united kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK or U.K.)[14] or Britain,[note 11] is a sovereign country located off the northwestern coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands.[15] Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland. Otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the southwest, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea separates Great Britain and Ireland. The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,000 square miles (240,000 km2).
The United Kingdom is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.[note 12][16][17] The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952, making her the world’s longest-serving current head of state.[18] The United Kingdom’s capital is London, a global cityand financial centre with an urban area population of 10.3 million.[19] Other major cities include Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester.
The United Kingdom consists of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[20] Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. Apart from England, the countries have their own devolved governments,[21] each with varying powers,[22][23] but such power is delegated by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which may enact laws unilaterally altering or abolishing devolution. The nearby Isle of Man, Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the UK, being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation.[24] The medieval conquest and subsequent annexation of Wales by the Kingdom of England, followed by the union between England and Scotland in 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the union in 1801 of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK’s current name was adopted in 1927 to reflect the change.[note 13] There are fourteen British Overseas Territories,[25] the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, encompassed almost a quarter of the world’s landmass and was the largest empire in history. British influence can be observed in the language, culture and political systems of many of its former colonies.[26][27][28][29][30]
The United Kingdom has the world’s sixth-largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP), and the ninth-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has a high-income economy and a very high human development index rating, ranking 14th in the world. It was the world’s first industrialised country and the world’s foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.[31][32] The UK remains a great power, with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally.[33][34] It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and is sixth in military expenditure in the world.[35] It has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946.
The United Kingdom is a leading member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Council of Europe, the G7, the G20, NATO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Interpol and the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was a member of the European Union (EU) and its predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC) for 47 years, between 1 January 1973 and withdrawal on 31 January 2020.
Photo Credit
Photo by Emily Wang on Unsplash
Photo by Heidi Fin on Unsplash
Photo by Robert Tudor on Unsplash
Dorinda Gibbons · Director · Profile Recruitment
Dorinda Gibbons has worked as a recruiter focusing on the Graphic Arts Industry for the past twenty years with great success. It's about matching talents, and in this chat, we get a chance to understand how she works and the value she brings to the table. It's great to hear the HR perspective, which rarely happens!
Holly Steedman · Business & Technology Dev. Director · IST Intech · PRINTING United Expo 2024
At PRINTING United, we got to catch up with Holly Steedman from IST Intech. IST Intech is owned by IST Metz, known for its UV solutions for many different types of printing presses, and IST Intech is a UK-based company that focuses on integration partners. So IST Intech is more about a special solution that can be used, not only in the printing industry but in any industry, utilizing LED-UV. IST Intech also entirely focuses on digital print solutions. In this interview, we learn how IST Intech and the Business & Technology Development Director get more and more customers in the American market. Holly Steedman is always interesting to listen to, and you will also often see her speaking at various conferences - so stay tuned!
Adam Grieve · Managing Director · Taopix
Photo products continue to be an exciting market for producers and retailers. They need software to get orders and let consumers design and order their unique designs. Taopix is a 17-year-old software company from the UK that quietly (relatively) has grown into a company serving customers globally. The former CFO, Adam Grieve, was recently promoted to the Managing Director of Taopix. In this interview, we get insight into his role, his work, how Taopix at drupa launched the cloud-based solution - and what opportunities this brings to the market. Super nice talking to Adam Grieve, so please enjoy the interview :-)
Andreas Aplien & Karl Ciz · CoCoCo · Connect
These days, a new player on the Software scene is being presented—the company's name is CoCoCo, and the founders are well-known people from the industry. In this interview, we get the chance to talk to two of the three founders, Andreas Aplien and Karl Ciz. It's 35 35-minute interviews, but super interesting to learn from - what is CoCoCo, why does it matter, and what benefit does the software provide its customers? In the interview, Aplien and Ciz share an example from one of the company's customers, where it seems apparent that the savings using CoCoCo deliver a truly rapid return to the buyer - but listen for yourself!
John Blyth · Ricoh Europe · PreDrupa LIVE · May 14th 2024 · Replay
Morten Reitoft and John Blyth discuss the upcoming Drupa 2024, reflecting on the excitement and challenges leading up to the event. Blyth mentions that it's been eight years since the last Drupa, and there's a significant amount of anticipation and celebration around the event. He highlights Ricoh's readiness to showcase its innovations and commitment to its client's success through partnership and transformation. Reitoft notes that it's Ricoh's fourth Drupa, emphasizing the company's relatively recent emergence as a major player in the industry. Blyth recalls joining Ricoh 12 years ago when the company was still establishing its presence, and he expresses pride in Ricoh's rapid development and expansion since then. Blyth explains that attending Drupa was an easy decision for Ricoh, as it provides a unique opportunity to showcase their refreshed production printing hardware range, including the Pro Z75 (the world's first B2+ inkjet sheet-fed device with aqueous ink and auto-perfecting) and the new flagship high-speed inkjet Webfed device, the Pro VC80000. Ricoh aims to create a memorable experience with their "House of Hinkaku" theater, featuring a multisensory show highlighting their commitment to transformational innovation. Reitoft asks about the meaning of "Hinkaku," which Blyth explains as "transformational innovation," emphasizing fundamental and far-reaching change. This ethos underpins Ricoh's approach to innovation, which involves collaboration with partners and clients to meet their specific needs. Blyth mentions the importance of aligning their products with market needs through consultation and feedback programs. He recalls the successful launch of the Pro Z75, highlighting the collaborative effort between Ricoh's Japanese R&D team and European staff. Reitoft compliments Ricoh's booth design, noting its contemporary and minimalist style with Japanese influences, including a theater structure reminiscent of a Japanese temple and calming gardens. Blyth confirms the booth's bright accent colors, including pink and purple, and hints at a Japanese flavor in their offerings. The interview concludes with Reitoft thanking Blyth for his time and looking forward to seeing him at Drupa.
Julian Mennell · Inktec · FESPA Amsterdam 2024
Since we at INKISH are always looking for interesting stories and new players, we wanted to learn more about JETRIX, a name we've seen more often lately. The Jetrix brand is actually owned by InkTec, a South Korean manufacturer of wide-format flatbed and roll-to-roll inkjet printers. They are focusing hard on the LFP market, and recently expanded to Europe and the US. Let's meet Julian Menell, helping them shape sales from Oxon, UK.
The digital transformation in Corrugated + one years anniversary · Mark Dempsey · HP
In this online interview, Mark Dempsey from HP and editor Morten B. Reitoft chatted about the digital transformation in the corrugated industry. Dempsey explains that the business case moving to digital from flexo is easier than moving from offset to digital in the folding carton segment. We also talk about the C550, which today, February 14th, 2024, celebrates its first year in the market - a warm congratulations to HP for the achievement. Enjoy!
Eef De Ridder · VP EMEA Graphics Communications Group · Ricoh
Eef de Ridder is the Vice President of the EMEA Graphics Communications Group and has for years influenced how Ricoh has positioned itself as one of the major players in the industry. In the interview, Eef de Ridder explains that Ricoh in the graphics arts segment is a new player and that it was only in 2012 that Ricoh entered the market - and maybe you remember - the 9xxx and 7xxx series were true game changers with high-quality, lower acquisition and operational cost. The inkjet business came along with the acquisition of IBM's print division and its InnoPrint machines. Of course, we also talk about the current offerings and market positioning of Ricoh - their new Pro Z75 and VC80000 are products Eef de Ridder and Ricoh have expectations for. Under all circumstances, a super interview that I am sure will give you great insights!
Unboxing AGFA SpeedSet 1060 · Sean Smyth · Pira International
Everything that can go digital will go digital - and in a presentation at the Unboxing event of the new AGFA SpeedSet 1060, Sean Smyth from Pira International explains the trends. Editor Morten B. Reitoft gets the opportunity to ask whether AGFA ticks all the boxes with their new press - so dig in and learn :-)
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