manroland Inc.

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

Postal Commission OKs Hike WASHINGTON, DC—A 5.4 percent increase in United States Postal Service (USPS) rates virtually across the board has been approved by the Postal Rate Commission. The rate increases were expected to take effect by the middle of January. The increase will help the USPS meet its $3.1 billion escrow payment due in 2006. Nonprofit mailings will go up by 3 percent, while the book rate will balloon 12.7 percent, in accordance with the requirement that all classes of mail cover their direct cost of service. A First Class stamp will rise by 2 cents. Quad Signs Billion Dollar Deal SUSSEX, WI—Quad/Graphics and

Award Winners Honored in China SHANGHAI, CHINA—Jonathan Leslie, CEO of Sappi Limited, and Ronee Hagen, CEO of Sappi Fine Paper North America, presented Bob Coppinger of Kirkwood Printing, Wilmington, MA, with an International Printer of the Year award. Sappi Limited presented awards to nine printers out of 6,000 entries at a gala event held here recently to recognize excellence in print craftsmanship. The only winner from the U.S., Kirkwood Printing took top honors in the annual reports category. Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A.) has joined The Print Council, an industry coalition dedicated to building the market for print. Jeff Pieper has been promoted to senior vice president

arizona PHOENIX—O'Neil Printing has added a new six-color Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 52 perfector with coating system. The new press is an upgrade from a five-color Heidelberg GTO 52. Founded in 1908, O'Neil Printing has been an employee-owned company since 1996. TUCSON—Southern Arizona Graphic Associates has installed a new six-color Komori Lithrone S40 press with coater. california ONTARIO—Rey Nelson Printing purchased a five-color, 20˝ KBA Genius 52 waterless UV press while attending PRINT 05 in Chicago. According to company president George Alderson, the 28-year-old trade shop sees a major market opportunity to produce short-run synthetic printing. FLORIDA MOUNT DORA—DMMI Promotions has installed two DocuSheeter

DENVER—The Denver Newspaper Agency (DNA) has placed an order for five new MAN Roland Geoman newspaper presses, for installation within the next two years. DNA prints Colorado's two largest dailies, the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. The installation is part of DNA's consolidation into one production facility. Also integrated into the workflow will be a MAN Roland AUROSYS automated reel handling system. The printing plant for the Denver Post will be phased out under the consolidated production plan. The Rocky Mountain News' printing facility is slated to become the sole production hub by the end of 2007. Parts of both papers have been printed

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor "Workflow" used to be an easy, concise way to reference the digital equivalent of conventional prepress. It spanned the processes from when a file came in the door until the plate went out to the pressroom. Over time, usage of the term has been extended to encompass so much of the print production process that it now is in danger of applying to everything and effectively defining nothing. Workflow already has been—or is in the process of being—extended: * back to the customer, initially in the form of preflighting and remote proofing solutions, but increasingly including production portals

Milestone Printing Unit Celebrated Radebeul, Germany—KBA North America reports that the 100th Rapida printing unit of the super large-format series was put through its final print testing at the KBA plant here recently. The unit is part of the five-color Rapida 205 purchased by Integra-Color in Mesquite, TX. The 80˝ sheetfed press has been configured with a special board-handling package and is also to be equipped with UV facilities for printing on plastics. It also incorporates an ICS slitter system and non-stop pile changing for the feeder and delivery. Reseller Agreement Inked at Trade Show CHICAGO—During PRINT 05, Muller Martini and Kodak signed a reseller

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Automation usually has the effect of at once making equipment simpler to operate, but more complex to fix when a problem arises. Just as driveway car repairs have become a thing of the past for most owners, the response to any glitch on today's printing equipment is apt to be arranging for a service call rather than reaching for a wrench. The answer, of course, is to bring more technology to bear. As heavy iron has integrated silicon components, the potential has grown for capturing even minute operating parameters by tapping into the various electronic controls, IC chips and servo motors.

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor It wasn't long ago that large and extra-large format sheetfed offset presses were considered primary tools for the package printing market. In Europe, notes Ken Kodama, vice president of sheetfed sales for Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A.), these oversized machines were not used just by folding carton producers, but also by publication and commercial printers. But the productivity of the super-sized press and its ease of use is winning over favor among U.S. printers in the commercial sector. "The manning for a large-format is similar to a 40˝ press, so the makereadies are very similar," Kodama says.

By Mark Michelson Editor-in-Chief Growing interest in digital press offerings notwithstanding, the estimated 62,000 attendees at PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 surely didn't go home with the impression that the traditional sheetfed offset market has lost its luster, especially given all of the big iron dominating the show floor during the seven-day-long exhibition last month. Sealing the deal for nine new Komori six-color, 40˝ Lithrone presses at various Consolidated Graphics facilities are, front row from the left: Robert Birmingham, Consolidated Graphics; John Marotta, Komori America; back row: Yoshiharu Komori, Komori Corp.; George Abboud, Consolidated Graphics; Stephan Carter, Komori America; and Satoshi Mochida, Komori