Eastman Kodak Co.

Jimmy Friend didn't want a new offset press. "We thought that we would not invest in offset in the future," reveals Friend, director of University of North Texas Printing Services. His 40-employee in-plant had two HP Indigo digital presses, and was getting good prices for long-run offset jobs from outside printers. Why rock the boat?

Cal Poly’s Graphic Communication Department has announced the lineup for its 2011 International Printing Week, set for January 25-28. The theme of the four-day event is “Graphic Communication – The Production of Knowledge.” Sponsored by EFI, EskoArtwork, Kodak, Ricoh and RR Donnelley, the program will include seminars by industry leaders, laboratory dedications, demonstrations, a career fair and a banquet. Industry members are invited to attend the seminars.

The University of Arkansas recently added a Kodak Magnus 800 CTP system, Heidelberg’s Prinect workflow and an HP Designjet Z2100 inkjet proofer, which was color profiled to the in-plant’s five-color, 20x28˝ Komori.

In this digital age, not everyone views the subject of printing in an optimistic light. But Catherine Ciardi feels she has the perfect surfboard underneath her to navigate and tame the wave of the future.

Michigan Farm Bureau Printing Services has replaced its four-year-old Xerox DocuColor 8000 with a new Kodak NexPress 2500—a big change for the long-time Xerox shop. “One of the things we loved about it was the Dimensional Printing,” remarks Meyers. “No one in our marketplace can offer that.”

xpedx and Agfa Graphics are ending their distribution agreement. The parties have agreed to an orderly wind-down of their relationship to ensure end-user customers are properly supplied during the transition. Effective Feb. 28, 2011 xpedx will no longer distribute Agfa-branded graphic products in the United States.

Join IPG Editor Bob Neubauer as he drives around central Pennsylvania, dropping in on in-plants along the way.

AS I'VE talked with in-plant managers at conferences over the years, many of them have extended an "if you're ever in the area" invitation for me to visit their shops. Earlier this year it dawned on me that for a quite a few Pennsylvania in-plants I was already "in the area" more or less, and the only thing stopping me from getting out there and visiting them was my own reluctance to leave the office.

About 30 in-plant managers met in Auburn, Ala., in October for the 35th annual Southeastern University Printing and Digital Managers Conference (SUPDMC). It was hosted by Glenda Miley, manager of Auburn University's CopyCat operation, who put together an informative, interactive and fun agenda that kept all attendees involved.

The Xplor Document University’s educational road show came to Philadelphia in November, and IPG attended the one-day seminar. Though rain and traffic took a toll on attendance levels, the five speakers gave interesting and thought-provoking presentations.