Offset Printing - Sheet-Fed

THERE ARE those for whom life is a game to be won, a foe to be vanquished, or a trial to endure. And then there are those for whom life is a treasure to appreciate, a companion to love and a wonderful memory waiting to happen. Ralph Johnson fits into the latter category.

IT WOULD be safe to say that Jim Mayes is having the type of year that most printing executives would dream about, and it’s not due to a huge influx in the bottom line for his company, ColorCraft of Virginia.

NO ONE can blame Michael Keene for having grandiose dreams. Who among us, in our youth, didn’t dream of becoming a professional athlete, a rock star, an astronaut, or perhaps a fireman? Maybe that dream was to run away and join the circus.

AT ondemandcolor, Long Island City, NY, being a successful commercial printer means more than just offering affordable, high-quality offset printing.

Industry consolidation, economic uncertainties, soaring costs for raw materials and energy and many other forces are changing our industry at the speed of thought. At NPES’ 75th Annual Conference, November 15-17 in St. Pete Beach, FL, participants will have an opportunity to learn firsthand how one progressive print organization managed to overcome these challenges. Read on for this preview of how, by developing strategic partnerships with industry manufacturers and service providers, the Valpak Manufacturing Center in St. Petersburg, FL has become a showcase of automated print production—and has managed to hold the line on costs for its customers, increased its productivity and morphed its employees into a skilled workforce for tomorrow. Valpak is one of North America’s leading direct marketers with $260 million in annual revenue and about 1,200 employees in Pinellas County. Valpak reaches more than 45 million unique addresses each month in the United States and Canada and is owned by Largo-based Cox Target Media.

KENNESAW, GA—September 29, 2008—Heidelberg today announced the lineup of its Print Media Academy (PMA) educational seminars open to all 2008 Graph Expo attendees. Industry authorities such as NAPL's Andrew Paparozzi and PrintBuyersOnline.com's Suzanne Morgan will join Heidelberg packaging, prepress and sheetfed experts to offer a total of 15 free seminars covering the latest industry trends and business issues. Heidelberg's PMA provides industry training and seminars year-round in key locations across the globe. At Graph Expo, the PMA will temporarily come to Chicago's McCormick Place to serve as a hub of industry thought leadership during the tradeshow, to be held Oct. 26-29.

WESTMONT, IL—09/29/08—Attendees for next month’s Graph Expo can save time and jumpstart their research in preparation for the show by checking out manroland’s newly updated Web site at www.manroland.us.com. manroland’s clever approach of using video and pop-ups gives visitors an insightful preview about its PRINTVALUE program and other events planned around the show, which runs from October 26-29 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

WÜRZBURG, GERMANY—09/26/08—Following a supervisory board meeting to discuss the latest financial figures, Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA) management board announced a downward adjustment in the 2008 earnings forecast issued on 31 March and reaffirmed at the AGM on 19 June in the wake of a highly successful Drupa trade fair. KBA anticipates a slide in group sales for the current financial year (ending 31 December) from €1.6bn to around €1.5bn. Pre-tax earnings, which were originally set to equal last year’s figure of €63.2m, will turn negative in view of a considerable slump in sales of sheetfed presses, provisions for consolidating sheetfed production activities, and adjustments in inventory value.

WILLISTON, VT—09/24/08—KBA North America, a global press manufacturer, will be promoting a triumvirate of its abilities–leadership in proven large-format press (both straight and perfecting) technology; the widest range of press models (from 20-inch to 81-inch), and its stability as a 190-year-old family-owned business–at Graph Expo 08 in Booth 4429 from October 26-29, 2008 in McCormick Place South, Chicago. KBA is the only press manufacturer that can lay claim to all three of these abilities.

MONTREAL—Some creditors of bankruptcy-protected Quebecor World have asked the court for permission to file suit against the printer, seeking $376 million they claim was paid to 14 private lenders prior to bankruptcy to buy back its debt.