Agfa Graphics

Bridging the Digital Divide BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Trade shows are supposed to be a forum for presenting solutions to meet the needs of attendees. What many people took away from workflow displays at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, however, was a bag full of questions . . . and maybe the odd poster or two, a foam sword, canisters of M&Ms, etc. That doesn't mean attendees weren't looking to buy. Exhibitors were more ardent than usual about the quality of the leads they were getting, and they claimed to also be pleased with the quantity. "Turned the corner" was a popular

alabama TUSCALOOSA—Printing Services at the University of Alabama has purchased a Presto saddle stitching system from Muller Martini to expand its full-service finishing capabilities. florida HIALEAH—Franklin/Trade Graphics recently held an open house to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the merger of Franklin Graphics, Trade Litho and Little River Press. About 200 guests got a look at the company's two new six-color, 40˝ sheetfed presses—a Mitsubishi 3F-13 and Mitsubishi Diamond 3000LS. Among the special guests at the open house were Stanley C. Panther, mascot of the Florida Panthers hockey team, and Billy the Marlin, mascot of the Florida Marlins baseball team. MIAMI—Solo Printing has

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor The goal is basically the same regardless of what name is given to the technology—no-process, process-free or non-process plates. Since computer-to-plate production is all about taking steps, variables and labor out of the workflow, it naturally follows that people would look to eliminate the chemistry-based plate processor. The leading plate manufacturers have very similar takes on the future of this development, even if they differ on what to call it. This shared vision begins with a focus on non-ablative switchable polymer and/or on-press development systems as promising technologies. That is, with the exception of Presstek Inc. in Hudson, NH.

By Marie Alonso Business Development Consultant AdsML is a major step forward in the 15-year quest of media to complete the process of business-to-business communication of advertising documents. Essentially an XML "envelope"—the AdsML Framework—this new standard will not replace existing standards targeting electronic relays of print publication advertising transactions. What it will do, however, is help these existing standards communicate more effectively, resulting in a new potential for today's publishing community. Today, advertising data can be re-keyed as often as 15 times per ad, according to a recent European study. Not only is this massively inefficient, but each time the data is re-entered, the

Xerox Corp. has received the 2003 IEEE Corporate Innovation Recognition award for its work that created the DocuTech product line. The IEEE recognized Xerox "for its DocuTech product line, which unified digital electronics, computing and communications with xerography to create the print-on-demand industry," says Michael Adler, IEEE president. X-Rite Inc. has acquired the assets of Monaco Systems, a Massachusetts-based company that develops and distributes color management software to the graphic arts and photo markets. This $10.6 million asset purchase, funded by a combination of cash and stock, (some of which is subject to certain vesting requirements), includes the entire Monaco line of color management

News Fit for Printing Extra! Extra! Read all about it. The graphic arts industry is launching a new campaign to promote the use of print as a replacement for, and complement to, other media. I know, grizzled industry veterans might point out, other efforts have been tried in the past—typically losing steam over time. But this effort has some of the biggest industry guns behind it as founding members, including vendors such as Agfa, EFI, Heidelberg, IBM, MAN Roland, Scitex Digital and Xerox, as well as prominent printers like Mail-Well, RR Donnelley, Quad/Graphics, Sandy Alexander and Franchise Services (the parent company of PIP

Lastra America has merged its Western Lithotech and Lastra America operations into a single business unit, Lastra America, headquartered in Danbury, CT. PagePath Technologies has, for a second time, received the Product of the Year award from the PrintImage International association, formerly the National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP). During the association's annual conference, PagePath was presented the award for its PDF2U Web-based orderflow system. xpedx Import Group, the exclusive Ryobi distributor in the U.S., has named Graphco, of Solon, OH, as its dealer for Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. Muller Martini has appointed Thomas Duckett as its New England sales manager. He now heads sales

VERNON HILLS, IL—Scheduling flexibility is what sets Aim Business Printers apart from other printers, asserts Richard Sussman, vice president and general manager. To support production of run lengths that vary from 500 to 1 million sheets, the shop installed a PlateRite 4000II thermal plate recorder and Trueflow PDF workflow from Screen (USA). It also implemented Screen's Spekta hybrid AM/FM screening technology. (www.screenusa.com) NORFOLK, VA—The Virginian-Pilot (daily circulation of 200,000 copies) has purchased two Polaris X violet-laser computer-to-plate platesetters from Autologic, an Agfa Co. (www.pilotonline.com/www.agfa.com) HOUSTON—Champagne Fine Printing is adding an HP Indigo digital printing press to assist clients in

alabama MONTGOMERY—The installation of an Agfa-based CTP system has been completed at Montgomery Living Press. Its Apogee Create Series 3 workflow and EskoScan F14 are now in full production along with the Agfa Xcalibur 45 with online TP 105 plate processor. arkansas ROGERS—The RoArk Group will implement a fully integrated software solution from CRC Information Systems, including THE System's Commercial Estimating, Dynamic Scheduling and Automatic Data Collection modules, as well as complete accounting, fulfillment and e-commerce applications. california OXNARD—Custom Printing has purchased a 28˝ Heidelberg cylinder diecutting machine to bolster its workflow. The new equipment is expected to more than double the speed of

BY MARK SMITH What printer doesn't sell quality? The difference at Kirkwood Printing is the standard by which it is measured. Even when a client has signed off on a job, the work still must be deemed acceptable by the press manager or owner, as well as the lead press operator. "One of the defining attributes of Kirkwood is the length of time a client spends on a press proof. A lot of times the client makes no adjustment," reports Stan Monfette, prepress director. "With our production standards and emphasis on really getting to know our clients, we are able to quickly give them