UPFRONT
Xeikon to Sell Assets, Liquidate
MORTSEL, BELGIUM—Xeikon's board of directors, along with officers appointed by the Antwerp Court of Commerce, have determined that the company cannot obtain new capital within its creditor protection timeframe. Thus, the company is now considering sale offers for its assets and activities. Upon completion of the sale, the digital color and black-and-white printing systems manufacturer will be put into liquidation, with proceeds from the sale applied toward outstanding debt. Xeikon, which applied for creditor protection last November, was also informed by the Nasdaq that it will delist the company's securities from its system.
Danner Press May Close Doors
CANTON, OH—Danner Press, one of four commercial printing plants owned and operated by private firm Hess Management, reportedly will close forever February 15 if a buyer is not found. The closing would result in the loss of more than 350 jobs. Hess Management also owns The Press of Ohio in nearby Brimfield and two D.B. Hess Co. plants in Illinois.
PIA Seeking CEO for 2003
ALEXANDRIA, VA—With Printing Industries of America President Ray Roper retiring in April 2003, the PIA and Graphic Arts Technical Foundation announced the search for a single CEO for the two organizations. Robert E. Murphy, chairman of the Japs-Olson Co., St. Louis Park, MN, has agreed to chair the selection committee.
Edwards Unveils Digital Center
CHICAGO—Edwards Brothers, of Ann Arbor, MI, has installed a digital printing center at the University of Chicago. It is said to be the first such center to be operated through an American university press and the third such center for Edwards Brothers, which has one at its headquarters and another in the warehouse of customer Rowman & Littlefield, Blue Ridge Summit, PA. Called the Chicago Digital Distribution Center (CDDC), it will serve the University of Chicago Press and other scholarly presses served by the Chicago Distribution Center.
Gold Star Acquires DTP System
MIAMI BEACH, FL—Gold Star Printers has purchased an A.B.Dick Digital PlateMaster 2340 direct-to-plate system with ScanMaster digital scanning solution.
Creative Press Changes Hands
EVANSVILLE, IN—Creative Press has been purchased by investor groups Martin Mayfield LLC of Cincinnati and CAC LLC of Chicago, company President Gary Ritchel announced. Creative Press operates three manufacturing plants and produces inserts, outserts and promotional printed products for the pharmaceutical, financial and general commercial printing markets.
PDF Standard Approved by ISO
RESTON, VA—The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved the first of a series of standards for the exchange of digital data using Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies announced. The standard: ISO 15930-1:2001, Graphic technology—Prepress digital data exchange—Use of PDF—Part 1: Complete exchange using CMYK data (PDF/X-1 and PDF/X-1a) is based on an earlier standard developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited Committee for Graphic Arts Standards Technologies (CGATS).
Documation Adds Systems
EAU CLAIRE, WI—A Screen (USA) PlateRite 4000 thermal CTP platesetter and a Trueflow workflow system have been installed at Documation. The Wisconsin company serves national associations, manufacturers and publishers ranging from books and directories to brochures, direct mail pieces, newsletters and annual reports.
GPO Appropriations Approved
WASHINGTON, DC—President Bush signed into law the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2002 that slates $110.6 million for the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). Of the amount, $81 million was approved for printing and binding, and $29.6 million for salaries and expenses.
New President for McQuiddy
NASHVILLE, TN—McQuiddy Printing, a member of the Premier Print Holdings printing concern, has named Jim Cartwright its new president. David L. McQuiddy III relinquished the position to assume the role of chairman. Other realignment of the company's management team includes Webb McQuiddy moving into the role of executive vice president for manufacturing operations.
RIT to Host Sloan Printing Center
ROCHESTER, NY—The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) will become the 13th university nationwide to host a center through the Alfred F. Sloan Foundation when it opens the Sloan Printing Industry Center. The Sloan Foundation chooses an academic community for an industry center based on its expertise in a particular discipline. The center generates a pipeline of data and observations that flow between researchers and industry representatives.
TechBooks Selling Print Division
FAIRFAX, VA—TechBooks has entered into an agreement to sell it print division to a group of TechBooks executive managers, led by Jim Kell Jr., division senior vice president. The sale is part of TechBooks' strategy of focusing on its core business of producing cross-media content. The print division will do business under the name York Graphic Services—the name of the company TechBooks acquired in 1999.
Workflow Shutting Facilities
PALM BEACH, FL—Workflow Management revealed that it would be closing several facilities in order to improve profitability. The company had previously announced it was executing $7.5 million in expense reductions.
