Future Links August 26th 2014

Sonoco buys German packaging firm for 383 million USD
The South-Carolina-based packaging company Sonoco agreed to buy the German company Weidenhammer for 383 million USD in cash. Weidenhammer is Europe’s leading composite can provider and also supplies composite drums and rigid plastic containers. With the acquisition, Sonoco plans to reach a global leadership position in the the rigid paper packaging market.
More at The Wall Street Journal

Austrian firm prints display directly onto paper
The Austrian printed electronics firm Prelonic announced that it managed to print an electronic display directly onto paper. This is considered a technological breakthrough even though the printed screen is a simple electrochronic rather than a complex matrix display. Prelonic said the process would work with normal paper and cardboard, opening new possibilities in the low-cost printed electronics market.
More at GIGAOM

PPI Award Finalists announced
The finalists for the Pulp and Paper International Awards have been announced. They include BILT Graphic Paper Products Limited-Bhigwan – Specialty Product C1S 50 and gsm for Mondi Coating Zeltweg
GmbH – Mondi´s BarrierFilm in the  “Innovation in Sustainable Packaging” category and BILT Graphic Paper Products Limited-Bhigwan BIO PAPPEL – Tizayuca Mill in the “The Water Efficiency Award” category. The 2014 PPI Awards will be held at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, USA, on October 8.
More at What They Think 

International collaboration to advance 3D graphene printing
Graphene is said to be one of the strongest materials in the world and 3D printing is hailed to be one of the most exciting manufacturing technologies around. Combine the two and you are guaranteed to create excitement. The graphite mining company, Kibaran Resources, and 3D Group, an Australian 3D printer manufacturer, have recently formed a joint venture called 3D Graphtech Industries. Now the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CISRO) joined to strengthen the research capabilities.
More at 3DPrint.com

Novell launches mobile printing platform
Enterprise software specialist Novell announced the launch of iPrint 1.1, an enterprise-level print solution designed to simplify mobile printing while leveraging existing security and data governance measures. The iPrint mobile client supports the four major mobile device platforms: Apple iOS 6.x and 7.x (the iPhone and the iPad), Google Android 2.3, 4.x, BlackBerry 10 and Microsoft Windows Phone 8.x.
More at EWeek 

Domino debuts new 7-color N610i UV inkjet press
The CMYKOV+W N610i UV inkjet label press will be shown at Labelexpo Americas from 9th to 11th September in Chicago. Domino will also participate in the Inkjet Trail, a direct comparison between four inkjet printers by different manufacturers. All printers will be printing the same label on the same substrate, thus allowing for a direct evaluation of each printer’s strengths.
More at Labels & Labeling

Frost & Sullivan assesses the promises of 4D printing
Just as 3D printing is entering the mainstream, the next new manufacturing technology emerges. 4D printing develops materials that alter their properties and behaviors based on external stimuli such as changes in temperature. The consultancy Frost & Sullivan expects the aerospace, defense, automotive and healthcare industries to be the first to adopt 4-D printing technology after its commercialization, which may still be years away.
More at Frost & Sullivan 

Ecover makes packaging out of ocean waste
Tom Domen, Long Term Innovation Manager at Ecover, wanted to produce packaging that truly has a positive environmental impact. He came up with a new form of recyclable plastic that incorporates sea plastic, post-consumer recyclables and plant-based plastic. Plastic floating in the ocean thus became a part of the solution instead of the problem. More at NASDAQ