manroland Inc.

by chris bauer Managing Editor Giving your customers a little direction—and not the driving kind—can go a long way in building a strong printer/print buyer relationship. Many print buyers want to know more about the printing process. And, often times, the more print buyers know about printing, the fewer problems the printer will encounter in the end. According to a recent survey conducted by press manufacturer MAN Roland, printers who want to connect with customers from the creative side of the business should consider providing them with more information about the printing process. More than 87 percent of the creatives polled declared that they

By Erik CagleSenior Editor Although the company itself is 179 years old, Courier Corp. has the vitality of a teenager. The North Chelmsford, MA-based book printer found the fountain of youth courtesy of a comprehensive strategic planning process that began in 1990 and provided Courier with a sleek, sexy and, most of all, fiscally lucrative overhaul. The publicly held printer shed a number of markets, and the company that once published newspapers and dabbled in commercial work narrowed its focus to three book manufacturing segments—education, religious and specialty trade. The results have been outstanding. Through the first nine months of 2003, Courier has enjoyed

News Fit for Printing Extra! Extra! Read all about it. The graphic arts industry is launching a new campaign to promote the use of print as a replacement for, and complement to, other media. I know, grizzled industry veterans might point out, other efforts have been tried in the past—typically losing steam over time. But this effort has some of the biggest industry guns behind it as founding members, including vendors such as Agfa, EFI, Heidelberg, IBM, MAN Roland, Scitex Digital and Xerox, as well as prominent printers like Mail-Well, RR Donnelley, Quad/Graphics, Sandy Alexander and Franchise Services (the parent company of PIP

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor With all the talk of excess capacity and declining sales, why would any printer consider buying a new press? First, the obvious reason. Capacity on an industry-wide level doesn't necessarily mirror the situation in a local market or any given company. There also is a more subtle rational that has grown in importance with the changes in business conditions. The pressures of a highly competitive market make it even more critical for a shop to have the right kind of capacity. Production efficiency and flexibility are more important than gross capacity. Sheetfed offset presses used to break down fairly

alabama MONTGOMERY—The installation of an Agfa-based CTP system has been completed at Montgomery Living Press. Its Apogee Create Series 3 workflow and EskoScan F14 are now in full production along with the Agfa Xcalibur 45 with online TP 105 plate processor. arkansas ROGERS—The RoArk Group will implement a fully integrated software solution from CRC Information Systems, including THE System's Commercial Estimating, Dynamic Scheduling and Automatic Data Collection modules, as well as complete accounting, fulfillment and e-commerce applications. california OXNARD—Custom Printing has purchased a 28˝ Heidelberg cylinder diecutting machine to bolster its workflow. The new equipment is expected to more than double the speed of

By Erik Cagle KISS is the word that best describes the modern day movement in regard to the manufacture of paper cutting systems: Keep It Simple and Safe. Safety may be to cutting what flour is to baking—an essential ingredient—but automation considerations cannot be ignored when weighing the purchase of a standalone cutter or complete system. In fact, with manufacturers adhering to U.S. and international safety guidelines, ease-of-use may spell the difference between products A, B and C. "Automating the backgauge movement on a cutter helps improve efficiency, makeready times, consistency and accuracy of the cut," points out Don Dubuque, marketing manager for Standard

By Erik Cagle In basic terms, the commercial printing industry has to deal with a new ozone standard set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The standard, previously 0.12 parts per million, now becomes 0.08 parts per million. The back end of the compliance timetable is 2021. One would presume eliminating 0.04 parts per million over an 18-year span doesn't sound all that challenging. But that breakdown is akin to saying the U.S. government is a bunch of people who take care of things. While true, it is horribly simplistic. The new standard, with its ramifications,

WESTAMPTON, NJ—Muller Martini and MBO America recently held a joint bindery customer expo at MBO's headquarters. The event attracted more than 250 participants. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has issued the first international safety standard for printing press systems: ISO 12648:2003 Graphic technology—Safety requirements for printing press systems. The standard was developed by ISO Technical Committee 130 (TC 130) Working Group 5 (Safety and Ergonomics). The committee is administered by NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies with NPES Vice President William K. "Kip" Smythe and Director of Standards Programs Mary Abbott serving as convener and secretary, respectively. Dauphin Graphic Machines

Solutions Forum Gives Canon a Platform CHICAGO—Canon U.S.A. recently held its Digital Solutions Forum 2003, an annual showcase of the company's technology and strategic vision. This year's event occupied more than 100,000 square feet of the McCormick Place Convention Center. A large portion was devoted to displaying solutions for key markets targeted by Canon, including financial services, education (on-demand books), law enforcement, general office, healthcare, color publishing and legal services. "Today's demanding technology customer is giving considerable attention to workflow and the bottom line, and what an investment made now will mean for the future," asserts Kinya Uchida, company president and CEO.

Stämpfli becomes first user of heatset version of MAN Roland DICOweb press By Chris Bauer BERN, SWITZERLAND—Throughout history, the world has witnessed many firsts—Neil Armstrong taking man's first steps on the moon; Jackie Robinson becoming the first black player in major league baseball; and Charles Lindbergh making the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight quickly come to mind. Hoping to make a bit of history of its own—although admittedly not on the same scale as the aforementioned events—Stämpfli, a sixth-generation, family owned commercial printer here in the Alps-shadowed Swiss capital, has installed the world's first heatset version of the MAN Roland DICOweb press. A contingent of more than 20 international