KBA North America

Buhrs, a producer of mailing and fulfillment solutions, has announced its intention to enter the market for FSI collating and wrapping systems for the newspaper industry. Buhrs has appointed Don Piontek, of Finishing Resources, to develop its presence in the market. John Kia has been named manager, production product marketing, for IBM Printing Systems. Also, Chris Reid has been named commercial print solutions manager. In this capacity, he is responsible for worldwide output solutions customized for commercial printers, including service bureaus, direct mailers and book printers. FileAmerica, a custom file folder manufacturer, is celebrating its 30th year serving the trade in the printing industry. Formerly known

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor When Bruce Ross took a tour of the construction site that will soon host the Kansas City Star's shiny new production facility, the newspaper's director of marketing services was stunned. "It looks to me like an aircraft carrier," Ross said of the planned 424,000-square-foot building. "It's a sloping kind of wedge. It's all glass, it's green and it is beautiful." The futuristic-looking piece of architecture will complement the massive revitalization era that is sweeping through this midwestern city, adding sizzle to a town known for its steaks. Voters have already approved a glass-enclosed sports arena that will take up

Heidelberg Showcases Equipment Range CRANBURY, NJ—Heidelberg USA held an open house here at its Tech Center East showroom early last month, attracting about 150 people. Demonstrations of equipment included its Suprasetter thermal and Prosetter violet CTP platesetters, Quickmaster DI 46-4 Pro with smart spooling mechanism and Speedmaster SM 52-5P+L with retractable in-line coating unit presses, Stitchmaster ST 100 saddlestitcher, Stahlfolder TH series folder and Polar 115 XT cutter, among others. Seminars held the same day featured Bill Bonallo, technotrans america, on trends in UV coatings; Mark Tonkovich, Heidelberg USA, on thermal platesetter innovations; and Paul Keuchenius, Heidelberg USA, on long perfecting press innovations. KBA North

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor It’s been more than a decade since the first high-volume, modern digital color printing systems were introduced. Heidelberg and Presstek teamed up to launch the digital offset (GTO DI, in this case) product category in 1991. A few years later, the Indigo EPrint and Agfa/Xeikon Chromapress ushered in the era of the all-digital production color printing systems. In the future, though, 2004 may be looked back upon as a key transition period in the maturation of digital printing as a business segment—both on the vendor and user side. No fundamentally new technologies were unveiled, but all the vendors

DETROIT—To increase the efficiency of its premedia operation, Brophy is implementing the Kodak Polychrome Graphics Matchprint Virtual Proofing System. The SWOP-certified monitor proofing solution uses customized CRT displays and proprietary color management technology. (www.brophy.com/www.kpgraphics.com) ENGLEWOOD, CO—Cenveo is launching eCENergy, a Web portal providing access to a suite of online solutions designed to automate and streamline transactions with customers. Users can securely log in to a custom branded site, then choose from a menu of applications that currently includes an online print ordering and fulfillment system (eCatalog), soft and remote proofing, and digital asset management. (www.cenveo.com) NORWALK, CT—A steady stream of

In the not-so-distant past, it was easy to look at small- and medium-format sheetfed offset presses (29˝ and smaller) as the less-coordinated sibling to large-format units. While small-format machines could print with similar quality, they lacked some of the automated features and bells and whistles of their larger counterparts. Today’s generation of smaller-format presses refuse to be overshadowed—most features offered on large-format presses are now available on smaller machines. “For the past few years, equipment manufacturers of sheetfed presses have been adding the same automation that can be found on their larger 40˝ presses to their mid-size and smaller sheetfed presses,” says Thomas Goecke,

The world of commercial printing can be a cruel one. Just ask Gene Hamrick, president and CEO of the UBS Printing Group located in Corona, CA, just outside of Los Angeles. When the market shifts, no one mails out a postcard to the affected parties—they find out the hard way. That was the case with Hamrick's company, which he started in 1984 as a printing, packaging and label brokerage before delving into commercial print production in 1989. Founded in Orange County, UBS Printing was ideally situated to print manuals, company brochures and direct mail for the surrounding computer

Anniversary Open House Draws Crowd MAULBURG, GERMANY—Approximately 250 people recently attended the anniversary open house event, "40 years of Muller Martini Presses," in this town in southern Germany. Group Chairman Rudolf Müller, Group Divisional Manager Dr. Peter Merkli and Managing Director Dr. Jürgen Dillmann took the opportunity to thank all the guests for their long-standing relationship. Muller Martini then demonstrated two new variable-size web presses, the Alprinta and the Concepta. Introduced at Drupa, Muller Martini's new variable-size printing insert maximizes the format flexibility of a standard Alprinta by simply exchanging the plate and blanket cylinders, while the cartridge is still installed in the

Digital Press Scorecard Xerox Corp. iGen3 digital production press Joseph Merritt & Co., Hartford, CT Gordon Bernard Co., Cincinnati Lancaster Ultra-Graphics, Landisville, PA PrintManagement, Cincinnati Xerographic Digital Printing, Orlando McKay Press, Midland, MI Rapid Solutions Group, Melville, NY HP Indigo HP Indigo 3050 digital printing press Tukaiz LLC, Franklin Park, IL Kodak Versamark VX5000 ink-jet, color printing system Transcontinental CC3, Warminster, PA NexPress Solutions NexPress 2100 digital color press MGF/Consortium Inc., Edison, NJ Océ VarioStream 7000 printing system Offset Paperback Manufacturers, Dallas, PA VarioStream 7650 digital printing system Action Mailers, Aston, PA VarioStream 7650 Twin MICR digital

by chris Bauer Managing Editor Many printers report seeing the demand for UV offset printing continue to rise—a bright light in a sometimes gloomy commercial printing landscape. One reason given by printers for this trend is the growing desire of print buyers and designers to create high-end consumer packaging, displays and marketing materials. This change in marketing approach by print buyers has had an effect on printed materials, causing a need to provide high-quality results. UV printing is opening up new doors for commercial printers. When it comes to intangibles such as gloss, feel, protective qualities and scuff resistance, UV-printed products are often