Fujifilm Graphic Systems U.S.A.

50 YEARS ago, when the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate sought to raise funds to build a shrine, the beneficent Catholic organization relied on a priest to hand-write and mail letters soliciting donations. A one-man in-house printing and direct-mail operation, Father Edwin Guild was instrumental in the creation of Our Lady of the Snows, among North America's largest outdoor shrines—while incidentally founding what would become a fully staffed, full-service in-plant facility.

WITH MORE than 1,000 exhibitors expected from more than 40 countries, IPEX 2010 is the British version of Drupa.

Central Michigan University Printing Services has installed a Fuji Javelin 8300 thermal CTP system running Fuji Brillia and Ecomaxx-T processless thermal plates.

CHEMISTRY DEFINITELY has its place: in science fairs, laboratories and love. However, more and more in-plants are displacing chemistry in favor of greener, cleaner workflows. Platemaking is one of the areas getting the enviro-overhaul. Here, five in-plants recount their transitions to chemistry-free computer-to-plate (CTP). And despite our best efforts to document the bad along with the good, these in-plants claim to have had very few reservations—and even fewer regrets.

TO BE FAIR, the sorry state of the economy made it almost impossible for PRINT 09 to be a rousing success. Show floor traffic was so slow on the opening day (Friday), it was speculated that someone forgot to flip the sign in the front window at McCormick Place from "closed" to "open for business." And one had to question the logic of conducting a long, weekend-wraparound show on the first week of pro football season, when no one (it was presumed) would be coming to Chicago, let alone spending.

Chemistry-free computer-to-plate continues to make inroads into in-plants. In the January issue of IPG, we profile two recent CTP installations, at Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pa., and at Minnesota State University-Mankato.

Bucknell recently installed a Presstek Vector TX52, obviating the need to dispose of hazardous chemicals, notes Lisa Hoover, associate director. Not only that, she adds: “We’ve seen a definite increase in quality.”

Minnesota State University-Mankato’s in-plant recently went chemical-free with a new Fujifilm computer-to-plate system. The 11-employee in-plant chose to go with a Fujifilm Dart 4300 and the Ecomaxx-T chemistry-free plate for several reasons. “Other than the fact it is the right thing to do for our environment, going chemistry-free has been a project of mine for the past couple of years,” says Director of Printing Doug Fenske.

VALHALLA, NY—August 21, 2008—Fujifilm Graphic Systems U.S.A., Inc. recently announced changes in the company’s sales organization, structured around the latest digital solutions and designed to better address customer needs. “As the graphic communications industry continues to evolve, so must the companies working within it,” said Todd Zimmerman, vice president, National Field Sales. “The needs of our customers are changing and we will continue to meet their expectations and deliver what they need to better run their business. The changes within our sales force better address those needs and ensure that our people and their expertise are available to our customers across the country.” Demand

DIGITAL PRINTING technology had its strongest showing yet at Drupa 2008, the world’s largest graphic arts trade show. The two-week event, which took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, last month, lived up to its billing as “The Ink-jet Drupa,” with “green printing” being the only challenger as a show theme, since virtually every exhibitor touched on it. About 391,000 visitors prowled the 19 halls of Drupa this year, (see sidebar about in-plants that attended), checking out the 1,971 exhibitors from 52 countries. Most of the attention, though, centered on the new digital printing devices, particularly those in the ink-jet category—though with prices ranging from $1

MANY INDUSTRY pundits were quick to label Drupa 2008 “The Digital Ink-jet Drupa,” given the technology previews shown by Kodak, HP, Océ, Screen and Fujifilm. Nonetheless, traditional sheetfed and web offset press manufacturers were just as diligent in showcasing their visions of the future. The massive German trade show could just as easily have been called “The Large-format Press Drupa”; or “The Short-run, Fast Makeready Offset Press Drupa”; or even “The Value-added Press Drupa.” These themes were very apparent from Heidelberg, which filled two entire halls, networked with its JDF-based Prinect workflow management system. Among Heidelberg’s several press debuts and upgrades, the centerpiece