June was definitely a month of highs and lows. Let’s begin with the highs. Drupa once again was a huge success. After 11 days, the 1,837 exhibitors from 54 countries unanimously reported excellent business deals and promising contacts. This issue has a full report from our man on the tradeshow floor, Jason Lisi.
I’ll be attending the SGIA Expo in Las Vegas beginning Sept. 14 and Graph Expo starting Sept. 25 in Orlando. As always, we’ll be posting regular show updates on our website as well as wrap-ups in our printed editions.
Three milestone installations occurred in our industry recently. Print Panther (Oakville, ON) installed an MGI JETVarnish 3DS from Konica Minolta Canada. This was the first installation in Canada of this breakthrough finishing technology. Copywell Printing (Vaughan, ON) became the first printer in Canada to install a Ricoh Pro VC60000 Printer from Ricoh Canada. We’ll be presenting the full story behind this new-generation inkjet printer in our September issue. Finally, Hume Media in Toronto installed the first Xerox Brenva HD Production Inkjet Press in the world – and it’s expected to triple the company’s monthly output. Congratulations all three printers and their OEM partners.
And now I’m forced to discuss what I believe was one of the biggest blunders in modern times – Brexit. I had the fortune (and misfortune) of being on a vacation in Ireland when the U.K. decided to break ties with the European Union. I can see absolutely nothing positive in this move.
You can argue for and against Brexit. You can interpret the result as either xenophobia or as nationalism; as a separation fueled by hatred or as a desire for more autonomy. Some historians insist that we’ve seen nothing like this since Henry VIII’s break from Rome. We’ve already witnessed the negative impact on the worldwide economy. How long that will last is anybody’s guess. Will it cost jobs here in Canada? We’ll keep a close eye on the developments and how they might affect the printing industry.
As always, stay positive and stay focused – and try to get some well-deserved R&R this summer.
