Muller Martini

By Caroline Miller Associate Editor UV drying technology is continuing to make major in-roads into the web offset printing market as printers are forced to deal with heightened EPA restrictions, a sour economy and the need to further diversify their product offerings. "This year, we've really seen a trend of printers seeking us out. In the past, we've gone to them, but now they are coming to us," reports Elinor Midlik, president of Prime UV Systems. "We've seen a growing interest in UV systems regionally. We're hearing from many companies located in California, Maryland, Ohio and Massachusetts that are under strict EPA restrictions and

A Strong Finish Optimism was sky-high throughout the exhibit halls during GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, held in Chicago this past September. Why? A sizeable segment of the vendors noted that there appeared to be more printers and trade finishers touting checkbooks—and fewer tire kickers at McCormick Place. Whether it is the first signs of economic recovery and prosperity in this country remains to be seen, but big crowds on the show floor was certainly a good sign. And it wasn't just the prepress and press vendors that reported brisk activity—those pitching finishing products found the latest GRAPH EXPO to their liking. "We did

Bridging the Digital Divide BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Trade shows are supposed to be a forum for presenting solutions to meet the needs of attendees. What many people took away from workflow displays at GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, however, was a bag full of questions . . . and maybe the odd poster or two, a foam sword, canisters of M&Ms, etc. That doesn't mean attendees weren't looking to buy. Exhibitors were more ardent than usual about the quality of the leads they were getting, and they claimed to also be pleased with the quantity. "Turned the corner" was a popular

alabama TUSCALOOSA—Printing Services at the University of Alabama has purchased a Presto saddle stitching system from Muller Martini to expand its full-service finishing capabilities. florida HIALEAH—Franklin/Trade Graphics recently held an open house to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the merger of Franklin Graphics, Trade Litho and Little River Press. About 200 guests got a look at the company's two new six-color, 40˝ sheetfed presses—a Mitsubishi 3F-13 and Mitsubishi Diamond 3000LS. Among the special guests at the open house were Stanley C. Panther, mascot of the Florida Panthers hockey team, and Billy the Marlin, mascot of the Florida Marlins baseball team. MIAMI—Solo Printing has

WESTAMPTON, NJ—Building on the success of their Spring Customer Expo, MBO America and Muller Martini are planning another customer open house here on November 13-15. Conducted under the theme "All Together Now," the event will include prepress and pressroom innovations to show how they interface with the postpress systems that MBO America and Muller Martini offer. Scheduled to demonstrate their latest developments at the event are Baumann, Bograma, Creo, Ehret, Herzog & Heymann, hhs America, HP Indigo, IBM, Imaje, Palamides, Ryobi, Scitex, Stralfors, Streamfeeder, Theisen & Bonitz and Wohlenberg. "Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) means no system is an island," says Werner Naegeli, president and CEO of

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor There are enough headaches encountered between the time a customer's files are uploaded to your FTP site and when the truck rolls away from the back dock with finished product. But, while certain aspects of the workflow are tedious and time consuming, your perfect binder shouldn't be an attention, or time, burglar. Most manufacturers of floor-model adhesive binders agree that time is of the essence. And the position of bindery operator often sees high turnover, making it imperative that a quality machine is easy to makeready, simple to operate, and equally user-friendly and fast on changeovers. Shrinking Setup As run lengths

Hibner Named CFO at Banta MENASHA, WI—Geoffrey J. Hibner has been hired as the new Banta Corp. CFO. Hibner, 53, was most recently with Bridge Associates, a New York City-based management consulting firm. He succeeds current executive vice president and CFO Gerald A. Henseler, who will retire in October after a 37-year career with Banta. Quebecor Joins USPS Program MIDLAND, MI—Quebecor World's Midland facility has been authorized by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to participate in the new Periodical Co-palletization Program. The Quebecor World Midland facility is the second Quebecor World facility to obtain authorization for this program. Additionally, this is said to be the first

Xerox Corp. has received the 2003 IEEE Corporate Innovation Recognition award for its work that created the DocuTech product line. The IEEE recognized Xerox "for its DocuTech product line, which unified digital electronics, computing and communications with xerography to create the print-on-demand industry," says Michael Adler, IEEE president. X-Rite Inc. has acquired the assets of Monaco Systems, a Massachusetts-based company that develops and distributes color management software to the graphic arts and photo markets. This $10.6 million asset purchase, funded by a combination of cash and stock, (some of which is subject to certain vesting requirements), includes the entire Monaco line of color management

california GARDENA—Southwest Offset Printers has purchased a 28-unit DGM 430 press. The purchase also includes two DGM 1035 folders. IRVINE—The Graphics Industry Council held its third annual "Shoot for the Cure" golf tournament in August. Over 125 executives from regional graphic arts industry-related firms teed off to help raise $40,000 for the City of Hope Cancer Center. LA VERNE—Layton Printing, an 18-year-old, family owned firm, has purchased a Mitsubishi Diamond 3000LS sheetfed press. The four-color, 40˝ machine is Layton Printing's first Mitsubishi press. The company specializes in the design and printing of unique, full-color business cards, notepads and postcards. florida CLERMONT—Sprint is remaking printed

Lastra America has merged its Western Lithotech and Lastra America operations into a single business unit, Lastra America, headquartered in Danbury, CT. PagePath Technologies has, for a second time, received the Product of the Year award from the PrintImage International association, formerly the National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP). During the association's annual conference, PagePath was presented the award for its PDF2U Web-based orderflow system. xpedx Import Group, the exclusive Ryobi distributor in the U.S., has named Graphco, of Solon, OH, as its dealer for Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. Muller Martini has appointed Thomas Duckett as its New England sales manager. He now heads sales