Heidelberg

When pondering what sets one commercial printer apart from the competition, the answer has to be unique capabilities. The C.J. Krehbiel Co. routinely delivers products and services that other printers cannot provide. For 128 years, the Cincinnati-based company has been partnering with clients to realize their printing goals. From estimate to delivered products, prepress to bindery, C.J. Kreh-biel provides total in-house capabilities, saving customers time and money while producing high-quality products. Complete in-house capabilities allow the 250-employee company to offer flexibility in printing clients' products. Their ability to print in a variety of web formats and signatures, and to produce a mix of

NORTH CHELMSFORD, MA—The economy may be slowing, but Courier Corp. shows no signs of such action. As one of the nation's leading book manufacturers with 2000 sales of $188 million, Courier is seeking to enhance that standing with a number of investments in new equipment that have been made over the past year. Courier—which annually produces 150 million books at its five manufacturing facilities—earmarked approximately $16 million toward the acquisition of equipment during 2000, and the company expects to virtually match that standard with its 2001 acquisitions. According to Joe Brennan, vice president of engineering, Courier is being aggressive at a time when many

BY SCOTT POLK The seeds of the relationship that drives one of the country's fastest growing printing companies were sown nearly 60 years ago on a rooftop in Newark, NJ. That's where Arnold Greebel's parents would take him on nice days—allowing the toddler to bask in the sunlight and soak in the panoramic views such a vantage point provides. Sometimes, as his parents would relate to him years later, Greebel would cast his eyes to a nearby building, where a young Janet Biddelman was also enjoying the weather from a rooftop carriage. Fast forward some 20 years later. Arnold had earned an engineering

BY MARK SMITH PDF is supposed to stand for Portable Document Format, but "pretty darn frustrating" has been a more fitting moniker in many ways. When Adobe introduced the Acrobat software family, with PDF as its core technology, it was billed as the answer to the shortcomings inherent in the PostScript language, among other things. The coveted benefits of PDF include the ability to generate relatively small, self-contained (including fonts) files that can be processed more efficiently and reliably. Yet, more than five years later, PDF only now seems in a position to become the standard or even generally preferred file format

BY CHRIS BAUER The reasons the management team at New Haven, CT-based Phoenix Press decided to move to digital printing were twofold. First, they found many customers were ordering smaller volumes that were better suited for print-on-demand methods. Second, they believe digital printing will play a key role in the future of the graphic arts industry by introducing new capabilities and new services—such as variable-data printing. The result of their findings and beliefs was the purchase of a Heidelberg Digimaster 9110, a Canon CLC 1000, Canon imageRUNNER 600 and 400, and DankaWare software—all supplied by Danka Business Systems. The new equipment is

BY SCOTT POLK There is an old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. That adage can also be applied to commercial printing. A company may have state-of-the-art equipment, a CTP-enabled prepress workflow and veteran press operators, but if its sales staff is unable to sell the finished product, the whole chain will collapse. Of course, this is not to imply that salespeople are the weak link of a printing operation. On the contrary, since the success of a company is generally judged by sales figures, the importance of a winning sales team is obvious. One of the

Now there is a color digital production press to suit every printer's desire. Is it time to throw your hat in the ring? BY CAROLINE MILLER Color digital press manufacturers are setting their sights on the commercial printer. No longer is digital printing just for the on-demand and quick printing market segments; it has finally matured to the point where commercial printers can begin to seriously consider integrating these output devices into their business strategy. Today, digital presses offer print quality that is close to offset quality. The mix of improved quality, coupled with quick turnaround, speed and flexibility, is a recipe that

MILFORD, OH—About two years ago, Robert Wickens and George Lajti came up with a plan. The president and CEO, respectively, of then-Cincinnati-based Edge Graphics wanted to accomplish three things: one, find a site for a new, bigger facility with ample room for growth; two, embark on a $5 million equipment expansion project; and three, convert to a fully digital workflow. Two years later: mission accomplished. In an ambitious undertaking, Edge Graphics—which specializes in high-end commercial work—accomplished all three items on its agenda, with a little time to spare. According to Wickens, Milford—a Cincinnati suburb that won out over several sites in the Queen

EL RENO, OK—Heritage Press hosted an open house recently to celebrate its growth, which includes an expansion and the addition of several key pieces of equipment. The 26-year-old firm doubled the size of its original facility, from roughly 25,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet, highlighted by a new production area. The upgrades include a six-color Mitsubishi Model 3F-13 sheetfed press, a Muller Martini Presto saddle stitcher, Heidelberg Polar 115 cutter, a 41˝ KBA sheetfed press and a CreoScitex Dolev 800 imagesetter. Heritage Press, a producer of high-quality corporate image materials and point-of-purchase kits, converted its old production area into offices and warehouse space. "The new production

CHEVERLY, MD—Craftsman Press, based here, accepted the Power of Innovation award from Heidelberg last November following the startup of a new Sunday 2000 web press. The eight-unit, double-web press in a stacked configuration includes Heidelberg Contiweb CS splicers and Ecotherm dryers. It is also equipped with a PFF-2 pinless folder and a sheeter. Heidelberg presents the Power of Innovation statue to printers dedicated to using its gapless press technology to enhance their productivity and print quality. "Our motto is to do whatever it takes to exceed our customers' expectations," notes Tony D'Agrosa, president of Craftsman Press. "The new Sunday Press provides added capacity, print quality and fast