Monthly Archives: December 2008

Print’s passing

By , Wednesday, 31 December 2008, Be the first to comment

Printing is an industry with a rich history, but as 2008 draws to its depressing close I can’t help but feel it has been a particularly bad year when it comes to hanging on to that heritage.

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Arise Sir John…

By , Wednesday, 31 December 2008, Be the first to comment

The New Year Honours List announced today contains a couple of notable print-related entries. BGP chairman John Madejski is now Sir John, having at last gained his knighthood “for charitable services” – though I don’t imagine this refers to his endeavours in the field of loss-making printing companies, so no sniggering at the back.

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Not so Merry Christmas for so many in print

By , Friday, 19 December 2008, 5 Comments

This is my last pre-Christmas post and I was hoping to find something cheery to write about – I was planning to congratulate Andrew Moss on producing my favourite Christmas card of the season thus far with his hand-made origami santa creation (“may all your folds be accurate”), and had begun compiling a cast list for a print pantomime… and then I heard this morning that Cooper Clegg had gone into administration.

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All not well in the home of the brave

By , Wednesday, 17 December 2008, 1 Comment

Good luck to Edinburgh-based Stewarts, which is set to more than triple in size with the acquisition of failed financial print specialist Summerhall. That’s biting off quite a lot to chew. I also hope the firm isn’t afflicted by the “curse of the new factory” syndrome previously discussed in this column.

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More web musings

By , Tuesday, 16 December 2008, Be the first to comment

December is shaping up to be a memorable month, particularly in web offset. The mists are clearing, but the plot is thickening.

We now know that the same team of investors do indeed own both Cooper Clegg and Wyndeham. Why? If I had a few spare quid knocking about I’d be more interested in buying a fleet of burger vans than a web printer, not least because the margins and the cash flow would be superior. Anyhow, we’re informed the two companies are to be run separately. Which leads me to the inescapable conclusion that they will therefore be competing against each other in the same highly competitive space. Eh? How does that work?

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When pigs do fly

By , Monday, 15 December 2008, 1 Comment

Tussling with the TV remote on Saturday afternoon in an attempt to ensure I successfully recorded the evening’s must-see entertainment (Harry Hill’s TV Burp, of course), I found myself watching a Moonpig advert.

Moonpig, for the uninitiated, is an online greetings card business that lets customers customise proper printed cards with the names and/or pictures of the recipient. Regular readers who are aware of my aversion to e-cards will understand why I’m a fan of this particular business. The firm has been in operation since the year 2000 so it was a relatively early entrant in the whole web-to-print and personalised digital print field – certainly in terms of basing an entire business around it.

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Stateside sit-in gets results

By , Thursday, 11 December 2008, Be the first to comment

Workers at a failed business in the USA could provide inspiration for Alden HenDi employees left in the lurch and seeking recompense. Some 200 employees of Chicago-based Republic Windows & Doors staged a sit-in at the company after the business abruptly folded.

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Lavatorial leanings

By , Wednesday, 10 December 2008, 1 Comment

Today’s topic is toilets. Not in the “this whole country is going down the ….” sense, but in the actuality.

I recently enjoyed a short trip to Vienna, the highlights of which included hot punsch, sausages, and two toilets. It’s not often that a convenience in this country will make me smile, or will be a pleasure to visit, but I discovered things are different in Austria.

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Beware new factories and fish tanks

By , Tuesday, 9 December 2008, 2 Comments

Returning to the topic of the industry’s latest car crash at Alden HenDi, I’ve been thinking about the events that precipitated the group’s downfall and note that said happenings included Alden’s move two years ago to a brand spanking new facility at a cost (supposedly) of £4.3m.

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Tectonic plates shifting in web offset

By , Monday, 8 December 2008, 2 Comments

A month ago I was musing about the future shape of the UK web offset sector, in particular the magazine printing specialists. With the change of ownership at Cooper Clegg, and now Wyndeham, and the accompanying restructuring at those two firms it’s clear that major change is indeed afoot and things aren’t just going to carry on as they were. What’s more, Polestar has engineered a further refinancing that means its balance sheet won’t be such a basket case anymore. Incredible, really.

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