So it looks like the rate of recession is slowing, suggesting we are approaching the bottom. The big question is where do we go from here? Political and economic commentators are debating the ‘shape' of the recovery will it be a V-shaped rapid bounce back, a W-shaped double dip recession or the slow grind of an L-shaped recovery.

Printed RFID, OLED displays and printed photovoltaics offer the greatest long-term opportunity for print equipment manufacturers, raw material suppliers and printers, according to a new study by Pira International.

Cheltenham-based large format print company, Grafix Direct, has re-launch as The Bigger Printing Company. The move includes a new name, image and equipment.

Business partner, Sebastian Stanley, said: "In these tough times you can do one of two things. You can retreat into your shell in the face of it all or you can do as we are doing, facing up to the challenges of what is a highly testing financial environment for small businesses and use your energy and professionalism to get you through providing a bigger, better more professional service to your clients."

Graphic Printing Technologies has added the Zund G3 range of digital flatbed cutters to its portfolio.

Zund Plotting Systems UK's sales director, Peter Giddins, said: "We are delighted to welcome GPT into our select family of resellers in the UK. The company's reputation for delivering and supporting high quality solutions that meet customers' real demands fits very closely with Zund's own business philosophy."

Canon has announced a two-day showcase of professional photo, video and printing products on 27 and 28 October 2009 at the Business Design Centre, Islington, London. The event, Canon Pro Photo Solutions is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Canon Consumer Imaging products ever staged in the UK.

Ceram has announced CCSII Mini Colour Standards. The company's colour standards are internationally recognised as the leading set of standards for use in colour measurement and calibration. Produced using ceramic technology, they are stable, durable, non-fluorescent and easy to use.

Nottingham-based exhibition and display companies, John E Wright and Viva Imaging, have merged, creating what is claimed to be the largest display graphics company in the East Midlands. The merger will see Viva's flat bed and roll-to-roll UV printers working alongside John E Wrights' HP Scitex flatbed printers, Zund cutter/router and fleet of HP Designjet Z6100s.

Josero has formed a new reseller agreement with Sems UK in Scotland, covering the resale of Triangle inkjet products. Inks are available for Mimaki, Roland, Seiko and many other printers. Edinburgh-based Sems UK supplies and supports the sign manufacturing and garment decoration industry.

Up to the nineties, most of Letters and Logos' work comprised Foamex with cut vinyl, and printed graphics. The substrate was hand cut by knife. Subsequently, the company increasingly used aluminium composite materials, cut with a foam board cutter. However, cutting accuracy proved a problem.

The Default Position

Vision Supplies Ltd have been supplying Chim 92 screen cleaning chemistry and machinery exclusively into the UK market for over 7 years. Throughout this period the company has benefitted from a steady increase in the sales of both chemicals and machinery originally manufactured by the Lyon based company.

Somewhere in Brussels is a mole with contacts in the sign and print industry who is insisting on warning labels, posters and displays being produced for every conceivable human activity. These explain whether you can do it, can't do it or the consequences of same. Be aware that many of these will have to be specific colour matches and lightfast for seven years. So where do we turn to but screen printing where the inks we can use are more stable that those used of other processes.

Gardners has installed the UK's first HP Scitex FB7500 printer to increase its capacity and offer customers a competitive alternative to screen printing.

Cardiff-based Gardners operates a range of HP printing equipment including pairs of XP2300, FB6100, XP5100 and TJ8350 printers, plus nine XP2100 machines. The company specialises in the production of high volume banners, posters, billboards, retail point of sale items, plus the development and production of specialised software solutions.

As one of the fastest growing areas of the digital print industry, the flatbed market has seen some excellent machines emerge over recent years which have more than met requirements for dependability. However, with an influx of new machines and upgrades to existing favourites, these are exciting times. Here we look at today's market and some developments we can expect over coming months.

EskoArtwork has contributed to a revised edition of the European Carton Makers Association (ECMA) Code of Folding Carton Styles.

Ludwig Anckaert of LA Consulting, project manager on behalf of ECMA, said: "The EskoArtwork Packaging Standards team has been working hard over the past several months to construct 2D and 3D drawings, as well as animated folding sequences, for over 244 of the most popular folding carton standards selected by the ECMA project team and endorsed by experts of leading European member converters. The result is a truly exceptional tool for both promotional and educational purposes."

Colourgen has announced additions to its Elite Essentials range of value inkjet media, including water-based and solvent media designed for exhibition graphics, roll-up displays and pop-up systems. As an example, Solvent Crystal Stoplight film features a textured printable coating on one side, anti-static grey lightblock cover on the reverse and is designed to eliminate curl on pop-ups.

Neschen has launched a new low-cost print medium. Called UVprint nolite, it is available in two thicknesses 420 and 210µm) for pop-up and roll-up applications. Both have a matt surface treatment to provide good printing characteristics with UV inks. They also carry fire certification to DIN 4102-B1.  Both grades suit exhibition, indoor and outdoor use.  Neschen also claims the scratch-resistant, water-fast surface finish is virtually immune to static build up.

Roland DG has introduced the LEC-330, the company's newest VersaUV LEC UV ink curable 30in inkjet printer/cutter, capable of printing CMYK, white and gloss. Applications ranging from package prototyping to labels and decals.

MacDermid Autotype has launched Autotype Plus Gold, a photo-stencil emulsion designed for high tolerance electronics screen printing. The ultra fine emulsion is ideal for photovoltaics, LCD displays, medical bio-sensors, and other demanding printed electronics applications.

Autotype Plus Gold is primarily designed for use on steel meshes, where the distinctive red colour reduces edge effects (reflection nodes) to ensure print quality. The emulsion is also designed to resist abrasive inks used for solar cell manufacture.

Atech has launched a new range of manual laminators. Called the Handi Laminator range, the range comprises five different units, all with a specific job. Handi Laminators are designed to make it easier to laminate small graphics and can reduce waste by eliminating power laminator roll changes.

Pantone has announced myPANTONE, an iPhone application which gives printers the freedom to capture, create and share Pantone.

Pantone's vice president of strategic business development, Helmut Eifert, said: "Providing a digital, portable design studio and essential colour tools at their fingertips, myPANTONE gives printers the freedom to access Pantone colours anywhere."

Thieme has developed a new generation of screen printing multi-colour lines. The series 5000L, available immediately for 1,600 by 2,100mm and 1,600 by 2,600mm formats, is designed to offer the highest printing performance.

Users should appreciate new features including automatic adaptation to different sheet formats and materials. The operator inputs the sheet format and the system automatically activates the corresponding vacuum zones and deactivates unrequired zones.

A year ago the market felt like is was in meltdown. Fortunately that hasn't happened for the majority but there are an increasing number of casualties as the low margins and unstable debtors take their toll.