Future Links July 3rd 2015

Californian digital printing company makes acquisitions overseas
The Fremont-based digital printing company Electronics for Imaging (EFI) has just spent 188 million USD on two acquisitions in Italy and Israel. EFI bought Reggiani Macchine, a leading provider of industrial inkjet printers, in Italy. Reggiani’s technology uses water-based inks in printing on fabric. EFI also paid up to 48 million USD for privately-held Matan Digital Printers, a provider of technologies for superwide-format display graphics and other industrial printing applications.
More at Bizjournals

Analysts predict bright future for 4D printing
While many economists are busy trying to assess the potential impact of 3D printing on the manufacturing sector, a report published by MarketsandMarkets looks at the next technological development, 4D printing. According to MarketsandMarkets, the total 4D printing market will be valued at 63 million USD by 2019, and is expected to reach a 555.6 million USD by 2025.
More at 3D Print

Aurora Specialty Textiles expands to meet increasing demand
The market for printed textiles, including textile soft signage, is growing. To meet the increasing demand, Aurora Specialty Textiles Group (ASTG) has announced the opening of a new manufacturing operation in Yorkville, IL, that includes a new ultra width coating and finishing line. The new facility will offer all major print technologies including latex, solvent/eco-solvent, UV, dye sublimation transfer and direct dye sublimation.
More at My Print Resource

3D printing may change telecom and data industries profoundly
Fiber optic cables are like the neural networks of society – most of our digital communication is transmitted through them. Traditional fiber optics have been produced for decades but a new generation of fiber optics seem to open up a future with even faster, seamless voice and data transfer. The new fiber optics have complex inner structures within each strand of glass and are very expensive and difficult to produce. Researchers at the University of Southampton believe they have found a better method using 3D printing technology.
More at 3D Print

Xerox wins managed print services contract for British NHS
In the healthcare industry, secure printing is central for a trusted environment. Xerox has been awarded a three-year managed print services contract by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) valued at 40 million British Pounds. In partnership with Adare, Xerox has established a secure printing site at Adare’s facility in Huddersfield, Yorkshire complete with a secure litho press.
More at Print Week

Rémy Martin introduces connected bottle
Near frequency technology (NFT) seems to be taking off in the beverage market. After Diageo and Thinfilm presented their smart bottle concept earlier this year, it is now the duo Rémy Martin and Selinko who introduce a connected bottle. The Rémy Martin Club connected bottle features an integrated unique and tamperproof NFC tag in the capsule. The high-security NFC chip, combined with asymmetric encryption, detects the opening of the bottle and remains active thereafter.
More at Labels & Labeling 

Latin American ink market experiences strong growth
The Latin American ink market has a volume of approximately 2 billion USD and experts predict that it will continue to grow. Much like North America, Latin America sees a large part of its growth in packaging. While Latin America is seen as one market, growth rates differ significantly between countries with Mexico being one of the countries with the strongest growth.
More at Ink World Magazine