Heidelberg

BY MOLLY JOSS In a little more than five years, computer-to-plate (CTP) technology has moved past the early experimenter phase and has moved into the later stages of the early adopter stage. Some might even argue it's moved into the early stages of the mainstream phase. However you measure it, it's difficult to argue that CTP is a flash-in-the-pan technology. Still, it hasn't yet found its way into every print shop in the nation and around the world. Widespread acceptance to that degree is yet to come. Wanting to get an inside look at how CTP is coming along, Printing Impressions recently spoke

MADISON HEIGHTS, MI—A pair of Michigan printers, E&G Printing Service, based here, and Traffic Advertising & Printing, of Roseville, announced that they have merged. The combined companies will be known as E&G Printing Service. E&G Printing is one of Michigan's largest volume sheetfed printers, specializing in the six-color, 40˝ market. Traffic Advertising & Printing specializes in small-format and digital color printing. The newly created company will offer services ranging from design to printing and distribution. It will feature an extensive prepress department with conventional and electronic capabilities, including computer-to-plate. Its press department features a pair of Heidelberg DI units and three six-color, 40˝ Speedmasters.

The latest advances in digital photography and color scanning make image capture not only a snap, but exceptionally high quality. And the prices may be coming down, too. BY ALLISON ECKEL Take no specifications for granted. "The old models for discussing image quality are starting to dissolve with respect to evaluating the potential quality of an image," states Eric Zarakov, vice president of marketing for Foveon, a Santa Clara, CA-based manufacturer of image sensors and capture systems. While commenting on Foveon's recent digital chip breakthrough, Zarakov has voiced a trend in the digital image capture industry. Everything you thought you knew about the numbers

BY ERIK CAGLE Whatever fat existed in the adhesive binding portion of the postpress workflow has long since been trimmed away. The days of the long run are long gone. On-demand environments are everywhere, and inventories are kept as low as possible. Makeready times must make a NASCAR pit crew green with envy, and the machines must be easy to use, as quality help, like substance in this year's presidential election, is nowhere to be found. Through it all, customers are still asking for lower prices—frantically waving table-top machine money while standing in front of the floor- model machines. They can't be blamed;

E&D Web believes that using the latest printing technology delivers the rewards of greater productivity and profits. It's no wonder then that the 36-year-old commercial printing operation is able to push more jobs through its facility by using some of the most advanced printing equipment in the industry. "We strive every day to operate as efficiently as possible," says Ken Love, COO of the Cicero, IL-based company. "Several press and plate processing equipment acquisitions have brought us leaps and bounds ahead of how we used to work." In E&D Web's endless pursuit of greater quality and productivity, bi-metal plates from Printing Developments Inc. (PDI)

Digital duplicators and production printers are leading the industry down a new path. Find out what solutions are out there. BY CHRIS BAUER Touted by some vendors as the most cost-effective printing method available today, digital duplicating machines have come a long way since their predecessors: mimeograph machines and spirit duplicators. Digital duplicators and high-speed production printers give users a combination of the convenience and simplicity of a copier with the economics and versatility of an offset press. This versatility makes duplicators and production printers ideal products for both short-, medium- and high-volume printing applications, vendors say. Looking back, digital duplicating equipment was not

NEW YORK—Toppan Printing Co. America has undergone a $6 million capital improvement in the first phase of a $20 million, three-year growth initiative. The initiative comes as parent company Toppan Ltd. celebrates its centennial anniversary. Among the highlights of Toppan's investments are a 10-color, 40˝ Heidelberg Speedmaster perfector press. The press enables Toppan to print a straight 10 colors plus aqueous coating or five colors over five colors simultaneously in one pass. The Speedmaster, which boasts automated plate changing and automated in-line register at speeds of up to 13,000 sph, will allow Toppan to compete effectively with half-web presses. Toppan has also moved into computer-to-press printing

BY ERIK CAGLE Truth be known, San Ramon, CA-based K/P Corp. is a mom-and-pop printing organization that grew legs. Really, really big legs. Founded in Salem, OR, in 1929 as Unruh-Knapp Printing, the company became known as Knapp Printing in 1963 and, later, K/P Corp. It quickly became a staple of the Northwest printing landscape as it expanded into Utah and California. Operations expanded to include direct mail services in 1982, fulfillment capabilities in 1993 and full-color digital imaging in 1994. K/P has since complemented its arsenal with a full barrage of Internet capabilities. A massive growth spurt this year saw the company

NEW YORK—Bowne & Co., a major player in the financial printing arena, announced its board of directors has approved a $13.5 million capital investment in its New Jersey print production operations. The world's largest financial printer and a leader in document management, Bowne will use the investment to add space to the Secaucus printing facility and replace presses and related finishing equipment with new, more productive presses and finishing gear. According to Robert M. Johnson, chairman and CEO of Bowne, the move will allow the company to become more of a one-stop shop. "This investment of $13.5 million over the next 12 months will dramatically

BY ERIK CAGLE Quad/Graphics has installed the latest design in Ferag gathering/stitching/ trimming systems at its plant in Lomira, WI, marking the third such system installation for Quad. The new system includes six log-fed feeders, which transport signatures to a rotary gathering drum, then to a shear-cut trimmer. According to Frank Arndorfer, Quad/Graphics' vice president of finishing operations, adding the third Ferag unit bolsters the company in a number of ways. The Ferags are the workhorses on the shop floor. "We lean toward Ferag because we have an application for production that requires more of a Gatlin gun approach—high volume and relative ease of use," Arndorfer says.