INDUSTRY / NEWS 6 email: news@printmonthly.co.uk Issue 344 - September / October 2023 PrintMonthly printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine Stationers’ Company reveals shortlist The Stationers’ Company has unveiled a shortlist of 18 companies in the running for honours at this year’s edition of its annual awards. Now in its ninth year, the Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Awards pays tribute to innovation within the communications and content industries, with support from sponsors Picon and Mathys and Squire. Nominees are for honours across six categories this year, while one lucky company will go home with the ‘Overall Innovator of the Year Award’. Categories for the 2023 awards include Business Process, Communications Including Marketing, Customer Experience, Product Design, Service Development, and Start-up. Awards will be handed out to winners during a special luncheon event at the historic Stationers’ Hall in the City of London on September 25th. Tony Mash, master of the Stationers’ Company, comments: “The range and quality of innovations entered for the Awards is testimony to the resilience of our industries, especially given the additional challenges facing businesses over the last couple of years.” Winners will be announced at Stationers’ Hall in the City of London on September 25th InkTec announces new additions to its team Manufacturer of inkjet ink, JETRIX printers, and media, InkTec Europe has announced it has added to its senior team and made career progressions for others. The company has welcomed Julian Mennell to its team as national hardware sales manager with the news coinciding with a number of existing team members taking on new roles. Ian Windebank has moved to European technical sales and Scott Peaper has taken the role of JETRIX technical lead. Mennell brings with him significant experience in the wide-format printing sector having worked for both brands and print service providers in previous roles. In his new role with InkTec, Mennell will increase the company’s hardware business, specifically focusing on the JETRIX LED UV printers, by actively reaching out to resellers, and new and old customers, and identifying new prospects. Mennell says: “I have long been an admirer of JETRIX printers; partly down to the quality of the kit, what they can achieve, and even down to the feedback on the level of aftercare service. “Being part of the wide-format sector for so long, sometimes on the competitor side of JETRIX means I am excited to now have the opportunity to work at InkTec Europe and represent such a prestigious and widely recognised brand.” Windebank’s new role will see him have more of a focus on European sales. As a result, he will hand elements of his role over to Peaper over the next few months. Julian Mennell joins InkTec Europe as its new national hardware sales manager By Carys Evans £ 75,000 R&D tax relief secured by innovative Clinical Print Finishers Leicester-based print finishing company Clinical Print Finishers UK has secured £75,000 in R&D tax relief from the government after developing new machinery. The technology in question speeds up leaflet folding and gluing by 400%. Clinical Print came up with the idea while producing Z-cards, a process that previously required an experienced person to manually glue 100 cards an hour on average. The machinery needed to be able to operate two conveyor streams at once, with one containing the folded insert and the other holding the card it would be glued to. It also needed to deliver the glue at the right time onto a variety of materials. Jamie Court, managing director at Clinical Print Finishers UK, comments: “This was our first R&D claim, and the money we have had back is being reinvested into the business, letting us do even more research and development work. “Claiming for R&D is a minefield and very hard for the average business to navigate alone, and so we are very grateful for Catax’s help throughout the process.” [L to R] Jamie Court and Andy Joyce of Clinical Print Finishers UK By Rob Fletcher The Printing Charity to hold its 194th Annual Luncheon Celebrating its 194th year The Printing Charity is holding its annual Luncheon which has become a staple of the print industry’s yearly calendar. The event will include its keynote speaker, Michael Grade, the Printing Charity’s 2023 president and current chair of OFCOM. Prior to the pandemic, the Luncheon had been held almost every year since the charity was founded in 1827. Printing Charity chief executive officer, Neil Lovell, says: “At the charity we look forward each year to hosting the Annual Luncheon. It’s always a great occasion for old and new friends and colleagues to get together to mark another exciting year in our ever-evolving industry.” Taking place at the Stationers’ Hall in Central London, the event is £99.50 and includes reception drinks, canapés, a three-course meal with wine, as well as coffee and petit fours. The Printing Charity offers support to an estimated 98,000 workers in the industry
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