Graph Expo 2010 was flush with digital equipment, like inkjet presses and CTP

Espresso Finally Comes to Graph Expo

An interesting, though not exactly new, technology made its Graph Expo debut in the Xerox booth this year: the Espresso Book Machine. In-plants have heard about this all-in-one book printing/binding device for years, though its creators, On Demand Books, have marketed it more to book sellers than to printers. The first installation was actually in the World Bank’s InfoShop in Washington, D.C. back in April 2006 (which is not part of World Bank’s in-plant). The machine was named to Time Magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2007” list.

What’s new—and the reason it was in the Xerox booth—is that the machine (now dubbed The Espresso Book Machine, a Xerox Solution) now uses the Xerox 4112 copier/printer. The machine can reportedly produce a 300-page paperback book with a color cover in less than five minutes. What’s more, Xerox will now market, sell, lease and service the system, helping retailers, book stores, libraries and universities build profitable on-demand book publishing businesses.

The machine uses ODM’s EspressNet software which connects it to a vast repository of content, allowing consumers to access millions of copyrighted, public domain and self-published books.

Any in-plant manager lucky enough to be in Chicago last month for Graph Expo got to witness some significant developments in the world of graphic arts. Most obvious was the near total absence of offet presses on the show floor—a stunning sight indeed—due to the decisions of Heidelberg USA, Komori America and Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses to sit this one out. Perhaps sensing an opportunity to send a message, the digital printing vendors stepped up their presence, several of them bringing their big guns: large inkjet presses.
Meanwhile, the crowds were noticeably larger than those at last year’s PRINT 09. Perhaps, as the vendors hoped, this signaled a renewed interest in buying new technology. Or maybe the full aisles were just a result of some McCormick Place trickery (a back portion of the hall was curtained off to hide the roughly 30 percent of floor space not sold). Either way it looked good, and left visitors and vendors feeling like this was a real trade show once again. (Watch IPG’s Graph Expo video)

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Bob Neubauer Author's page

Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.

Mark Smith Author's page

Mark Michelson Author's page

Mark Michelson now serves as Editor Emeritus of Printing Impressions. Named Editor-in-Chief in 1985, he is an award-winning journalist and member of several industry honor societies. Reader feedback is always encouraged. Email mmichelson@napco.com

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