Eastman Kodak

Postcards Get Foot in Door Variable data marketing holds great potential, especially for retail business applications that can connect personalized communication with buying patterns. Shoe Carnival (www.shoecarnival.com) tapped the technology for a successful traffic generation campaign based on an existing loyalty program. Shoe Carnival is a multi-state discount shoe retail chain with more than 250 stores in the South and Midwest. [ The Proposed Solution ] A direct mail campaign was developed targeting members of the chain's Savings Club, and personalized messages were to be communicated via colorful postcards. The objective was to reconnect with those loyalty club customers who had

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Industry vendors continue to weave a convoluted web of interconnecting technologies and business relationships. Imagine, for a moment, if all of such connections between exhibitors at PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 had been represented physically by running strings between their booths. The result likely would have rivaled the work of even the most industrious spider. Quiet a few new strands would have been added just at the show, particularly in the areas of interfacing offset and digital workflows and marketing of new plate technologies. Though not expressly sold as JDF (Job Definition Format) solutions, that technology generally

Daly, Frontenac Seek Specialties CHICAGO—Private equity investment firm Frontenac and Ronald Daly, former president of RR Donnelley Print Solutions, have created a business partnership to acquire and grow specialty printers and other print solutions companies. Daly worked with Donnelley for 38 years. EPI Cos., Display Printers Merge MARIETTA, GA—The EPI Companies, based here, has acquired Display Printers, a manufacturer of printed merchandising displays. EPI specializes in marketing support for corporate clients, including creative services, traditional and digital print, logistics, premiums and online solutions. Unions Pressure Schawk CHICAGO—With its Union Network International (UNI) Congress taking place here, about 100 labor delegates, union leaders and activists decided to pay an

Jetrion will move into a new 35,000-square-foot facility in Ypsilanti, MI, in early 2006. The company also has announced the addition of Pitman Co. as a distributor of its ink-jet systems and inks. Kompac, a division of Day International, is celebrating the successful installation of its 100,000th Kompac automatic dampening system. In other news, the company announced the addition of three new team members: Mike Scaglione as director of sales worldwide; Charles Gray as director of supply chain management; and Carmen Costa as marketing manager. Böwe Bell + Howell has launched its Website, www.bbhsupplies.com, offering an expanded product line and supported by a 24-hour

Pulling a Winner Out Of Its Digital Press Xerox Corp. has named Lorraine Press, a Salt Lake City-based commercial printing operation, as "Best of Show" winner in its Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging Awards. An independent panel of experts awarded Lorraine Press the highest combined ratings for its winning piece, the "Marvello Flipbook Invitation." Printed on a Xerox DocuColor 8000 digital press using a Creo color server, QuarkXPress software and Darwin design tools, the innovative direct mail piece invited potential customers to the printer's open house. Four different versions were created—each with a colorful magic theme—and each copy was personalized

Agfa Talks Tech With Printers NORTH BERGEN, NJ—Agfa recently held a one-day "Technology Showcase" for area printers, featuring its chemistry-free CTP solutions and Sublima XM screening. Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa's senior marketing manager, Digital Solutions, gave attendees an overview in a formal presentation and then two of the company's customers shared their first-hand experiences. John Santangelo, executive vice president of H&S Graphics in Lodi, NJ, conducted demonstrations of Azura aluminum plates being imaged by an Acento thermal platesetter for chemistry-free CTP production. The family owned, 10-person general commercial shop made the move to that system after trying a competitive technology. According to Tom Santangelo, president,

Helping Dealers Sell More Tires [ The Business Objective ] Manufacturers in competitive industries like automotive products need every advantage to help their dealers stand out in the marketplace. Bridgestone (www.bridgestoneamericas.com) is one of the world's largest manufacturers of tires and rubber products, with more than 1,500 dealers across Canada and the United States. With dozens of products, collateral management and fulfillment for this network could easily become a branding and logistical nightmare. Bridgestone corporate marketing sought a solution that would eliminate these problems, and make it easier for dealers and retailers to develop advertisements and other marketing materials. Another goal

Kodak Continues Integration, Debuts New Products ROCHESTER, NY—With the PRINT 05 show falling in early September, Eastman Kodak had little time to enjoy the honeymoon period with its acquisitions. The exhibition would serve as the major coming-out party for its newly integrated operations that wed the former Creo Inc., Kodak Polychrome Graphics, NexPress Solutions, Kodak Versamark and Encad entities to form Kodak's Graphic Communications Group (GCG). GCG officials provided an update on their integration efforts and announced several new products shown at PRINT 05 during a recent press and analyst summit. "Kodak (today) is a combination of the 11 or 12 best companies

SEWICKLEY, PA—A panel of independent judges dubbed 17 innovative technologies worthy of 2005 PIA/GATF InterTech Technology Awards. The winners were chosen from a field of 52 technology nominees. Winners will be presented with Lucite InterTech stars during an annual banquet at the 2005 PIA/GATF fall administrative meetings, November 10-13, in San Francisco. The following is a list of the companies and their honored technologies: Metrix v1.5, LithoTechnics Pty Ltd. and Alterio Associates; Chameleon, Böttcher America; PDF Compare and PDF Merge, Creo Inc.; in-line coating for digital presses, NexPress Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions (Eastman Kodak); in-line coating for digital presses, Xeikon Print Protector, Xeikon International/Punch Graphix; Arrowlith UV,

The Final Countdown Exhibiors are scurrying to make final preparations for their booths. Visitors who procrastinated are just now pre-registering for the mega-show, and scrambling to find what's become a dwindling supply of hotel rooms in downtown Chicago. With nearly 800 booths filling almost 750,000 net square feet of exhibit space, roughly 70,000 people are expected to converge on McCormick Place next month during the seven-day run of PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05. If you've never travelled to the mammoth Drupa exhibition in Germany, this international show is the only event held domestically that even comes close in comparison. With renewed industry optimism, expectations are high.