- Royal Mail has described the CWU's consultative ballot as "disappointing" and defended its position on the questions raised by the union.
- The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has launched a consultative ballot today that could result in a boycott of downstream access providers mail as soon as next month.
- The eighth PrintIT! Awards took place at North Print & Pack last week, where dozens of shortlisted schoolchildren attended the Harrogate show to find out who had been honoured in the annual schools scheme.
- Digital specialist Romax is to launch a premium photobook service and is targeting dynamic growth in its established direct marketing business following the appointment of former Inc Direct director Wesley Dowding.
- St Ives has taken another significant step in its evolution to become a fully fledged marketing services provider with its latest major investment in the arena.
- A UK company has launched an innovative family of certified biodegradable substrates aimed at backlit and window film applications, which it said were unique and comparable in price to conventional materials.
- Paperlinx has taken a major step to consigning its three merchanting brands to the annals of history by rebranding them all under the Paperlinx banner while reassuring customers that the changes will have no impact on credit lines.
- Trade finisher First 4 Print Finishing has launched a new direct mail division, on the back of a £150,000 investment, to diversify into new markets and future-proof the business.
- Polestar has secured a £75m contract renewal it has described as a further vote of confidence in its recently unveiled £50m press upgrade.
- Welcome to our inaugural Digital packaging report. There's little doubt that the packaging sector has been remarkably - albeit perhaps unsurprisingly - resilient to the economic downturn.
- BCQ Group joint managing director Tyrone Spence has sold his 50% stake in the £10m turnover business to fellow joint managing director Richard Knowles and launched a new company e-com2.
- The success of a great idea hinges as much on timing and luck as it does on the strength of the plan - as illustrated by the sad demise of Ink Shop last week.
- Cumbernauld-based Ink Shop Printing has been placed in receivership, with all staff laid off.
- Two more sizeable exhibitors have withdrawn from Ipex 2014, who between them had a combined footprint of more than 1,000sqm.
- There's no doubt that, as much as some people would like you to think otherwise, the prime driver for greening up your business isn't always going to be the impact on our planet's health.
- A survey of 500 European retailers and brand owners has revealed some startling predictions on the resilience of print against the onslaught of electronic signage and highlighted the emerging opportunities for POS printers.
- Canon has joined the likes of HP, Kodak and Xerox and announced it will not be exhibiting at Ipex 2014, with Ipex-owner Informa declaring that it "remains absolutely committed to running Ipex in Excel in March next year".
- Ricoh will be the largest exhibitor at North Print & Pack after it confirmed it will be taking 180 sqm at the May event, with organiser Informa hinting that a couple more "big name" digital vendors will also be confirming in the next few weeks.
- Recruitment is a little like public speaking, insofar as the people who genuinely enjoy it, generally seem to get the most out of it.
- You may wish to protect 'trade secrets', but open discussions with competitors - like those planned at Dscoop next week - can prove rewarding
