Heidelberg

Bindery Goes Large With New Diecutter MOUNT VERNON, OH—Coyne Graphic Finishing, a full-service binding and finishing company, has installed a custom-manufactured Cauhe large-format diecutting machine to produce P-O-P displays and similar products. The Spanish-made Cauhe machine has a 65x120˝ cutting bed, making it among the largest of its kind in the United States. This machine is the company’s fourth large-format diecutter. Growth From ESOP Results in Stitcher BOISE, ID—Alexander Clark Printing, a full-service web and sheetfed shop, recently expanded capacity by purchasing a new Best Osako Estar saddlestitcher from distributor Best Graphics. The added capacity comes just two years after the printer adopted an ESOP plan, resulting

Brown Opts for Sundays WASECA, MN—Magazine and catalog specialist Brown Printing has ordered two new gapless web presses and three finishing systems from Goss International. A pair of 2x8 Sunday 3000/32 presses will be joined here by two Universal adhesive binders. A third Universal binder is slated for installation at Brown’s East Greenville, PA, facility. Quadracci Honored by WOA SEWICKLEY, PA—Thomas Quadracci, chairman and CEO of Quad/Graphics, has been named the recipient of the Web Offset Association’s (WOA) eighth annual VISION Award, named in honor of his late brother, Harry, who founded the Sussex, WI-based printer. He will be presented with the award during the WOA’s 54th

Editor's note: While not a blog, exactly, Dennis E. Mason, of Mason Consulting Inc., kindly agreed to share some of his first-hand impressions of IPEX 2006 direct from the fairgrounds. IPEX 2006 Day 2: Wednesday at IPEX proved to be a much better day than its opener on Tuesday. Crowds were good, and exhibitors were generally quite pleased with their booth traffic. IPEX veterans say that the second and third days are usually the best attended, so everyone seemed to think that things went according to plan. The day began with a Xerox briefing, featuring CEO Anne Mulcahy talking about where the company is going.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Gain Efficiencies Wallkill, NY—The Watchtower Printing Center recently put a new 350,000-square-foot production facility into operation. Central to this new manufacturing system is a Muller Martini Corona/Diamant production line. Among the machinery recently put into operation is a fully automatic hardcover book line from Muller Martini. At the heart of the new system, on which 10 million hardcover books will be produced annually, are a Corona perfect binding line, a fully automatic buffer system and two Diamant book lines downstream. These technologies are complemented by two addressing and packaging/cartoning systems, followed by two Cohiba palletizers. Polar Celebrates Centennial Year HOFHEIM, GERMANY—Founded

Brad Baird, lead press operator at Litho Technical Services in Bloomington, MN, was in a tight spot. The six-color, 40˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster 102 with aqueous coater he works on was down, and there was no easily recognizable cause to be found. Fortunately for Baird, the press came equipped with remote diagnostic capabilities. “The press would not run,” Baird recalls. “We got online remotely with Heidelberg’s service center in Atlanta and they determined that the side-guide sheet detector control was not working properly.” The manufacturer’s technician was able to shut off the detector remotely—something Baird admits he didn’t know how to do. Getting a Helping Hand “It

Paul LeFebvre is nothing if not brutally honest. He made some fatal business mistakes in the past and paid the ultimate price, suffering through the bankruptcy of his Des Plaines, IL-based company, LeFebvre Intergraphics. Closing down the shop in 1996 was a bitter pill to swallow for the past inductee into the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame. The company was growing out of control. He had purchased large quantities of paper and kept stocking up on it, but the value soon plummeted from $7 million to $4 million as prices fell. People in strategic positions at the company weren’t making the

Don’t tell David Torok that the world of commercial printing isn’t viewed as a commodity. The president of Dallas-based Padgett Printing is all too aware of the perception given to an industry once known as a craft, sprinkled profusely with seasoned craftsmen, all but eroded by bottom-line pricing, reverse auctions and print buyers willing to forego longstanding relationships with trusted print providers. Instead of crying in their collators, companies such as Padgett Printing have survived, and even thrived, by accentuating their offerings with value-added services and variable data digital printing solutions. The digital end has only strengthened Padgett’s position with traditional sheetfed and web

PASSION IS a powerful emotion—and a positive method—when a bit of reason is incorporated. A great company isn’t successful based solely on its business practices. Its success comes from the spirit of its workers. At Payne Printery, its employees exude passion. Payne Printery began as a one-man, single-color print shop, and was purchased in the 1930s by John Robert Moore. Moore decided not to change the company’s name because it had a good business reputation. After the purchase, Moore moved the shop a short distance from Plymouth to Dallas, PA, where it continued to produce one-color materials such as raffle tickets, business cards and letterhead.

Bindery Gear Heads to East Coast Shop LEBANON, PA—Colortech Inc., a full-service commercial printer, recently installed a Vijuk 321-T saddlestitcher. Things Get Bigger in Texas After Install MESQUITE, TX— IntegraColor Inc. has purchased a five-color, 81˝ KBA Rapida 205 sheetfed press, making IntegraColor the first printer in the Southwest with 81˝ litho capabilities. The press has been configured with a special board-handling package and is also to be equipped with UV facilities for printing on plastics. It also incorporates an ICS slitter system and non-stop pile changing for the feeder and delivery. KBA has added its own Densitronic quality control

Maryland Printer Gets High Honor BALTIMORE—Peake DeLancey Printers, of Cheverly, MD, received the “Grand Q” Best in Show award from the Printing & Graphics Association MidAtlantic (PGAMA) Print Quality Awards competition. Lallie Inc., of Millersville, MD, won the “Little q” award. Pictured, the Peake DeLancey Printers team poses here after receiving the “Grand Q” award. As part of a nationwide program with its parent company, Consolidated Graphics (CGX), AGS Custom Graphics of Macedonia, OH, has welcomed two new employees into its Management Associate Program—Desirae McBride and Maureen Rourke. McBride was recruited from the University of Akron while Rourke hails from Hope College in Michigan. Quad/Graphics announced that