Heidelberg

BY CAROLINE MILLER Grelind Printing Center Owner Linda Peterson lives in one of the most beautiful places in the country. Her printing operation is nestled within the foothills of Black Hills National Forest in Rapid City, SD, located just miles from Mount Rushmore. While Peterson is greeted every day with awe-inspiring and breath-taking vistas, she also has to deal with the fact that there are less than 200,000 people within a 400 to 500 square mile radius. And she has to compete with more than 16 other printers within the Rapid City area, and still even more shops in surrounding towns. So how does

BY CAROLINE MILLER Printers shopping for a heatset web offset press all agree on one thing: less definitely is more. Less makeready time, less press downtime, less manning requirements and less paper waste generated all mean one thing—more profits. And that's exactly what heatset web press vendors are offering their customers. "Emerging and growing printers have a renewed focus on technology and flexibility," reports Richard Kerns, president of Solna Web Systems. "Waste and time on press are crucial issues, which can be addressed easily by the new technologies available. Our customers are now equipping their heatset presses with closed-loop color control systems, ink

Maynard Wins Slogan Contest ALEXANDRIA, VA—Michael Maynard, a head pressman for Glen Burnie, MD-based French Bray, was selected the winner of the Web Offset Association (WOA) Pride in Printing slogan contest, which was co-sponsored by Printing Impressions. His entry, "WOA: Making a Great Impression for 50 Years," was selected from more than 300 entries. He received, among other things, airfare and hotel accommodations for two people, as well as complimentary registration, at the WOA conference in Las Vegas from May 5-8. Lake Erie Acquires CTP System CLEVELAND—Lake Erie Graphics has installed an Agfa Galileo VS digital plate manufacturing system. The Galileo VS system, along with the addition

This is an open letter to Robert E. Murphy, the veteran leader at Japs-Olson and the chairman of the selection committee charged with finding the next man or woman who will become CEO of the Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, one of the commercial printing industry's largest and most powerful associations. Dear Sir, It has come to my attention that the PIA/GATF has received in excess of 350 resumes both from people within and outside the industry vying for the chance to become the virtual czar of the commercial printing industry. While I am certain that there are many qualified applicants already

Williamson Institute Proves Its Value Once Again DALLAS—Williamson Printing hosted the third Williamson Institute in February. The educational seminar provided printing knowledge to college students to help enhance their education within the graphic communications industry. Fifty students representing Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, the University of North Texas and Baylor University attended the seminar. CALIFORNIA ANAHEIM—Pacific West Litho has installed a new six-color, 40˝ Komori Lithrone press equipped with a ColorCommand temperature control/cooling system from TriService. AZUSA—A Steinemann Topspot 102 blanket coater has replaced two silk screen UV coaters at Classic Coating & Laminating. COMMERCE—The transition to a computer-to-plate workflow is complete

BY MARK SMITH A consensus of opinion seems to have been reached about why to adopt a computer-to-plate workflow. At least in some quarters, though, the same cannot be said for the question of how to implement one. Or more precisely, which combination of plate and platesetter is the best solution. New product introductions continue to fuel the thermal versus violet imaging debate. The recent IPEX international printing expo also brought a new player (Esko-Graphics, the newly named combination of Purup-Eskofot and Barco Graphics) to the arena of digitally imaging conventional ultraviolet plates. Processless technology continues be developed along ablative, phase-change and other tracks.

BY MARK SMITH Trying to be all things to all people is generally recognized as a formula for disaster. However, putting a spin on this strategy has proven successful for Cunningham Graphics International (CGI). The Jersey City, NJ-based organization strives to be a one-stop shop for all the document management and communication needs of a tightly targeted market. Through 18 operations spread across 12 cities and five countries, Cunningham Graphics serves the financial community with an emphasis on producing time-sensitive documents involved with investor communications, reveals Gordon Mays, executive vice president of marketing and sales. The company's client base includes most of Wall

BY MARK SMITH Taking steps out of a process has the potential to increase productivity, reduce process variability and lower production costs. That all sounds great, but these gains naturally must be weighed against the investment required to achieve them. Doing such a cost/benefit analysis for the on-press imaging concept might at first seem to be a rather straightforward calculation. The potential variables in the equation quickly prove otherwise, however. Issues related to integration with existing plant capabilities, markets served, type of press being considered, etc., can tip the balance in favor or against the technology and workflow. What makes sense for

Jeff Hill will be the first to admit he knows very little about the printing industry. After all, the 46-year-old Youngstown, OH, native cut his teeth in the communications field. But Hill is a successful businessman. And despite a limited printing background, he knew that Superior Printing was on the verge of something special when he looked into purchasing the company. "I wanted to stay in this area because I'm from here," explains Hill when describing his February 2000 acquisition of the Warren, OH, business. "I saw this company and the technology it invested in, and it was a great opportunity. "We bought a

DALLAS—Padgett Printing announced it has added new equipment to allow it to address its clients' prepress, printing and mailing needs. Among the new equipment is an eight-color Heidelberg four-over-four perfector press with the latest console technology, a 28x40˝ sheet folder with trimming and perforating capabilities, and ink-jet addressing and tabbing capabilities to handle customer mailing requirements, allowing ink-jet printing at up to 600 dpi with 3˝ heads. According to David Torok, president and CEO, the company has invested more money in new equipment capacity in the last 15 months than at any time in the 99-year history of Padgett Printing. "We're dedicated to