Epson America

Variable Data Printing has become a buzz word. But how do you sell it to customers? What does it take to provide VDP? And how can your department profit from it? By Vic Nathan Barkin When taking aim with a rifle, the smaller the target you aim for, the more likely you are to hit that target. The very same concept can be applied to personalized variable data printing. The VDP process is much more than just printing with new technology, though; it's a fundamental change in how printing is perceived, utilized and produced. A musket in the time of the American Revolution

More than 38,000 people attended this year's expo. Here's a glimpse of what they saw. By Bob Neubauer Integration was the big theme of this year's Graph Expo and Converting Expo. Individual manufacturers like Heidelberg and MAN Roland showcased computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) technologies connecting prepress, press and finishing. And vendor partnerships, both small and multi-faceted, foreshadowed future integration between multiple vendors' systems. Notably, at a large press conference touting the Networked Graphic Production initiative, 27 companies proclaimed their commitment to defining, developing, testing and delivering JDF-based integration between their systems. They plan to define a standardized set of interfaces to create plug-and-play solutions

Wide-format technology is advancing rapidly. Is it time for your in-plant to get on board? By Linda Formichelli You've probably heard Americans are getting bigger. But you may not have heard that our graphics are getting bigger, too. According to CK Associates, a consultancy, the aggregate growth rate in the market for ink-jet graphics greater than 45˝ wide will be 9 percent over the next few years. And according to Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa's senior marketing manager for color systems and workflow, the graphic applications for wide-format printers have a compounded annual growth rate of 20 percent. In 2003, the engines, ink and media

SET ON a land grant on the Idaho border, Washington State University welcomes 20,000 students to its Pullman campus each year, despite being a little...well, off the beaten path. "It's rural wheat country and really big football players," laughs Steven Rigby, director of printing at the school's Office of University Publications and Printing. Several hundred miles east of rainy Seattle, Pullman is usually pretty dry, he says. But it has been pouring on and off for days when Rigby and

Whether they're on-screen or in your hand, today's proofs are more accurate than ever. By Mike Llewellyn FEW AREAS of imaging technology have seen the advances and diversification that have accompanied proofing. Hard-copy proofs have given way, at least partially, to "soft" proofs available for viewing in real time, over the Internet, on your customers' computer screens. On-screen densitometers can check the color accuracy of your computer screen. Those hard-copy proofs that remain are being produced with advanced ink-jet technology, mimicking an offset press to create a proof that's accurate down to a halftone dot. Patrick Floody, marketing manager for Creo, explains that while

By anticipating the needs of its company, Best Buy's Print Solutions Group has become one of the top in-plants in the retail business. By Mike Llewellyn BEST BUY Corp., based in Eden Prairie, Minn., opens between 50 and 70 new stores every year, according to Rick Neumann, director of printing for the company's Print Solutions Group (PSG). With each grand opening representing $35,000 in new print and fulfillment business each year, on top of the corporate and insourcing work PSG already provides, it's little wonder the 110-employee in-plant ranked 15th on IPG's Top 50 list. In fact, PSG's process group is charged with staying

Pete Hoekema was just one month into his job as graphics manager at Muskegon Community College when his pink slip arrived. It was 1976 and the western Michigan college had decided its graphics program was too expensive. At the time, the school had separate print shops for instruction and production. To help preserve them both, Hoekema huddled with the instructors and proposed a merger. "I said, if we want to keep this thing going, we really ought to join forces," Hoekema recalls. So they did. The in-plant was rearranged to let students work on live jobs—with real deadlines. The school saved money, and

Wide-format printers and laminators are on a lot of in-plant wish lists. Here's a look at what's out there for you. By MIKE LLEWELLYN Wide-format printers rank among the hottest items on in-plant managers' wish lists, with 17.2 percent planning to buy one this year, according to a recent IPG survey. Add in the 29 percent that already have a wide-format printer, and you can see how popular this equipment is becoming. This comes as no surprise to Amit Bagchi, director of marketing for Canon USA's Printer Division. "We have been a player for quite a while," he says. Bagchi recently helped unveil

When the demand for color printing grew, Ace Reprographics took action. It installed CTP, color proofing and a new five-color press. Up until last January, whenever Ace Hardware Reprographics produced four-color offset work, the 80-employee in-plant had to print it on a two-color MAN Roland press. As the amount of four-color work increased, the operation started getting overwhelmed. "One of our biggest programs just continued to grow," says Rick Salinas, production manager, referring to Ace Hardware's two-year-old Helpful Hardware Club. Membership in this preferred customer program soared to three million, straining the in-plant's ability to continue producing quality promotional pieces for the program

Unisys Plymouth, Mich. It seems only fitting that a pioneering software company like Unisys has one of the country's most cutting-edge in-plants. Having incorporated online book ordering, color management and print-on-demand (POD), Unisys' in-plant has firmly established itself as one of the leading in-plants. It's also one of the largest, with 91 employees and $16.5 million in annual sales. But again, this is only fitting for a company as vast as Unisys. "Unisys is a big company," declares Gregg Gabbana, manager of print-on-demand operations. "It has 37,000 employees and operations in 100 countries. As the company's in-plant, we do the worldwide printing and