. During the process Avery applicators offered visitors tips and advice on wrapping as well as highlighting special features of the new range.
Ian Scouler, director, Print Solutions, said: “The new film is the very top of the range,” he said. “It comes in a very wide range of solid colours, metallic, as well as matt finishes. It’s unique in that it’s very easy to use. A lot of easy apply vinyls are repositionable but once you lay the squeegee across the vinyl it can’t be moved any more. With Avery Supreme Wrapping Film, you can reposition it, squeegee it, if you’re not happy, lift it, reposition again, and squeegee it again until you’re happy. This cuts production time because mistakes are virtually eliminated as well as wastage. It’s also more forgiving and easy to use for the more unskilled wrapper.”
Although the event showcased the new Avery wrapping film Scouler said Print Solutions also used the event to promote a range of Avery vinyls from the very top to standard vinyls.
“That’s why we are using different cars with different vinyls being applied to them to highlight the uniqueness of the different products,” he added. “It’s also worth pointing out that any tool or accessory that a sign maker actually uses for work like this we stock it.”
The two-day project was organised entirely by David Ryan, an account manager at Print Solutions.
Tel: 00353 (0) 1 4098000
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Reprocentre to market new Mimaki JV400-160LXThat’s the message Reprocentre, one of Irelands leading supplier of consumables, equipment and services to the large format sign and display sector is sending to the market here. The company which is based in the Nangor Road Business Park, Dublin 12 will be on hand at Mimaki’s exclusive UK and Irish distributors stand, Hybrid Services (stand D10, right at the entrance to Hall 3) at Sign+Digital UK - 27-29th March 2012 to explain the key selling points of the new Mimaki JV400 Latex printer to Irish visitors.
Sales director at Reprocentre, Eoin Honan said:
“We are exited about the launch of the Mimaki JV400 Latex printer. Up to now the company has always concentrated on marketing the HP Scitex LX range of Latex printers, and these are aimed at the high volume production end of the market. We have never sold entry level Latex machines so the new JV400 fits into our assortment very nicely indeed, as more and more customers are now looking at Latex for a lot of reasons such as the environment, wider range of substrates, no gassing off, just to name a few!
Honan highlighted some key points about the new Mimaki JV400 latex inkjet printers.
Faster: Nearly twice as fast in production quality mode at 900 x 900dpi.
Cooler: Cures at nearly half the temperature 60 degrees or less.
Lower: Lower running costs, due to the reduced power consumption and non consumable print heads.
Higher: Higher quality due to a 4 picolitre variable drop size...ensures smooth gradation without grainy appearance.
He went on to say:
“Oh, and it has white ink too as standard, which by the way is a worlds first for Latex printing.What we have in the JV400 is a new approach to Latex. We have white ink, we have cooler curing temperatures, meaning lower running costs, but also it allows the user to print on media that is heat sensitive as it cures at 60 degrees. Add in higher print speeds, and again this gives our customers better production at similar resolutions to our competitors, plus you can print at higher quality with smoother gradations due to the use of a 4 picolitre variable drop size.”
The printers are available in 1.3 metre and 1.6 metre wide and both will be on display at Sign & Digital UK.
Honan added:” We are waiting for our showroom machine to come available shortly, where we hope to run some open days during April.”
For further Information please contact:
Tom McIntyre – 086 8229835 – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bernard Hoey – 087 4118123 – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bill Forde - 0044 7710 126935 (N.I.) – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Eoin Honan – 087 2505765 – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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 Veesigns flying postman |
 Vechicle wrap by Veesigns |
 Seiko Color Painter W-64s |
 An example of Veesigns window graphics and external signage |
 Veesigns TEXOIL tanker rear end wrap |
 Veesigns sporting car wrap |
Veesigns has just completed another large batch of “flying Postman” graphic logos as part of An Post’s (Ireland’s State-owned postal service) new branding theme which is being rolled out across the country this year.
Located on the Greenhills Road, Walkinstown, Dublin, Veesigns was founded in 1979 and is today considered one of Ireland's leading vehicle signage and markings company. It has a raft of blue chip clients such An Post, Kerry Foods, Topaz, Brennan's Bread, JMOB, Texaco, Emo Oil, JCDecaux, Irish Rail, Nestle, Keelings, Dairygold, Glanbia from all sectors of the economy.
John O’Byrne, managing director, Veesigns, said: “An Post is changing its livery from all green vans with yellow stripes to white vans with a graphic of a postman carrying a ‘box’ on the side of the vehicle. The updated livery has a variety of ‘postmen’ from a flying postman, a surfing postman, to a running postman, all carrying a box.”
The rebranding process began at the end of last year and O'Byrne said his company would typically complete 100-300 vehicles over a two-week period as new stock arrived in various ports around Ireland.
“An Post orders in new vehicles, which could range from 100 up to 500 vans at any one time,” O’Byrne said. “These come into various depots around the country depending on the port they arrive in and we send our fitters down to apply the graphics. Once these are complete they are dispersed all over the country.”
Over 80 per cent of Veesigns business is vehicle graphics with the balance of its work devoted to general signage such as decorative window graphics and floor markings, digitally printed decals and labels, promotional signage and display and full colour warranted digital printing. Recently the company invested in a new Seiko ColorPainter W-64s for the production of most of its print requirements.
O’Byrne added: Although the normal person just sees An Post car vans on a daily basis it also has a considerable fleet of larger transport units such as Transits, Jumbo transits and larger vehicles. Veesigns has always been a vehicle graphics specialist since the company was established. We have are own dedicated bay in Dublin where we can handle trucks or vans up to 35ft. Full colour wraps have become more popular these days because the cost has come down over the last year or so due to competition. Also the materials have improved from suppliers like 3M and Avery which means we can do the job faster which in turn reduces down time, labour etc.“To sum up I would say that we deal with all types of market sectors who use transport and the additional signage work usually comes from this end of the business,” said O’Byrne. “An example of this would be that we also do An Post's post office signage. One of the reasons we developed such high-end corporate clients was Veesign's reputation for quality and getting the job done on time. Clients like An Post, Topaz, Kerry Foods and others did stick by us because we always offered a quality product on time, when and where they wanted it.”
Veesigns Limited
Tel: 00353 (0) 1 4515611
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A well-known Dublin print company, Wood Printcraft, has gone into receivership with the loss of over 60 jobs. The company, based in the Malahide Road Industrial Park had been in existence since 1837 and at one time had a workforce over 100.
The company had five divisions at one stage:
-Wood Printcraft;
- Printcraft Digital;
- Printcraft Packaging;
- Printcraft Imaging;
- WPG DocStore.
It specialised in producing annual reports, magazines, corporate literature, calendars, promotional publications, print-on-demand solutions, manufacturing high quality cartons, as well as electronic imaging and document storage and e-discovery support services.
Production facilities included both sheet fed litho and digital print.
Regrettably, Wood Printcraft is just another casualty in a long list of major print companies in Ireland that have seen the recession decimate their businesses over the last few years.
A further knock-on, of course, is the losses that major paper merchants will suffer as a result of this closure.
A spokesperson for one paper merchant who did not wish to be named said trading for the first two months of 2012 was the worst he had seen in nearly 30 years.
Other industry sources have told DPNLive that they do not see any pick-up in commercial print activity in the foreseeable future.
KPMG has been appointed receiver.
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The HP Designjet 3D Printer is now available in Austria, Switzerland and Ireland.
The HP Designjet 3D Printer is now available in Austria, Switzerland and IrelandThree-dimensional or 3D printing describes the process of creating three-dimensional objects from digital files using a materials printer in a manner similar to printing images on paper.
Producing 3D models and prototypes in-house gives developers’ better design control while reducing costs and time-to-market. The HP Designjet 3D Printer produces models in ivory plastic while the colour version can print models in nine different colours.
Produced using recyclable ABS plastic (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), the models created on the HP Designjet 3D printers are faithful to designs to ensure fit, form and function. HP said durable, precise and functional models can eliminate costly design faults and tooling mistakes.
Each pass of the print head puts down a layer 0.254mm thick, ensuring optimal results with the highest level of dimensional accuracy, near-moulded plastic strength and an effective time-to-model/cost ratio. Printer operation is intuitive and can be left unattended over the weekend, for example, to maximise development time schedules.
An interesting feature of this printer is that completed parts can be handled immediately after printing – no need for gloves or post-curing. Models are placed in the HP Designjet support removal system, the second component of the 3D printer solution, for excess model material removal. Neither printer nor removal system requires any special infrastructure thus avoiding unplanned incremental investments.
Since the HP Designjet 3D printers are about the size of a normal laser printer, models and prototypes can be produced in any environment including the office where they can fit perfectly next to a desk and include a built-in network card for easy workgroup sharing.
There is no special requirement for ventilation and normal plumbing is fine for the support removal system. Waste water requires no treatment before being disposed of into the office drainage system. Waste materials (models, bases and spools) are recyclable and are collected as part of HP’s take-back programme.
The HP Designjet 3D printing solution is economical a low total cost of ownership because (i) it is fully automated, eliminating manual labour costs; (ii) the materials are among the most economical in the market; (iii) the system automatically adds smart supports which reduces support material needed so minimising printing and material removal time and cost.
For further information, videos, case studies and contact details of suppliers of HP Designjet 3D printers, please visit http://www.hp.com/go/3DPrinter.
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Roland VS 540 Eco Solvent PrinterPrint and finishing equipment (PFE) has announced details of its next tradeshow which will be held on the 13th of March in the Silver Springs Hotel, Cork. As with previous shows they will be joined by a number of companies exhibiting an array of equipment. These include: Neopost – one of Irelands leading providers of in-house fulfillment and document handling solutions, Wildcard Software - a company that specializes in Business Management Systems, IBS (Irish Business Systems) who specialize in Xerox printing equipment and DWS Supplies: A supplier for point of sale/point of purchase, heat transfer materials, screen-printing chemicals and ribbon printing.
Yvonne Maguire from PFE said:
“Together there will be a fine array of products for companies from all sides of the print and sign industry to see. The tradeshow will run from 8.30AM – 7PM so it’s is a day not to be missed.”
PFE will be showcasing well known brands such as Duplo, Ideal, Drytac, Komfi and Keencut. As a key distributor of Roland products it will be demonstrating the LEC 330 UV Printer and the VS 540 Eco-Solvent Printer as well as other Roland wide format machines on the day.
For more information about machinery that will be displayed at the tradeshow you can phone 00 353 (0)1 8604872 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
To register for the event please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve a place.
 SignLynx TOYOTA billboard |
 SignLynx mobile scrolling backlit billboard system |
 Signlynx mobile scrolling system for meteor |
Signlynx has developed an innovative advertising medium: a mobile, scrolling, backlit billboard.
The five-year-old Limerick-based company manufacturers and prints signs for all enterprises: commercial, retail and industrial, both for internal and external applications.
Jack O’Loughlin, founder and managing director, explained the benefits of the new signage solution.
“For some time now we have been developing a mobile, scrolling billboard system which is backlit using LEDs,” he said. “The system contains two billboards of the same size, each 2m x 1m high by 6m in length. It’s constructed of a steel frame clad in aluminium composite with the front or viewing area made of 6mm polycarbonate. We can take a graphic from anyone, print it digitally on a fairly rigid but flexible backlit material like a PET substrate and insert that into the frame. Where this system is unique lies in the fact that it’s mobile. By that I mean it’s a truck-mounted system that can be deployed anywhere. It has a crane on it which means the billboards can be displayed back-to-back on the vehicle or lifted down into a designated space because each frame has drop down legs which stand up to 2m high.”
O’Loughlin highlighted another key selling point of his firm’s mobile system: “Most billboard systems today are front lit which cause glare issues. They are simply not going to be as effective as a backlit billboard at night. Add in the fact that our system is scrolling as well and it gives a very eye catching effect.”
The new scrolling billboard system was designed and manufactured by Signlynx which has full fabrication facilities in house. Each panel can hold up to six different graphics giving the total system the ability to display up to 12 scrolling images.
“Any banner can be taken out, stored and used again at a later date,” added OLoughlin. “Another feature is that we can personalise each print so this makes it an ideal medium for nationwide tours. We can have a main advertisement for a multiple retailer on a graphic and keep one section that can be changed or updated depending on the venue. So each new outlets address, phone number etc can be overlayed in that special section.”
Signlynx seems to have hit on a novel way to deliver advertising for clients. Illuminated scrolling billboards are everywhere but most are static. The concept of mobility should appeal to market sectors such as hospitality, retail multiples and others needing this facility on site without having to invest in a static installation.
For further information contact:
SignLynx Tel: 00353 (0) 61 603786
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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