Eastman Kodak

Quark Out to Make Seven a Lucky Number NEW YORK CITY—Competition is said to be a good thing. To the extent that’s true, these are great days for users of page layout software. Quark Inc. clearly has been tested by Adobe Systems’ challenge to its once near monopolistic position in the graphic arts market. It is responding technologically with the release of QuarkXPress 7 and offering inducements for users to upgrade, thereby keeping them in the fold. Most of the enhancements are targeted to the design community, naturally, but the company insists it kept an eye toward print service providers (PSPs) during development

Digital Printing Gear New to Boston Area LOWELL, MA—King Printing has added a Kodak NexPress 2100 digital production color press, Kodak NexTreme DL-1000 variable data client-server package and Kodak NexTreme DL-100 variable data software. Adi Chinai, joint managing director (pictured), says the installation has helped grow the education and trade book publishing segments of his business by giving customers quicker time to market. Printing Excellence Celebrated by GAA PHILADELPHIA—The Graphic Arts Association (GAA) recently held its 35th annual Neographics awards ceremony and banquet to celebrate quality printing, as well as Ben Franklin’s 300th birthday. Riegel Printing of Ewing, NJ, was the Prisco 2006 Power

IT HAS taken almost a decade, but the adoption of soft—or virtual—proofing now seems to be on a trajectory similar to the one for computer-to-plate production. Critical color and press-side applications still could be considered in the early adopter stage, but the number of users is growing and a much larger group is becoming open to the possibility. The product category also continues to expand, both in terms of the solutions offered and the applications they support. In just about a year, the number of vendors offering SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) certified systems has gone from two to five, for example.

BITS AND PIECES Someone’s Looking Out For Fakes A recent edition of Bits & Pieces chronicled the latest printing technologies that have made counterfeiting U.S. money nearly impossible for anyone but the most sophisticated of thieves. But even with the bevy of bells and whistles meshed in as security features, I wondered just how many people—particularly minimum wagers in the retail sector—would be capable (or care enough) to root out any funny money trying to be passed off as genuine. Well, it’s time to put that cynicism to rest. A short while back, while lunching at one of Philly’s greasy spoons, I handed the

VALMEYER, IL--MAR Graphics has put the finishing touches on a deal to obtain a 10-color Muller Martini Concepta web press equipped with interstation UV drying and two-sided video web inspection. The machine will address both commercial printing and direct mail production needs for MAR Graphics.The company also recently installed a Kodak prepress workflow system at…

Quad Workers Nailed in Scam HARTFORD, WI—Two former employees at Quad/Graphics’ magazine printing plant here were arrested and charged in connection with an international insider trading scheme that generated $6.7 million, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Former temporary employee Nickolaus Shuster and recently terminated Quad worker Juan Renteria were charged with being sources of illegal insider information, the newspaper reported. Supplying investor tips from an investment feature that appears in BusinessWeek in advance of the street date allegedly netted more than $345,000 in profits. Aurand, Vista Buying Outlook NEENAH, WI—Led by former Banta CEO Calvin Aurand, Vista Group Holdings is acquiring Outlook Group for $13.50 per

SOMETIMES A simple plan can be made to look brilliant when it is backed by hard work and dedication to quality customer service. But perhaps what has really helped Inserts East, a free-standing insert printing specialist based in Pennsauken, NJ, is its ability to lay low in a niche populated by some large, national printers. Make no mistake about it. Inserts East—though coined a boutique printer by company President Nick Maiale—is not a small potatoes establishment. At $50 million a year in annual sales, it is the envy of many smaller, mainstream commercial operations. But Nick and his father Gino—who managed the company from its inception

NOT MANY Americans made the trip to the largest English-speaking trade show in the world in 2006. In Europe, virtually everyone carries a passport for identification, but here in the U.S. a driver’s license is the norm. Because our country is so large and self-sufficient, Americans are generally loathe to travel internationally. So Americans are not expected at IPEX, the once-every-four-years trade show held in Birmingham, UK. But, in many respects, it is our loss. Those who made the trip for the eight-day show saw the latest in printing technology across a wide spectrum of processes and business applications. Although the number of

Quad Workers Nailed in Scam HARTFORD, WI—Two former employees at Quad/Graphics’ magazine printing plant here were arrested and charged in connection with an international insider trading scheme that generated $6.7 million, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Former temporary employee Nickolaus Shuster and recently terminated Quad worker Juan Renteria were charged with being sources of illegal insider information, the newspaper reported. Supplying investor tips from an investment feature that appears in BusinessWeek in advance of the street date allegedly netted more than $345,000 in profits. Aurand, Vista Buying Outlook NEENAH, WI—Led by former Banta CEO Calvin Aurand, Vista Group Holdings is acquiring Outlook Group for $13.50 per

“Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing—the result.”—Vince Lombardi THE MEETING had just broken up between a commercial printer and a group of Moore Corp. senior executives, led by Robert Burton, and some subordinates. Burton had come to town to discuss acquiring this particular commercial printer, and was preparing for his trip back home to Stamford, CT. Before leaving, a thirsty Burton asks one of his lower-level subordinates to go back into the facility for a soda. So the employee heads back inside and ambles into the conference room, where