In-plant Events

At a recent IPG roundtable in Chicago, representatives of some of the Top 70 in-plants compared notes and shared ideas in a lively exchange. by Bob Neubauer It was a landmark event. Print managers from corporate giants like Allstate and Boeing mingled with representatives from leading universities. The supervisors of the Ohio and Washington state printing operations chatted with managers of the top insurance company in-plants, like Blue Cross, Safeco and Cigna. For the first time, the leaders of some of the country's largest in-plants sat together in one room to share their views. In-Plant Graphics organized this meeting during the recent

In-plants are being challenged by the Internet, outsourcing and other forces. At IPMA 2001, managers got lots of advice on how to cope. by Bob Neubauer Years ago, monthly chapter meetings were the most important way for IPMA members to exchange information. But times have changed; people are busier, and they have less time for meetings. So the International Publishing Management Association started looking for new ways to provide value to its members. At the recent IPMA 2001 conference, attendees found out what the association had in mind. International President Carol Doffing-Kraft outlined a major upgrade to IPMA's services that includes

Though tragedy cast a pall over the show's final days, most of Print 01 was filled with exciting product introductions and surprising merger news. by Bob Neubauer Even the biggest industry news at Print 01 was overshadowed by the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center, which stunned attendees as they prepared for the sixth day of the show. The resulting shock and cancelled travel plans drastically slowed trade show traffic on the show's final three days. Many vendors even abandoned their booths. Prior to that tragic Tuesday, the largest graphic arts trade show of the year had been a place of

Louisiana offered government printers a warm welcome as they gathered for the 25th year to trade tips and ideas. by Bob Neubauer Despite coming less than three weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the National State Publishing Association's 25th annual conference went on without a hitch last month. Held in Baton Rouge, La., the conference drew 54 government attendees from 33 states. United States Public Printer Michael DiMario was also in attendance. With American flags at every table, a color guard leading the Pledge of Allegiance, and renditions of the "National Anthem" and "God Bless America" to kick things off, the

by Bob Neubauer After watching the twin towers of the World Trade Center crash to the earth two days ago, I'm finding it a little difficult to write with enthusiasm about the "big news" of Print 01. The tragedy just overshadows it all. I flew back from the trade show in Chicago just a day and a half before New York and Washington were attacked, so I watched the terror unfold from a TV screen in our Philadelphia office. Many Print 01 attendees and vendors, however, were forced to confront the grim news from their hotel rooms, far from home, and were subsequently trapped

Print 01 featured numerous innovations in prepress, offset and bindery technologies. Find out all about them in part two of our show report. &002;by Bob Neubauer Walking the show floor at Print 01 was a printer's dream. Presses were churning out color posters, software was being demonstrated on large screens for small crowds, books were being folded, stitched and trimmed—wherever you looked, something was happening. Though the September 11 attacks brought the show to a halt, show management said about 66,300 people attended overall. Vendors reported a number of sales. Heidelberg's NexPress subsidiary sold more than 70 NexPress 2100 presses, part of

Some exhibitors dropped out. Many attendees didn't show. With PRINT 01 and another Seybold still to come, many are speculating about their fates. The reviews for Seybold Boston 2001 are in—and the news isn't good. The talk of the 2001 show wasn't about new products or emerging technologies. Instead, the exhibition's low attendance seemed to be foremost on everyone's mind. Several exhibitors, complained about the scarcity of attendees in their booths and in the show aisles. But attendees weren't the only ones in short supply. Exhibitors were also among the missing. Some companies, like the now-defunct Printbid.com, are simply gone from the scene. Others,

In 2001, ACUP headed to the Hollywood hills for a mixture of sun, education, camaraderie and just a touch of stardom.

To compete in the future, you must start providing customers with non-paper-based services today. LAST YEAR at the On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing conference, the unofficial theme of the show was dotcom fever. Now that the fever has broken, the big bang buzz is all about paperless communication. But this isn't your father's "paperless office of the future," mind you. This is different. In the past, when the term "paperless office" was first being bandied about like a baby at a bridal shower, the term reflected the hazy euphoria associated with early computing. This time around, having had the benefit of a

In part two of our Graph Expo report, we detail the latest advances in prepress, e-commerce, bindery and consumables. The recent Graph Expo show in Chicago drew more than 45,000 industry professionals to McCormick Place. Last month IPG took you there as we detailed many of the technologies on display, including direct imaging and digital printing innovations. But with nearly 575 exhibitors at the four-day event, we couldn't cover it all in one issue. So this month we're presenting even more Graph Expo highlights. Prepress Group Logic exhibited MassTransit, version 3.6, its high-speed digital file transfer and remote proofing software. MassTransit