Countless binding and finishing technology providers were candid in their positive assessments of how the scene went down in McCormick Place South. It wasn’t all cartwheels and champagne popping, but this year’s Graph Expo did exceed the expectations of many.
RAMSEY, NJ—October 21, 2008—Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leading provider of advanced imaging and networking technologies for the desktop to the print shop, today announced it is again expanding its robust offerings for the production print market, all of which will be showcased during Graph Expo® 2008. The new offerings – highlighted by innovative print systems and software enhancements – enable commercial printers to improve productivity, quality and efficiency.
Conference Creates BIA ‘Resurgence’ SCHAUMBURG, IL—By all accounts, the BIA Mid Management Conference held here April 28-29 was an “overwhelming success,” according to the Binding Industries Association. The meeting, which was extolled as a “critical step in the resurgence of the association,” was attended by more than 117 people. Most of the guests participated in two days of sessions that covered topics ranging from lean operations to environmental requirements to selling fulfillment services—all issues posed to impact bindery operations in significant ways. The conference was hailed as a definitive event for trade binderies, graphic finishers, looseleaf manufacturers and suppliers to those industries. “There
THOUGH SEVERAL of the press conferences and ”big news” at Drupa centered around digital printing, innovations in bindery and finishing were no less prevalent. In fact, many of them sprang from the very digital printing trends that overshadowed them. As digital printing speeds have increased, bindery equipment has also gotten faster, with vastly improved automation and simplified touchscreen controls to make them even easier to set up. JDF compatibility is becoming more common in bindery equipment, allowing devices to be preset using production data. Demands for higher-quality printed products have led bindery vendors to improve their paper-handling techniques. Folds look better on the latest
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—Laminating equipment specialist GBC achieved a new Guinness World Record at Drupa on June 2 by establishing the fastest time to laminate 100 square meters of paper. The GBC team was able to laminate 102.2 square meters of paper in 40.53 seconds at its stand in Hall 11. The new GBC 8500HS Cyclone laminating system and GBC High Bonding Strength (HBS) film, both of which debuted here, were put to the test in the laminating challenge. Gareth Deaves, an adjudicator from the Guinness Book of World Records, confirmed the time of the lamination run and presented an award to the GBC team.
DÜSSELDORF—GERMANY—May 29, 2008—GBC Commercial Laminating Solutions Group, part of ACCO Brands Corporation (NYSE: ABD) and world market leader in print finishing equipment and consumables, is exhibiting their range of thermal laminating solutions for commercial, on-demand and wide-format finishing at drupa 2008. Explore! GBC’s new frontiers in print finishing at drupa 2008 With this year’s drupa promising to be the biggest-ever in the fair’s history, GBC is planning a memorable show. During live demonstrations, GBC will present their equipment and consumables for a variety of printing processes and applications. “Customers visiting drupa will be able to explore GBC’s new frontiers in print
Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group has made a contribution of $85,000 to the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH). The contribution provides funding to build a house in an area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Kodak employees and customers were invited to volunteer to help build the new home. Wausau Paper has opened a new East Coast distribution center in Allentown, PA, enabling it to offer overnight and same day delivery service to a geographically broader group of customers across the region. As a result of its acquisition of Stora Enso North America, NewPage Corp. has taken steps to restructure and streamline
Muller Martini Teams with Marines In Annual Toys for Tots Drive LONG ISLAND, NY—For the fourth straight year, Muller Martini of Hauppauge joined forces with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve to help make the holidays special for disadvantaged local children. There is nothing more heartwarming than the smile on a child’s face after receiving a new toy for the holidays, and Muller Martini employees collected hundreds of them. The company also makes a financial contribution to the program. “It is truly an honor to be able to do what we can both as a company and as individuals to help make the holidays
THE ROLLER coaster twisted from one side of the Muller Martini booth to the other, an improbably long snake piercing the air in an exhibition hall mostly filled with floor-dwelling equipment. This machine was certainly no bottom feeder—more specifically, it was a top feeder, the Topveyor 365 overhead conveyor. At times an overhead conveyor was needed to circumvent the crowds choking the aisles during Graph Expo 2007 in Chicago. But the patron flow was volatile, and there were periods where one could walk down some of the back aisles of the McCormick Place South Hall without bumping into a poster-toting gawker. . .of which
ADDISON, IL—August 2007—GBC, an ACCO Brands business (NYSE: ABD) and market leader in the manufacturing and distribution of binding and laminating products, will introduce the new 6028os and 730os laminators at Graph Expo 2007 in Chicago. Broadening their offerings to the Print On-demand Market, which already include the 620os and Delta, GBC intends these new units to fill the need for feature-heavy single-sided laminating systems. The 730os features a semi-automatic feeding system and integrated separator for continuous production by commercial printers, quick printers, copy shops, and reprographics shops. Designed for short to mid-range print runs from both digital color printers and offset presses, the 730os
