Nipson America

arizona PHOENIX—Harte Bindery & Mailing recently added a TD 66 Stahlfolder with continuous feed and a Stahl digital folder. The new postpress systems are being used to finish brochures and other general commercial materials. Since the installation, capacity at Harte Bindery has doubled. california IRVINE—Mini-Mailers has changed its name to MMi. It has also launched its Digital Color Direct Mail department. Using Web-to-print technology, MMi will offer integrated services from design to mailing in one process. MMi began as a one-man operation in 1986. It now employs 150 at two locations. LOS ANGELES—Cenveo Anderson Lithograph has purchased a six-unit Mitsubishi Diamond 16 MAX commercial

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Scientists have challenged its veracity, but the "boiling frog" legend endures. Here's a short version: Drop a frog into a pot of boiling water and it will immediately jump up. Place a frog into a pot of temperate water, then slowly turn up the heat, and it will stay in the pot until it is overcome. Admittedly, the dire consequences of this cautionary tale are overblown when it's applied to the current status of digital printing. Nonetheless, it does give one a visceral sense for how the slow pace of a change can mask its magnitude over time

Printing Research Inc. (PRI) and its owner, Howard DeMoore, announced the successful conclusion of a patent infringement suit against a European company. The suit, filed in Germany against Green & Snob Grafik, showed that Green & Snob's product was a direct infringement against PRI's Super Blue 2 StripeNet anti-marking, anti-static nets. John Laabs has been appointed director of marketing for Fox River Paper. For the past six years, Laabs has worked in various sales and marketing capacities for both the Fox River and Gilbert brands of paper. KBA North America has named Steve Korn its new district sales manager to cover the states of Illinois and

More Than 700 Get Connected At EFI Event LAS VEGAS—The plush MGM Grand Hotel and Casino was the mecca for approximately 700 worldwide customers as EFI/Connect 2004, Printcafe's fifth annual user's conference, paid a visit to Sin City June 27-30. The conference resembled a mini Graph Expo, with 22 exhibitors showcasing complementary equipment, and 162 educational seminars for users of EFI workflow solutions. The conference opened with a state-of-the-industry report by Andrew Paparozzi, the NAPL's chief economist, titled, "Success Factors of the Profit Leaders." Paparozzi pointed out that the recession has been much more severe for the industry than it has for the rest

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor There are a couple different measures by which one can judge the vitality of digital printing at the recent Drupa 2004 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany. Certainly, the manufacturers made their presences felt around the show floors. Many of the largest booths were accounted for by digital printing system vendors. HP Indigo was a tour de force with its sprawling booth and theatre presentation featuring a booming audio track that reverberated throughout Hall 4. Xerox dominated Hall 13 with its equipment stretched across one end of the building. Océ extended its presence around the fairgrounds by giving away wheeled

by Dennis E. Mason The just-finished Drupa 2004 in Germany was unquestionably the most comprehensive graphic arts trade show in the world. Nowhere else but every four years in Düsseldorf can one see the breadth and depth of equipment, supplies, software and processes on display for two weeks. Although Drupas are dominated by the likes of Heidelberg, MAN Roland and KBA, with their particularly press-centric focus, it also provides a forum for companies that are far less well known, and for firms that only wish to be known. And while many journey to Drupa to see the latest in presses, or a complete

New Press Finds Home In New Jersey HILLSBOROUGH, NJ—East Coast Media has installed a five-color, 28˝ Sakurai EDII press. It is fully automated with auto plate changers, ink rollers and blanket cleaners, and includes an SCC color console equipped with SAS, for auto sheet size preset, cylinder registration, and impression adjustment and setting. The press joins an existing two-color Sakurai perfector. Supreme Installation Bound to Please ARCADIA, WI—Full-service and specialty printer Supreme Graphics has purchased a Duplo System 4000 collator/bookletmaker from Best Graphics. A key part of its business is producing classroom texts, lesson planners and other books for schools. california SAN

FedEx Buys Kinko's Franchise MEMPHIS, TN—FedEx Corp. and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) have announced an agreement for FedEx to acquire Kinko's for $2.4 billion in cash. Kinko's operates approximately 1,200 stores worldwide, generating annual sales of about $2 billion. Funds managed by CD&R, a private equity investment firm, currently owns about 75 percent of Kinko's outstanding shares. Once the transaction is completed, all Kinko's locations will offer new or expanded FedEx shipping options to small- to medium-size businesses and to large corporate customers. FedEx has been Kinko's exclusive shipping provider since 1988. Scitex Selling Digital Printing TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—Scitex Corp. and Eastman Kodak have signed a

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor The whispers that point toward an improving economy are becoming louder and louder. And 2004—some observers are confident—will show a marked improvement in the fortunes of commercial printers across the country, ending a downward cycle that traces to the fall of 2000. Of course, anything above the 2001 and 2002 performances would constitute an improvement. Still, among the ranks of our annual Top 400, tucked in between the masses of companies that experienced flat or negative growth from the previous campaign, are some establishments that have actually soared. We've provided a capsulated look at 13 companies randomly selected from

by chris bauer You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but a book's economic viability can be judged by how it is produced. To keep costs under control, many printers have turned to digital production for short runs of books. Short-run digital book manufacturing helps to reduce costly overprinting of offset runs and can keep publishers' titles alive after initial print run volumes are depleted. Overhead costs have narrowed profitability for book manufacturers in recent years. To remain competitive, book printers needed to find a way to overcome challenging price benchmarks and the effects of a flat economy.