- Wide- and grand-format printing equipment and supply integrator Global Imaging has been selected to distribute Asphalt Art’s commercial-grade foil-based media for slip-resistant surface applications (example pictured), including floor and street graphics.
- KVM Switch Tech, which provides digital signage systems to governments, hospitals, information technology (IT) companies and other organizations, is now carrying switches, splitters and other audiovisual (AV) hardware manufactured by SmartAVI.
- The International Sign Association (ISA) has joined the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership (SGP Partnership)—which certifies sign companies and printing facilities for sustainability—as a gold patron and recognized its benchmarks as industry standards.
- The Digital Signage Expo (DSE) announced its advisory board for 2012. Canadian members include: end user Lawrence Chang, information technology (IT) manager for the Calgary Telus Convention Centre; content producer Mark Zwicker, vice-president (VP) of business development for Toronto-based St. Joseph Content; and industry consultant Lyle Bunn, principal and strategy architect for Bunn Co., based in Brighton, Ont.
- Through a new licensing agreement, HP has named colour management technology provider X-Rite’s i1Profiler software as the profiling application of choice for its Scitex wide- and super-wide-format printers.
- Software provider and content producer Stinova entered a strategic alliance with Advantech, which develops digital signage media players, to jointly market systems for self-service kiosks and other dynamic applications.
- Ink manufacturer Nazdar has entered a supply partnership with Color-Logic, which develops colour communication software for a variety of special effects in printing applications. The two companies have worked together to develop ultraviolet-curable (UV-curable) inks for the screenprinting of metallic colours, among other effects.
- Adtraxion Systems announced the compatibility of its digital signage player software with AOpen’s Digital Engine media players and Digit’s Panel network-enabled personal computers (PCs).
- Ampco Grafix in Coquitlam, B.C., has become the first Canadian company certified under 3M’s new digital system as an authorized Scotchprint graphics manufacturer. The certification was based on 3M’s testing of image quality and colour accuracy in Ampco’s large-format digital inkjet printing processes.
- Vancouver-based OOH Video’s digital signage product lines, brand and key resources have been acquired by Vitec Multimedia, a digital video hardware and software provider in France.
- Inx Digital International has entered an agreement with Avery Dennison Graphics to offer a performance guarantee to sign shops using Inx’s Triangle inks with certain Avery media in specified Mimaki, Mutoh and Roland printers.
- Keywest Technology’s MediaZone Pro content management and scheduling application for digital signage has been authorized by Microsoft as compatible with the Windows 7 operating system (OS).
- Software developer Caldera has teamed with Alwan Color Expertise, which specializes in colour management and standardization, to develop ink-saving modules for raster image processors (RIPs) used in wide-format digital printing.
- Through a new partnership, Panasonic Canada has begun offering its LF20 and LF25 high-definition (HD) liquid crystal displays (LCDs) with a complimentary one-year subscription to Charlottetown-based ScreenScape Networks’ digital signage service.
- Assam Michel Daoud, president of Montreal-based Arium Design’s signage and visual communications division, has joined the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) as a professional member.
- Digital printing substrate manufacturer InteliCoat Technologies has introduced Magic Brand inks specially formulated for Canon ImagePrograf and Roland DGA eco-solvent printers.
- Lawrence, which provides ‘virtual assistant’ digital signage systems and other queue management products for airports, banks, retail stores and other facilities, has been renamed Tensator, reflecting its parent company’s brand.
- Digital signage media player manufacturer Iadea and software developer Scala have joined to design new systems that support HyperText Markup Language 5 (HTML5) content.
- PaperlinX Canada, which distributes equipment, paper and other consumables for the sign, display and graphic arts industries, has merged its three Toronto-area companies—Spicers, Coast Paper and Roll-O-Vert—into one business unit, which will operate in Vaughan, Ont., under the Spicers name. The brand consolidation follows similar changes in Winnipeg and Montreal.
