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,
Flint Group
Flint Ink, XSYS Print Merge ANN ARBOR, MI—Flint Ink and XSYS Print Solutions of Stuttgart, Germany, have agreed to merge. The combination creates a global ink supplier with revenues of roughly $2.6 billion and with about 8,000 employees. Pending regulatory approval, the deal is slated to be finalized around September 30. XSYS was created by the 2004 merger of BASF Printing Systems and ANI Printing Inks. Finnish Paper Lockout Ends HELSINKI, FINLAND—Finland's major paper manufacturers and unions representing more than one million forest industry workers finally reached a labor agreement after being urged to return to the negotiating table by Finland Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen. The
GRAPEVINE, TX—Paul Bremer, former Ambassador to Iraq and a long-time Washington insider, received a standing ovation from an audience of nearly 700 attendees following his speech that kicked off the 53rd annual Web Offset Association (WOA) conference held here recently. This was followed by a speech by Goss International CEO Robert Brown, who challenged WOA and its members to focus on increasing the share of web offset printing and to target marketing originators about the effectiveness of the printed piece. Former CIA Director George Tenet was the keynote speaker on the second day. Some of the other speakers who shared the podium during the general
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
Ann Arbor, MI, 15 June, 2005--Over his 40-year career in the ink industry, H. Howard Flint, II, demonstrated leadership, integrity, a strong business sense and a warm personal regard for his colleagues, employees and customers. The chairman and retired CEO of Ann Arbor, MI-based Flint Ink Corporation passed away on June 14, 2005 after a brief illness. He was 66. Born in Detroit, MI, Howard was the grandson of the corporation's founder, H. Howard Flint. After working at the family company during college and graduate school, he began his full-time career at Flint Ink 1964 and began gaining experience in a wide range of
At Presstek Inc., John Dreyer has been appointed lead director of the company's board of directors. Dreyer has been a member of Presstek's board of directors since 1996. He retired as chairman and CEO of the Pitman Co. in December 2000. Mohawk Paper Mills has named Thomas O'Connor Jr. chairman and CEO. Prior to this appointment, O'Connor was president and CEO. He represents a third generation of the O'Connor family closely identified with the family owned business. Michael Swack is the new public relations/analyst relations manager for the graphics market at Hewlett-Packard. He is now responsible for HP Indigo, HP Designjets, as well as MFP and
Buhrs, a producer of mailing and fulfillment solutions, has announced its intention to enter the market for FSI collating and wrapping systems for the newspaper industry. Buhrs has appointed Don Piontek, of Finishing Resources, to develop its presence in the market. John Kia has been named manager, production product marketing, for IBM Printing Systems. Also, Chris Reid has been named commercial print solutions manager. In this capacity, he is responsible for worldwide output solutions customized for commercial printers, including service bureaus, direct mailers and book printers. FileAmerica, a custom file folder manufacturer, is celebrating its 30th year serving the trade in the printing industry. Formerly known
Advancements in ultraviolet (UV) curing technology—the process of transforming a liquid into a solid by using UV light—are responsible for some of the recent changes in the printing industry. As an energy-efficient and green technology, printers everywhere have rapidly adopted UV energy curing inks and coatings to print on a variety of substrates, including metal, wood, fabric, plastics and a range of paper grades. In the web printing arena, UV curing is now one option for the production of high-quality printing, at high speeds. This effectively closes the gaps that previously existed between coldset and heatset printing, in terms of sheetfed versus web
arizona Phoenix—Courier Graphics is doubling the capacity of its pressroom by replacing one of its two current web presses with a new five-color Rotoman from MAN Roland. Scheduled for installation in the spring, with a May production date, the press will be equipped with a MAN Roland 1:2:3 folder and a Vits sheeter. california LOS ANGELES—Printing Industries Association of Southern California (PIASC) celebrated 25- and 50-year memberships at a recent awards breakfast. Companies that joined the association in 1980 and 1955 were honored for their loyalty and support of PIASC and presented with the silver and gold membership awards, respectively. SANTA CLARA—Entire Printing recently
