xpedx

Group Visits KBA’s German Head­quarters RADEBEUL, GERMANY—KBA North America invited a select number of U.S. and Canadian printers, as well as industry journalists, to visit its headquarters and sheetfed press manufacturing facility here recently. The group was treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the factory assembly hall; the R&D facility; product demonstrations on the new-generation, 41˝ Rapida 105 five-over-five perfector press and the large-format, 56˝ Rapida 142 four-over-four perfector; and visits to several area printers that are utilizing KBA presses in sophisticated markets. Time was also spent sightseeing in Dresden and Leipzig. “Our open house in Germany provided printers with an in-depth education on

CHICAGO—xpedx and RYOBI exhibit together at Graph Expo 2007 in Booth 3808.  Highlights include U.S. debut and demo of the new 24x36-inch RYOBI 924 offset press as well as RYOBI5’s state-of-the-art half- and quarter-size presses.  xpedx, exclusive U.S. distributor of RYOBI-branded presses, this October opens a new 20,000 square foot center for printers in metro Kansas City. Also in the booth, xpedx demos its newly-developed, easy-to-use and affordable 3D/special effects printing system for color copiers, new bindery/finishing equipment, new proofing technologies and a spotlights a new program to help printers profitably enter variable data short-run markets.  Services to printers from the xpedx network of

SOUTHBOROUGH, MA—July 12, 2007—Sales forces that simply communicate value to customers are doomed to fail. Sales professionals have to create value for their customers in order to survive and thrive in today’s marketplace. Moving sales forces from transactional-based selling to consultative-based selling is critical to the success of printing and graphic communications companies. How to create customer value through consultative selling is the focus of “Transitioning a Successful Sales Team” by Jerry Scher at this year’s Northeast Regional Print Management Conference, scheduled for Sept. 23-25th at the Cranwell Resort in Lenox, Mass. The conference is hosted by Printing Industries of New England and co-hosted by Printing

Is it recycled? Is it recyclable? Does the mill use energy efficiently? What about clean air and water? What about sustainable forestry? Should I buy from a printer who uses soy inks? Should I buy from a printer who’s close by so that there is less energy used in delivering my print job? What about global warming? These are excellent questions, and clearly it’s not just about recycling. Fortunately, help is on the way. Three years ago, I conducted market research on environmentally preferred papers (EPP). I went to Seattle because I expected the Pacific Northwest to be especially sensitive to environmental issues but,

You know that you’re a small-town printer when your customers stop by without an appointment, with their kids and pets in tow, just to say Hello. That’s what life—and business—is like in the small Midwestern town of Sussex, WI, and Brandon Esser, president and co-owner of Special Editions, wouldn’t have it any other way. He claims that he and his partner, Tom Peterman, are perfectly happy running their small, but-high tech printing business, which boasts only 13 employees (including the owners), 150 customers and revenues of about $1.5 million a year. According to Esser, living in a small town and doing business with people

CHICAGO—May 16, 2007—Too many companies today overlook one of the simplest routes to environmental stewardship—ensuring that all printing paper they use is responsibly sourced and produced. With increasing environmental transparency in the paper and printing industries, it is now easier than ever for businesses to go green. That view comes from Derek Smith, a former paper industry executive who now consults to businesses, printers and marketers on the critical link between paper and the environment. “Most businesses, from Fortune 500 firms on down, haven’t made the connection between the paper they use and their environmental footprint,” said Smith.  “I’m trying to change that.  Often times, it’s

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

MAN Roland Hosts Printers for Press Premier OFFENBACH, GERMANY—The world premier of a “next generation” sheetfed printing platform isn’t an everyday occurrence, so MAN Roland extended its recent festivities to more than a week to allow for bringing in several groups of select printers, journalists and its own employees from around the globe. The stars of the show were HiPrint and DirectDrive versions of the new Roland 700 sheetfed printing platform. To make the most of the trip, the contingent from North America was additionally treated to tours of a local DirectDrive beta site, MAN Roland’s foundry and its manufacturing/assembly facilities for sheetfed presses.

Cal Poly Dedicates New Sheetfed Press SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA—Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department received the donation of a new Heidelberg four-color Speedmaster CD 74 press to commemorate the 60th anniversary of its establishment. The perfecting press with anilox coater and Prinect system—which was a gift from Heidelberg USA—will introduce the newest sheetfed technology to Cal Poly students, said Harvey Levenson, head of the department. It will be used in sheetfed printing classes and as part of the department’s student-run company, University Graphic Systems (UGS). To better serve the graphic communications market, sales training consultancy 2WIN! Global has entered into a business

Mitsubishi Imaging Center For Education Is Dedicated RYE, NY—Mitsubishi Imaging (MPM) announced the grand opening of its Mitsubishi Center for Education, a state-of-the-art demonstration print shop for use by dealers, printers and graphic arts professionals. Visitors to the center can experience the entire print process, including file production, proofing, platesetting and printing to a Hamada B452 Mark II press. Sakurai USA Hosts Demonstration Day SCHAUMBURG, IL—Sakurai USA recently hosted a Demonstration Day for more than 100 customers, dealers and guests at its North American headquarters. During the festivities, Sakurai dealer Independent Graphic Services, of Montgomery, AL, was presented a sales award for achieving the highest sales