Muller Martini

NILES, IL—Construction has begun on a 36,000-square-foot expansion that will nearly double the size of the existing facility at Universal Press. Groundbreaking took place last November and the addition is expected to be completed in July. With the new space comes enhancements such as automatic waste removal, room for a more efficient workflow and two new docks. The expansion is also being ushered in with a bevy of new machinery—a more than $4 million initiative that has taken place over the past 18 months. Among the equipment is a six-color Komori 640 perfecting press with tower coater and closed-loop color control system, as well as

JACKSONVILLE, FL—Jeff Sweetman fully understands if you think heatset and coldset web offset printing have no business being under the same roof. The CEO of Los Alamitos, CA-based Trend Offset Printing won't argue with anyone who feels that way. Yes, it is true that the privately held company crossed into the Top 50 of printers nationwide as ranked by Printing Impressions in terms of revenues with a lusty $150-plus million in sales. It's also true that Trend Offset expanded into a Dallas suburb fairly recently and, yes, it's expanding again with a new facility in Jacksonville, FL. Sure, Trend Offset was able to

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

BY SCOTT POLK Eighty percent of printing jobs need finishing work, according to Duplo USA Vice President of Marketing Peter Tu. With customers demanding quick turnarounds and quality work, the bindery plays an important role in the overall printing process. This is especially true as commercial printing continues its digital revolution. "Print-on-demand has become increasingly popular among printers today," Tu notes. "It offers many benefits such as waste elimination, versatility and cost savings. It's no secret that the widespread availability of on-demand technology has expanded the capabilities of printing operations. Printers are always looking for ways to keep up with technology while

EL RENO, OK—Heritage Press hosted an open house recently to celebrate its growth, which includes an expansion and the addition of several key pieces of equipment. The 26-year-old firm doubled the size of its original facility, from roughly 25,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet, highlighted by a new production area. The upgrades include a six-color Mitsubishi Model 3F-13 sheetfed press, a Muller Martini Presto saddle stitcher, Heidelberg Polar 115 cutter, a 41˝ KBA sheetfed press and a CreoScitex Dolev 800 imagesetter. Heritage Press, a producer of high-quality corporate image materials and point-of-purchase kits, converted its old production area into offices and warehouse space. "The new production

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

As Von Hoffmann continues to augment its hold on the educational market, the company takes on new facets that allow it to be a one-stop shop. BY ERIK CAGLE Truth be known, the Von Hoffmann story doesn't begin in 1903, when the printer was founded. Nor does it start in the early 1960s, when the company found a niche in educational book printing. Not even 1990, when the family owned Von Hoffmann was sold, or when it was sold again a few years later. Try 1997, when the St. Louis-based company began to acquire complementary businesses that have helped catapult it to a

INDIANASYRACUSE, IN—The Image Group recently achieved its 100 millionth impression on one of its six-color Akiyama offset presses. The sheetfed press, shown here with Bob McKee (left) of Akiyama and James Plummer Sr., president and CEO of The Image Group, was installed in 1986. NEW YORKHENRIETTA, NY—Tucker Printers has installed a new Heidelberg Speedmaster CD-102-6+LX at its facility here. With the press are (from the left) Dan Tucker, president of Tucker Printers, and Whitey Link, sales representative for Heidelberg USA. ARKANSASSPRINGDALE—The Morning News has purchased a TECSA 2470 copydot scanner from Graphic Enterprises Inc. (GEI). CALIFORNIASAN Diego—Dam Bindery has installed a Minuteman saddle

BY ERIK CAGLE Whatever fat existed in the adhesive binding portion of the postpress workflow has long since been trimmed away. The days of the long run are long gone. On-demand environments are everywhere, and inventories are kept as low as possible. Makeready times must make a NASCAR pit crew green with envy, and the machines must be easy to use, as quality help, like substance in this year's presidential election, is nowhere to be found. Through it all, customers are still asking for lower prices—frantically waving table-top machine money while standing in front of the floor- model machines. They can't be blamed;

BY ERIK CAGLE Quad/Graphics has installed the latest design in Ferag gathering/stitching/ trimming systems at its plant in Lomira, WI, marking the third such system installation for Quad. The new system includes six log-fed feeders, which transport signatures to a rotary gathering drum, then to a shear-cut trimmer. According to Frank Arndorfer, Quad/Graphics' vice president of finishing operations, adding the third Ferag unit bolsters the company in a number of ways. The Ferags are the workhorses on the shop floor. "We lean toward Ferag because we have an application for production that requires more of a Gatlin gun approach—high volume and relative ease of use," Arndorfer says.