Future Links July 28th 2015

US to open large-scale metal printing facility with Norsk Titanium
Stratasys and GE already operate large 3D printing facilities in the US. But Norwegian Norsk Titanium doesn’t believe that these are quite industrial-grade. That’s why the titanium 3D printing company plans to open a 200.000 square-foot government-owned facility to manufacture large-scale aircraft components and push 3D printing into a mainstream technology.
More at 3D Printing Industry

Smartphone printer works without ink
droPrinter has started a crowdfunding campaign to develop a portable printer for smartphones that works with thermal paper to print pictures without ink. It connects via Bluetooth allowing you to take photos and receive a copy of them almost instantly. What separates it from the competitors like Polaroid is for example the fact that the prints only cost around one or two cents per photo, as the company claims.
More at Android Pit

3D printed smartphone-based device quickly detects diseases
ELISA, Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay, is a diagnostic tool that identifies antigens such as viruses and bacteria in blood samples. It can detect a number of diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B. Now, researchers from the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA printed a device that can be attached to a smartphone to read ELISA plates in the field with the same level of accuracy as the large machines normally found in clinical laboratories.
More at Phys.org

Packaging shifting from plastics to paper
‘Graphic is dead, long live packaging’. This is a slogan many companies of the paper and print industry recently claim repositioning themselves to take advantage of changing markets. For example Sappi, declared that they want to get away from being a pure substrate supplier to a company that’s offering packaging solutions and Asia Pulp and Paper is of a similar mind. The key drivers for the growth of paper-based packaging are among others changing demographics, sustainability and recycling concerns and technological advances.
More at Print Week

Sun Chemical strengthens inkjet inks range for North America
The industry is seeing a boom in start-up companies using wide format printers in smaller offices, claims Joseph Biegler from Sun Chemical. Because many customers work in closer proximity to the printer, they need low odor ink cartridges. For that reason, Sun Chemical expanded its Streamline range of OEM-compatible digital aftermarket inks with the introduction of new low odor inks for the North American market.
More at What They Think

Indian food packaging norms to stay
The US is India’s second largest trading partner but the country does not want to adopt their packaging standards. In a meeting between the deputy US trade representative and India’s commerce secretary last week, India told the US that they will not change labelling or packaging rules that mandate printing of the maximum retail price and category on the packet. Furthermore, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India insists that the type of food needs to be printed on the packets rather than stickered on it.
More at Live Mint

Countrystyle lands print contract
In its mission to stop waste paper ending up in landfills, Lenham-based resource management and recycling business Countrystyle has recently secured contracts with three leading local print companies, for example Pureprint Group. The company says about 8.000 tonnes of paper will be saved from going to landfill under the new scheme.
More at Print Monthly