Presstek Inc.

CPS Corp., a sister company of INX International, has been recognized for its environmental record and has been accepted into the National Environmental Performance Program, administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Muller Martini has launched a new digital on-demand finishing division. Andrew J. Fetherman was named manager of the new division. Fetherman was formerly product manager for Muller Martini's press division. That post is now held by Donald Geiger. Kim Graven-Nielsen has been named president and CEO of newly formed Esko-Graphics. The company was created after the merger of Purup-Eskofot and Barco Graphics. Presstek Inc. announced the qualification of its Anthem thermal CTP

New Leadership At Roosevelt Paper MOUNT LAUREL, NJ—David Kosloff has become president of Roosevelt Paper, representing the third generation of family ownership. He takes over for his father, Ted Kosloff, who has served as president since 1976. Roosevelt Paper was founded in 1932 by Irv Kosloff. Gämmerler Corp. has realigned its manufacturing plants. Located in Geretsried-Gelting, Germany, Leisnig, Germany, and Hanover Park, IL, each will specialize in the production of a specific set of products. Compensating stacker production, which currently takes place at all three plants, will transfer to Leisnig. The facility in Geretsried-Gelting will focus its operations on the production of robotic palletizers, vertical log

BY MARK SMITH Trade shows probably are not the most accurate indicator of an industry's vitality. When the show is IPEX 2002—the international printing exhibition held in Birmingham, UK—it's even harder to draw any direct conclusions about the North American market because of the show's strong English and broader European flavor. Still, there is an understandable temptation to try to gauge the current state of the market based on the tone of major industry events. The organizers of IPEX report overall attendance at the 2002 show hit 65,451 people, which represents about a 30 percent decline from the final count for IPEX 98. Overseas visitors reportedly

BY MARK SMITH A consensus of opinion seems to have been reached about why to adopt a computer-to-plate workflow. At least in some quarters, though, the same cannot be said for the question of how to implement one. Or more precisely, which combination of plate and platesetter is the best solution. New product introductions continue to fuel the thermal versus violet imaging debate. The recent IPEX international printing expo also brought a new player (Esko-Graphics, the newly named combination of Purup-Eskofot and Barco Graphics) to the arena of digitally imaging conventional ultraviolet plates. Processless technology continues be developed along ablative, phase-change and other tracks.

BY MARK SMITH Taking steps out of a process has the potential to increase productivity, reduce process variability and lower production costs. That all sounds great, but these gains naturally must be weighed against the investment required to achieve them. Doing such a cost/benefit analysis for the on-press imaging concept might at first seem to be a rather straightforward calculation. The potential variables in the equation quickly prove otherwise, however. Issues related to integration with existing plant capabilities, markets served, type of press being considered, etc., can tip the balance in favor or against the technology and workflow. What makes sense for

CALIFORNIA GARDENA—L.A. Press is up-and-running with a new six-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Model 3F-13 sheetfed press. IRVINE—Orange County Printing has installed a six-color, 40˝ Komori Lithrone press outfitted with a Tri-Service ColorCommand temperature control/cooling system. VAN NUYS—The installation of the Sentinel ink management system from Accel Graphic Systems is complete at Great Western Litho. The ink management system is now equipped on a Komori Lithrone 640 press purchased at PRINT 01. CONNECTICUT MERIDEN—Three former shareholders of Vision Graphics have joined commercial printer Miller-Johnson Inc. They are Tom Mitchell, Andrew Mitchell and Erik Mitchell. The transaction was initiated on Miller-Johnson's behalf by Rampart Associates LLC.

MAN Roland Technicians Get Golden ToolsOFFENBACH, GERMANY—Two American technicians were honored recently for completing the 1,000th MAN Roland mechanical systems course at the company's training center here. As a result of the hands-on coursework, the technicians, Warren Collins and Greg Voigt, received their gold wrenches and are certified to install and get U.S. customers up-and-running on Roland 700 presses. Heidelberg USA has realigned its operations into four business segments: Digital, Postpress, Sheetfed and Web. Niels M. Winther, a 34-year veteran with the organization, has assumed responsibility as head of Heidelberg's Market Center North America (U.S. and Canada). Appointed to head the four U.S. groups

PITTSBURGH—The Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF) has announced its InterTech Technology award recipients for 2001. Nine innovative technologies were chosen from 38 submissions. The award winners, alphabetically by company, include: MediaBridge Solutions, Digimarc Corp.MediaBridge Solutions is a suite of software tools that allows printers and publishers to embed a unique and imperceptible digital watermark into virtually any printed material. Digitally watermarked print materials instantly link readers to online information when held in front of a web camera or other image-capture device enabled with MediaBridge software. The software launches a browser that instantly connects the user to relevant information, applications, offers or opportunities to purchase on the

BY MARK SMITH A first-time buyer recently posted a message on the CTP Production forum seeking recommendations for "CTP systems" to investigate. The quote marks are important because the term itself sparked a divergent thread in which the question of what CTP means was explored. This discussion started with a response suggesting the buyer consider the Rampage solution, since it produces plate-ready files. A rebuff quickly followed, asserting that Rampage was not a "system," meaning a piece of hardware capable of writing an image to a digital plate. That, in turn, led to a series of exchanges about whether CTP refers to any

BY MARK SMITH Adopting a computer-to-plate (CTP) workflow is as much about buying into a technology and process as it is purchasing products. Visible laser systems can lay claim to having created the product segment. However, it really took the introduction of thermal technology for CTP to gain mainstream acceptance, at least in the North American market. Now violet systems are causing a stir and generating a bit of controversy. More on that later. While product offerings continue to grow, key decisions made by CTP buyers early on still can dictate their subsequent product options. Typically this process begins with the selection of