Lulu Founder to Keynote Digital Book Printing Forum

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—Interquest, a market and technology research and consulting firm serving the digital printing and publishing industry, announced that Lulu.com Founder and CEO Bob Young will headline a lineup of speakers and panelists at its annual educational forum on trends and opportunities in digital book manufacturing.

Bob Young will kick off the 2011 Digital Book Printing Forum with the opening keynote address. The forum will be held Tuesday, April 5, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis New York in midtown Manhattan during the annual Publishing Business Conference Expo organized by Book Business magazine. Book Business and Printing Impressions magazine are owned by North American Publishing.

Prior to founding Lulu in 2002, Young co-founded Red Hat, the open source software company that provides a standard platform for hardware and software vendors to certify their technology. He was named one of the “Top 50 Agenda-Setters in the Technology Industry in 2006” and ranked fourth as the “Top Entrepreneur in 2006” by Silicon.com.

Following the keynote address Interquest will present key results from recent research it has conducted in digital book printing. A panel of leading book printers will then present their experiences, applications and challenges in digital book manufacturing and explain how recent technological developments are helping them enhance their solutions. Speakers include Chris Greene, president and CEO, Frederic Printing, a Consolidated Graphics company; Rick Dunn, vice president of manufacturing, Hamilton Books; Jim Robinson, vice president of operations and administration, Harlequin Enterprises; and Mike Collinge, president, Webcom.

After lunch, executives from digital printing systems vendors will update their companies’ strategies, developments and recent successes in the book market. Speakers include Vince Ferraro, vice president, worldwide marketing, Digital Printing Solutions Group, Eastman Kodak; Avi Basu, manager, North America business and market development, Indigo and Inkjet Press Solutions, Hewlett-Packard; George Promis, vice president for global production Continuous Forms Solutions & Technology Alliances, InfoPrint Solutions; Francis McMahon, vice president of marketing, Production Printing Systems Div., Océ North America; and John Conley, vice president of publishing, Xerox Corp.

After additional Interquest research findings are presented, a panel of experts will focus on challenges and developments related to workflow, paper handling, finishing, and substrates. Speakers include Bruce Watermann, senior vice president, print operations, Blurb; Adi Chinai, president, King Printing; as well as Johan Laurent, business manager, Standard Finishing Systems.

In the final session of the day, publishers will share their experiences with digital book printing as well as their views on synergies between e-books and printed books and the impact of new digital printing technologies on their businesses. Speakers include Craig Bauer, senior vice president, operations, Hachette Book Group USA; Michael DeFazio, vice president, production planning and paper purchasing, Random House; Dick Hanson, data operations manager, Vance Publishing; and Lynn Terhune, global digital print administrator/corporate, John Wiley & Sons.

Check out Publishing Business for more information.