Ricoh Corp.

The broader trend toward convergence in the digital printing segment also is evident at the product level. Black-and-white and color printing systems are being enhanced and expanded to meet the needs of corporate and commercial users alike. The trend is reflected in the capabilities and features of the latest product introductions from leading vendors. To expand its market, Heidelberg introduced the Digimaster 9110m network imaging system that uses magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) toner and prints special fonts and characters. It said to enable data centers and transactional printing environments to also do print-on-demand work with normal toner by simply changing developer stations. The

BY MARK SMITH In this age of computers, flatbed scanners and color desktop printers, it's easy to forget that not every document is readily available as a digital file, nor does every piece have to be printed in four-color to be effective. These are just two of the reasons why color copiers and digital duplicators, respectively, continue to be productive tools in the "print-for-pay" market segment. While they fit slightly different applications, both product categories can be considered entry-level digital printing systems from a price standpoint. Color copiers is the harder category to pin down in terms of target markets and applications. Manufacturers already

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

BY CHRIS BAUER Maybe, just maybe, commercial printing continues to be too traditional of an industry. Color jobs, even those that are short runs, often will still be directed through the sheetfed offset press department. Film is produced, plates are made and the presses have to be makereadied. Then we wait for the job to dry and send it to the bindery. Meanwhile, color copiers are waiting in the wings, sneaking a peek at short-run jobs traditionally sent to those offset presses. Copier vendors say that their products are best suited to take on those fast-turnaround jobs that are still being routed to the

Digital duplicators and production printers are leading the industry down a new path. Find out what solutions are out there. BY CHRIS BAUER Touted by some vendors as the most cost-effective printing method available today, digital duplicating machines have come a long way since their predecessors: mimeograph machines and spirit duplicators. Digital duplicators and high-speed production printers give users a combination of the convenience and simplicity of a copier with the economics and versatility of an offset press. This versatility makes duplicators and production printers ideal products for both short-, medium- and high-volume printing applications, vendors say. Looking back, digital duplicating equipment was not

With NexPress 2100 unveiled, Heidelberg ready for the Xerox challenge, Indigo and Xeikon bolstered, Screen showing intent, Presstek enabling on-press imaging for Adast, Ryobi, Sakurai and soon Didde—and more manufacturers, not the least of which is MAN Roland, targeting full-production digital—there is a new zest to digital printing. It ain't just about on-demand any more . . . BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Say goodbye to on-demand digital printing—at least the on-demand part. It is now June 2000, the much hyped DRUPA 2000 is over and the digital production color press is an emerging force to be taken very seriously by even the most

The teeming class of digital color presses seems to be on the verge of a graduation of sorts. Xeikon celebrated the shipment of its 1,000th digital color press earlier this year, a DCP/32D. Indigo reports well over 1,000 E-Print shipments globally. Xerox boasts more than 4,000 DocuColor 40 units installed worldwide. Heidelberg's Quickmaster DI continues to flood the market. All this is happening just as Agfa's variable printing Chromapress and the Scitex/KBA-Planeta Karat continue to push the technology forward. But that doesn't mean new classmates, like Screen's recently launched TruePress and the Quickmaster's big brother, the new Speedmaster 74 DI, aren't ready to

BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Seybold San Francisco may not have the same prepress hardware punch as its East Coast counterpart, but digital file delivery, digital content manipulation, color management and Internet design tools are enough to get the industry pointed in a Golden Gate direction. What to expect? Count on the show emphasizing content manipulation and color management—from creation through output. Be ready to see a variety of software tools to handle everything from creation of files to data storage, archival and retrieval—not to mention unique enhancements to the movement of repurposing digital content for the World Wide Web. Get ready for a hearty serving of alphabet soup—as

BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The mere mention of color management and the status of color consistency in today's graphic arts industry rarely results in a black-and-white discussion. Color delivery in the entire design and production phase, from digital camera to high-end scanner to digital proofer or on-demand printer, is mission-one critical. What better way to get a read on today's color concerns than to poll the minds of the industry? The question Printing Impressions posed was simple, but comprehensive: Where are we today in color management and color manipulation and what do we, as an industry, need to do to improve our color