Imagine! Print Solutions

Printers Flock to See Two-Sided Coating DALLAS—Neither heavy rains nor threatening tornadoes could dissuade roughly 75 printers and journalists from visiting Buchanan Visual Communications on April 24 and 25 for Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses’ 2007 National Open House. The violent weather wiped out a planned visit to a Texas Rangers-Seattle Mariners game at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, TX, but the guests were treated to some towering, long drives nonetheless during the “State of Perfection” demonstration. At the core of the open house was a display of the firepower behind Buchanan’s 12-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Diamond 3000R convertible perfector equipped with tower coaters. The dual coaters

Printers Weigh Straight Presses vs. Long Perfectors KENNESAW, GA—More than 50 printers from around the U.S. attended a Heidelberg VIP Event December 5-6 at its Print Media Demonstration Center to see live demos comparing high-speed straight printing vs. long perfecting sheetfed offset presses. The event served as a follow-up to a panel discussion on the topic hosted by Heidelberg during Graph Expo. Following a brief presentation explaining how the job was prepared using Heidelberg’s JDF-based Prinect Printready System 3.0, the same job was run in the demo center on a six-color Speed- master XL 105 with coater in two passes and on a 10-color Speedmaster

Seven years, in the grand scheme of things, is not a long time. But change doesn’t need a prolonged period to be felt keenly. In 1998, Challenge Printing, of Eden Prairie, MN, was a 40˝ sheetfed general commercial printer. That company is long gone; no longer exists. And, without diversification, Imagine! Print Solutions may never have taken its place. That’s not to say that companies whose specialty is general commercial offset printing are doomed to becoming one-trick ponies. But Bob Lothenbach, president and founder of Imagine!, had no interest in waiting around to find out if business as usual could provide a viable future.

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor It is virtually impossible to ignore the impact Robert (Bob) Burton had on the printing industry in 2005. Given his relentless pursuit of two companies this past year, it was almost a given that Burton would enter 2006 at the helm of some printing business. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. In the final analysis, 2005 will be viewed as a year marked by triumph, tragedy and transactions, not to mention some unexpected twists and turns. Which fits us to a T. While the news wasn't always positive, a silver lining—a moral or a lesson could usually

Jim Meissner, founder and CEO of Color Ink in Sussex, WI, has reduced his duties to pursue his passion for fine art/oil painting. An exhibit of his work begins this month at Landmarks Gallery, located here. His work includes dramatic views of vistas in the Southwest, landscapes of Wisconsin, and paintings of places he has visited in Italy and Hawaii. Lisa Arsenault has been appointed president of The McArdle Printing Co., Upper Marlboro, MD, a subsidiary company of BNA Inc. Arsenault steps into the job from her previous role as vice president of sales. Under her leadership, McArdle's sales grew more than 25 percent in

SHAKOPEE, MN—One might think that Challenge Printing had entered the witness protection program after a slew of changes in early 2005 gave the printer a whole new persona. With a new very large-format KBA Rapida 205 press up and running in its new 425,000-square-foot home, Challenge Printing culminated the wholesale overhaul by changing its name. The company is now called Imagine! Print Solutions. One of the reasons for the new moniker dealt with the company's new flexographic label printing business, according to Chris Bixler, vice president of sales for Imagine! Print Solutions. An East Coast company by the name of Challenge Printing also does business in