Heidelberg

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is expanding the range of printing plates, inks, coatings and print additives it offers customers in Germany by acquiring the ink specialist Ulrich Schweizer GmbH/IPS GmbH (Schweizer), based in Waiblingen. Schweizer has been supplying the industry with sheetfed offset consumables for over 35 years and is one of Germany’s biggest service providers for Pantone and spot colors. The company boasts a state-of-the-art ink-mixing plant and also offers a 24-hour delivery service.

Heidelberg USA regards the high attendance at its sixth annual “Brats and Dots” open house as an indication that printers are continuing to evaluate new equipment and looking to invest in solutions that will help them secure their businesses for the future, despite the flagging economy. Held last month at Heidelberg’s Print Media Demonstration Center (PMDC) in Kennesaw, Ga., the event drew more than 200 area printers, who came to see first-hand the largest array of Heidelberg prepress, press, postpress, Prinect workflow, consumable and service solutions on display anywhere in North America.

With the theme, "Igniting Green Media Business Growth, Innovation & Resilience - Being Lean, Green and Profitable in a Shrinking Economy," The Business of Green Media Conference will address "bottom line" issues about not only how to implement sustainable practices, but how to do it profitably. This topic is extremely revalent for all media producers and purchasers. The conference that will take place on the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo on January 22.

Printing Impressions' Across the Nation Commercial Printer News for January 2009

Printing Impressions' Bindery News for January 2009

According to NAPL’s Printing Economic Research Center, the commercial printing business is not likely to experience any meaningful improvement until well into the second half of 2009 at the earliest. This economic downturn is different than previous recessions, because the industry is changing structurally as well as cyclically and, therefore, stronger and more creative responses are required by today’s business owners.

The Label Printing Industries of America (LPIA) is pleased to announce the appointment of new officers to the LPIA Board of Directors for 2009–2010. Serving as chairman of the board is Randy Hicks, vice president of operations, WS Packaging Group/SenecaSalem in Franklin, PA. Serving as vice chairman is Bernie Lacy, vice president, Litho Press Inc. in Indianapolis. The secretary/treasurer position will be held by Louis Iovoli, vice president of sales and marketing, Hammer Packaging Corporation, Rochester, NY. William J. Hickey, III will serve as the immediate past chairman. Bill is the president & CEO of Smyth Companies in Minneapolis.

Printing Impressions magazine and Ethical Markets Media join the growing list of sponsors for Cal Poly's 2nd Annual The Business of Green Media sustainability conference to be held on January 22, 2009. The conference is produced by SustainCommWorld and hosted by Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Institute.

The Ben Franklin Honor Society of the Printing Industries of America inducted 12 new members at their annual black-tie dinner and awards ceremony on Friday, November 14 in Las Vegas, Nev., during the Printing Industries of America fall board meeting.

Q: Is there an automated way to read ink dots and automatically adjust the ink keys? A: Most prepress RIPs can create a PPF (Print Production Format) file, commonly referred to as a “CIP3 file.” This file, based on the same data used to generate proofs and plates, generates ink-key presets for a press with remote ink control capability.