Monthly Archives: August 2009

New broom needs a magic wand at Communisis

By , Thursday, 27 August 2009, 7 Comments

So, come the end of the year it will be farewell then, Steve Vaughan. I’m not entirely clear whether his three-phase revamp strategy at Communisis has been completed or not, what is clear is that this morning’s interim results from the group are awful.

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Inside the mind of Madejski

By , Wednesday, 26 August 2009, 3 Comments

My jaw is still on the floor after watching last night’s
extraordinary documentary about Sir John Madejski, a fascinating character by
any account.

Despite the many flaws in the film, and its occasionally sneering tone, it did produce some compelling insights into Madejski’s mindset. We learned that he’s a rather a strange sort of chap who keeps a
$250,000 life-size bronze of a bikini-clad woman at home for a laugh (Duane Hanson’s
Sunbather), and that he uses Elnett hairspray. His new £5m mansion seems to contain almost
as many portraits of the man himself as it does high-tech gadgets, including one
of him depicted as some sort of reclining hunk just inside the front door.  

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Put your palms together for Palm

By , Tuesday, 25 August 2009, Be the first to comment

Paper mill opens in UK, shock. That Palm Paper has constructed “Europe’s most advanced newsprint mill”, and the largest such paper machine in the world to boot, here on the small island is great news, as is the fact that construction of this €500m investment appears to have gone swimmingly with the machine starting production three weeks ahead of schedule. A round of applause, please, for all involved in the build and start-up phase.

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Heidelman Rolandberg? The mind boggles

By , Monday, 24 August 2009, 1 Comment

Fresh reports about the much-rumoured marriage of convenience between Heidelberg and manroland make it sound as if this potential coming together has now moved well beyond any initial fluttering of eyelashes to a more concrete proposal stage. Heidelberg’s share price has been edging upwards over the past week and is at a relative “high” of  €6.15. Relative, that is, when you consider it was €23 at the beginning of last year.

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Colour printing, Afghan-style

By , Friday, 21 August 2009, 3 Comments

News footage from the blighted country that is Afghanistan tends to reinforce the impression that its dusty landscape is low on the sort of 21st century high-tech facilities that we in the west take for granted.

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Multisensory magazine brings new meaning to mixed media

By , Thursday, 20 August 2009, Be the first to comment

A new descriptor has been added to my lexicon today, that being “multisensorizing”. The use of the zee immediately informs us that this originates in the states. Multisensorize is actually a trademark of Americhip, a company that’s in the news today because its technology will be used in an upcoming edition of Entertainment Weekly that’s already being likened to Harry Potter’s Daily Prophet with its moving pictures.

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Aussies focusing on photo gift opportunity

By , Wednesday, 19 August 2009, Be the first to comment

Further musings on the photobooks and photo gifts
market, and the opportunities therein, have been sparked by some news from down
under involving HP.

HP has scored something of a coup by displacing
Kodak as the digital photo supplier to retailer Kmart.

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Will fresh sales signings elevate BGP to print’s Premier League?

By , Tuesday, 18 August 2009, Be the first to comment

Is BGP turning into some sort of Manchester City of the printing industry? As we know, it is bankrolled by a very wealthy individual, although Sir John Madejski’s fortune of circa £250m is somewhat dwarfed by the mega-mega-millions of Sheikh Mansour.

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Welcome cure for the Monday morning blues

By , Monday, 17 August 2009, Be the first to comment

I was suffering from the Monday morning blues earlier, having emerged from one of those complicated dreams (on this occasion featuring Christian Knapp, motorbikes, and a terrifyingly steep dirt track) that invariably result in waking with a creasy face and the fuggy feeling that there’s been no actual sleep whatsoever.

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Reassuringly recycled

By , Friday, 14 August 2009, Be the first to comment

When I think of beer advertising the images that spring immediately to mind are Fuller’s London Pride and Honey Dew ads, Boddingtons and Melanie Sykes, Stella Artois being reassuringly expensive, and punning Aussie ads for amber nectar.

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