The 42nd WAN-IFRA publishing expo, which took place in Frankfurt, Germany, was attended by more than 260 exhibitors from more than 30 countries. Printing standards were recognized at the event, when WAN-IFRA awarded leading publishers for their excellence in print. Al Bayan and Emarat Al Youm newspapers were recognized and awarded for their printing standards. The award was handed over to Editor in Chief of Al Bayan, Dhaen Shaheen, Editor in Chief of Emarat Al Youm, Sami Al Reyami and General Manager of Masar Printing and Publishing, Faisal Bin Haider. Both the newspapers are printed at Masar Printing and Publishing.
Commenting on the achievement, Faisal bin Haider said that the recognition came as a result of the significant investments made by the company in recent years towards the development of its publications. “New technology has helped to raise our printing standards to an international level, as well as we are now equipped to print three newspapers at a single go. Our staffs have been given proper training to use these high technology machines and to deliver the best results.”
Bin Haider opined that along with Dubai Media Incorporated, they have always ensured that readers get their copies on time at the best possible standards. Meanwhile, Al Ittihad, published by United Printing and Publishing also bagged an award at the WAN-IFRA conference.
Layout International, a desktop publishing solution provider, based in Lebanon was also a participant at the 42nd World Publishing Expo. They exhibited their latest workflow solutions including the much acclaimed NewsPress- a web based workflow solution. The Layout team attended several conferences and seminars as part of the Publishing Expo. The company, which has a strong clientele in the Middle East, offers solutions that range from editorial workflows to software systems that tracks job flows in Ad agencies.
“The Expo serves as a platform and a showcase for innovative technology, but it is so much more,” said Jacob Mathew, President of WAN-IFRA. “It is an event that thrives on an exchange of ideas among colleagues from all over the world, and is built on the vital partnership of publisher and supplier, something that has deepened and strengthened in these challenging times.”
He said that, “When the Expo began more than four decades ago, the issues of concern were how to manage colour printing, how to integrate colour pictures into the newspaper economically, and how to handle the new technology of photo typesetting. In short, it was about print and print production-related topics.”
Jacob added, “Today, successful publishing houses are cross-media operations. They must be equally comfortable working in the digital business as in print. The Expo reflects our industry’s transformation. It is now the leading exhibition for technology to publish news on all platforms, print and digital.”
