BOULDER, CO—InfoPrint Solutions (IPS), the joint venture digital printing systems company developed by IBM and Ricoh, has opened its doors with 1,200 employees operating in 18 countries.The company, formerly IBM’s Printing Systems Division, sees Ricoh holding 51 percent of the business. Ricoh will acquire the remaining 49 percent over the next three years.IBM will provide…
When in Rome. . .Do as the Printers ROME—There’s been a marked increase in the number of vendor-specific industry events—mini trade shows, open houses and road shows—held in recent years. They provide stages (some even international) for new product introductions and briefings on how these companies see the state of affairs. HP recently brought hundreds of customers, press people and analysts from around the world to Rome during the run of its 2007 Graphic Arts Summit. Highlights included the introduction of two new seven-color HP Indigo press models (5500 and 3500), a near-line UV coater and a large-format printer targeted to print service providers
Viewing On Demand BOSTON—Changing locations continues to be part of the story from the On Demand Conference & Expo, which last month completed its 2007 run at the (nearly) new Boston Convention & Exposition Center (opened in 2004). The event first moved from its long-standing home in New York City to Philadelphia for a two-year stint and now on to Boston through 2008. Close to 200 exhibitors had booths in the On Demand portion of the show floor, which the event continues to share with the AIIM Expo. New, or at least now commercialized, color printing systems added up to the largest category
ARMONK, NY—Ricoh and IBM are teaming up to create a joint venture company, InfoPrint Solutions, which Ricoh will gain full ownership of during a three-year period. IBM will receive $725 million in cash upon closing of the deal.Ricoh will initially hold 51 percent of the joint company—which is based on IBM’s Printing Systems Division—before buying…
Quark Out to Make Seven a Lucky Number NEW YORK CITY—Competition is said to be a good thing. To the extent that’s true, these are great days for users of page layout software. Quark Inc. clearly has been tested by Adobe Systems’ challenge to its once near monopolistic position in the graphic arts market. It is responding technologically with the release of QuarkXPress 7 and offering inducements for users to upgrade, thereby keeping them in the fold. Most of the enhancements are targeted to the design community, naturally, but the company insists it kept an eye toward print service providers (PSPs) during development
Colter & Peterson and MBO America are now co-distributors of Wohlenberg paper cutters and cutting systems for the U.S. market. Specifically, the cooperative agreement will allow technical experts and sales personnel from both companies to confer with each other on how Wohlenberg cutters can best enhance the efficiency and productivity for printers and trade finishers looking to upgrade their operations. Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Print Media presented the Cary Award to Frank Steenburgh, senior vice president for business growth, Production Systems Group at Xerox Corp. during a breakfast at Graph Expo 2004. The Cary Award is presented annually to those who have
BY Kristen E. Monte Associate Editor The economy may have generated uncertainty within the printing industry over the past couple of years but, at Precision Printing, significant plans are being drawn for the future. This third-generation, family owned company, with two Ohio-based facilities, prides itself of providing clients with good old-fashioned customer service. When Izzy Leaventon and Abe Israel opened a small print shop in Cleveland in 1948, they had no idea that they were beginning a small printing empire. From day one, Precision Printing has dedicated itself to one goal—ensuring the highest quality products and services for its customers. Precision Printing executives,
BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor The line of demarcation between a copier and printer was the first to fall. Now it's not uncommon for devices with similar capabilities to be called printers or presses, depending on who's doing the naming. And, markedly different machines—such as all-digital and digital offset systems—may be labeled as digital presses, or the ubiquitous production systems. The upshot is that it has become very difficult to neatly define what products should be included in an update on the state-of-the-art in digital printing. Therefore, what follows is a look at some, if not all, of the recent major developments in the
By Bob Neubauer and Mike Llewellyn NEW YORK—Approximately 27,200 attendees criss-crossed the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center recently to see the latest digital printing equipment at the 10th annual On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing Conference. The exhibit hall seemed much larger this year, due in part to On Demand's co-location with the AIIM Conference & Exposition. As a result, there were 438 exhibitors, compared with 150+ at last year's show. Two of the show's largest exhibitors, Xerox and Heidelberg, had adjoining booths, with the Xerox iGen3 sitting directly across the aisle from Heidelberg's NexPress 2100. Other large exhibit areas were hosted by Canon
Ricoh Corp. has aligned with UNIX and Linux software developer Codehost Inc. Ricoh will offer its customers and dealers BrightQT, Codehost's suite of Linux and UNIX-based printing tools, for use with Ricoh networked output devices. Creo Inc. has received ISO-14001:1996 certification for environmental management of its Canadian operations. This completes environmental management certification for both of the Creo design and manufacturing operations. Creo operations in Israel recently underwent recertification for ISO-14001—a standard first achieved in February 2001. KBA North America has promoted Evan Heise as its sales representative for a six-state region, including Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and New Mexico. Heise is now
