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The DRUPA exhibition, scheduled for May 18-31, in Dusseldorf, Germany, is now just one month away. Digital prepress technology trends targeting the international show include new PDF-based workflows, new color management tools and a variety of solutions to further automate front-end functionality. To map out the digital prepress direction of DRUPA 2000, Printing Impressions went direct to the sources . . . Vector VersatilityDennis Aubrey, CEO of the Altamira Group, on the limitless nature of images at DRUPA 2000 and into the next year—when digital images are no longer restricted in size or resolution. The year 2000 will see a production world in which

When Seybold closed the doors to its 1999 San Francisco expo last month, three technology trends stood dominant: the Internet, PDF and the quest for the all-digital workflow. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO If one potent word could sum up the energy, enthusiasm and very direction of Seybold San Francisco, held for the final time this century at the Moscone Center last month, it could easily be: Internet. The Internet, the World Wide Web. Seybold San Francisco was a virtual debutante's ball for the global gateway that is the Internet. New companies emerged as major players for the commercial printing market—all gearing to harness the

Wide-format's color proofing media and general-use consumables are expanding the gloss, durability, consistency and color parameters of their imposing output engines. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Whether the intent is outdoor signage or to generate a contract proof, wide-format imaging is only as effective as the media on which the image is output. Naturally, as with every hot new technology, the output engine gets all the hype—which vendors are manufacturing which output devices, what are the output speeds and color consistencies of wide-format printers currently on the market, and what are the price points of these elite output engines? Output, output, output. What about the

Whether drum or flatbed, today's high-tech scanning systems are allowing prepress departments to do more, create more—even charge more. Here's a look at some of the new technologies and creative techniques empowering prepress with high-voltage scans. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The scanning market, like those of its prepress counterparts, is continuing to evolve, especially the flatbed component. Interesting, though, how much hype is concentrated around the kings of digital output, such as the thermal platesetter—arguably the most hyped digital output device ever to hit electronic prepress. But what of the content creator—the device that enables color images to be digitized, manipulated, then output?

Adobe. Agfa. BARCO Graphics. EFI. Epson. IBM. Indigo. Heidelberg. PageFlex. Scitex. Splash. Varis. Xeikon. Xerox. The movers and shakers of on-demand got together recently in the Big Apple to promote everything from variable-data software to wide-format output to the latest initiatives in PDF functionality, servers and digital cameras. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Between the digital prepress performances of Seybold Boston and Seybold San Francisco, the greats of the on-demand digital printing industry hit the Big Apple with the latest in digital color presses, variable data software, digital cameras—everything and anything designed to boost the short-run performance standards of the on-demand digital printing market.

No longer a small niche consideration, large-format printing is elevating POP and outdoor graphics display markets to new heights, allowing commercial printers to break through new profit ceilings. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The bigger, the better. Wider is better. Big is beautiful. If for nothing else, wide-format printing is an attention grabber. And why not? How can any other form of print convey sheer opulence, tender sensitivity, true magnitude and obvious grandeur with the same, well, monumental proportions as do the wide-format wonders driving new trends in outdoor display graphics, point-of-purchase designs and an array of larger-than-life banners, posters and signage? Why should the

BOSTON—With all the hype and hoopla surrounding the return of Seybold to Boston last month, all roads led to the Hynes Center for the latest advancements in digital prepress, digital printing and "repurposing" content for the Internet. From Adobe to Apple, from Markzware to Epson's Stylus 9000 and from Agfa to Creo, Seybold brought the digital movers and shakers back to Boston, where digital file transfer technologies, digital asset management, color proofing, thermal platesetting and every other degree of digital prepress stood on a very warm, very Bostonian, very welcome, familiar platform. Adobe's John Warnock, president, and Charles Geschke, CEO, laid out their

From Adobe's K2 to Apple's G3, from Markzware's MarkzScout to EPSON's Stylus 9000 and from Agfa's Galileo to Creo's SQUARESpot—Seybold brought the digital movers and shakers back to Boston, where file transfer, asset management, color proofing, thermal platesettind every other degree of digital prepress stood on a welcome, familiar platform. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Seybold, Boston. What a familiar and pleasant ring that name carries. With all the hype and hoopla surrounding the return of Seybold to Boston last month, all roads led to the Hynes Center for the latest advancements in digital prepress, digital printing and "repurposing" content for the Internet.

In the commercial printing market, one technology no longer fits all. Methods for putting ink on paper have multiplied like rabbits. Today's print buyers can choose the method that precisely matches their needs for volume, quality and turnaround. That leaves printers looking for new business strategies. RPL Graphics believes it has found one. This Northern California printer, with annual sales topping $4.6 million, has transformed itself in the last few years and now offers a mix of services aimed at filling every need a customer might have. Company ProfileName: RPL GraphicsLocation: Dublin, CAEmployees: 31Annual Sales: $4.6 millionFamily-owned RPL has 31 employees in three plants

BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Remote proofing may be the ultimate form of collaboration between client and printer—each reviewing a proof rendered at separate locations, thanks to technological advances in color management software, digital proofing devices and digital file delivery services. The benefits of adding remote proofing to a printing organization—outputting less film, buying less chemicals, avoiding shipping costs and time-consuming review periods—seem to position remote proofing as the logical direction for the contract proofing process. So why aren't more prepress firms and commercial printing organizations rushing to add a digital proofer and team that digital proofing device with digital file transfer