Heidelberg

When Niels Winther stepped down as head of North American business operations for Heidelberg in July, a well-seasoned replacement was named in James Dunn. In his more than three decades with the German-based press manufacturing giant, Dunn has held numerous management positions, including president of the Heidelberg Americas shared services division and CFO of Heidelberg Web Systems. James DunnAs the company strives to get back to its core competencies after divesting its Web Offset and Digital Printing operations, Dunn talks to Printing Impressions about his new role within Heidelberg, the current state of the U.S. printing market and the future of the printing industry. PI:

california LOS ANGELES—Donahue Printing, a family owned printing company in business for 70 years, has installed a new seven-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Diamond 3000S sheetfed press. WALNUT—Reinberger Printwerks reports the installation of two new two-color Heidelberg QM46 presses, as well as a new Konica Minolta digital imaging system. florida ORLANDO—Allegra Print and Imaging has purchased the Heidelberg Printmaster PM 52 it had been testing after an eight-month trial period. Allegra became the first shop in the U.S. to test the four-color Printmaster 52 press and has produced more than two million finished pieces since installation in November 2003. georgia ATLANTA—Vertis announced that 18 members of

california NORTH HOLLYWOOD—Akers Brothers & Sister Printing, in business since 1944, has installed a Kluge EHF series press. Akers is using the new equipment for diecutting and foil stamping booster cards, a small card printed on 24-pt. adhesive coated stock. Additionally, the press will be used for similar applications on auto-lock bottom boxes. SANTA ANA—B&Z Printing has purchased a new Best Osako 368 saddlestitcher from Best Graphics. colorado COLORADO SPRINGS—Pikes Peak Litho has installed a 400 watt/inch cold UV curing system from PRI Technologies on its seven-color, 77˝ Harris press. DENVER—Document Imaging, an information and data management services company, has changed its name to

by MaRK SMITH Technology Editor Weak strains of the great violet vs. thermal CTP debate cropped up in some post-Drupa reports, and then were echoed in postings on the PrintPlanet.com "Computer to Plate Pressroom, CTP Technologies" eCommunity and other industry forums. These discussions largely have covered old ground, but two pending developments are seen as having the potential to change the competitive picture. CORRECTION:Heidelberg announced a new option in its Prosetter violet platesetter line prior to Drupa, which should have been included in the printed version of this story. With the new Multi Cassette Loader (MCL), any Prosetter can now image up to four

“It’s not rocket science.” That same reply was given by two players in the market when asked about the challenges facing a printer looking to diversify into digital wide-format printing services. Adding this service seems like a natural extension of the printing industry’s digital evolution. Large-format ink-jet print engines have all but become the norm for some level of proofing, ranging from digital bluelines up to contract color. Putting aside the finishing requirements, digital color printing presents much the same proposition whether the output be an 8.5x11˝ sheet or large banner. Why, then, have so relatively few commercial printers gotten into the business? “Less

Few people could have foreseen the myriad of changes that would overtake the commercial printing industry during the three decades that followed the time Minors Printing, of Boone, NC, opened for business in 1972. Job turnarounds that had been gauged in terms of weeks are now measured in days and, in the most extreme cases, even hours. Then there's the constantly escalating pressure to control costs and increase productivity in order to remain competitive. And, finally, there's the impact new technology continues to have on everything from prepress through finishing. Phil Minor greets Luis Campos, Vijuk bindery consultant, who stopped in to see

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor Traditionally, DRUPA has always created an east-to-west breeze; hence, whatever new technology or technologies made a splash in Germany at the world's largest printing exposition generally carried over to its North American counterpart, Graph Expo and Converting Expo. The problem is, there's really not a hot new technology that has everyone abuzz. But that will hardly dampen enthusiasm when the doors of McCormick Place swing open to about 40,000 attendees from Oct. 10 through 13. It might not take a new technology to bolster the show. The one trend that stuck out at Drupa, according to Bill Lamparter, president

To thine own self be true and thou cannot be false to any other printer. A little twist on Shakespeare to remind me that if I am going to write a column, it should be as truthful as possible, particularly in the case of critical issues where all sides should be presented. In the past, I have written much about JDF (Job Definition Format) and the enormous impact I believe it will have on our industry. Am I caught up in all the hype? My passion is evident, thus I am being true to my own self, so Shakespeare can rest easy. But

Agfa Leaves PrintCity; Group Promises 'Business as Usual' MORTSEL, BELGIUM—Agfa announced it is leaving the PrintCity consortium. The company reports it has decided to take a new approach for demonstrating the benefits of connectivity to its customers because the group's charter objectives were fully met at Drupa 2004. "We will demonstrate connectivity in our day-to-day business, not just in a consortium or at a trade show," explains Jan Van Daele, Agfa's vice president of imaging solutions. "Open standards have become a given and we will continue to invest our efforts and resources in innovations, connectivity and profitability for our customers," adds Marc

by chris bauer Managing Editor Printers live by the mantra that time is money. As more steps can be cut out of the prepress, printing and binding processes, more profit can be achieved. Large-format (40˝ and larger) perfecting presses ensure faster printing results by printing both sides of the sheet in one pass through the press. Many printers have put two and two together, and like the sum that sheetfed perfectors provide. "The drive towards large-format perfectors is stimulated in a large degree by the need for process time reduction," explains Doug Schardt, product manager, Komori America. "In other words, why do in two