MLP USA

When pondering what sets one commercial printer apart from the competition, the answer has to be unique capabilities. The C.J. Krehbiel Co. routinely delivers products and services that other printers cannot provide. For 128 years, the Cincinnati-based company has been partnering with clients to realize their printing goals. From estimate to delivered products, prepress to bindery, C.J. Kreh-biel provides total in-house capabilities, saving customers time and money while producing high-quality products. Complete in-house capabilities allow the 250-employee company to offer flexibility in printing clients' products. Their ability to print in a variety of web formats and signatures, and to produce a mix of

IP Contest Winner Headed for VacationMEMPHIS, TN—International Paper Commercial Printing Papers has announced the winners of "The Best Ideas on Paper Sweepstakes," an online contest designed to encourage commercial printers to visit the company's Website, www.ipcommercialprinting.com. After 41 years of service with the Bobst Group, Joe Fuchs, vice president, has retired. Fuchs trained in Switzerland as a diecutter specialist before moving to the U.S. full-time in 1967. He was promoted to vice president in 1978, where he was responsible for directing the service activities for all Bobst products sold here. Georgia-Pacific has announced the appointment of Andrea Day as market manager

GPO Appropriations Approved WASHINGTON, DC—Congress has approved funding for the Government Printing Office's (GPO) Congressional Printing and Binding Appropriation to the tune of $71.4 million for fiscal year 2001, down nearly 3 percent from the $73.2 million approved for fiscal year 2000. The appropriation is used to cover the costs of printing work that the GPO performs for Congress, such as the Congressional Record, bills, reports and hearings. Congress also ticketed $27.9 million (down roughly 6 percent from 2000) for the salaries and expenses appropriation of the superintendent of documents. The funding is used to cover the costs of distributing government publications as required

The stakes are high and the iron-producing players are few in the world of 40˝ and larger sheetfed presses. Today, manufacturers are looking at what printers want in a press tomorrow. BY ERIK CAGLE The crystal ball is working overtime at manufacturing facilities around the world. While you make your way at DRUPA 2000 through the hundreds of thousands of people cramming the aisles of the 18 buildings at Messe Dusseldorf, the R&D people, the tech heads and marketing gurus are looking past the present. They're thinking DRUPA 2004. Phrases float through their brains: increased automation, but what's left on the press?...what is the

Being able to run a 20˝ (or smaller) sheetfed offset press without a broad operator learning curve tops commercial printer demands of press manufacturers. BY ERIK CAGLE Commercial Printers have felt the pinch recently, with the amount of skilled press operators seemingly dwindling each year. Rather than choosing from a long list of prospects to operate their presses, many employers are faced with few options. As a result of the tight employment market, printers seek equipment that doesn't require lengthy operator training sessions—one of several issues facing not only those who buy small-format (20˝ and under) presses, but also those who manufacture them. While

With automation reaching or nearing its peak, manufacturers look for ways to bring prepress and the pressroom closer together. BY ERIK CAGLE Want to see all of the neat, new sheetfed offset press models that will be unveiled at DRUPA 2000? If the answer is yes, go renew your passport because we're not going to show you. Sorry, we'd show you if we could, but Germany will be the place to be next May, as the printing industry's top manufacturers will use the exhibition to wage a battle of one-upsmanship in the sheetfed press division. Building the better mousetrap is becoming increasingly more difficult;

"I feel the need...the need for speed." So quipped Tom Cruise's cocky fighter pilot character Maverick in the action flick, Top Gun. Those same sentiments can be echoed by any commercial printer with medium- to large-sized (for purposes of this article, 26˝ and larger) presses. Except, Cruise's Maverick had it easy—just a few competitors to deal with and only one battle necessary to test his meddle. Increasing customer demands, pricing pressures and shorter turnaround times all combine to put sheetfed owners' metal to the test—on a daily basis. "Large-format sheetfed press manufacturers feel the same price pressures as their customers. Continually shorter run