Duplo USA

With new advances, faster paper cutting doesn't have to mean compromised safety. by Chris Bauer Speed isn't everything—not when you're talking about paper cutters. With this equipment, safety comes first, leaving features like speed and productivity to take a back seat. "Safety was really important when we were looking at cutters," remarks Carl Zalaznick, supervisor of Printing Services for Holy Cross Hospital in Florida. "Before the [Swaneck] ProCut 235, we had a really old Challenge. Except for cutting my finger once, we were really lucky that we didn't have any accidents." He says his shop's new cutter makes up for the lack of

Numerous recent upgrades and service enhancements show why the Washington Department of Printing is one of the top 10 in-plants in the country. by Bob Neubauer When you sit down at the table in George Morton's office at the Washington State Department of Printing, you get the feeling there's nobody else he'd rather be talking to. His welcoming smile and direct eye contact make it clear that he really cares about the people he's with. Perhaps that's why Morton, director of the Department of Printing for the past four years, is so popular among his 160 employees—he's concerned about them. In fact, he visits

Ease of use, automation, reliability, flexibility, versatility and productivity are just a few advances touted by saddle stitcher and booklet maker manufacturers. by CAROLINE MILLER One thing is clear, today's booklet makers and saddle stitchers are easier to operate than the models of yesteryear. Features such as air feeding, detectors for misfeeds and doubles, and operator LCD control panels are just some of the innovations found on contemporary machines. "Customers are looking for a machine that will do any job their clients bring them, so the [equipment] has to be versatile," says Donna Hall, advertising manager for MBM Corp. "They want to turn jobs

A few weeks ago I was out in Seattle, where my wife had been invited to speak at a conference. I took advantage of the trip to visit with several in-plant managers in that part of the world. This is the best part of the job, when I get to meet some of the people I've been writing about. Take Paul Katz and his comrades, for instance. Last month I wrote an article about the informal association of Washington school district in-plant managers to which Paul belongs. While in Seattle, I got to meet all those managers and attend one of their

Color copiers and digital duplicators are productive tools with many applications. by MARK SMITH IN THIS age of computers, flatbed scanners and color desktop printers, it's easy to forget that not every document is readily available as a digital file. Nor does every piece have to be printed in four-color to be effective. These are just two reasons why color copiers and digital duplicators continue to be productive tools. Both product categories can be considered entry-level digital printing systems from a price standpoint. The color copier category is harder to pin down in terms of target markets and applications. Manufacturers commonly call them

By replacing older stitching and binding equipment with new models, in-plants are bringing new business into their shops. by Bob Neubauer It wasn't the automation. It wasn't the ease of use, either. No, the biggest benefit the Heidelberg ST 90 saddle stitcher brought to Minnesota Life Graphic Services was new business, according to manager Tom Neckvatal. "It opened up the doors for us to do work we couldn't do before," he says. With the ST 90, the in-plant could saddle stitch 96-page books, plus covers. This meant jobs like annual reports, catalogs and manuals were now well within the capabilities of the

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

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

Today's folding equipment must do more than simply fold paper. In-plants want additional features to help them keep pace. by ERIK CAGLE ACCESSORIES ARE to folding machines what cherries are to cheesecake—sweet. Printers still want folders that are easy to operate, with short setup times, but auxiliary equipment for scoring, slitting, perforating, gluing and plow folding can greatly augment the humble folder. The aforementioned features are among the most requested by customers, according to Wayne Pagel, president and owner of KEPES. He believes a vacuum table that allows product sampling, and plow folds with gluing to close the product are also sought after.

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