8 email: editor@printmonthly.co.uk March | April 2026 - Issue 359 INDUSTRY | NEWS printmonthly PrintMonthlyMagazine printmonthly_signlink Prashant Jobanputra has been handed a suspended sentence for fraudulently obtaining a second Covid-19 loan during the pandemic. The director of now-dissolved print company, Genesis Web, secured £100k across two Bounce Back Loans, despite businesses only being allowed a maximum of one £50k loan under the scheme. The UK government’s Insolvency Service says that Jobanputra falsely declared on the second application that he had not previously sought financial support under the Bounce Back Loan scheme. The 41-year-old was handed a suspended sentence of 18 months at the Old Bailey criminal court and was also disqualified as a company director for three years and fined £5,000. According to the Insolvency Service, Jobanputra said in interviews that his company was badly affected by the pandemic and that he did not read the loan agreement which stated that businesses were only entitled to a single Bounce Back Loan. Genesis Web went into liquidation in October 2021 and was dissolved in March 2024 By Jonathan Pert Print director sentenced for fraudulent Covid-19 claim Puzzle book combats screens Take a Break Puzzles has announced the launch of ‘The Essential Digital Detox Puzzle Book’, which has been created to help combat “the constant deluge of screens and notifications.” Offering a guided 30-day challenge, the book also includes colouring and doodling pages and journaling prompts. The book has been released amongst reports of serious issues in the UK of ‘digital overwhelm’ and ‘brain rot’ in the UK. West Ham players visit Paragon Print and business services firm, Paragon, recently got a special visit to its Dagenham facilities from two West Ham United football club players. West Ham players, Alphonse Areola and Jean-Clair Todibo, visited Paragon to personally thank the company for its support of the West Ham United Foundation, the charitable arm of the football club which focuses on providing initiatives to benefit its local community. Apprentice hire at leap Independent UK marketing agency, leap, has introduced a new Level 3 Print Technician Apprenticeship to its business operations. As part of the scheme, leap welcomed Oliver Owens into the business through a programme delivered in partnership with Learn2Print. In launching the new apprenticeship, leap hopes to address the skills gap in the print and production industry caused by a retiring workforce and a lack of new technical talent. Reports of job losses at Ricoh UK site According to a number of reports, Ricoh UK has decided to move around 70% of its office-related toner production from its UK plant in Telford to the Etria Manufacturing facility in France, which could put “hundreds of jobs on the line.” However, these figures are not confirmed and a report on the situation by the BBC says that Ricoh has not specified how many roles could be at risk. An official statement by a representative of Ricoh UK quoted in The Shropshire Star states: “We can confirm that Etria has announced changes to the production of office-related toner in Europe. “As part of a planned transition, some production will move from Ricoh UK Products (RPL) in the UK to Etria Manufacturing France, with phased activities beginning in May. The information was shared with our employees today, and we are committed to supporting them throughout this transition. We do not expect any impact on customers or service levels during this period.” Ricoh’s Telford site is estimated to have between 400 to 600 employees By Jonathan Pert BPIF Q1 report shows strong results, but lowering confidence 2025 finished with the strongest output and order performance in the UK print industry for four years, according to the Q1 2026 Printing Outlook survey from the BPIF. Q4 results from the BPIF show that the year ended with healthy activity levels, although the quarter didn’t quite match the “dramatic turnaround” predicted by its previous Q4 Outlook. According to the latest Printing Outlook survey, exactly half (50%) of printers were able to increase their output levels in the fourth quarter of 2025. Over one-third (35%) were able to hold output steady, whilst the remaining 12% experienced a decline in their output levels. The resulting balance of the output increases and decreases was listed as +35, a little down on Q3’s calculated outturn of +39 and a bit further below the Q4 forecast of +45, but still the second highest reported output balance since Q4 of 2021. Despite the positive Q4 balance, the BPIF has predicted a further decline in Q1 of 2026, with a forecasted balance of +15. By Jonathan Pert By Jonathan Pert
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