Briefing
Plan for the worst & hope for the best
There’s one thing everyone can agree on about Brexit: no one knows what’s going to happen at the end of next month. The only certainty is that the outcome remains uncertain and if the UK does crash...
Responsible businesses will engage the next generation
Millennials are an elusive demographic for recruiting printers – the sector is rich in experience but poor in new entrants, with its invaluable skilled workers reaching retirement age and taking with...
‘Make the customer experience as valuable as possible’
There aren’t many print industry user group events where the roster of keynote speakers include a fashion wunderkind from Miami and costume designers from Cirque du Soleil.
How tech can help move us forward
Hunched over her podium, Mary Portas let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh my god,” she said, opening her talk at ITG’s 2019 live event in Birmingham on 17 January. “The speed of how the world has...
Print’s personalisation revolution has only just begun
The value of the personalised gift market is expected to reach $31bn (£24bn) by 2021 – up 55% from 2016, at least according to new research commissioned by HP.
Can AR outgrow its gimmicky image?
Long touted as the next big thing and a major opportunity for print to boot, augmented reality (AR) has hit the headlines again in recent weeks.
Manufacturers hit hard in the UK’s chronic skills shortage
Whether it is warranted or not, Brexit, and its potential fallout, is now held up – in the media and in much of the public discourse – as the driver of whichever of the UK’s current ills is being...
GDPR six months on: where does the industry stand now?
On 25 May 2018, the data protection landscape changed forever. With a level of hysteria akin to the Millennium Bug, the implementation of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) had brought...
Ricoh sets out ambitious growth plan
These must be interesting times for everyone who works at, or with, Ricoh.
Subscribing to modern sales models
If juggernauts like Netflix and Spotify are anything to go by, the flexible subscription model is in vogue right now.
Do consumers understand packaging?
As the end of 2018 comes into sight, it has been nearly a full year since the plastic packaging debate was famously thrust into view by David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II documentary series.
Christmas comes early for bookworms
Christmas is coming – regardless of any protests that autumn has barely begun. The retail sector is revving up for the festive season already. For print, this means production will step up on all...
Great British manufacturers taken on in latest M&A flurry
A busy year of M&A action among manufacturers appears to have come to a head with Heidelberg’s MBO buy, Plockmatic Group’s acquisition of Watkiss Automation and Kolbus Group’s purchase of Autobox...
Merchants can advise as prices rise
Printers are bracing themselves for another wave of paper price rises, the fourth this year, which are set to come into effect next week.
Former franchisees rebuild family ties after independence
Kall Kwik and Prontaprint used to be two of the biggest names in the UK high-street print market. At their peak, the two businesses ran a combined total of around 550 outlets in towns up and down the...