Eastman Kodak Co.

MORE THAN 100 in-plant managers from all parts of the United States gathered in Baton Rouge for the 32nd annual Southeastern University Printers and Digital Managers Conference (SUPDMC) in early October. Hosted by Mike Loyd and his team from Louisiana State University (LSU), the conference offered a mixture of Cajun hospitality and professional development. Tim Vellek, vice president of Ricoh’s new Production Printing Business Group (PPBG) delivered Monday’s keynote. He argued that in-plants need to keep up with market demands in the form of new services while managing their internal images. It is vital, he said, for in-plants to be perceived as

IT’S NOT every day an in-plant installs both a Kodak NexPress and a Presstek DI offset press. But the University of Maryland did just that and more a few months ago as part of a major equipment infusion that has revamped and fortified its 58-employee in-plant. The installation—which also included CTP, proofing and MIS systems—was part of a larger strategy, initiated three years ago, to build a modern, efficient Document Services division that combined five separate units into a cohesive team. Matt Raeder, assistant director of the Department of Business Services, was the man behind the merger. Manager of Copy Services at the time,

TWENTY YEARS ago, professional proofing systems and materials represented a major capital investment that only large printing establishments could afford. Skilled employees were needed to operate these “high-end” systems. FedEx or couriers carried hard copy proofs between printers and customers to get approvals on jobs that required fast turnaround. Supplies used by those high-end systems were expensive. Over time, a number of important market developments, most notably the introduction of high-quality, low-cost printing systems, have revolutionized the proofing process. These “low-end” printers are easier to use and cost just a few thousand dollars, providing low entry points and acceptable print quality for the

When the time came to move into digital printing, Gospel Publishing House went all out. The 255-employee in-plant for the Assemblies of God has invested thousands of dollars in new digital color and black-and-white printing and finishing equipment for its Springfield, Mo., facility. “We just needed this additional niche to be more of a multi-purpose print operation,” explains Arlyn Pember, general manager. The centerpiece of the installation is a new Kodak NexPress 2100 plus with a fifth color and a NexGlosser unit. “The clients, they love the color,” comments Jon Harrell, account consultant manager. “They really like the gloss.” Also new is a Kodak Digimaster EX138

The first TransPromo Summit brought more than 300 people from 33 states and 15 countries to New York to learn about the benefits of incorporating promotional messages onto transactional documents. “It’s a new market opportunity that is about to explode,” proclaimed organizer Charlie Pesko, founder and president of InfoTrends, the research and consulting company that organized the two-day summit. Keynote speaker Jeff Hayzlett, chief marketing officer of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, got to the heart of the matter in his second-day keynote address: “TransPromo is a hot topic for a good reason: it works,” he said. “Smart marketers...are using new digital print technologies to

The Southeast University Printing and Digital Managers Conference (SUPDMC) took place in Baton Rouge this week, hosted by Louisiana State University. The three-day event, which drew more than 100 in-plant managers from around the country, was also something of a retirement party for organizer Mike Loyd, who is leaving LSU after 12 years as director of Graphic Services. (He won’t be out of sight for long, though, having accepted a new position with a prominent digital printing equipment vendor.) The conference featured such well-known industry speakers as Barb Pellow, of InfoTrends, and Jeff Hayzlett, of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. Debbie Pavletich, incoming IPMA president, also

Eastman Kodak’s board of directors has promoted Philip J. Faraci to President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the day-to-day management of Kodak’s two major digital businesses: the Consumer Digital Imaging Group (CDG) and the Graphic Communications Group (GCG). Faraci, 52, had been President of CDG and a Senior Vice President of the company. He assumes responsibility for GCG from James T. Langley, 57, who remains a Senior Vice President until his departure at the end of the year. Since the company is eliminating the position of president for both CDG and GCG, Langley will leave Kodak once he completes the transition of his responsibilities

GRAPH EXPO returned to Chicago last month, bringing printers together from all over the globe. Despite its earlier than usual start the weekend after Labor Day, the four-day graphic arts trade show packed a decent crowd. Granted, opening day attendance thinned noticeably around NFL kickoff time (it was the season opener, after all), but by day two McCormick Place was jammed solid. An impressive 640 exhibitors (including 120+ new ones) spread out across 460,984 net square feet of exhibit space. In-plants interested in wide-format printing or in mailing/fulfillment could go to special sections of the show floor where such equipment was clustered.

FROM WORKFLOW tools and variable data software to CTP and proofing technologies, Graph Expo had enough technology to make any in-plant manager’s head spin. Here are some of the latest products we saw at the show. Computer-to-plate Systems Agfa demonstrated its :ThermoFuse plate technology, including the chemistry-free :Azura plate, which eliminates chemical processing. By significantly reducing liquid waste in the plate creating process, it supports a more environmentally friendly solution. Also shown was Agfa’s :Energy Elite, winner of a 2007 InterTech technology award. The newest addition to the Agfa range of thermal plates, :Energy Elite is a true no-bake plate offering run

OUR IN-PLANT just made a big change in the way it does business: we sprang for “Big Color”—a digital color press. Over an eight-month period we considered the Canon C7000VP, the HP Indigo 3050, the IKON CPP 650, the Kodak NexPress 2100, the Konica Minolta bizhub PRO C6500, Océ’s CPS900 and CS650 Pro, and Xerox’s DocuColor 6060, 7000 and 260. Many of you are considering a similar acquisition, so I will share some aspects of our experience with you.