Friesens Corporation, Lawton Printing, and Corporate Press Join Organization’s Growing Membership WASHINGTON, DC—March 22, 2007—The Print Council, a national business development initiative dedicated to promoting the greater use of printing and print media, today announced that Lawton Printing, The Friesens Corporation and Corporate Press have joined the organization’s growing membership. As new members of the Council, these well-regarded printers will be working with other companies to increase demand for printed materials. Members of The Print Council include commercial printers, paper manufacturers, press, ink and equipment manufacturers, publishers, industry associations, ad agencies, and public relations firms. Through advertising and speaking engagements, The Print Council is
Xerox Corp.
High-level Buying and Capital Investment Results in Record Onsite Sales for Next Year MIAMI BEACH, FL—March 15, 2007—Graphics of the Americas-Xplor, the second largest U.S.-based annual international graphic communications exhibit and conference, today announced the positive results of their 32nd annual exhibition held in Miami Beach, Florida, March 2-4, 2007. The event organizers are eager to report that this year’s attendance exceeded the previous year by 4%, with close to 500 exhibitors filling the Miami Beach Convention Center, both representing an increase over 2006. More importantly, exhibitors reported larger than ever high-level buying activities and capital investments. In a survey conducted during the event with
SEWICKLEY, PA—March 13, 2007—PIA/GATF’s Presidents Conference welcomed its largest number of newcomers last week. In addition to our overwhelming number of newcomers, we had over 300 registrants and guests who gathered to discuss Printing Industry at the Crossroads. Solid 2007 economic forecasts from Dr. Ronnie Davis coupled with results of the postal reform legislative victories kicked-off the association highlights. The Presidents Conference was the venue for the prestigious recognition of the Lewis Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award; this year’s recipient was Thomas A. Quadracci in recognition of his service to the industry. PrintPAC inaugurated the first silent auction entitled Road Rally to raise funds for the
HP Indigo Press Users Get the Scoop TAMPA, FL—There were no signs of the terrible twos or growing pains at the 2007 Dscoop Annual Conference, just the second users meeting for this group of HP Indigo press owners. Total registration was nearly double that of the inaugural event last year. A greater focus on the packaging and label printing market segments contributed to a spike in attendance to around 750 people. The keynote address by NFL Hall of Fame Coach Marv Levy kicked off the conference sessions. Levy used anecdotes from his coaching days to relate his philosophies on people management and motivation. Following
Neenah to Obtain Fox River ALPHARETTA, GA—Neenah Paper has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Fox Valley, which owns Fox River Paper. Terms of the deal, which had been expected to close in the first quarter, were not revealed. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and is pending approval by Fox River shareholders. Neenah Paper will bolster its fine papers offering with Fox River brands that include Starwhite, Sundance, Esse and Oxford. Cadmus Nabs LN Printing RICHMOND, VA—On the heels of its acquisition by Cenveo Inc., Cadmus Communications has entered into an agreement to obtain LexisNexis’ conventional printing operations in Charlottesville, VA, and its digital
Imitation Breeds Success Variable data has won many converts in the design and marketing communities, but the selling cycle for prospects typically still involves an education process. The easiest way to sell this marketing approach is to show a potential user how a competitor is exploiting the technique to its advantage. If there is a prospect for which variable data should be a “no brainer” it is the company that sells through a decentralized network of sales reps, dealers or agents who will benefit from being able to order smaller quantities of marketing materials that they can customize and personalize for their prospects. Even
FROM THE workflow and business standpoints, there’s becoming less of a need to make a distinction between digital and offset printing. New tools are bringing together the formally divided file processing paths, and digital devices are becoming standard equipment for more offset shops. With concerns about quality largely assuaged, it’s all becoming just printing under one service umbrella. The one exception is variable data printing, which remains somewhat of a special case from a production standpoint due to the processing required to integrate content from databases. The market that Western Graphics, St. Paul, MN, is targeting with all of its services (digital or offset)
LET’S BE honest, selling digital printing to your customers can be a daunting proposition. More often than not, it falls upon you to be the one to enlighten buyers about the virtues of variable data printing. Who better to budge them out of their static ways? That’s all copasetic. Given the relative nascent state of variable data digital work, it behooves printers to leverage the educational tools and programs being offered by high-end digital color press manufacturers to help them not only sell more printing, but also educate print buyers on why they should consider the merits of personalization. Virtually all of the manufacturers
WEST ORANGE, NJ—EarthColor has bought four Xerox iGen3 110 digital production presses and various Xerox FreeFlow workflow software components, with the expectation of printing roughly 15 million pages within the first year.The installations are the first Xerox products for EarthColor. Two of the presses will be installed at its facility here and two more are…
SEWICKLEY, PA—February 16, 2007— Excitement builds for the 2007 Presidents Conference scheduled for March 4–8 in Arizona. The great program and winter chill have heated up registrations as the deadline nears. In addition to the quality speaker line-up including Michael Brandwein (Leadership in the Crossroads) and Marcus Nicolls (Creating Accountability in Organizations), PIA/GATF announced additional value-added elements. With 21 sessions and 8 roundtables planned, the attendees can customize their educational experience to their company needs. With mergers and acquisitions in the headline each week, attendees can catch a rare first-hand account of the issues playing out with private equity partners in the printing industry. Also,
