Hewlett-Packard

SUSTAINABILITY was the focus everywhere at Graph Expo last month. It was the one common theme that permeated throughout the largest national graphic communications trade show. For the first time, myriad companies expressed that sustain­ability issues are one of their top goals. As just one example, Yoshiharu Komori, president and CEO of Komori Corp., opened the Komori press conference by saying that “it is our responsibility and duty to embark on solutions for the environment.” Komori says one of his company’s main goals is to become a model for the environment in the industry. Companies that have a long history of commitment to environmentally sound

CHICAGO—The Paramus, NJ-based NAPL honored 12 printing industry leaders with induction into the Soderstrom Society during a pre-Graph Expo gala held September 8 at the Art Institute of Chicago. The event also celebrated NAPL’s 75th anniversary. The 2007 inductees are: Dale Aigner, owner, Bentley Printing & Graphics, Garden Grove, CA; Robert Carew, retiring president, Action Printing, Fond du Lac, WI; Craig Dellinger, general manager/partner, New Haven Print & Copy, Fort Wayne, IN; Bill Gavigan, executive vice president/CFO, PDQ Print Center, Scranton, PA; Steve Hayes, president/CEO, Omaha Printing, Omaha, NE; Kevin Joyce, managing director, Kodak, Norwalk, CT; Keith Kemp, president, Xerographic Digital Printing, Orlando, FL; Francis

HP Empowers With Print 2.0 NEW YORK—On the 52nd floor of 7 World Trade Center, more than 700 guests and 100 Hewlett-Packard employees spent two days enjoying a room with a (magnificent!) view. The event was part of HP’s rollout of the “Print 2.0: Extending the Power of Print” strategy and provided a launching pad for a new $300 million, worldwide marketing campaign—“What do you have to say?” With New York City as a backdrop, the main attractions, however, were inside where HP staged an “Experience Center.” It resembled a Hollywood set complete with a faux bedroom, living room, home office, business office, retail

CROSS-MEDIA services go hand-in-hand with digital printing and variable data. Two companies with lengthy digital printing experience, as well as two newer adopters, illustrate that point. To be a cross-media company means bringing in IT expertise or training internally. It means convincing customers that the company is capable of services beyond print. And, above all, it means consultative selling and “walking the talk” with cross-media marketing campaigns that show customers the power of this approach. Serge Grichmanoff, vice president of research and development at Avant Imaging & Information Management (AIIM), tells how in the early 1990s the company’s founders took the job of creating

ONE OF the promotional pieces sent out by the sponsors of Graph Expo made the claim that this year’s event would be the largest digital printing show in the United States by a factor of two. That’s including solutions for page printing, wide-format printing, software and related equipment. Tuesday was designated “Customer & Marketing Communications Day,” which was supposed to put a special focus on transpromotional printing applications that combine direct marketing with statements/transactional mail. Several digital press vendors did highlight this developing market during their press briefings, and GMC Software had a good-sized booth, but this application was still easy to miss around

4Over Opening New Facility GLENDALE, CA—Trade printer 4Over will open a new production facility in Dayton, OH. The announcement came during Graph Expo in Chicago. It will be fully operational by year’s end and is expected to cut turnaround times by about 50 percent. Another expected benefit is reduced shipping costs. Motheral Vies for Sprint Press FORT WORTH, TX—Motheral Printing has signed a letter of intent to purchase Sprint Press. The deal is expected to be finalized in the next 60 days. Sprint majority owner Bob Williams is retiring. The acquisition of Sprint Press bolsters Motheral’s sheetfed capacity while also adding diecutting capabilities. All 100 Sprint

NEW YORK—Mimeo.com has secured $25 million in financing for the purpose of advancing technology and new product development. Goldman Sachs Principal Strategies Group was the lead investor in the financing. Each of Mimeo’s major financing shareholders participated, including Hewlett-Packard.Online specialist Mimeo.com provides on-demand printing for business documents and marketing materials.

RESTON, VA—09/24/07—With 654 exhibitors filling 460,296 square feet of booth space on the sold out show floor, this was the largest U.S. national graphic communications trade show since 2000 and the second biggest GRAPH EXPO ever. Its education program of nearly 70 sessions drew a record number of participants, notably the largest registration since 2000, with participants choosing to attend more sessions than in the past, including five sold out sessions. Continuing its commitment to provide verified attendee data, the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC®) reported 31,779 total participants (includes exhibitors and attendees) at the event, achieving a 3% increase in attendance over last

TOKYO—September 21, 2007—The International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization announced at IGAS 2007 the first and second place winners in all three categories for the annual The Jürgen Schönhut Memorial CIP4 International Print Production Innovation (CIPPI) Awards. The CIPPI awards are given annually to the applicant with the most compelling case study in one of three categories, which are: • Most innovative use of process automation technology in an implementation • Best cost/benefit realization as a result of process automation implementation • Biggest improvement in efficiency and customer responsiveness as a result of

PALO ALTO, CA—Hewlett-Packard has signed a definitive agreement to acquire MacDermid ColorSpan, which manufactures wide-format digital ink-jet printers, from MacDermid Printing Solutions.MacDermid Printing Solutions is a subsidiary of Denver-based MacDermid Inc.The deal allows HP to enhance its standing in the sign shop and quick printer markets. HP plans to provide economical platforms and UV technologies…