Epson America

PROBABLY THE fastest area of growth in the entire printing spectrum is the sector for wide-format ink-jet production. A decade ago, this type of digital process was still in its infancy but, since that time, it has passed through many formats to become an accepted technology and not, simply, a novelty whose ultimate value was questionable. Today’s machines cover all budgets and a vast range of end applications and ink technologies. Wide-format production has become a relevant part of any printing exhibition that looks at current and future trends across all disciplines. With Drupa 2008 representing a major worldwide platform for new developments,

A “WHATEVER it takes attitude” in the business world may sound cliché, but Philadelphia-based Innovation Printing & Communications has walked the walk—responding to customer needs by adding new equipment, consolidating into a single facility to optimize workflows and increasing its headcount with 20 new employees. From its outset in 1973, Innovation was a boutique shop, specializing in annual reports and other high-end projects. Owners Jeff Jones, president, and Dave Carpenter, vice president of sales and operations, wanted to transform the business away from the seasonal nature of annual report printing into a commercial sheetfed offset and digital printing operation. Jones and Carpenter bought

SAN JOSE, CA—August 16, 2007—The Color Management Group, headquartered in San Jose, CA, will be among the top organizations demonstrating color management, digital proofing, prepress workflow and G7 related solutions for the graphic communications, prepress, commercial and package printing markets at the upcoming GRAPH EXPO, September 9-12, 2007, at McCormick Place South in Chicago, IL. This event is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition and conference of its kind in the Americas – with over 600 firms exhibiting. “We’re thrilled to be participating in this top-ranked show with our 20x30 booth. No place is more important for gathering information on the newest techniques and technologies

Here’s an exclusive, PRE-SHOW PREVIEW showcasing new products submitted by many of the exhibitors that will be displaying their wares next month in Chicago. Colter & Peterson will showcase the BASA 3, which features an automatic jogging system that can automatically form layers of printed sheets, align them accurately and transport them to the subsequent cutting process. The BASA 3 is appropriate for paper from 16-lb. bond to 125-lb. tag, and is effective when combined with a modern, rear-table-feeding system. Existing gripper transport systems can be retrofitted. Visit www.piworld.com/infocenter: enter #377 MBO America will introduce the Super KTZ, featuring a knife-folding unit that

Viewing On Demand BOSTON—Changing locations continues to be part of the story from the On Demand Conference & Expo, which last month completed its 2007 run at the (nearly) new Boston Convention & Exposition Center (opened in 2004). The event first moved from its long-standing home in New York City to Philadelphia for a two-year stint and now on to Boston through 2008. Close to 200 exhibitors had booths in the On Demand portion of the show floor, which the event continues to share with the AIIM Expo. New, or at least now commercialized, color printing systems added up to the largest category

Centenarian Printer Continues to Evolve BARBERTON, OH—Davis Printing is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The company was founded in 1906 by John R. Davis., who produced a weekly newspaper and provided printing services to the public. Today, the full-service commercial printer offers sheetfed offset and digital printing, complete bindery, mailing and fulfillment, and Web-based services. Recently, Davis Printing also acquired Merrick Graphics. Steve Merrick was named Davis Printing’s vice president of marketing and president of the new creative division, Merrick Design Group. ALABAMA MONTGOMERY—Wells Printing has installed a Sakurai 675SD sheetfed press with coater. It was purchased through dealer Independent Graphic Services.

Presses Head for Hawkeye State HIAWATHA, IA—Two 41˝ KBA Rapida 105 sheetfed presses with coaters have been installed at Cedar Graphics. The first press is a six-color Rapida 105 sheetfed press; the second is a 10-color, five-over-five Rapida 105 long perfector with a roll-to-sheet feeder. CALIFORNIA GLENDALE—Color Depot has installed a Kluge EHF series press. The print trade shop included the preload continuous magazine option that allows the machine to be reloaded while in motion (for continuous feeding). The EHF press will be used primarily for foil stamping and embossing small boxes and CD sleeves. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO—A new six-color Komori Lithrone 28

Bindery Gear Heads to East Coast Shop LEBANON, PA—Colortech Inc., a full-service commercial printer, recently installed a Vijuk 321-T saddlestitcher. Things Get Bigger in Texas After Install MESQUITE, TX— IntegraColor Inc. has purchased a five-color, 81˝ KBA Rapida 205 sheetfed press, making IntegraColor the first printer in the Southwest with 81˝ litho capabilities. The press has been configured with a special board-handling package and is also to be equipped with UV facilities for printing on plastics. It also incorporates an ICS slitter system and non-stop pile changing for the feeder and delivery. KBA has added its own Densitronic quality control

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 MARK SMITH Technology Editor Not to get philosophical, but if a word comes to mean everything, there's a danger of it ending up to mean nothing. The digital revolution was already on its way to making "workflow" a catch-all term in prepress, when the rise of CIM (computer-integrated manufacturing) extended its use to the entire print production process. As a result, an ever wider array of products now can be called digital workflow solutions. For the purposes of this article, the definition is being limited to the evolution of what used to be called prepress systems. Vendors have responded to this trend with