EFI, Jetrion Industrial Inkjet Systems

AS ALTERNATIVE media threaten print volumes, in-plants must take another look at their business models and adapt to the changing business climate. Revenue growth will depend on cost reduction through new workflow efficiencies, as well as new revenue sources from value-added services. Although hardware improvements will certainly play a role in advancing these objectives, the software driving these devices—along with other workflow solutions—will allow printers to differentiate themselves. Research indicates a growing divide between service providers that are growing their businesses and those that see their businesses in decline. Those who “get it” understand that continued growth depends on a three-pronged approach:

A CONTROVERSY is brewing about the future of book and manual production. Some people say they are going away; I believe book production is evolving from a labor intensive, manual process to an automated, template-based digital process. The argument that book and manual production are dead cites evidence of dwindling book readership, numbers of book publishers, comparisons of the costs of long offset runs verses shorter digital runs and the book distribution model. On the other side of the coin is the argument that print production is morphing with digital printing and online technologies; those who take advantage of this evolution will be

NAPL, the trade association for excellence in graphic communications management, will offer visitors to Graph Expo the opportunity to engage in one-on-one consultations with Association experts and consultants and attend a series of “mini-seminars” at NAPL booth 3834. “We invite attendees to maximize their Graph Expo experience by discussing with our experts the challenges they face and letting us help them find the most effective solutions to those challenges,” said Joseph P. Truncale, NAPL president and chief executive officer. Attendees may stop by the booth at any time during the show. NAPL mini-seminars scheduled for the show include programs by EFI’s Chuck Gehman on computer

Almost 80 in-plant representatives attended the 38th annual Big Ten Printing and Copyright Conference. This article was based on summaries provided by Sandy Komasinski and Don Roberts. Photos were taken by Bill LaBounty. In-plants curious about the differences between Xerox, Kodak NexPress and HP Indigo high-speed color printers, got an insider's point of view at the recent Big Ten Printing and Copyright Conference, hosted by Ohio State University and organized by Don Roberts, assistant director of University Retail Services. In-plant users of each technology related their experiences in a candid session that was the highlight of this year's conference. The panel featured: • Jeff

Despite losing its original hotel to Hurricane Katrina, the National State Publishing Association rebounded, holding a successful 29th annual conference in Tunica, Miss. By Bob Neubauer Joe Tucker said it all in his opening statement as he addressed the crowd at last month's National State Publishing Association conference. "I can't tell you how happy I am to see today come, after all that's happened," said Tucker, NSPA president and State of Ohio Printing Administrator. "All that's happened" includes Hurricane Katrina, which wiped out Biloxi, Miss., the intended location for the 29th annual meeting of government printers. The Casino Magic Biloxi—the conference's original venue and

A year after Drupa, what new surprises do graphic arts vendors have in store for in-plants? Here's an advanced look. In-plant managers eager to see the latest graphic arts technologies can't do much better than Print 05 & Converting 05. Held in Chicago once every four years, this is the printing industry's main event. Larger than last year's Graph Expo show, Print 05 will feature nearly 800 exhibits covering more than 725,000 square feet of floor space. To help in-plants prepare, many of the industry's key vendors offered a peak at the products they plan to display in Chicago. Offset Boasting

Technology mingled with history as the AIIM On Demand Conference and Exposition brought the latest digital printing technologies to Philadelphia. By Bob Neubauer Prior to this year's AIIM On Demand Conference and Exposition, vendors had wondered whether attendees would follow the show from New York, where it took place for the past decade, to Philadelphia. But after watching more than 21,000 visitors flood the show's two floors' worth of exhibits in May, few left disappointed. True, last year's showing of 25,903 attendees topped this year's crowd. But as locations go, the Pennsylvania Convention Center, smack in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, beat New

Print management solutions are crucial to an in-plant's health and longevity. By Gretchen A. Peck "The only way a printer can hope to survive long-term is to improve efficiency, take costs out of the process, and create a market differentiation that ensures some level of competitive advantage," insists Gerald Walsh, director of product marketing at EFI, in Foster City, Calif. Today's print management information systems (MIS), he says, provide the foundation for addressing these competitive challenges. "In fact, with today's realities of high competition and tight margins, a good MIS isn't an option for printers; it's an absolute necessity," he adds.

More than 100 in-plant managers met in Columbia, Missouri, for the recent Association of College and University Printers conference. By Bob Neubauer These days, in-plant customers want more than just printing. Reorganizing your operation to meet their needs was one of the major themes at the recent Association of College and University Printers conference. Hosted by the University of Missouri-Columbia, ACUP 2005 brought 109 in-plant managers to central Missouri to listen to ideas on how to revamp their operations for the future. At the same time, attendees got a chance to mingle with managers from around the country and as far away as

Users of monochrome devices say speed, quality and service are among their chief considerations when looking for equipment. By Gretchen A. Peck While many in-plants cite color printing as an emerging opportunity, black-and-white output is still their bread and butter. Many, if not the majority, of their digital jobs are monochromatic. And since the speed of the printer largely determines how much work the in-plant can produce, this has become a very important criterion; it's typically the first specification a prospective buyer wants to know. At Greenville, Texas-based L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, the in-plant uses an assortment of Konica-Minolta black-and-white systems