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STERLING, VA—Copy General, a chain of independent print shops in the Washington, DC, area, has purchased a Xerox DocuColor iGen3 digital production press. Management says the intent is to grow the organization's color production business from about 10 percent of total revenue today to 50 percent in 2004. (www.xerox.com/ www.copygeneral.com)
ROCHESTER, NY—Presstek Inc. and Xerox Corp. announced the latter will no longer sell the DocuColor 233 DI-4, DocuColor 400 DI-4 and DocuColor 400 DI-5 presses and related consumables, all of which had been sourced through Presstek. Order taking for the products will cease immediately, but Presstek will continue to provide consumables and make service available to the installed customer base. Xerox said it is exiting the market for direct-imaging presses to concentrate on its core business of dry ink-based digital printing. (www.presstek.com/www.xerox.com)
MISSION VIEJO, CA—Sir Speedy reports its Newark, DE, franchise is the first to purchase a NexPress 2100 digital color press, which the franchiser is offering through an arrangement with Heidelberg. "We now have the flexibility of a color copier and the quality of a press, offering customers unprecedented flexibility," says franchisee Alan Gardner, who owns the shop in combination with John Riley. (www.sirspeedy.com/www.heidelbergusa.com)
NORWALK, CT—The Kodak Polychrome Graphics Matchprint Virtual Proofing System has been awarded SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) certification. This designation is said to validate the remote proofing system's ability to deliver accurate RGB monitor viewing of CMYK color reproduction with the intent of reliably predicting final printed color in the web offset environment. SWOP certification entails an intensive visual and numerical evaluation. (www.kpgraphics.com)
CONOVER, NC—Carolina Web says it has achieved 100 percent CTP-based production with its installation of a new Fujifilm Saber Luxel Vx-9600 violet laser platesetter. Founded in 1998, the company specializes in printing and design services for the travel and tourism business segment. (www.carolina-web.com/www.fujifilm.com)
BELTSVILLE, MD—Todd Allan Printing installed a Trueflow PDF-based workflow solution from Screen (USA). The company upgraded its prepress capabilities in response to its clientele's growing color demands, including use of extra colors, says Dave Stallone, CEO. (www.screenusa.com)
SAN MATEO, CA—Enfocus Software says its Certified PDF technology is going to be integrated into the next release of Heidelberg's Image-Smart Document Mastering workflow application for the Digimaster 9110 printing system. The PDF-based system will support Certified PDF as part of the SmartBoard plug-in. (www.enfocus.com/www.heidelberg-usa.com)
WHITES CREEK, TN—CRT Custom Products has been able to at least double its per-shift plate production with the installation of a Fujifilm Javelin thermal platesetter, reports Wayne Maniscalco, vice president of sales and marketing. "Now we produce between 70 and 80 plates per shift," he notes. The commercial printing operation has a staff of 100. (www.crtcustomproducts.com/ www.fujifilm.com)
GENT, BELGIUM—Esko-Graphics has instituted a three-year warranty on the FreeBeam lasers for its PlateDriver CTP systems. This imaging module integrates an adjustable 30mW diode laser and associated optics. The manufacturer says it is fully backing violet imaging and asserts that the technology offers the best business case for commercial and packaging printers. (www.esko-graphics.com)
EXTON, PA—At Apple Press, equipment plays a huge part in its ability to "provide higher quality than the average 'value' shop and better value than the high-priced shop," says Gary Gehman, president. The commercial printer's most recent investment was in a Screen (USA) PlateRite 8000 eight-up thermal platesetter driven by the Trueflow PDF workflow system. (www.screenusa.com)
