Muller Martini

BY ERIK CAGLE When is a floor model saddle stitcher not a saddle stitcher? When does it become a perfect binder? Ask Bob Morton, president of Best Graphics, one of the nation's leading bindery product distributors. Best Graphics will be introducing the Best Osako 612 UB 'reverse stitcher' to the U.S. market later this year. The innovative machine will produce books that appear to be perfect bound, despite the fact they are produced on a stitcher. In essence, it's the look of a perfectly bound book at saddle stitcher cost; but there's more to it than the bottom line. The reverse stitcher is designed

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

Digital output devices didn't capture all the headlines. Manufacturers of traditional sheetfed and web presses also demonstrated cutting-edge models. BY MARK MICHELSON Even the12,000 gallons of flame-retardant water, which came gushing down from sprinklers onto a MAN Roland web press in the 250,000-square-foot PrintCity hall the afternoon before the exhibition was to open, couldn't dampen the DRUPA spirits of this press manufacturer. The flooding resulted from a pipe burst, and MAN technicians had to work through the night to ready the press for opening day. And, while other printing press exhibitors didn't have to face such an 11th-hour, potential disaster, their enthusiasm was

Digital output devices didn't capture all the headlines. Manufacturers of traditional sheetfed and web presses also demonstrated cutting-edge models. BY MARK MICHELSON Even the12,000 gallons of flame-retardant water, which came gushing down from sprinklers onto a MAN Roland web press in the 250,000-square-foot PrintCity hall the afternoon before the exhibition was to open, couldn't dampen the DRUPA spirits of this press manufacturer. The flooding resulted from a pipe burst, and MAN technicians had to work through the night to ready the press for opening day. And, while other printing press exhibitors didn't have to face such an 11th-hour, potential disaster, their enthusiasm was

BY CLINT BOLTE Representatives of the 43 member companies of the International Cooperation for Integration of Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP3)—two companies joined during DRUPA—used this international venue as another opportunity to meet and discuss the evolving status of their efforts to develop integrated production standards leading to computer integrated manufacturing (CIM). Increasing anticipation in this meeting was evident due to two developments: the fourth "P" for Process to represent the new Job Definition Format (JDF), as well as the potential juggernaut of JDF versus printCafe's PCX specifications. Forged by Adobe, Agfa, MAN Roland and Heidelberg beginning nearly a year and a half

BY T.J. TEDESCO Different operating circumstances require different business strategies. For example, three trade binderies in three different states each have different plans and methods of doing business. Who's right? Maybe, they all are. In today's rough and tumble graphic arts world, excellent performance is not optional. To successfully compete over the long haul, companies must consistently say what they do, and do what they say. Yesterday's recipe for success—service, quality and fair prices—is just the starting point. Carefully evaluating business factors, such as geographic location, customer attitudes toward outsourcing, management strengths and weaknesses, and company core competencies, is essential. Then, implementing the right game plan

BY CHERYL A. ADAMS Printer, printer . . . How does your bindery grow? Certainly not with cockleshells all in a row—but with the same careful cultivation, operational dedication and savvy business sense that commercial printers are using to grow their prepress and pressroom areas. But forget all the bells and whistles of prepress and press for a moment. Instead, take a behind-the-scenes look at how three very different commercial printers—two with extensive bindery operations and one with limited finishing services—are growing their overall businesses by investing in their back ends. Blue Ocean PressAbsolute AutomationYou never want to have to print a job over

BY T.J. TEDESCO Different operating circumstances require different business strategies. For example, three trade binderies in three different states each have different plans and methods of doing business. Who's right? Maybe, they all are. In today's rough and tumble graphic arts world, excellent performance is not optional. To successfully compete over the long haul, companies must consistently say what they do, and do what they say. Yesterday's recipe for success—service, quality and fair prices—is just the starting point. Carefully evaluating business factors, such as geographic location, customer attitudes toward outsourcing, management strengths and weaknesses, and company core competencies, is essential. Then, implementing the

Tucked away in Upstate New York, 40-year-old Brodock Press has gone from a reclamation project to one of the leading commercial printers in the Northeast. BY ERIK CAGLE Lost in all the hype surrounding Broadway, the Statue of Liberty and even Jerry Seinfeld, lies a New York that is largely unheralded, dwarfed by the image of the Big Apple. Upstate New York, with its rolling hills, mountains and more than a few lakes, is as majestic and breathtaking as any site in the city of concrete and steel. Perhaps Utica, NY-based printer Brodock Press was also a victim of its environment—tucked far, far away

The finishing end of the entire on-demand printed product workflow is the poor stepchild of the digital family, watching in envy as the prepress and printing sides get the technological pony for Christmas. But it shouldn't and doesn't have to be that way.