DIGITAL digest 2-01

Marching Off to On Demand and VUE/Point

NEW YORK—The On Demand 2001 conference and exposition is slated to run at New York's Jacob Javits Convention Center from February 28 to March 2. Over the course of the event, corporate printing professionals reportedly will learn about improving customer relationship management (CRM), increasing response rates with 1:1 marketing, outsourcing successfully and lowering costs while driving sales. Print-for-profit professionals will gain insight into the best migration strategies, the newest technology, what the competition is doing, as well as what corporate customers want next.

The event managers have announced the addition of two more keynote sessions: "e-Printing Live: Is It for Real?" on Thursday, March 1, and "The Future of Print" on Friday, March 2. The panel for the first session includes Marc Olin, printCafe; Barbara A. Pellow, IKON Office Solutions; Rick Steele, Kinkos.com; and Frank Steenburgh, Xerox Corp. The second session will feature Frank Romano, Rochester Institute of Technology; Neal Martini, LaserJet Business Printing division of Hewlett-Packard; C. Thomas Ashley, CAP Ventures; and Susan Prescott, Adobe Systems.

These sessions will follow the previously announced opening session, "Print 2010: A Vision of the Future of Graphic Communications," to be given by Bernhard Schreier, chairman of Heidelberg Druckmaschinen, and Charles A. Pesko Jr., managing director of CAP Ventures.

In addition to the three keynote sessions, the conference will feature 50 tutorial seminars, workshops and roundtables. The 2001 conference will also include two new targeted conferences—"e-Printing & Publishing" and "Dynamic Content."

The "e-Printing & Publishing" conference is intended to help attendees learn who the players are and how they differ, as well as where the market is heading and the services that are available. Session topics will cover determining a Web strategy, using Internet-based solutions to facilitate document outsourcing, print e-procurement and more.

The "Dynamic Content" conference will focus on what types of Web technologies are being leveraged for electronic delivery of information, and how these tools can be employed to increase customer communication and satisfaction. Among the planned session topics are building a portal to communicate with customers, managing digital assets, and using documents for enhanced processes and improved communication.

More than 250 vendors are expected to showcase their latest products and services in the On Demand expo hall. In addition, for the first time, Adobe will be showcasing its Adobe Solutions Network Pavilion on the exhibit floor.

For more information about On Demand 2001, visit www.ondemandexpo.com or call (800) 331-5706.

An Enhanced VUE/Point
In an attempt to reach out to new groups of potential attendees, another upcoming event—VUE/Point 2001—is offering special programs for the print creative/buyer community. Key to this effort are two discounted registration fees for qualified attendees:

Any printer registering for VUE/Point at the regular $495 fee will be able to bring along a customer—an art director, production manager, graphic designer or any print buyer—for just $150.

Alternatively, creative professionals can register independently at a discounted rate of $295.

The 12th annual conference is set to run from March 26 to 28 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA. It will again feature a user-based panel format, offering "truth from the trenches, not pitches from the podium." The program's featured topics include e-commerce solutions, workflow management, digital printing, computer-to-plate technologies, direct-to-press, proofing trends, color management, data storage and variable-data printing.

The conference's design-focused educational sessions reportedly are intended to help designers and agencies work more closely with their service providers and develop greater in-house proficiency. Sessions of note that should appeal to the printer and print buyer/creative alike, include:

"PDF Possibilities—Where Are We Today and Where Do We Need to Go Tomorrow?" which will present the views of prepress veterans on the state of PDF as a workflow format. The panelists will explore both what PDF has done for their internal workflows and how it fits within a customer's design department.

"Remote Workflows—The Latest Fad or the Future of Prepress?" will address the concept of the ASP (application service provider) and its role in the graphic arts industry. A panel of actual users will discuss their experiences with various ASPs, including solutions for remote preflighting, soft proofing and asset management.

"E-commerce—The Buyer's Perspective" will offer a print buyer's guide to online print procurement systems.

Digital proofing will be given in-depth coverage in two separate sessions. The first session will focus on controlling costs by learning to utilize a variety of ink-jet proofing devices. The second session will offer a practical approach to understanding proofing situations that are not easily satisfied by current products, such as proofing spot colors, duotones and remote proofing.

A full program outline and registration information can be found at www.vue-point.com, or call (800) 962-5650.

Digital Bytes . . .

SEATTLE—Canopy LLC, a joint venture of PrimeSource and Xeikon NV, recently announced the installation of a number of digital printing systems at new and existing accounts in the United States.

Kinko's installed a digital press in each of three of its corporate printing and finishing centers—Atlanta, Los Angeles and San Jose, CA. The other Xeikon press installation sites included Xyan.com in Oakland, CA, and Seneca Printing in Franklin, PA. (www.canopyprint.com)

OFFENBACH, GERMANY—MAN Roland has signed an agreement with Océ Printing Systems that gives Océ global rights to market MAN Roland's color digital printing systems. The marketing agreement covers the DICO family of electro-photographic printing systems, including DICOpress, DICOpack and DICOpage, as well as the accompanying consumables.

Local Océ offices will be responsible for sales, installation, service and customer training for the products. (www.manroland.com or www.oce-usa.com)

RYE, NY—Mitsubishi Imaging has appointed xpedx as a direct dealer for the DPX platesetting system and its related consumables. This agreement also gives all North American xpedx locations access to the support of Mitsubishi's polyester and paper plate specialists. Manufactured by Purup-Eskofot, the DPX platesetting system is distributed by Mitsubishi Imaging throughout North America under a Master Distributor agreement it recently signed with Purup-Eskofot.

As a result, Mitsubishi Imaging also has assumed responsibility for honoring and supporting Ryobi's dealer agreement for the DPX platesetting system in the U.S. (www.mitsubishiimaging.com)

ADDISON, TX—Best Press has made a commitment to 100 percent digital production by investing in a PlateRite 8000 thermal CTP plate recorder from Screen (USA). The $12 million sheetfed operation already had been producing eight-up film using a Screen DT-R3100 imagesetter.

"We were looking for a CTP device that would produce punched plates in a completely automated environment," says Mike Heischman, director of information technology at Best Press. (www.screenusa.com)

EDISON, NJ—With the start of the new year, Sinar Bron Imaging announced it was no longer distributing the Leaf line of digital camera backs. The company will continue to operate as the exclusive U.S. distributor of high-end studio camera equipment from its parent companies—Sinar AG, Bron Elektronik AG and Foba AG. (www.sinarbron.com)

The announcement came on the heels of a move by CreoScitex (through its Leaf Products group) and Mamiya America to jointly form Leaf America. The Leaf Volare, Cantare, Cantare XY and C-Most digital camera backs now are being marketed by Leaf America. Its offices are located at 8 Westchester Plaza, Elmsford, NY 10523. (www.leafamerica.com)

PHOENIX—Business Cards Tomorrow has expanded its digital production capabilities with the installation of an A.B.Dick Colour digital press from A.B.Dick-Multigraphics. The response has been immediate and very positive, management says. "We're tapping into new markets besides what we purchased the press for, which was to produce our four-color-process business card work," notes Andrew Nichols, a partner in the firm.

BCT-Phoenix prints exclusively for other printers and print brokers. (www.abdick.com)

ROCHESTER, NY—Based on data from market research firm IDC Corp., Xerox Corp. reports it remains the leading provider of high-end digital color printers and high-speed black-and-white systems in the U.S. market.

In addition, Xerox reportedly grew or maintained its market share in several other printer segments tracked by IDC's report. These segments include color ink-jet printers; color page printers, including laser, LED and solid ink technology; monochrome laser, 21-29 ppm; monochrome laser, 70-99 ppm; and monochrome, over 100 ppm. (www.xerox.com)

BOCA RATON, FL—Océ Printing Systems USA and Xeikon America have signed a reseller contract enabling Océ to directly market Xeikon digital color presses with IntelliStream digital front ends. Under the new contract, Océ will offer customers a single point of contact for sales, support and service for Xeikon systems. (www.oceusa.com or www.xeikon.com)