Heidelberg

BY CAROLINE MILLER Building an ongoing training program, even in the best of times, tends to be at the bottom of a printer's to-do list. But, when businesses are faced with economic downturns, it often slides right off that list. However, ignoring employee development can be detrimental in the long run, stresses Greg Morrison, regional training manager for Cadmus Communications. "Several years ago, we came to the realization that we wouldn't be successful in the long term without investing in our people. Our employees are our most critical resource," he reports. So Cadmus designed a dynamic training program to address its workers' needs, according

Akiyama Back in Business TOKYO—Shanghai Electric Group (SEC) and Morningside Group (MS) jointly announced the companies have purchased the business rights of Akiyama Printing Machinery Manufacturing through each subsidiary companies in both groups.The new company will be called Akiyama International (AIC) and will succeed all business of Akiyama Printing Machinery. SEC manufactures heavy equipment while MS is a global investment company. The acquisition includes properties, buildings, facilities and patents. AIC commenced operation on January 28 after hiring back a large portion of the employees from the former company. AIC will promote and market the J Print perfector presses and the Bestech model presses. Presses Highlight

Sun Chemical has named Wes Lucas CEO. He will continue in his role of president. Lucas succeeds Henri Dyner, who has stepped down after more than 28 years with Sun Chemical. Dyner will continue with the company on a part-time basis in an advisory role. CRC Information Systems has announced a new pricing system that will reduce the initial investment in CRC's management software, called The System. Under the new program, companies can acquire The System with no upfront license fee. The customer simply pays for training and software support. IST America has named Karl L. Schmucker web sales representative, responsible for end user applications. Before

Heidelberg Program for Digital Users KENNESAW, GA—Heidelberg announced a new business development program on profitability from digital color, offered as a value-added feature for its digital customers. Regional Heidelberg business development specialists will conduct classes with several module sections that are targeted towards marketing executives, sales managers, salespeople, customer service staff, and owners of service bureaus and graphic arts establishments. The main focus of the classes is "How to Profit from Nexprint Digital Color." The classes are divided into several modules including the opportunities of digital color, consultative selling, new types of revenue, opportunities for variable data and sample sales calls. Richard Sand,

BY MARK MICHELSON With its emphasis on attracting graphic arts professionals from both North and Latin America, the 27th annual Graphics of the Americas (GOA) exhibition, held in early February at the Miami Beach Convention Center, bucked current industry trends of weak buying activity and light trade show traffic. All told, 22,101 people attended the event, which featured over 500 exhibitors representing approximately 1,500 different companies and occupying nearly 1,400 booths. The Printing Association of Florida (PAF), the exhibition organizer, points to several key factors to explain the strong showing in light of recent economic turmoil. "As the first major printing, converting and graphic arts show

Custom-built Presses For Package Printer AUSTRIA—At the Alfred Wall package printing plant in Graz, and its sister plant in Oland at Bydgoszzcz, Poland, special versions of KBA Rapida 130 and 105 multi-color sheetfed offset presses with double coaters are now in operation. The plant in Austria received a seven-color Rapida 130 and a six-color Rapida 105; the facility in Poland has installed an identical six-color Rapida 105. All machines also have dryers. Alfred Wall prints cartons and flexible packaging for large export markets stretching mainly in Eastern Europe and the Near East. Sheetfed offset, as well as rotogravure printing and in-line rotary and

CALIFORNIA GARDENA—L.A. Press is up-and-running with a new six-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Model 3F-13 sheetfed press. IRVINE—Orange County Printing has installed a six-color, 40˝ Komori Lithrone press outfitted with a Tri-Service ColorCommand temperature control/cooling system. VAN NUYS—The installation of the Sentinel ink management system from Accel Graphic Systems is complete at Great Western Litho. The ink management system is now equipped on a Komori Lithrone 640 press purchased at PRINT 01. CONNECTICUT MERIDEN—Three former shareholders of Vision Graphics have joined commercial printer Miller-Johnson Inc. They are Tom Mitchell, Andrew Mitchell and Erik Mitchell. The transaction was initiated on Miller-Johnson's behalf by Rampart Associates LLC.

BY ERIK CAGLE When you have the need for speed (press speed, that is) the last thing you want is some clunky drying/curing system that is not able to keep pace. Systems that generate high UV output to cure difficult colors and the heavy laydown of inks and coatings at high press speeds are highly sought, according to Dave McDowell, UV product manager for UVTechnology. Minimizing the temperatures of the web allow for printing on films and thermal-sensitive substrates. "As print quality improves, demand has grown for greater image quality and impact from non-traditional substrates," McDowell states. "In many cases, printers are seeking

PEWAUKEE, WI—Sheetfed printer Quality Color Graphics is continuing its foray into the 40˝ market with the addition of $2.7 million in new equipment. Among the new equipment is a six-color, 40˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster CD 102-6 press with aqueous coater. The press easily handles heavier cover and board stock, according to Jeff Letellier, vice president sales and marketing for Quality Color Graphics. Other additions are a Creo platesetter, a Heidelberg SBB cylinder diecutter and SSP in-line slitting and scoring unit for multi-page forms, as well as a six-station Stahl 2840 folder. "Going into the 40˝ market is very exciting for us," Letellier says. "This is just the

"It was either an act of insanity or an act of complete bravery," admits Pat Flynn, vice president of sales for Blanks Color Imaging in Dallas. "But, the first job we ran on our new computer-to-plate system was an absolutely magnificent catalog of Renaissance paintings. We should get the medal of honor, because we did it. It turned out so beautifully." That's the kind of faith that owner Leron Blanks and his production staff had in a newly installed, but virtually untested, CTP system they installed at the beginning of 2001. The system—including a Creo Lotem 800B platesetter, a Kodak Approval XP4 digital proofing