Sustainability · Data
All four National Packaging Targets were missed at their 2025 due date, on APCO's own data. The recovery rates that matter to printers and converters, material by material, charted from the primary documents; and why "paper recycling is up" and "paper recycling is down" are both true.
Paper and substrates
The FSC trademark standard changed on 1 July; the Responsible Wood standard is open for comment until 7 August. The reference page, with the live deadlines up top.
Business of print
Why the same job is $180 at one shop and $600 at another: the fixed-cost anatomy of a quote, the industry cost data, and what cheap online printing trades away.
ProcessesProcesses
Plates, blankets, make-ready, and the automation built to hit ISO 12647-2.
Processes
The heaviest ink film in the trade, and the water-based range made in Brookvale.
Trade community
Penrith's working museum, Melbourne's dispersed collection, and the craft that still bills.
Colour and standardsStandards and colour
Measured colour, register, honest proofing: the checklist, with the standards behind it.
Standards and colour
Spot inks versus CMYK-OGV, how G7 relates to ISO 12647-2, and why Hexachrome should leave your vocabulary.
Standards and colour
Which requirements are real standards and which are conventions, labelled honestly, with a glossary.
Materials and finishesFinishes
What each finish physically is, the tooling economics, and when it is overkill.
Processes
The chemistry behind the effects, the Australian-made options, and the compliance questions.
Packaging and businessPackaging
The ABS numbers behind the unboxing trend, and the compliance layer a small brand inherits with its first box.
Business of print
The cheapest premium object a business can hand over, and the size standard that only covers the plastic ones.
