Agfa Graphics

Installing CTP means rethinking your proofing methods. When the State of Washington Department of Printing decided to add a Creo Lotem 800 II Quantum platesetter last fall, the in-plant had to start thinking about proofing in a whole new way. Without film, its DuPont Waterproof system wouldn't be much use. So the in-plant added Creo's Iris4Print ink-jet proofer, with an eye toward upgrading to the new Creo Veris 1,500x1,500-dpi proofer this spring, according to Dan Maygra, interim prepress manager. The same thing happened at Arkansas State University Printing Services when it added a Heidelberg ProSetter 74 in September. The in-plant went with

In-plants that work for publishing companies are a varied lot. Some print small community newspapers. Others print the books, magazines and newsletters that their parent companies sell. Still others only handle promotional and support materials. But publishing company in-plants do have one thing in common: tight deadlines. "We're not the only people in the world that sell legal information," notes Ronald Orehowsky, vice president of LRP Publications. If his 34-employee Publishing Support Services division can't print LRP's legal publications quickly, he says, the Horsham, Pa., company will lose business. Deadline pressure is strong even at in-plants that don't print the publications their companies

More than 90 people converged on Purdue University recently for the 36th annual Big Ten Printing & Copyright Conference. By Bob Neubauer For the second year in a row the Big Ten Printing & Copyright Conference took place in Hoosier territory, this time at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Ind. The first cold snap of the year didn't deter more than 90 in-plant and copyright managers from getting together for the 36th annual event. The mood was set when Purdue President Dr. Martin Jischke told the assemblage, "Printing and copyright play important rolls in the future of this university." That statement was followed by

More than 38,000 people attended this year's expo. Here's a glimpse of what they saw. By Bob Neubauer Integration was the big theme of this year's Graph Expo and Converting Expo. Individual manufacturers like Heidelberg and MAN Roland showcased computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) technologies connecting prepress, press and finishing. And vendor partnerships, both small and multi-faceted, foreshadowed future integration between multiple vendors' systems. Notably, at a large press conference touting the Networked Graphic Production initiative, 27 companies proclaimed their commitment to defining, developing, testing and delivering JDF-based integration between their systems. They plan to define a standardized set of interfaces to create plug-and-play solutions

Wide-format technology is advancing rapidly. Is it time for your in-plant to get on board? By Linda Formichelli You've probably heard Americans are getting bigger. But you may not have heard that our graphics are getting bigger, too. According to CK Associates, a consultancy, the aggregate growth rate in the market for ink-jet graphics greater than 45˝ wide will be 9 percent over the next few years. And according to Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa's senior marketing manager for color systems and workflow, the graphic applications for wide-format printers have a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent. In 2003, the engines, ink and media

SET ON a land grant on the Idaho border, Washington State University welcomes 20,000 students to its Pullman campus each year, despite being a little...well, off the beaten path. "It's rural wheat country and really big football players," laughs Steven Rigby, director of printing at the school's Office of University Publications and Printing. Several hundred miles east of rainy Seattle, Pullman is usually pretty dry, he says. But it has been pouring on and off for days when Rigby and

Computer-to-plate technology has certainly cut a few steps out of the printing process. But plate manufacturers want to eliminate the processing, as well. By Mark Smith Computer-to-plate (CTP) production is all about removing steps, variables and labor from the workflow. So it naturally follows that people would look to eliminate the chemistry-based plate processor. The leading plate manufacturers have very similar takes on the future of this development. Their shared vision begins with a focus on non-ablative switchable polymer and/or on-press development systems. Presstek, however, is an exception. The Hudson, N.H.-based company has pioneered the market with its current generation of chemistry-free plates and

Many in-plant managers are finding that computer-to-plate isn't the wave of the future—they need it right now. By Mike Llewellyn IT ISN'T easy to convince management to invest in large equipment, particularly not when it transforms an in-plant's workflow. But it was just that vigilant attention to the bottom line that led Ken Volz to prepare his in-plant's offset operation for a digital workflow. "We were still doing small-format film and we wanted to get a large-format platesetter," says Volz, director of Printing Services at the University of Cincinnati. So just over a year ago, the Ohio in-plant brought in an Agfa Apogee prepress

Both imagesetters and platesetters have advantages, but many vendors feel CTP is the way to go. By Mike Llewellyn IMAGESETTERS STILL have a home in the in-plant world, but among manufacturers these days, they just aren't that popular. With their ears to the ground, most major manufacturers of imagesetters expect interest in the technology is about to run its course, particularly with advent of violet laser computer-to-plate (CTP) technology. The equipment is still selling, they point out—albeit slowly. But overall, according to Ken Hanulec, director of marketing for Creo Americas, most in-plant managers would be better off investing in computer-to-plate systems rather than

Whether they're on-screen or in your hand, today's proofs are more accurate than ever. By Mike Llewellyn FEW AREAS of imaging technology have seen the advances and diversification that have accompanied proofing. Hard-copy proofs have given way, at least partially, to "soft" proofs available for viewing in real time, over the Internet, on your customers' computer screens. On-screen densitometers can check the color accuracy of your computer screen. Those hard-copy proofs that remain are being produced with advanced ink-jet technology, mimicking an offset press to create a proof that's accurate down to a halftone dot. Patrick Floody, marketing manager for Creo, explains that while