Operations director Ian Turnbull said: "The paste is within the construction so all you do is wet the paper, which makes it easier to apply. This is aimed at people using vinyl and traditional billboard applications."

Other products include 3259 WallpaperSol Persomural 195 satin, a wallpaper compatible with solvent-based or mild solvent pigmented inks, which can be used to cover small cracks in walls.

Also on show is 3416 DuraCure Pop-up 380 matt substrate. This works with UV-curing ink and is also compatible with IR-latex inks. The company said this was an environmentally friendly media with the durability of a pop-up.

Meanwhile, 3418 LightCure Backlit Film 145 DS matt has a double-sided matt coating, and 3550 ClearSol WetCling Film 125 glossy water-activated film clings to windows or can be used as a standard clear film.

According to Carr the division was primarily focussed on testing new products for internal quality control purposes, rather than a customer support function. He added that it made sense for the company, which last month rebranded its merchanting divisions as Paperlinx, to focus on investing in services that add customer value, such as the recently launched 'printers' webstores', rather those that just add costs.

"Originally it was a service that Robert Horne had for a long time for when different grades and qualities of papers could be dramatically different, with different characteristics from each mill. Quality and consistency has moved on dramatically in recent years and the mills have their own technical capability themselves now," said Carr.

He added that customer's technical questions would continue to be fielded by technical sales staff and, when needed, the mills themselves.

A consultation with the technical services department was launched in early May, with the decision to close the department finalised on 10 June. Six positions were made redundant as a result of the closure.

"I appreciate it's disappointing for the staff affected, especially those that have been with us for a long time, but the world is changing and the quality and consistency of the paper we sell has improved beyond all recognition in the past 20 years," said Carr.

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Both increases join a raft of price hikes from other paper manufacturers. Metsa Board also increased its prices for wood-free coated papers in April.

Meanwhile Sappi Fine Paper Europe announced price increases for its graphic paper and coated fine paper range in February, and last month announced a 6% increase to specialty paper product prices, to come into effect from 1 July this year.

The consensus when many of these rises were announced back in February, was that merchants would have no choice but to pass the full impact of these increases on to customers.

Arjowiggins Graphic said that sales contacts would be in touch with customers shortly to "discuss further details and prepare implementation accordingly."

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IP UK and Ireland country manager Mike Robertson said: "Having the Ecolabel flower logo on the HP Everyday Papers range allows us to demonstrate how seriously International Paper takes our commitment to the environment."

The HP Everyday Papers range is manufactured from virgin fibres and includes grades for all kinds of office applications. It is available from leading UK distributors.

HP Everyday Papers are designed to complement HP office printing kit and are optimised for HP's inks and toners.

The Everyday Papers range has also been certified by the PEFC and FSC schemes.

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Joint partner Roy Killen said one of the creative highlights of the 108-page magazine with six-page cover was the "coptic" binding, with exposed thread stitching down the spine. The magazine measures 255mm x 210mm.

Article, billed as a magazine that "celebrates Britain with the coolest of papers", covers art, design, culture and contemporary men's fashion and was printed with the support of Arctic Paper UK.

The launch issue includes a selection from the paper supplier's range including Arctic Matt, Arctic Silk, Arctic Volume White and Munken Lynx Rough. The latter was chosen for its "tactile appeal; not too bulky or shiny, yet offering unique colour reproduction," said the magazine's art director Rosy Tsai.

Arctic Paper managing director Garry Colyer, said: "This unique magazine is inspirational in terms of design and its choice of papers. All standard Arctic Papers are FSC certified so it has great environmental credentials too."

Push works with design companies, galleries, arts organisations, publishers and the wider creative community.

"Swan Mill Paper Company failed to make sure that there was a safe vehicle and pedestrian system of work in place within their warehouse," he added.

"Such a measure would have prevented vehicles being able to access areas where workers on foot were moving around. Such a system was entirely possible without any detriment to the work being done."

Widdowson said that the risk of a collision between a moving forklift and a warehouse operative while both were working in the same location was significant and as such "should have been obvious to the company".

A statment issued by Swan Mill said: "On 12 October 2011 a Swan Mill Paper Company employee was injured in an incident at our site. The welfare of our staff is of the utmost importance and we deeply regret this incident.

"We are a family-run firm and we take the safety of all of our 231 employees very seriously. This is the first time such an incident has occurred on our site. Our employee has returned to work with our full support. He continues to recover from his injuries and we are doing all we can to support and assist him.

"The health and safety procedures that applied on the day of the incident have been in place for many years and there had been an estimated 26 million truck movements without incident prior to his unfortunate accident occurring.

"We took immediate remedial action at the site and have cooperated fully with the HSE. One of our first steps was to make a proactive recommendation to the HSE about additional safeguards. These were accepted in full by the HSE.

"As today's ruling makes clear, we have not contested the charge. Welfare and safety of our staff is paramount and we now have even more robust health and safety procedures in place."

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"Effectively we've had the restructuring process where we've merged three sales teams into one, one of the critical components of that process was to have an identity for that single sales team. We have that now."

The rebrand of Howard Smith, Robert Horne and PaperCo to Paperlinx follows a number of restructuring measures, which resulted in around 190 job losses and culminated in the consolidation of the three merchanting arms sales teams in to one account management team late last year.

As of last Friday, Howard Smith, Robert Horne and PaperCo, sales offices began answering phones as Paperlinx.

"The exciting thing for our customers and, I have to say, our sales team, is that they now have the opportunity to have a single relationship, rather than multiple relationships and the opportunity to trade all of products," said Carr.

The three merchanting brands will continue to exist, on paper at least, as invoices will still be sent from the three individual trading legal companies, at least until the companies are merged into one single legal entity. However, Carr stressed that there were no short term plans to create a single legal structure.

By continuing to trade Howard Smith, Robert Horne and PaperCo as legal entities, Paperlinx will continue to be able offer three lines of credit.

"Most of our customers have been running with multiple accounts anyway, and that's been the problem operationally, because in many instances we had three sales reps calling on the same customer - it just didn't make sense," said Carr.

"What the customer wants is to be able say I want that product, that product and that product. The fact that they come from three different places [for invoicing purposes], they don't mind, as long as we're utilising the best lines of credit for them they're getting the same service, the same terms, the same everything - as far as they're concerned it's a win-win," he added.

However, Carr stressed that the company would take a pragmatic view on the issuing of credit across the three lines.

"We've been making decisions on credit based on our exposure across the whole UK for a long time, irrespective of where a customers account is. When I became UK finance director I insisted that we set up a UK credit committee for precisely that reason, so instead of making three different credit decisions for a customer, we make one in the background and that's something we've been doing for a number of years."

Carr dismissed some customers fears that the operational changes to Paperlinx's sales operations and the withdrawal of the Howard Smith, Robert Horne and PaperCo names would result in customers credit lines being reduced.

"I've heard comments put around by rivals that the changes mean we're going to one credit line and that means that customers' credit will effectively be cut by two thirds. That's absolute rubbish. We've effectively been running our credit lines as joint credit lines for at least four or five years, so the customers will see no difference in their credit."

According to Carr, the latest changes will also not directly result in any additional job cuts, following the 200 UK job losses that were announced last November.

"Of course we can't afford to be complacent and we always need to review our cost base, but in terms of the sales team in commercial print we're where we need to be."

The commercial print operations have already begun operating as Paperlinx, while the wide-format, consumables and packaging operations will move begin operating as Paperlinx "in pretty quick time".

"We really want one name, one badge. The back office is already operating under one banner - now the front office is following suit," said Carr.

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The £1.3m spend on the Indigo comes on top of a £1m investment programme over the past 18 months.

This has seen the company add to its printing firepower with a HP Indigo 5600 and four-colour Heidelberg Speedmaster SX52, as well as bolstering its finishing facilities with a Horizon BQ470 PUR binder, a Heidelberg TH56 folder and Polar 115X Plus guillotine with paper handling setup.

An Autobond Mini76 TPMHS thermal laminator with magnet attaching facility was installed just last week.

The firm, which provides a wide range of commercial print and finishing services in-house as well as a web-to-print facility, also runs a Heidelberg Speedmaster XL75.

"Having B2 is going to open up lots of opportunities and give us an edge," said managing director Jon Lancaster. "The Indigo is the fastest at 4,600sph in enhanced productivity mode, the sheet size is good, the duplexing ability is good, the print quality is high and it also does special colours such as white."

The £3m turnover, 25-staff company needs to build an extension to house the new digital press, which will be installed in September or October.

"We want it in for the run-up to Christmas, and we can perhaps help other printers with trade work too," Lancaster added.

The firm's unusual move into creating its own mirrored substrate, achieved by laminating a special film onto plain board, came as a result of a customer request. It took three months to develop.

"A customer had a call for it, and we went and bought some of the mirror stock that's commercially available, but the cost of it meant we could only really do the sample quantities on our digital press," Lancaster explained.

"By making our own mirror board we can be competitive on longer runs using digital and we can compete with UV litho. We've already produced 130,000 DVD sleeves, all with white ink, and I'm happy there are no scratching or static problems with it."

Lancaster is now planning to offer the board, which is available in silver or gold foil finish, to other printers via the company's e-commerce site at www.printedeasy.com. He also intends to put it through HP's accreditation process.

"I could make 40,000-50,000 SRA3 sheets a day, if I needed to, and I've created a ‘how to' guide with all the information people need to print on it successfully," he added.

Customers buying ProDesign from Premier Paper will be issued a certificate and a Woodland Carbon logo that they can use on every print job that uses the range.

ProDesign is International Paper's flagship colour laser paper produced at its Saillat mill in France, which has reduced its greenhouse gas emission by 78% since 1990.

This latest environmental initiative follows the company's recent decision to switch the range, which already carries the EU Ecolabel, from PEFC to FSC certification.

Premier Paper Group marketing director Dave Jones said: "Premier's Carbon Capture scheme is unique as it works with the Woodland Trust and captures CO2 through creating woodland right here in the UK.

"By electing to capture the CO2 from all ProDesign sales through the Premier Paper Group we are making a tangible and practical contribution to the UK environment by creating woodland that we can all visit and enjoy."

The range is also available in the UK through The Paper Company (PaperCo) and Coral8.

It was a severe blaze, with 15 fire engines and some 100 firefighters from West Midlands Fire Service required to tackle it.

There were also concerns about smoke drifting across the nearby M6 motorway. Nobody was hurt in the incident.

The site is one of Smurfit Kappa's two recycled packaging mills in the UK, and produces testliner and recycled fluting. It processes more than 200,000 tonnes of recovered fibre a year, according to the company.

The fire is understood to have involved 10,000 tonnes of cardboard for recycling stored in the yard. Local reports said the main building was unaffected, but this is yet to be confirmed by Smurfit Kappa.

There has been a paper mill on the site for 150 years, and the mill has been manufacturing recycled grades since 1911. The name of the mill, which currently employs 110 staff, is based on the surnames of the founders: Smith, Stone and Knight.

Smurfit Kappa issued a brief statement this morning. The company said: "At approximately 10pm last night a fire started in the paper yard and rapidly spread to the remaining raw material stock. Emergency services were called and are co-ordinating a combined operation to bring the situation under control. No one has been injured and we are co-operating fully with the emergency services on site."

There is no further information yet on the likely impact on production at the facility

Jeff Cotterill, managing director at nearby commercial printer Cotterill Cook, described the blaze as "massive", with high winds fanning the flames.

"Some of the units here have been evacuated but we were in fairly early this morning and it's business as usual. They're damping the fire down now," he said.

Lars Sommerhauser, operations director of Ilford, which does not publish its turnover and has 230 employees, told PrintWeek it made the acquisition to become closer to its customers.

"We haven't been particularly strong in Germany and they have a good customer base and distribution networks in Germany," he said. "The two brands are complementary to each other. And Tecco can also benefit from our technological capabilities, as they do not have a research and development department."

He said there would be no redundancies as the companies did not overlap and they would continue to operate independently. But he said they would look at ways of working together with things like sales and marketing in the future.

Sommerhauser added that both brands would continue to exist and customers would still be able to purchase the same products.

"In fact with the partnership we will be able to offer a broader product range," he said. "And we will have the capabilities to do things like customising products and bringing innovative products to the market."

Markus Frings, joint managing director of Tecco, which has a turnover of €14m and 60 staff, said he thought the acquisition would strengthen the market position of both companies. "The plan is to grow turnover and create more business," he said.

The Omnijet bright white solvent canvas 335gsm is a PVC-free 100% cotton canvas with a satin finish for use with solvent and eco-solvent printers.

The bright white tint ensures dense colour reproduction for high impact graphic displays. It is available in 20m long rolls that accommodate 36", 42" and 60" printer set-ups and is £6.92 per square metre.

The natural white solvent canvas 380gsm is a cotton/polyester blend that is free of optical brightening agents for a stable natural white tint, and is said to give a fine-art look to solvent prints. It is available in 18m rolls and varying widths from 36", 42" and 60" and is £6.92 per square metre.

And the production canvas 345gsm is a matt finish cotton/polyester blend canvas with a 1:1 weave. It is designed for use with aqueous pigment wide-format inkjet printers and is also latex compatible. It had no edge cracking when tested at a 90 degree angle so could be used for mounting or framing. It is available in 18m rolls and is available in 24", 36", 42" and 60", and is £7.99 per square metre.

Ilford Imaging director of global marketing Jane Dixon said the demand for canvases continued to grow. "With clients seeking more control over the aesthetic appeal of the media surface, these new Omnijet canvases for the commercial market will help printers meet and exceed the expectations of their clients," she said.

"The superb handling and finish of the products combined with the versatility of the range and economical price point, will allow printers to present a tailored, value-for-money solution for their most demanding client."

The company will take a 3x3m stand at the event on 14-15 May at the Business Design Centre in north London. It plans to send five people supported by backsellers who will have a variety of mini cards and stock samples to distribute.

Antalis marketing manager Natalie Thomas who is charge of marketing the range said: "We have won a couple of orders so far but this will be our big launch. It's a great opportunity for research for us to see who is out there.

"Visitors will be able to touch and feel our papers and know what we are all about and we will be able to make connections to the right people. There are some big players in the market that we would like to get hold of."

According the company £1.3bn was spent by UK consumers on single greetings cards last year and the market is the most sophisticated in Europe.

Progressive Greetings Live is attended by retailers and distributors from across the world and entrance is £40 plus VAT.

Exhibitors are all invited to a networking event on the Tuesday evening which Thomas thinks will be particularly useful.

She added: There is a great community vibe in the greetings card industry, I'm looking forward to the show."

Antalis' new greetings card range comprises 40 products including card papers from 90 to 350gsm and wrapping papers.

The company has been working on the project since 2012 and has an A5 ring-bound swatch available for potential customers.

Antalis, a subsidiary of global paper producer and distributor, Sequana, had sales of 2.8b Euros in 2011. It employs 6,700 people and reaches 230,000 customers worldwide.

The 90-second viral clip features a young girl following origami animal characters through bustling streets and speeding traffic to reach Paperworld, a parallel universe of green fields and yet more paper-based creatures.

Arjowiggins drafted in production company Banana Split to create the Youtube clip using a combination of animation, green screen and real life footage.

The video aims to communicate the benefits for businesses that come from opting to use recycled papers, and ends with the tagline: "Discover the beauty of recycled papers".

It comes shortly after an Arjowiggins Graphic survey found that 30% of respondents view the sourcing of sustainable material as the biggest environmental challenge facing their business in the next two to three years.

Arjowiggins Graphic marketing and corporate communications manager Shannan Hodgson said: "Companies are more frequently looking to source supplies that match the requirements of their corporate social responsibility policies.

"Switching to recycled papers is a simple way for businesses to meet sustainability targets and more and more, it's what their customers will expect. Recycled papers can have a big impact on the business' carbon footprint - also saving water, energy, wood and waste."

The video was launched on 9 April.

The paper is due to be officially launched at North Print & Pack in Yorkshire from 14-16 May at Mondi's stand, A308.

Johannes Klumpp, marketing and sales director for Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper, said the paper was very versatile and suitable for laser printers, copiers and digital colour presses.

"DNS color print is also produced with ColorLok Technology, which achieves vibrant professional-looking printouts," he said.

Paperlinx will stock DNS color print in weights from 80-350gsm and in formats which include A4, A3 and SRA3.

Paperlinx category manager Les Fautley said: "DNS color print has generated a great deal of interest from our customers and we are pleased to work with Mondi to distribute DNS color print in the UK.

"The paper's smooth finish and high opacity allows for full colour reproduction with duplex printing, which is an attractive feature for our customers in both the professional and office printing markets."

DNS color print is part of Mondi eco-conscious Green Range of papers that are FSC or PEFC, totally chlorine free bleached or 100% recycled. In addition to being FSC certified, DNS color print is also ISP 9706 certified, which guarantees an archival life of over 200 years.

Mondi has four paper mills in Austria, Slovakia, Russia and South Africa and also produces the Color Copy, DNS, IQ, MAESTRO, NAUTILUS, BIO TOP 3 and Snegurochka brands.

Arrowsmith is also a former chief executive of global logistics company Tibbett & Britten.

Tullis Russell chairman Fred Bowden said: "We have a clear strategy for future growth and this appointment is a key part of that. Mike brings significant relevant experience to the Board. He will complement the broad range of skills on our Board and I am confident that his knowledge and understanding will add weight to our customer offering. I look forward to working with him to progress the development of our Group."

Arrowsmith said: "I am delighted to be joining Tullis Russell with its strong market position, innovative product range and unique ownership structure. I look forward to working with my board colleagues as we build on the company's impressive history."