Buhrs Americas

Allegra Names Heidelberg USA ‘Supplier of the Year’ Winner NORTHVILLE, MI—Allegra Network honored Heidelberg USA with the Supplier of the Year award at its 2008 Allegra Network convention. Allegra Network franchise members vote to choose the winner. In April 2007, Heidelberg served as host for Allegra Network’s annual summit trip to Heidelberg, Germany. More than 160 of Allegra Network’s top franchise members participated in the event. The Allegra Network consists of Allegra Print & Imaging, American Speedy Printing Centers, Insty-Prints and Signs Now. Multi-City Road Show Deemed a Success MINNEAPOLIS, MN—Buhrs Americas and Lake Image Systems teamed up and headed for the road

Shareholders OK Vertis Plan BALTIMORE—Vertis shareholders approved the company’s prepackaged plan of organization. Once the plan becomes effective, Vertis can proceed with its merger with American Color Graphics (ACG). The restructuring will allow Vertis to reduce debt and interest cost, refocus investments and complete both the reorganization and merger in a couple of months, according to Mike DuBose, chairman and CEO of Vertis. Direct Group Makes Investment SWEDESBORO, NJ—Direct marketing specialist Direct Group has purchased 32 Océ VarioStream 8750 systems to upgrade capacity; increase uptime, speed and operational efficiencies; and take advantage of some of the industry’s latest digital technology, including flexible color

FULLERTON, CA—Mailing specialist Advanced Image Direct has obtained six BB700 high-speed envelope inserting systems from Buhrs Americas. The new inserters, ordered during the exhibition, complement five similar Buhrs machines on hand at the company. They will increase capacity at Advanced Image Direct to 80 million pieces per month, according to Frank Verrill, company president.

MINNEAPOLIS—9 June 2008—Buhrs Americas—the North American subsidiary of the leading international provider of mailing solutions—announced today the sale of six Buhrs BB700 high speed envelope inserting systems to Advanced Image Direct, a major mailer in Fullerton, California. The six new inserters complement five similar Buhrs machines already owned and operated by Advanced Image Direct. Announcing the sale, Buhrs Americas President and CEO Michael Aumann, said: “Buhrs Americas is proud of the confidence shown by Advanced Image Direct in ordering a second round of Buhrs products. We are pleased to play a key role in the further expansion of one of the

Behind the Scenes R&D on New Line of Eco-Friendly Inks CARLSTADT, NJ—At Sun Chemical’s Carlstadt Technical Center, a research and development facility, more than 100 scientists and support staff from around the globe test the analysis, surface characterization, interfacial dynamics and synthesis of new inks. Some new developments at the facility include Earth sheetfed inks, which produce only 2 percent VOCs, and offer sharp lithographic dot fidelity, high-trap efficiency, well-maintained density during press runs and fast color accuracy; and Liberty eco-friendly inks that offer sharp press stability and ultra-fast drying; the WetFlex printing process, which allows converters to print flexible films at high speed

Rotterdam, THE NETHERLANDS—25 April 2008—Buhrs, a leading international provider of mailing and fulfilment solutions, will be presenting the latest developments in envelope inserting and poly and paper wrapping systems at its booth C46 in hall 14 at drupa. “The main objective behind all of the applications we will have on exhibit is to achieve further increases in the productivity of mailing by raising net output. We help our customers achieve this by delivering higher yields with smaller labour forces, eliminating jams, errors and defects, running at higher speeds, improving the integration of processes and devoting less time to inspections, set ups and changeovers,” explains

Goss Recognized For Global Resources Management BOSTON—At its Manufacturing in the 21st Century Summit held here recently, The Aberdeen Group presented the Performance Excellence Award to Goss International. The award recognizes Goss for excellence in managing global resources to meet complex, engineer-to-order (ETO) manufacturing requirements—citing its manufacturing operations, supply chain management and information technology support that contribute to exceptional product performance. Böwe Bell + Howell has entered into an agreement in principle to acquire OPEX Corp.’s Postal Technologies division, which includes a line of mail sorters and software products. The company will also assume all of OPEX Postal Technologies’ maintenance and licensing

MONTREAL—Transcontinental plans to invest C$20 million in equipment for its South Shore printing facility here. The gear is ticketed for Transcontinental Interweb Montreal, which produces newspaper and commercial products such as catalogs and magazines.Included in the investments are a Sunday 3000 web press and a SP2200 stitcher, both from Goss International, along with a Buhrs…

By Erik Cagle A dozen manufacturers were asked to list the primary differentiators that set apart multiple brands of collating equipment. It may come as no surprise to learn that virtually no one mentioned the price factor. It seems there are numerous attributes that factor into choosing a collator that is the right fit for a particular printer or trade finisher. The depth of choices on the market only underscores the importance of looking past the price tag, as there is a collator for every need. Versatility is a key ingredient for serving the evolving needs of clients, according to Tony Cockerham of Buhrs

BY CHRIS BAUER While some sectors of the graphic arts industry moved to a more automated and computer-dependent process years ago, binding and finishing equipment seemed to lag behind. At Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2002, it was apparent that the bindery is no longer the blue-collar cousin of the pressroom and prepress department. Automation can now be found in just about every corner of the bindery. Today's newest machines incorporate operator touchscreen interfaces, servo motors and automated makereadies. And with industry standards such as JDF and CIP3/CIP4 slowly catching on, an even more sophisticated, computer-integrating finishing department is on the horizon. Software for