Industry bodies

A stream of alternative finance options

If you thought the recession had forever diminished the finance sources available to printers - think again. A wide variety of options has surfaced online in recent years and ingenuity is often all...

UKAS accreditation for BPIF Colour Management Scheme certification body

The BPIF ISO12647-2 Colour Quality Management Scheme is the first of its kind in the world to have an independent certification body that has been accredited by UKAS.

If Ipex draws in the buyers, printers will surely follow

Informa no doubt hopes its 1m Ipex VIP programme will once and for all put paid to exhibitors' fears over the show's international credentials.

'Mis-sold' IRSAs: Bully Banks takes on high-street lenders

A campaign group of SME business owners harmed by mis-sold IRSAs, Bully Banks, raises questions over the practice's effect on print. But what's next?

Heidelberg blow struck Ipex hard, but the show goes on

As hard as I try, it's difficult to put a positive spin on Heidelberg's decision to withdraw from Ipex.

Cost of green policies is putting UK at global disadvantage

According to a new report, ever-increasing power prices are attributable to the UK's climate change policies and are likely to stymie recovery

Confused energy strategy is hobbling UK manufacturing

The recently published BIS report on future electricity costs for energy intensive industries (EIIs) only reinforces the view that many have held for some time - that current costs are higher here...

Cross-media needs print as its first point of contact

Despite the burgeoning panoply of fancy-pants ways to woo consumers that online and mobile provide, firms often find that good old print offers a cost-effective and reliable way of breaking the ice

DM sector demands more transparency in mail surcharges

Royal Mail has gone some way to addressing the direct mail industry's concerns over reversion charges, but fears about implementation remain

Royal Mail is playing a straight bat, but there's much to do

The passion surrounding reversions is hardly surprising, given that there are millions of pounds in lost revenue at stake - a huge figure for mailing houses whose profits are built on slim margins.