Eastman Kodak Co.

THE DEMAND for high-quality color graphics in larger sizes has risen dramatically as the availability of larger ink-jet printers has increased. How do you decide what kind of ink-jet printer you should purchase? As with any business decision, you weigh your demand for the product against the cost of the equipment, materials and labor involved. If your customers are only interested in the capability of printing 13x19˝, then purchasing a 60˝ wide-format printer may not be a good choice. However, you should try to purchase above your current expectations so you can handle future growth or expand the services you currently offer.

JOHN HURT spoke quite candidly when he addressed the crowd at April’s IPMA conference. The International Publishing Management Association has gone through some hard times, he said. Membership and conference attendance has declined, and a lack of clear business and recruitment policies have hindered growth. All that is changing now, continued Hurt, IPMA’s international president. Not only did this year’s IPMA conference in Las Vegas draw an increase in attendees over last year, it generated a profit for the first time in years. The association’s cash flow has been positive for more than six months, he added, its sponsorships are increasing, it has enacted

Jeff Hayzlett, whose Hayzlett & Associates PR firm represents a number of clients in the commercial printing space, has been named vice president and chief marketing officer for Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group (GCG). Hayzlett will spearhead all marketing initiatives for GCG, including product positioning, segment marketing, branding and customer development. He will report directly to GCG President Jim Langley. Mark Bonacorso, vice president of media relations at Hayzlett & Associates, has acquired the firm’s assets from Hayzlett, who will continue to provide counsel through October. The company is expected to change its name at that time.

DESPITE THE rise of digital color printing, in-plants still have a pressing need for good black-and-white printers. These devices form the backbone of many an in-plant. In-plants can sink or swim depending on which printer they choose, though. To help you make the right choice, here are some tips from in-plant managers who have gone though the selection process. First Tip: Know what you’re getting “We did a lot of research,” says Bev Lucas, “and determined what features we needed, and determined which equipment would fulfill our requirements before we contacted vendors.” As manager of Printing Services at Bellevue Community College, in

Variable data printing is a popular topic in Texas. “I get a lot of people who will call me and ask me questions about variable data printing,” remarks Steve Burdette, director of Campus Support Services at the University of Texas at Arlington. The in-plant has been providing personalized monochrome printing on its Kodak Digimasters, while outsourcing color variable print jobs to the University of North Texas, which runs an HP Indigo 3000. That has all changed now. The 25-employee in-plant just installed a new Kodak NexPress 2100 plus digital production color press with a NexGlosser glossing unit. Burdette plans to increase the shop’s variable data printing work, while

Boyd Cranford knew the quality of his in-plant’s work would likely increase once it installed the new four-up Kodak Magnus 400S platesetter. But it wasn’t until the shop reprinted a job it had done last year using plates from the Magnus that he saw the improvement with his own eyes. “The difference was just amazing,” enthuses Cranford, manager of Printing Services at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in St. John’s. The customer, he adds, was “ecstatic with the change. The image is just so much clearer, being first generation.” The 28-employee in-plant opted to use Kodak chemistry-free plates with the four-up CTP system, becoming one of the

SOFTWARE E-ticketing with Hardcopy Jobs Rochester Software Associates has introduced QDirect.SCAN Connector for eCopy Share­Scan OP. QDirect.SCAN enables electronic job ticketing with hardcopy submission directly from multi-function printers (MFPs). Users log in for accounting purposes and specify options such as duplex, stapling and paper stock. Those choices, along with the scanned documents, are transmitted to QDirect, which generates a confirmation receipt that is printed at the requestor’s MFP. An electronic job ticket is automatically created from the user entry. The resulting print-ready file can be sent to any printer in the in-plant. Software Delivers Jobs ‘To Spec’ Quickcut has introduced QuickPrint 5, the

A FORMER music major, Jane Bloodworth was working as an outside salesperson at an office supply company when fate intervened. A friend who owned an advertising agency asked her to volunteer as a coordinator on a large dairy industry kitting project. “He was impressed with my abilities and ended up hiring me,” recalls Bloodworth, business manager for the World Bank’s Printing, Graphics and Map Design unit in Washington, D.C. “It was a small agency, and I had an opportunity to do everything from writing and editing to production management and press approvals.” Bloodworth went on to become the director of travel

Agfa The Acento II four-up CtP system brings thermal plate imaging in two versions: the Acento II E model and the high-productivity :Acento II S. Acento II images all thermal digital plates sensitized for 830 nm lasers, including Agfa’s :Thermostar Plus, the new :Energy range of plates, as well as chemistry-free :Azura and developer-free :Amigo. The Avalon family of thermal plate­setters offers increased convenience, reliability and functionality and features Agfa’s new Avalon HD Imaging Head. The Avalon comes in five basic configurations with throughputs ranging from 10 plates per hour (pph) for the LE model to 40 pph for the XXT model. The

Agfa ApogeeX 3.0 workflow software is based on PDF, JDF (Job Definition Format) and Digital Film. Featuring a single, easy-to-use user interface, it offers a range of capabilities. Provides extensive process automation and connectivity features. Apogee PrintDrive enables integration with non-Agfa workflow solutions and output systems. New step-and-repeat function requires a page to be RIPed and trapped only once. Apogee Raster Blaster helps integrate most non-Agfa output devices into workflow. Apogee Power Converter converts legacy formats to PDF. :Delano 2.6 project management system offers extended JDF connectivity. It offers better support for spot colors, an improved user interface and faster system responsiveness.