Heidelberg

CLEVELAND—Great Lakes Lithograph recently served as a stop on Heidelberg's national digital road show. Held in conjunction with NexPress 2100 customers, the road shows provide a venue for printers, print buyers, graphic artists and other print media professionals to exchange ideas with peers on the digital printing industry. Audiences interact with presenters, as well as participate in hands-on demonstrations to produce digital applications and learn to successfully and creatively use variable data. Heidelberg has hosted four sessions this year, with an average of 80 attendees per event. "Interest in the road show events continues to rise and participants are genuinely interested in digital printing. They are

MILWAUKEE—With many business reducing their work forces and slashing budgets to stay in the black, HM Graphics has employed a somewhat different strategy: avoid layoffs and spend more on capital improvements. This strategy kicked off with HM investing significantly over the past 24 months, with a total of more than $6.5 million in new equipment and technology. HM Graphics is a full-service printer whose in-house capabilities include design; electronic prepress; printing; folding/gluing, diecutting and hand assembly; fulfillment; ink-jet imaging; and inventory, warehousing and mailing services. Among the new equipment acquired are two six-color, 40˝ Heidelberg Speedmasters; a pair of two-color, 18˝ Heidelberg PM 46

Last spring, I got a call from Mark Michelson, editor-in-chief of this magazine. I probably shattered has eardrum with my reaction. "What! You want me to write a 4,000 word article explaining JDF? Mark, I know what JDF is, but I am not an expert. How about six words and a few exclamation points?" Mark, in his usual unflappable manner, simply replied, "Become an expert." I moved to a higher octave as he explained to me that even though Printing Impressions was hiring me to write the article, it was a piece sponsored by Adobe and Heidelberg. All I could imagine was that I

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor The vendors are loath to admit it, but on the surface there is a growing degree of parity in the capabilities of today's prepress workflow solutions. Their core systems are typically client-server based, database driven and handle tasks such as preflighting, PDF conversion/normalization, trapping, imposition and rendering. At the same time, advances in technology have led to workflow being widely viewed as a digital continuum—from file creation to final output. This shared vision dovetails with the industry's move toward computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) and implementation of the JDF (Job Definition Format) specification. Internet portals for online proofing and job

Banta Senior Executive Departs MENASHA, WI—Larry Panozzo, president of Banta's $1 billion print sector, has resigned to pursue other interests. "Although I am personally disappointed, I respect and accept Larry's decision. We will miss his deep knowledge, passion and leadership," states Stephanie Streeter, Banta's president and CEO. Panozzo had been with Banta since 1988. A spokesperson for Banta says the company's "succession process" has already begun to fill the position. Courier Corp. Buys Web Press KENDALLVILLE, IN—Courier Corp. has purchased a new four-unit MAN Roland LITHOMAN IV web offset press that is scheduled for installation and startup by next spring. The 48-page LITHOMAN will feature a

Sun Chemical Plant Undergoes $7.2M Expansion ST. CHARLES, IL—Sun Chemical is working on a expansion of its manufacturing facility and laboratories here. The $7.2 million project will add nearly 32,000 square feet, bringing the plant to 90,000 square feet. The building will include ink manufacturing operations, expanded offices, a warehouse and a new laboratory. When it is completed in April 2004, the facility will house 141 employees. At this plant, the company also plans to combine the operations of its Chicago-area Clearing plant, as well as Kohl and Madden's facility in Elk Grove Village, IL. Colter & Peterson has reached an agreement with

Meridian Printing Wins Gold Award NEW YORK CITY—Meridian Printing won the coveted 2003 Sappi North American Printer of the Year award at an elegant, black-tie awards gala held here on October 10. The East Greenwich, RI-based printer was acclaimed for excellence of printing craftsmanship in its production of the "100 years of Harley Davidson" book, which was printed on 100-lb. Sappi Porcelain Dull Text paper. The 275,000-copy run—for publisher Melcher Media—was printed four-color process with varnish at 250 line screen on Meridian's Heidelberg CD sheetfed press. As the Sappi North American Printer of the Year winner, Meridian received a trophy and a handcrafted gold medallion. The event, appropriately

A Strong Finish Optimism was sky-high throughout the exhibit halls during GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, held in Chicago this past September. Why? A sizeable segment of the vendors noted that there appeared to be more printers and trade finishers touting checkbooks—and fewer tire kickers at McCormick Place. Whether it is the first signs of economic recovery and prosperity in this country remains to be seen, but big crowds on the show floor was certainly a good sign. And it wasn't just the prepress and press vendors that reported brisk activity—those pitching finishing products found the latest GRAPH EXPO to their liking. "We did

Bridging the Digital Divide BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Trade shows are supposed to be a forum for presenting solutions to meet the needs of attendees. What many people took away from workflow displays at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, however, was a bag full of questions . . . and maybe the odd poster or two, a foam sword, canisters of M&Ms, etc. That doesn't mean attendees weren't looking to buy. Exhibitors were more ardent than usual about the quality of the leads they were getting, and they claimed to also be pleased with the quantity. "Turned the corner" was a popular

Pressing Ahead By Mark Michelson Editor-in-Chief It's no secret that the stagnant U.S. economy has wrecked havoc on graphic arts industry suppliers the past three years. And, with many printers hesitant to make major capital equipment expenditures, sheetfed, and especially web, offset press manufacturers may have suffered the most of any industry segment. But—partly based on exhibitor reports from the recently completed GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO exhibition—interest in upgrading pressrooms and in the computer-integrated manufacturing concept (CIM) seem to be building. New press sales levels are still a far cry from the go-go '90s, but press suppliers at the show generally reported