Williamson Printing

CHICAGO—The Windy City is the place to be this month as thousands of printers from across the country converge upon the McCormick Place South complex October 15-18 for Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006. Products and services for the graphic arts industry will encompass more than 400,000 square feet of space. Nearly 600 exhibitors have committed to the event, which reportedly will be the largest Graph Expo since 2000. Among the evening festivities is the annual Gold Ink Awards and Hall of Fame Gala, sponsored by North American Publishing (parent company of Printing Impressions), on October 16. Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame inductees Jim

IT’S HARD to decide whether Jesse Williamson is an amazing businessman or the everyday guy who shows up at your back door each Friday night for the weekly poker game. In the end, the president of Dallas-based Williamson Printing is probably a little bit of both. A few years back, Williamson and another member of his company were on the road in New York City, eating at a “foo-foo” Vietnamese restaurant. Sitting at an adjacent table were a pair of strikingly beautiful women and a man whom Williamson assumed (based on his attire) was an airplane pilot. The two tables started chatting, inquiring

JUST AS Major League Baseball fans look forward to October for the culmination of a long season with the World Series, printers move into autumn with thoughts of the industry’s largest trade show in the Americas for 2006, Graph Expo & Converting Expo, fittingly held in Chicago, home of the reining world champion White Sox. This year’s Graph Expo & Converting Expo, taking place October 15-18 at the McCormick Place South complex, should provide plenty of action for attendees. Exhibit space has topped 400,000 square feet, with nearly 600 exhibiting companies in attendance. It will be the largest Graph Expo show held since 2000.

Prism Award Event Promotes NYU Program NEW YORK CITY—More than 400 people turned out recently for the 21st annual Prism Award luncheon, held to raise money and awareness for New York University’s graphic communications program. This year’s Prism honor went to Richard Smith, editor-in-chief and CEO of Newsweek. The Distinguished Service Award was given to Manny de Torres, chairman and CEO of Metro Packaging and Imaging. Bramkamp Printing Holds ‘Wild’ Open House Event CINCINNATI—To help celebrate its 85th anniversary and the addition of a six-color Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 press, Bramkamp Printing put on a “Wild” open house. Held in conjunction with The Cincinnati Zoo and

IT HAS taken almost a decade, but the adoption of soft—or virtual—proofing now seems to be on a trajectory similar to the one for computer-to-plate production. Critical color and press-side applications still could be considered in the early adopter stage, but the number of users is growing and a much larger group is becoming open to the possibility. The product category also continues to expand, both in terms of the solutions offered and the applications they support. In just about a year, the number of vendors offering SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) certified systems has gone from two to five, for example.

IT TAKES about 25 minutes to properly set up a cutter manually, but the implementation of JDF cut the time to six seconds. That was Joe Novak’s quick response when I asked him for some examples of how JDF (Job Definition Format) saves time. It most certainly was a quick answer in almost every respect because, in this operation, it cut the setup time down to almost nothing. Not many printing companies are able to hire a director of technology. With 350 employees and annual sales approaching $85 million, Williamson Printing in Dallas is big enough to have Novak, director of technology, help bring them

Flag Contest Waves In 50th Anniversary BERRYVILLE, VA—Berryville Graphics, a book products manufacturer that’s part of arvato Print, a Bertelsmann company, has begun a year-long celebration of its 50th anniversary. As part of the celebration, a Berryville 50th anniversary flag design contest was created for the plant’s workers. Four Colour Imports, a Louisville, KY-based book manufacturing representative for Friesens Printing in Canada and Everbest Printing in China, has hired Ronald Hicks as the company’s Northeast sales representative covering New York City and New England. Also, Kara Mills transitions into sales from production manager, handling 10 states. Bob Hanon, former owner of Hanon Printing, has joined

WORLD AND industry viewpoints alike are set to come together at the upcoming 2006 Web Offset Association (WOA) Management and Technical Conference. But what sets this meeting apart in our conference-heavy industry? According to the WOA’s executive director, the combination of heavy-hitter speakers and relevant industry information will keep those attending the event wanting more. “We want attendees to be able to customize the experience for their individual needs,” reports Mary Garnett, PIA/GATF vice president and WOA executive director. Titled “Decision Points 2006,” the 54th annual conference will take place at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, FL, on May 21-24. Designed for executives

Nothing 'Static' About PIA/GATF VDP Conference PHOENIX—Somewhat akin to the early days of the California Gold Rush, there are endless growth opportunities in today's digital frontier. And the riches will go to those printers that can master variable data printing (VDP), database management and cross-media applications. There's no secret map to the gold, but shops that can provide these services—coupled with the ability to market, sell and then track the benefits of one-to-one marketing—will be the ones most likely to strike it rich. That seems to be the general consensus of the more than 300 participants who attended the 2005 PIA/GATF Variable Data and

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor It is virtually impossible to ignore the impact Robert (Bob) Burton had on the printing industry in 2005. Given his relentless pursuit of two companies this past year, it was almost a given that Burton would enter 2006 at the helm of some printing business. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. In the final analysis, 2005 will be viewed as a year marked by triumph, tragedy and transactions, not to mention some unexpected twists and turns. Which fits us to a T. While the news wasn't always positive, a silver lining—a moral or a lesson could usually