Roy Walton, a 69-year-old ex-printer, was handed a pay-out of £3,700 from his former employer after he claimed that he had suffered hearing loss as a direct result of working with loud machinery without being offered ear protection… Following months of talks, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail reached a negotiators’ proposed agreement. The CWU said that the agreement covered “all issues contained in the current dispute” and included a 9% pay offer over three years and extensive legally binding protections for employees alongside a commitment to improve industrial stability… Paperlinx logged a complaint against Sappi Fine Paper Europe with the German Federal Cartel Office claiming anticompetitive behaviour regarding indent sales and hinted that complaints against other manufacturers could follow… Nick Virtsonis, a former marketing director of Webmart set up a commission-free online trade-only marketplace for printers to place and win business called Prinnit.com... The Timsons T-Print from collapsed MPG’s King’s Lynn site was sold to a large US book printer, Bang Printing... Eclipse rounded off a £2m spend in digital and post-press kit for its Eclipse 4dm direct mail arm with a £200,000 IT upgrade across both parts of the business, with more digital and finishing kit investments planned for 2014… The Website Leeds was gearing up for growth and had strengthened its team with four new employees joining from the former St Ives Direct Bradford business. However, a few days later, industry sources reported that the business had gone into administration and that a pre-pack rescue deal was imminent, although there was no confirmation… Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror announced that the 19 December edition of its weekly business newspaper The Liverpool Post, launched in 1855, would be its last… The Artisan Press received a maximum £20,000 fine after a member of staff suffered life-changing injuries when his head became trapped between the moving parts of a stacker… Global printer and transactional mailing firm Stralfors was restructuring its UK operations as part of an efficiency drive with the implementation of new technology... Marcus Rich, formerly DMG Media commercial managing director, was named as the new chief executive of magazine and digital publisher IPC Media… German press manufacturer KBA Group implemented a “strategic realignment” of its divisions that it said could affect up to 25% of its workforce… Polestar confirmed that it had entered a 30-day consultation with a number of staff at its Colchester web offset site... The Bank of England announced that the next £5 and £10 notes would be printed on polymer rather than cotton paper, with the first run scheduled for 2016…