Eastman Kodak

Heidelberg Outlines PRINT 05 Plans KENNESAW, GA—Heidelberg announced plans for its 76,000-square-foot booth at next month's PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 exhibition in Chicago during a pre-show press conference held here recently. One of the main attractions will be the XL 105 Theater—a large-screen theater for live presentations that will house Heidelberg's new Speedmaster XL 105. The first product introduced in the company's new series of high-end offset presses known as the "Maximum Performance Class," it boasts speeds to 18,000 sph. There will be a total of 10 sheetfed presses, in various sizes and configurations, within the Heidelberg exhibit. Outside the XL 105

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.

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Given all the debate about the technology of coatings in recent years, one might think printing plates are an exception to the rule that it is what's below the surfaces that really matters. One thing almost all of the solutions, even analog plates, have in common, though, is an aluminum base. Polyester plates are the exception, of course. This commonality in printing plates hit home earlier this year when vendors notified customers of price increases due to the rising cost of raw materials. Aluminum prices reportedly have risen some 40 percent over the past two years, and higher

Web Printers Hit The Race Track DALLAS—Sun Chemical offered Web Offset Offset Association Conference attendees the opportunity to climb into a NASCAR race car for a high-speed ride around the track at the Texas Motor Speedway. Of the 250 guests in attendance at the event, nearly 160 people elected to ride as passengers in the stock cars, which reached speeds of 170 miles per hour as they sped around the oval track. DiMS! organizing print's entire European staff have relocated to a brand new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art office building in Lichtenvoorde, the Netherlands. The building is equipped with ultra-modern demo spaces and well-equipped training classrooms. KBA North America

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor This time of year, even the most dedicated printer is far more likely to be pondering a trip to the beach than the Windy City in the fall. Nonetheless, planning for PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 is well under way. Billed as this year's largest industry expo for the international graphic arts community, the event is scheduled to run September 9-15 at the McCormick Place Complex in Chicago. The Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC), which puts on the exposition, and a group of industry vendors recently took part in a pre-show media event that highlighted coming attractions. MediaDays

Attendees Soak Up the Views ORLANDO, FL—In a bid to inject new energy into the event and build attendance, the Vue/Point Conference was relocated to sunny Florida for its recent 2005 run. The results were mixed with regard to those goals, but attendees seemed pleased with the event overall. Judging by a show of hands in the opening session, there clearly was a spike in the percentage of first-time attendees. Also, representation by printers—as opposed to vendors—was said to be up. However, the total attendee number held more or less steady from the 2004 event in Washington, DC. There were several topics of

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor Digital printing, by all accounts, isn't what it was even two years ago. Likewise, any similarity between today's digital printing presses/output devices and short-term future technologies will be purely coincidental. Scratch that last statement, for there's one notable exception: the quality of digital printing already has improved and is certainly on the fast track to mainstream acceptance for any type of job, not just those pigeonholed as "digital friendly" applications. More commercial applications are continuously being realized. The masses have certainly gotten that point and are mobilizing the back end of the operation with equipment geared toward the finish

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Even as variable data printing (VDP) capabilities perennially failed to become the next big thing in the industry as a whole, the original business model for success has endured. This archetype is an all-digital operation that identifies itself as a marketing communications firm and not as a printer. It sells solutions and offers marketing expertise to help clients identify opportunities and craft effective applications. The firm also boasts strong IT resources and is likely to offer design, mailing and fulfillment services. It may or may not track responses for clients. A bit more variation has been seen within

Innovate '05 Takes Digital Printing on the Road ROCHESTER, NY—Innovate '05 has begun its 14-city sweep across North America, offering attendees a day-long, free seminar on digital printing. Xerox Corp. is working with more than 25 industry partners to put on the tour. The program is designed to "help print providers and professionals in the marketing, creative and design services fields use digital printing technology to increase productivity, reduce costs, improve work processes and provide more services." Each tour stop will feature a keynote address delivered by Howie Fenton, senior consultant of digital technology, National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL); Bob Tapella, chief of

Focusing on customers and providing one-stop service hardly qualify as revolutionary marketing philosophies. They are about as fresh and original as the covers of hit songs performed by American Idol contestants. In both cases, proper execution is what makes the difference between falling flat and ending on a high note. Building on its base in Mount Pleasant, IA, the top management of Direct Mail Holdings is pursuing that straightforward business proposition. It's positioning the organization as a one-stop shop for direct marketers across the United States and is seeking to exploit the latest digital technology in order to help customers target names better with