AlphaGraphics

Prepress Upgrades Enhance Workflow DETROIT—First came the press, then came the upgrade to new prepress and platesetting technology. Crystal Clear Images runs a Heidelberg GTO press and wanted to update its workflow. Crystal and Anthony Mitchell, the husband and wife owners of the unionized shop, chose Heidelberg’s Prinect Printready prepress system and Suprasetter A52 platesetter. “When people heard that we were installing Heidelberg (prepress equipment), the amount of business influx was incredible,” reports Crystal Mitchell, who began her career as a school teacher in graphic design, before starting her own business from the basement of her house in 1995. The company, which has

BITS AND PIECES WHEN YOU combine new technology with old-school craft and a little in-your-face attitude, the result is side-splitting laughter. And it’s also perhaps the biggest electronic boost for the printing industry. Pazazz, a commercial and package printer based in Montréal, was looking to put together a fun, if a bit unconventional, promotional video. So Warren Werbitt, president and CEO of Pazazz, donned a company uniform and went on an almost four-minute rant near his loading dock that was reminiscent of Dennis Leary’s hyperactive style. The video, called “Printing’s Alive,” was posted on YouTube and immediately took off. By early February, the video

AppForum Covers Digital Print Spread LAS VEGAS—“We now have members on every continent except Antarctica,” boasted Rab Govil, president of PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, during his keynote address at the association’s seventh annual AppForum. “Perhaps we should recruit penguins,” he mused. While the desert chill might have been suitable for the birds, the nearly 450 human attendees were kept busy indoors with the event’s ample agenda of sessions and networking opportunities. Topics of the presentations spanned the technology, business strategies and applications crucial to running a digital printing business, under the banner “A Celebration of Digital Print.” Attendees also were given an opportunity

ROCHESTER, NY—January 29, 2008—PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, announced the 2008 winners of the annual PODi Best Practices Awards on January 29th at the AppForum digital print conference in Las Vegas. These highly anticipated awards recognize outstanding examples of digital print and variable data strategies. “Every year, the awards process gets more competitive as marketers and service providers become more proficient, creative and successful with digital print and personalization. The variety of the winning campaigns reflects new directions and opportunities for our market,” said Rab Govil, President of PODi. “It’s no surprise that the Best Practices awards presentations are a highlight of the AppForum.

The 2012 Printing Impressions 400 list of the largest printing companies in the United States and Canada as ranked by annual sales.

Printers Flock to See Two-Sided Coating DALLAS—Neither heavy rains nor threatening tornadoes could dissuade roughly 75 printers and journalists from visiting Buchanan Visual Communications on April 24 and 25 for Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses’ 2007 National Open House. The violent weather wiped out a planned visit to a Texas Rangers-Seattle Mariners game at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, TX, but the guests were treated to some towering, long drives nonetheless during the “State of Perfection” demonstration. At the core of the open house was a display of the firepower behind Buchanan’s 12-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Diamond 3000R convertible perfector equipped with tower coaters. The dual coaters

Results Suffer from Static IT HAS become commonly accepted that adding variable data to a direct marketing program significantly increases response rates. However, a true control group has often been missing from the evidence cited. Results are typically compared to previous mailings or industry averages, not a static mailing with the same design and message. Alerus Financial, a North Dakota-based banking institution, decided to include very systematic testing as part of its first application of variable data in a program designed to obtain new loan customers. The company wanted to compare variable data marketing to static methods and establish a baseline for its future

Label Art has enhanced its online ordering capabilities (www.labelart.com). Customers can use this new service to place catalog orders, upload artwork, view proofs and track the status of their orders 24/7, with an automatic notification of shipment when the order is complete. IWCO Direct, a national provider of integrated direct mail solutions, has joined the growing membership of The Print Council. As a member, IWCO adds its support to the alliance of companies dedicated to increasing the market for printed materials. Grand Junction, CO-based Colorado Printing is expanding its presence into Arizona, and it has hired veteran print sales rep Paul Mullen to help

CARY, NC—Jan. 9, 2007—PROOF-it-ONLINE ( www.proofitonline.com ), a provider of online proofing and approval management technology, today announced that AlphaGraphics will deploy the company’s enterprise solution to streamline workflow, reduce hard costs and enhance the customer experience, replacing traditional proof delivery methods, which can be inefficient and expensive. With more than 260 business centers located throughout the U.S. and in eight countries worldwide, AlphaGraphics is a leader in providing visual communications solutions with design, copy and print services, and state-of-the-art technology to franchisees and their customers. “At AlphaGraphics we are constantly looking for ways to provide the best and most advanced resources available,

Corporate Express Document & Print Management in Wichita, KS, was the recipient of a 2006 Supplier of Excellence Award from Hospira Inc., a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. Dan Miller, finishing manager at Ripon Printers, has retired and was replaced by Randy Hartl, who joined the Ripon, WI-based company in May. Great Lake Integrated (GLI) has announced two staff appointments. Steve Caskey is the new warehouse manager at the GLDirect facility in Avon Lake, OH, and Timothy Hogan is an account executive based at GLI’s Cleveland headquarters. Cadmus Communications has hired Andy Johnson as executive vice president of print services for Cadmus’ Publisher Services Group. In this role,