Exstream Software

IN THIS age of buzzword bingo and the “go big or don’t go at all” extreme lifestyle, it’s understandable that the printing industry should continue to see a string of next big things. Ultimately, market realities and technology considerations have tempered at least the pace of each of the predicted revolutions, starting with digital printing, then the dotcom gold rush, one-to-one marketing, JDF and now transpromotional (transpromo) printing. That transpromo represents a significant business opportunity is not in question, although there are differences of opinion about how fast the market will develop. On the bullish side, the InfoTrends Inc. research firm, based in Weymouth,

ROCHESTER, NY—January 29, 2008—PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, announced the 2008 winners of the annual PODi Best Practices Awards on January 29th at the AppForum digital print conference in Las Vegas. These highly anticipated awards recognize outstanding examples of digital print and variable data strategies. “Every year, the awards process gets more competitive as marketers and service providers become more proficient, creative and successful with digital print and personalization. The variety of the winning campaigns reflects new directions and opportunities for our market,” said Rab Govil, President of PODi. “It’s no surprise that the Best Practices awards presentations are a highlight of the AppForum.

PALO ALTO, CA—Hewlett-Packard (HP) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Exstream Software, which provides enterprise software that streamlines the creation and delivery of personalized documents and other communications materials.Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Exstream, a portfolio company of American Capital Strategies, will be integrated into the Web Services and Software business unit…

Penn Graphics’ Owners Donate Pennsylvania Farmland for Preservation HAMBURG, PA—By adding more than 100 acres to the total, the enrollment of Benjamin and Patricia Scheffler’s farm into Berks County’s Agricultural Conservation Easement program enabled it to surpass the 50,000 acres preserved milestone. The property is also home to Penn Graphics Equipment, which is owned by the Scheffler family. (Ben is retired from the firm.) State and local government officials, county farmers, agricultural business owners, local media and dozens of invited guests were on hand at a recent event marking the Schefflers’ commitment. Currently, Pennsylvania leads the nation in farmland preservation with more

LEXINGTON, KY—Richard Troska has been appointed president and CEO of Exstream Software. He replaces Davis Marksbury, who will remain as chairman of the company’s board of directors.Troska, a former executive with IBM, has held various management positions with Exstream over the past four years.

Transpromo, adding marketing messages to bills/statements, is a rarity in today’s business climate—a printing segment that promises strong growth. Unfortunately, that spending is likely to come out of a company’s traditional direct mail budget. It’s also not clear if commercial printers are well positioned to compete for this business. According to research done by InfoTrends, a Questex Co., color digital output of transpromo work totaled more than 1.6 billion pieces in 2006. It’s projecting the annual output to approach 22 billion pieces by 2010, for a 91 percent compound annual growth rate. Several factors contribute to the bullish outlook for this market segment. 1)

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

PORTLAND—January 29, 2007—Wright Imaging Solutions in affiliation with Wright Business Forms, Inc. (d.b.a. Wright Business Graphics) today announced the completion of the purchase of American Imaging Solutions. The acquisition creates one of the Northwest’s largest and most robust statement processing and print-on-demand centers exclusively serving the distributor community. “This new enterprise takes Wright Imaging Solutions [www.wbgppm.com] well beyond our traditional roots in statement processing and aligns us with the rapidly expanding direct mail industry”, said Daniel Adkison, President & COO of the combined companies. “Our west coast distributor partners now have access to a full complement of cutting edge print-on-demand

THE FIFTH annual PIA/GATF Variable Data and Personalization Conference, held November 12-14 in Phoenix, will feature more than two days of sessions to help companies advance their capabilities. This special supplement has been designed to highlight some of the key conference topics and speakers. Attendees will hear case studies from the Canadian Conservative Party and Move.com that provide a behind-the-scenes look at effective uses of VDP. Three separate tracks, a total of 21 sessions, are being offered. Management sessions will include: Building an Efficient Cost/Financial Model; Liability/Security Issues; Managing a Multimedia Company; Transitioning from Transactional to Marketing; as well as Profiting from Digital

Open House Event Deemed a Success LINCOLNSHIRE, IL—Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A.) hosted a technology open house recently at the company’s headquarters here. Billed as “Diamond Days,” the event focused on the theme “New Technology Opening New Worlds,” exemplified by the latest advancements in the Diamond series 40˝ sheetfed press lineup. Highlighted were the Diamond 3000LX press, the Diamond 3000TP Tandem Perfector and the new Mabeg RS 104 in-line reel sheeter. Wausau Paper announced several new hires in the marketing department for its Printing and Writing sector. Jennifer Cox has joined Wausau as product manager. Andrea Alstad takes over as brand manager for the