DIGITAL digest
Next Set of M4D Reports Published
SEWICKLEY, PA—PIA/GATF’s Digital Printing Council (DPC) has released the second set of eight reports from its Marketing 4 Digital (M4D) research project. The goal of the project is to provide digital and conventional printers the information and insight they need to sell their services to 24 vertical market segments.
Markets covered in this set of reports include gas and electric (utilities), hotel (hospitality and tourism), office supplies/home improvement (retail trade), banks (financial services), investment companies (financial services), travel agencies (hospitality and tourism), telecom (utilities) and professional services (legal, accounting, etc.).
The reports are available for purchase through the PIA/GATF bookstore at www.gain.net. The final set of eight is scheduled to be published this month.
Expo to Offer Hands-on Computer Labs
CHICAGO—“Hands-on” is often the best way to acquire or polish technical skills, so this fall’s Graph Expo and Converting Expo will offer a series of practical, guided computer lab sessions. These eight “hands-on sessions” are among nearly 70 (for a fee) seminars planned for the exhibition, which is set to run October 15-18 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
Each of the labs will place participants at a Mac workstation where they will be guided by an expert through such processes as color management, workflow, photo retouching, and preflight and file repair. Sessions will be led by skilled instructors from Rochester Institute of Technology, California Polytechnic State University, PIA/GATF and several well-known industry consultancies.
In addition, a series of general sessions will be open to all attendees free of charge. Among these are “The Great ‘15 minute’ Debates: A series of four 15-minute mini-debates on key industry topics” and “Curmudgeons Revenge: The Industry through Old Eyes and New Thinking.” Advance registration for these sessions is not required, but participants are urged to come early to be sure of seating.
More than 13 free sessions also are to be offered in each of the two specialty theaters—Wide Format Pavilion and Mailing & Fulfillment Center. These presentations will be made by manufacturer representatives and consultants.
Complete information about the educational program and online registration is available at www.graphexpo.com.
GPO Looking To Go Digital
WASHINGTON, DC—A name change may be in order for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) as it recently took a major step toward providing a one-stop site for access to government information in electronic form. Working with Harris Corp., the GPO intends to develop the “Future Digital System” as a source for authentic,
version-controlled and permanently available content. The system will also support all materials within the scope of the Federal Depository Library Program and its more than 1,250 libraries around the country.
Content will be entered into the system, authenticated and catalogued according to GPO-selected metadata and standards. Materials included will range from text and associated graphics to video, audio and other forms of content that emerge.
Entries will be available for Web searching, Internet viewing, downloading and printing, and will also serve as document masters for conventional printing, on-demand printing and other dissemination methods.
Presstek Extends Open House Series
HUDSON, NH—Presstek Inc. recently brought its Open House road show to Philadelphia, giving local printers the opportunity to drop in for product demonstrations, including the Presstek 5634 DI digital offset press, and educational sessions that were conducted throughout the day. The remaining schedule for 2006 includes stops in Kansas City, KS, (September 26-28), Newark, NJ, (October 31 to November 2); and Minneapolis (December 5-7). Detailed information is available at www.presstek.com/events.
digital bytes
ROCHESTER, NY—Newspaper operations continue to be the big story in CTP adoption for Eastman Kodak Co. Among the sites installing new systems built around Kodak Trendsetter News platesetters are The Intelligencer, Doylestown, PA; Ludington Daily News, Ludington, MI; Independent Publishing Co., Anderson, SC; and Castle-Printech Inc., DeKalb, IL.
In addition, the Denver Newspaper Agency, a joint venture between The E.W. Scripps Co. and MediaNews, purchased five Kodak Trendsetter News 200 platesetters and Kodak ThermalNews digital plates. Separately, the Abilene Reporter-News, an E.W. Scripps Co. paper, purchased a Kodak Trendsetter News 50, its second Kodak platesetter.
RAMSEY, NJ—Konica Minolta Business Solutions is expanding into a new distribution channel with the introduction of two new brands: OnDemand SMB and OnDemand Publisher. Focused on the mid-range color and production printing segments, the product lines offer a comprehensive selection of color, monochrome and production printing systems.
PALO ALTO, CA—The capabilities of the Copy & Printer Centers in more 1,250 Staples office superstores
are being expanded to include large-
format output. HP Designjet 130 digital printers are being installed to provide consumers with photo enlargements, posters, signs and banners.
CINCINNATI—To expand beyond sheetfed commercial printing, Lohr Printing teamed up with Enovation Graphic Systems to install a Xerox DocuColor 8000 digital color press. Management says two-sided registration capability was a key factor in its buying decision.
NEW YORK CITY—Astoria Graphics has added two Xerox iGen3 110 digital production presses to expand its short-run, on-demand digital print business. Astoria reports it is already producing more than 750,000 pages a month, but expects to reach 1 million pages a month per machine by the end of the year.
BALTIMORE—Vertis Inc. has launched Vertis OnDemand, an online solution designed to streamline development and production of marketing communications, including versioned and variable data campaigns. It enables clients to order, personalize, proof and fulfill marketing materials.
COTATI, CA—Barlow Printing researched both violet and thermal platesetters before making the jump to CTP production with an ECRM Mako 8 platesetter. It is using the one device to produce a range of plate formats from one-up for its Didde Apollo press to eight-up for a Heidelberg SOR 104 and 36˝ web press.
REDWOOD CITY, CA—Pacific Printing and Fulfillment (PPFI) recently purchased its third Kodak Nexpress 2100 digital production color press. This machine includes a fifth imaging unit to support in-line coating and an expanded color gamut.
