Eastman Kodak Co.

ROCHESTER, NY—Mar. 4—Kodak announced its intent to acquire Design2Launch (D2L), developer of a collaborative end to end digital workflow solution for marketing and creative teams in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, automotive, and consumer package marketplaces. D2L is a proven player in the rapidly expanding corporate solutions software market and is a pioneer of “Graphic Lifecycle Management.” The D2L System is a suite of integrated modules created to save time and money at every step of the graphics creation process, from project initiation, collaboration and revision to approval and production. D2L, a privately held company formed in 2000, is based in Stamford, Conn.

THE UNIVERSITY of Vermont Print & Mail Center has gone underground. More specifically, the 22-employee in-plant opened a retail center on the lower level of the new Dudley Davis Student Center last fall. Called Underground Copy, it has been slowly building business, with gross monthly revenues averaging more than $10,000. “The students like the convenience; they like the array of service offerings,” says Rick Carlson, director of the UVM Print & Mail Center, in Burlington, Vt. Those offerings include design workstations, self-service copiers, photo kiosks, wide-format printing, tape and coil binding, mailbox rental and, of course, mailing and shipping. “At least 50 percent of

THIS WILL be the ink-jet Drupa. No, it will be the green Drupa. Or, maybe the print buyer Drupa. Actually, it will be big enough to be all three, and much more. In case you’re new to the business, Drupa is the largest trade show in the graphic arts industry. Held every four years in Düsseldorf, Germany, it will boast more than 1,800 exhibitors and cover more than 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space in nearly 20 halls when it kicks off on May 29. Putting a label on Drupa is one way to make it more digestible. Another is for

THROUGHOUT MY years as editor of IPG, what I’ve enjoyed most has been meeting the managers who make up this industry. I’ve found them to be extremely approachable and accommodating, and I count many of them among my friends. One man I’ve run into at conferences a few times over the years is Wes Friesen, who oversees Portland General Electric’s in-plant. Our last meeting, at the TransPromo Summit in New York, inspired me to pursue a feature story about his printing operation. Imagine my surprise when I learned I wasn’t the only one impressed with his in-plant. NAPL has just announced

PITTSBURGH—January 29, 2008--PIA/GATF will explain how graphic communications companies can take advantage of two of the industry’s hottest trends, lean manufacturing and green printing, when its National Seminar Tour resumes this spring. The one-day Lean and Green seminar, being held at eight locations across the country will help companies trim manufacturing waste and time. It will also focus on sustainable manufacturing practices that can have the dual benefit of meeting customer demands and reducing costs. Ken Rizzo, PIA/GATF’s director of consulting and head of its Center for Lean Practices, and Gary Jones, PIA/GATF’s director of environmental, health, and safety, will co-present the program.

At a pre-Drupa press briefing in Düsseldorf, Germany, Kodak revealed what it has in store for the prodigious graphic arts show that begins its run May 29th: • A new generation of its Darwin software will expand Kodak’s VDP capabilities to high-end applications. • Enhancements to the Digimaster EX black-and-white system will expand productivity and add square back finishing. • New versions of Insite and Prinergy. • A new Magnus platesetter will deliver 60 plates per hour. • New Nexpress digital color presses and enhancements. • The Prinergy workflow system version 5.0. • Offset class ink-jet printing. • Expanded V-Series ink-jet portfolio for

Eastman Kodak has named Kevin M. Joyce chief marketing officer of the company’s growing Graphic Communications Group (GCG). He succeeds Jeff Hayzlett, who was named chief business development officer and vice president, Eastman Kodak Co., in the fall of 2007. Formerly managing director, United States and Canada Region, GCG, Joyce will report to Andrew Copley, chief operating officer, GCG, and vice president, Kodak. Joyce was also recently named a company vice president. With more than 18 years of experience in executive sales, marketing and operations leadership, Joyce joined the GCG in 2005 following Kodak’s acquisition of Kodak Polychrome Graphics, where he was vice

TRANSPROMO, ADDING marketing messages to bills/statements, is a rarity in today’s business climate—a printing segment that promises strong growth. Unfortunately, that spending is likely to come out of a company’s traditional direct mail budget. According to research done by Info­Trends, a Questex Co., color digital output of trans­promo work totaled more than 1.6 billion pieces in 2006. Info­Trends projects the annual output to approach 22 billion pieces by 2010, for a 91 percent compound annual growth rate. Several factors contribute to the bullish outlook for this market segment. 1|Bills and statements enjoy nearly 100 percent delivery and open rates, and consumers are interested

Over the past 18 months, a combination of new technologies, postal changes, and market conditions have created an environment in which transaction documents such as statements, invoices, and notifications can be used effectively to generate sales and long-term relationships. Now, companies are starting to use these communications to create ongoing, sustainable customer dialogues that promote products and services in addition to communicating transactional information. This transition is being coined the “TransPromo revolution,” and it is resulting in the use of more attractive, easier-to-understand statements that also encourage buying and other desired behaviors. Key TransPromo Drivers There are four key drivers that make right

Government in-plant managers from the CIA, the Supreme Court, the Department of the Treasury and many other agencies met recently in Washington, D.C., to attend the second annual Digital Printing in Government Forum. The one-day event was organized by INTERQUEST, a research and consulting firm serving the digital printing and publishing industry. The main draw was new Public Printer Robert Tapella, who gave the keynote address to about 120 document professionals from more than 30 agencies. Tapella, who heads the Government Printing Office, provided an update of GPO’s document production and distribution strategy. He noted that GPO’s middle name often gets in the way