London Packaging Week Innovation Awards extends deadline to 11 May
Packaging Solutions The London Packaging Week Innovation Awards has extended its entry deadline to 11 May 2026, giving brands, designers, manufacturers and suppliers additional time to submit work that is redefining packaging across global markets. The extension comes amid continued demand from globally recognised brands, with leading luxury names such as Prada, Miu Miu, Lancôme, Dom Pérignon, and Boodles among this year’s entrants. They are joined by major global players
Apr 301 min read
Creation Reprographics powers next phase of growth with senior operations appointment
Packaging Solutions Creation Reprographics has announced the appointment of Phil Brown as its new operations director, marking a significant step in the company’s continued growth. Phil brings with him extensive experience across the print, pre-press and production sectors, having held senior operational and leadership roles where he has consistently delivered improvements in efficiency, service quality and team performance. His track record of streamlining workflows, imple
Apr 302 min read
New data uncovers the office technology driving up business energy bills
Print Solutions Over a quarter of UK businesses (27%) say they currently find it difficult to pay their energy bills, while over half (52%) report utility costs as a price pressure on their business. Now, business energy experts at Uswitch analysed data to uncover the office equipment adding the most to business energy bills. The analysis used power ratings for common office equipment against typical working week patterns to estimate average annual running costs across diff
Apr 303 min read
Made Smarter launches free practical AI toolkit to help manufacturers cut through complexity
Print Solutions Packaging Solutions A new guide from Made Smarter is helping manufacturers cut through the noise around artificial intelligence and focus on what actually works on the factory floor. AI Adoption in Manufacturing: A Practical Toolkit from Made Smarter has been developed to support SME leaders navigating one of the most significant technological shifts in decades. While awareness of AI is high, many manufacturers remain unsure where to start, how to manage
Apr 303 min read
Taktiful Software Solutions launches Reaktor to help printers sell more embellished work
Print Solutions Taktiful has officially launched Reaktor, a new 3D virtual soft proofing platform aimed squarely at one of print’s biggest sales problems: premium embellishments are still too often being sold with flat PDFs, verbal explanations, and slow physical proofs. Reaktor is built to change that. Designed for printers, sales teams, and designers working with embellished print, Reaktor transforms static files into realistic digital previews of foils, varnishes, textu
Apr 292 min read
UPM and Sappi’s planned graphic paper joint venture proceeds to phase II of EU merger control
Print Solutions UPM announced in December 2025 the conclusion of a non binding letter of intent to form a graphic paper joint venture with Sappi. The proposed transaction is subject to merger control approval from the European Commission and authorities in other jurisdictions such as the US and China. On April 28, 2026, the European Commission announced the opening of a Phase II investigation, which is a normal step in the commission’s merger review process in cases where i
Apr 291 min read
ePS launches CommandCore to unify packaging operations
Packaging Solutions ePS (eProductivity Software) has announced the launch of CommandCore, its unified operational platform designed specifically for packaging manufacturers, addressing long standing industry challenges stemming from fragmented systems across production, planning, quality, and sustainability operations. Packaging manufacturers today typically operate critical functions, from ERP and manufacturing execution to quality, scheduling, and sustainability, across d
Apr 292 min read
Koehler Paper expands production capacities for premium playing card board
Print Solutions Koehler Paper’s top quality specialty paper is used not only for trading cards, but also for playing cards in nearly every casino in the world. And by significantly expanding its production capacity, it is now laying the foundation for its next development stage and sending a clear message of long term growth, innovative capacity, and global competitiveness. The decision to expand the company’s playing card board production capacities is the result of close
Apr 292 min read
EDI Conference 2026: how to embed inclusion and belonging
Print Solutions Packaging Solutions An interactive, thought provoking event, taking place on 19 May 2026 at London's Guildhall, will focus on ‘The Implementation Imperative: How to Embed Inclusion and Belonging’. This forward thinking event is designed for professionals across all industries providing practical insights and actionable strategies to drive meaningful impact on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging within your own organisation. Keynotes come from exper
Apr 281 min read
Intelligent automation for next generation print operations
Print Solutions Ultimate Tech has announced the release of Ultimate Impostrip 2026.1 – built for next generation print operations focused on fuelling automation. With this new version, the company continues to push boundaries and delivers new functionality such as SmartRoll Production Ready optimisation, DXF device ready output control, Traceability, and enhancements to the widely used XML for Redirection and XML+ automation interfaces with top of the line configuration contr
Apr 282 min read
