KBA North America

SEWICKLEY, PA—The PIA/GATF revealed the winners of the 2007 InterTech technology awards. Eleven of the 31 nominations were chosen to receive the prestigious awards. They are: Energy Elite dual layer “no bake” plate by Agfa Graphics; UV printing blanket refurbishment by Enviro Image Solutions; Fujifilm C-Fit image intelligence software; Kodak Traceless system by Eastman Kodak; font emulation in the Harlequin RIP, Global Graphics Software; Heidelberg Anicolor inking unit, Heidelberg USA; Heidelberg Speedmaster XL 105, Heidelberg USA; KBA Sensoric infeed system from KBA North America; Roland 700 DirectDrive from MAN Roland; the DeskPack 3-dx by Esko and the Oce VarioPrint 6250 digital printer by Oce North

Same High-Tech Press, Same Super Success, Very Different Printers LOS ANGELES—The Komori Lithrone LS40SP Super Perfector with double coater technology—so new, there are only a few operating in the United States—inspired Komori to sponsor a media junket to California in April to see two of the presses in action. The Super Perfector, based on Komori’s successful Lith-rone S40 series, is a tangible example of the company’s commitment to create presses from the user’s perspective, employing their input in the development of its products. Zarik Megerdichian, president and CEO of Glendale-based 4Over Inc., who runs an all-Komori shop, claims he’s one of those end

NILES, IL—05/31/07—KBA North America, a leading press manufacturer based in Williston, VT, is announcing that The Garvey Group, one of the Midwest’s most successful printers, has garnered six top printing awards from the Printing Industry of Illinois/Indiana Association’s Pinnacle Print Awards. Six of Garvey’s nine large-format printing pieces submitted to the competition won awards for jobs produced on its KBA Rapida 205 81-inch six-color sheetfed press. The Garvey Group received its awards at PII’s 5th Annual Pinnacle Print Awards Gala on May 22 in Des Plaines, IL. “We are so honored to win these large format awards from PII,” says Ed Garvey, president of

WILLISTON, VT—05/02/07—KBA North America, a leading press manufacturer, is offering another comprehensive five-day seminar on lenticular printing and prepress work, scheduled for May 29 to June 1. The professional development seminar, held at KBA’s headquarters, brings together KBA’s lenticular, printing and marketing experts with owners and press operators of the award-winning KBA Genius 52 UV press. Lenticular printing is a special technique that involves printing an image on the back side of lenticular plastic, allowing the eye to simultaneously view alternating sections of multiple images to give the impression of 3-D, flip, or motion. “After our first seminar in late 2006, we decided to

MAN Roland Hosts Printers for Press Premier OFFENBACH, GERMANY—The world premier of a “next generation” sheetfed printing platform isn’t an everyday occurrence, so MAN Roland extended its recent festivities to more than a week to allow for bringing in several groups of select printers, journalists and its own employees from around the globe. The stars of the show were HiPrint and DirectDrive versions of the new Roland 700 sheetfed printing platform. To make the most of the trip, the contingent from North America was additionally treated to tours of a local DirectDrive beta site, MAN Roland’s foundry and its manufacturing/assembly facilities for sheetfed presses.

A SMALL, but growing number of printers are taking a big leap of faith (and finances) to invest in what may well be the commercial and packaging printing equivalent of the Gold Rush. Printers big and small—like Branch Smith Printing, Carter Printing, Ambassador Press and Strine Printing, to name a few—are expanding into large- and very-large-format sheetfed technology and betting the ranch...’er, press...on their ability to boost productivity and expand into new product niches. Hoping to hit the motherload of profitability, printers are staking their claim by offering up to 81˝ formats to blend the high-quality printing capabilities of sheetfed offset with the ability

William “The Refrigerator” Perry, a retired Chicago Bears football player known for his considerable size (6-foot-2 and 370 pounds), was enlisted to help promote the new very- large-format capabilities of North Bergen, NJ-based Edison Litho & Printing at the annual GlobalShop Show (held in Las Vegas in March). Perry appeared at Edison’s booth to sign autographs and have his picture taken with show-goers. “We wanted to stand out at the show, and what better way to promote our large-format capability, but to have a celebrity football player at our booth,” says Joe Ostreicher, Edison Litho’s vice president. “We chose William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry because he

Las Vegas show features football great while North Bergen, NJ mayor cuts ceremonial ribbon NORTH BERGEN, NJ—04/30/07—Edison Litho & Printing, one of the largest large-format litho printers in the Northeast, has been effectively promoting its large-format capabilities at different recent events. At the GlobalShop show, the largest retail design and in-store marketing event held in Las Vegas in early March 2007, Edison enlisted William “The Refrigerator” Perry, a retired Chicago Bear football player known for his considerable size—standing 6 ft 2 inches tall and weighing as much as 370 lb.--to promote its KBA Rapida 205 81-inch six-color sheetfed press and its KBA Rapida 162

PRINTERS WHO hitch their star to a particular vertical market put themselves in a vulnerable position, given that market may experience wholesale changes and leave them holding an antiquated bag. By all rights, Motivating Graphics’ obituary should have been written by now. The Ft. Worth, TX-based company primarily aligned with a single market from its outset in 1976, and that vertical experienced major technological shifts that would have shaken loose many vendors like apples from a tree. But, 30 years later, the Clark family—father Ray Sr., son Ray Jr. and grandsons Chris and Tim—are coming off a year in which they invested more than

Mitsubishi Imaging Center For Education Is Dedicated RYE, NY—Mitsubishi Imaging (MPM) announced the grand opening of its Mitsubishi Center for Education, a state-of-the-art demonstration print shop for use by dealers, printers and graphic arts professionals. Visitors to the center can experience the entire print process, including file production, proofing, platesetting and printing to a Hamada B452 Mark II press. Sakurai USA Hosts Demonstration Day SCHAUMBURG, IL—Sakurai USA recently hosted a Demonstration Day for more than 100 customers, dealers and guests at its North American headquarters. During the festivities, Sakurai dealer Independent Graphic Services, of Montgomery, AL, was presented a sales award for achieving the highest sales