Manugraph DGM

by chris bauer According to heatset web press manufacturers, an intense war is raging—and they aren't talking about Iraq. The war they speak of is a pricing war—and it is being fought among commercial printers. This economic conflict is necessitating higher productivity and press availability to increase efficiency and, in turn, generate profits. "This calls for higher production speeds with higher circulations and a reduction in makeready times and waste due to a higher degree of automation," says Erik Rehmann of Koenig & Bauer AG (KBA). "Additional paper savings are achieved by reducing the size of the cylinder circumference—with mini-gap technology and the use

ALABAMA BIRMINGHAM—Community Newspaper Holdings has purchased a 14-unit double-around press from Dauphin Graphic Machines. The six DGM 850 units and two DGM 860 towers will be used to print The Sharon Herald and The New Castle News, both in Pennsylvania. MONTGOMERY—Davis Printing has implemented Printcafe's PSI print management system. california NAPA—Label printer Jonergin Pacific completed a full conversion to CRC Information Systems' THE System accounting package in just one week. OXNARD—Ventura Printing is now producing pocket folders, CD wallets, packaging and boxes using a new Kluge UniFold folding and gluing system. The employee-owned company has been in business for 56 years. SAN

BY CAROLINE MILLER Faced with dropping readership, falling advertising revenues and more media outlets, newspaper publishers are looking now more than ever to their in-house production facilities to help them meet the challenges of a volatile business environment. Increasingly, newspapers with printing capabilities are interested in the ability to bring in commercial work to help boost their profits, contends Craig Simon, director of web sales administration for MAN Roland. MAN Roland manufactures the four-page Cromoman, the Uniset, the Geoman and its flagship, 16-page newspaper web press—the Colorman—which was shown at IPEX in a 24-page version. Its top speed ranges to 86,000 copies per hour.

CALIFORNIA CITY OF INDUSTRY—Modem Graphics has christened its new headquarters with a new six-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Model 3F-16 sheetfed press. OXNARD—Family owned Custom Printing has acquired a five-color Komori waterless press featuring automatic plate hangers and custom spot aqueous coating. Custom Printing has been in business since 1974 and specializes in full-color printing. SAN DIEGO—Commercial Press has installed a six-color, 40˝ Komori Lithrone press equipped with a ColorCommand temperature control/cooling system from TriService. FLORIDA BOCA RATON—JKG Group has launched LojX, a new e-solutions provider. Using a proprietary Internet program called e-Stationery Pro, users looking to update and control brand images or logos can

BY MARK SMITH It's the nature of the business for newspaper editorial departments to move from one crisis to the next. Unfortunately, market factors in recent years have forced their back offices to regularly function in crisis management mode, as well. Declining readership, drops in advertising revenues, the Internet threat (or opportunity), industry consolidation, volatility in newsprint prices, and more have made it a challenging business environment. The one bright spot has been the ability to maintain healthy profit margins. These business pressures have translated into an ever-greater need for flexibility on the production side. Newspaper plants can provide a competitive edge by

BY ERIK CAGLE Aretha Franklin herself would have a tough time drumming up a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the coldset web offset press. While its heatset counterpart struts on by, wearing UV Ray Bans and leading the way as the prime choice for high-end, multi-color commercial work, the dryer-less stepchild ekes out a living churning out newspapers, direct mailers, promotional graphics and other types of printed communications, primarily on uncoated stocks. Even manufacturers and distributors of open-web presses believe the market for this type of machine has been declining in recent years, but it remains a viable, strong option in several print communications segments. Like