The Small Business Ombudsman says legislation introduced into Federal Parliament to overhaul the insolvency process for small businesses will ensure that business owners "have the option to turn their businesses around, giving them a fighting chance to survive." An estimated 240,000 small businesses across Australia are at risk of failure because of Covid-19.

The Australian Sign & Graphics Association’s latest webinar and live Q&A session (today, Dec 10, 11.30am  AEDT) will look at the risks involved in sub-contracting.

The new Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 3D inkjet printer is capable of accurately reproducing over 10 million colours and will be commercially available from January 2021. ‘The unique combination of full-colour capabilities and water-soluble support materials enables super-fine details to be printed in vibrant colour.”

The second online drupa preview event on 17 November will feature a live Q&A and a Networking Plaza for visitors and exhibitors.  Topics will include inkjet, packaging trends and additive technologies.

Print giant Ovato Limited announced a $40m rights issue and filed for a Scheme of Arrangement in the NSW Supreme Court that will see the restructuring of Ovato Print and lead to 300 redundancies and closure of the Clayton site in Victoria. Creditors will be asked to accept 50 cents in the dollar.

Certified instructor John Quixley from Fujifilm Australia will lead Fespa Australia’s next online colour management bootcamp to be held on 7 – 9 December 2020. 

Delays in shipping raw materials and equipment around the world could get worse in the months ahead as Covid-19 cases continue to rise globally, says industry association Print NZ.  The total number of Covid cases around the world has passed 50 million, with almost half a million new cases a day.

Mimaki Engineering released two new models of its roll to roll 100 Series inkjet printers for sign and graphics applications – the JV100-160, compatible with solvent ink, and UJV100-160, compatible with UV ink – described as “well-balanced entry-level models with excellent operational performance, image quality, speed and cost.” The new printers will be available worldwide from December. Mimaki Australia says it will be holding “good stock levels of these new models in April 2021.”

FESPA Global Print Expo and the European Sign Expo 2021 (9-12 March 2021, RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands) are attracting a growing line-up of exhibitors, “all enthusiastic to engage with customers and prospects face-to-face after a year reliant on digital platforms to communicate and share product news,” say the organisers.

Onyx Graphics has announced the global availability of ONYX 21, the company's newest software release which introduces Swatch Books 2.0 to print, scan, iterate and report on the ideal colour match.

Epson has earned a platinum rating for sustainability from EcoVadis. The platinum rating, which was established in 2020, indicates that Epson was ranked among the top 1% of companies in the industry. Epson had received a gold rating the previous three years. Gold is awarded to companies that score in the top 5% of companies evaluated.

It's been a long road for Fairview Architectural since the ACM cladding issue first raised its head following fires in London, Dubai and Melbourne. Throughout the process, Fairview has played a straight bat and dealt fairly with strata owners and the law firm behind a class action. To protect jobs and the business, Fairview entered a period of administration. Now, with a restructure and ownership by FVA Group - not to mention all creditors and staff being paid in full - the company is on the reassurance path extolling bonded facade laminate Vitracore G2, and has taken out large press ads to back up the proof.

The Queensland T-Shirt Company (QTCo)`, a high-volume manufacturer of digital direct-to-garment (DTG) printed apparel, has installed an additional two Kornit Avalanche HD6 systems at its Brisbane headquarters after a surge in on-demand production. 

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has raised his stake in US print giant Xerox Holdings to about 14.4%, several months after he supported the company's failed takeover of HP. Xerox shares have been trading at around USD$19, about half of what Fujifilm offered in its bid package almost 2 years ago.

Outdoor advertiser oOh!media and the National Gallery of Australia have partnered with internet search giant Google to harness Google Lens technology in an exhibition of Australian women artists in locations across the nation.