InfoPrint Solutions

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—May 29, 2008—InfoPrint Solutions Co., a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, today celebrates its first anniversary and is announcing a significant expansion of its global workforce. Many hundreds of IBM employees will join InfoPrint’s professional services team around the world, as agreed during the establishment of the joint venture. The highly skilled IBM printer service specialists who have been providing both warranty and maintenance contract support for IBM and InfoPrint Solutions-branded printers will now become InfoPrint Solutions Company employees and continue to serve InfoPrint customers. This team will be led by John Roope, senior vice president and general manager, Maintenance Support Services.

AppForum Covers Digital Print Spread LAS VEGAS—“We now have members on every continent except Antarctica,” boasted Rab Govil, president of PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, during his keynote address at the association’s seventh annual AppForum. “Perhaps we should recruit penguins,” he mused. While the desert chill might have been suitable for the birds, the nearly 450 human attendees were kept busy indoors with the event’s ample agenda of sessions and networking opportunities. Topics of the presentations spanned the technology, business strategies and applications crucial to running a digital printing business, under the banner “A Celebration of Digital Print.” Attendees also were given an opportunity

ARE YOU going to Drupa 2008? In its 14th edition (the first Drupa was in 1951, 57 years ago!), it will be the largest ever, with more than 1,800 exhibitors from 50 countries and more than 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space. More than 400,000 visitors are expected during its two-week run, beginning May 29th. Why do I bring that up in a column about marketing? Classic marketing texts talk about the “4Ps” of marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and Place. • Product: This is the physical product or service offered to the customer. It also refers to any services or conveniences that are

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—This will be the ink-jet Drupa. No, it will be the green Drupa. Or, maybe the print buyer Drupa. Actually, it will be big enough to be all three, and much more. With more than 1,800 exhibitors occupying more than 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space in nearly 20 halls, putting a label on Drupa is one way to make it more digestible. Another is for visitors to develop a “must-see” list ahead of time. To that end, a number of briefings are being held in advance of the show to get the word out about what to look for from major

HOUSTON—InfoPrint Solutions, a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, has sold its first InfoPrint 5000 continuous-form, ink-jet printing system in the United States to Personix, a business unit of Fiserv Inc., based here. Personix will use the system to produce full-color transactional statements. It services the health care, telecommnications, investment services and retail markets.

THE PRINTING industry is bulging with new and improved process technology, but implementation of what is available proceeds at a faltering snail’s pace. With Drupa 2008—the global printing big box superstore—opening its showroom in late May, the technology bulge is about to turn into a confusing avalanche of competing technologies and products. Suppliers have started to hold their pre-Drupa show briefings for analysts and the trade press. Clearly, the technology race is on. While the announcements of new print software to the introduction of heavy pressroom iron and automated, fault tolerant postpress equipment accelerates, what leads the differentiating innovation pack with the promise of

NEWTON, MA—December 4, 2007—Questex Media Group’s On Demand Exposition & Conference (ondemandexpo.com), the preeminent event for commercial printers, publishers, and in-plant printing professionals, today announced its 2008 conference program. Packed with high-profile keynote presentations and more than 50 conference sessions, the conference program will be presented by industry leaders and innovators offering key information to increase productivity and profits. The On Demand Exposition & Conference, which is co-located with the Xplor Conference and the AIIM International Conference & Exposition, will take place at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center, March 3-6, 2008. According to Tom Bliss, Conference Director – On Demand Exposition & Conference,

Commercial Web Printers Compare Notes CHICAGO—MAN Roland held its first Commercial Customers Conference as a way of getting its commercial web press users together in a forum where everyone can benefit from one another, explains Douglas Bradley, vice president of web service at MAN Roland. “We developed the conference to focus on the topics that have the greatest impact on the key metrics of their businesses. Through interactive discussion and structured presentations, we can share ideas to help everyone improve their operational performance.” The conference, held in conjunction with Graph Expo in September and conducted at Chicago’s James Hotel, was themed “A Partnership Focused

Here’s an exclusive, PRE-SHOW PREVIEW showcasing new products submitted by many of the exhibitors that will be displaying their wares next month in Chicago. Colter & Peterson will showcase the BASA 3, which features an automatic jogging system that can automatically form layers of printed sheets, align them accurately and transport them to the subsequent cutting process. The BASA 3 is appropriate for paper from 16-lb. bond to 125-lb. tag, and is effective when combined with a modern, rear-table-feeding system. Existing gripper transport systems can be retrofitted. Visit www.piworld.com/infocenter: enter #377 MBO America will introduce the Super KTZ, featuring a knife-folding unit that

BOULDER, CO—InfoPrint Solutions (IPS), the joint venture digital printing systems company developed by IBM and Ricoh, has opened its doors with 1,200 employees operating in 18 countries.The company, formerly IBM’s Printing Systems Division, sees Ricoh holding 51 percent of the business. Ricoh will acquire the remaining 49 percent over the next three years.IBM will provide…