Printweek – Review of 2025: May

Crane NXT completed the £300m acquisition of De La Rue’s Authentication Solutions business… Fujifilm hailed its ‘unique’ Aquafuze technology… James Jones & Sons acquired United Box as part of global expansion… Fespa Global Print Expo 2025 opened. The show attracted a high number of quality visitors and hosted numerous deals and launches… SGS & Co and SGK merged to form the Propelis family of brands… The Communisis name was consigned to the history books after a rebrand by owner Paragon, with the business renamed Paragon Global Brands… Pre-pack publisher Unbound left a £2.4m hole in creditors’ pockets… Cimpress confirmed a major investment in HP technology, potentially involving 20 B2 digital presses… Amazon announced plans to install automated packaging machines across Europe… Software Circle lost a six-figure sum in suspected payment fraud. It subsequently recovered more than £426k… The long-running saga over the future ownership of the Telegraph Media Group appeared to be resolved after  US-headquartered RedBird Capital Partners announced an “in principle agreement” to buy the title in a £500m deal… International Paper confirmed proposals to close five UK packaging sites… Ofcom opened an investigation into Royal Mail over delivery target compliance… Lascelle Barrow, co-founder of London screen and large-format print specialist Augustus Martin, died aged 79, after spending more than 60 years in print… Linney made a major investment in post-press, digital and litho with equipment from Horizon, Heidelberg and HP… Print entrepreneur Tom Willday met his childhood hero David Beckham at The Chelsea Flower Show, prompting a business boost for his Willsow brand… The South London Press, an historic weekly paper that survived 160 years in print, closed… Reflections Print Finishers had a total estimated deficiency of more than £3m when it collapsed… Design Group offloaded its US wing in a $1 deal… Cadbury launched a range of limited-edition Dairy Milk ‘Summer Edition’ bars in colour-changing packaging, in a playful debate over whether chocolate really belongs in the fridge.