SEWICKLEY, PA—July 18, 2007—Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2007 InterTech™ Technology Awards. For over a quarter of a century, recipients of this prestigious award have not only had a major impact on the graphic communications industry, but they also consistently prove to be successful in the commercial marketplace. The independent panel of judges deliberated over technology submissions ranging from printing presses to software solutions to ancillary services. A recurring theme with 2007 InterTech nominations was green printing, and numerous submissions contained solutions to minimize the environmental impact of printing. Great strides in technology were
Heidelberg
KENNESAW, GA—July 11, 2007—Heidelberg will focus on high-tech, high-performance solutions for companies of all sizes at the 2007 Graph Expo, where the print media industry leader will showcase the latest in graphic arts technology innovation. Booth visitors can experience Heidelberg’s commercial print, packaging, small business and workflow solutions at Booth #1200 at the tradeshow, which is being held in Chicago at McCormick Place on Sept. 9-12, 2007. “We believe that by blending our historic expertise in hardware with an equal commitment to optimizing efficiencies at all stages of the printing process, Heidelberg has become the only print technology provider capable of bringing the
Installing a six-color press in an in-plant is like witnessing a total solar eclipse. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it is a big deal. Securian Financial Group’s in-plant recently discovered that the rare can happen. Thomas Neckvatal, director of Graphic Services, says his operation recently purchased a six-color, 40˝ Heidelberg CDLX press to accommodate its ever-growing business. “It is unusual in this day for in-plants to have large-format presses,” acknowledges Neckvatal. “Our business has been developed to the point that we have emulated commercial vendors and have attracted commercial grade business; therefore, the need to have the level of commitment needed to
WHEN PHILLIPS Petroleum merged with Conoco Inc. in 2002, the resulting international energy company, Conoco-Phillips, had more that just its petrochemical assets to consider. Both Phillips and Conoco had operated first-class in-plants, and the Fortune 500 firm had to decide what to do with them.
LAST MONTH’S In-plant Printing and Mailing Association (IPMA) conference certainly provided a packed schedule of activities for those lucky enough to have attended. It boasted a blend of technology demos, educational sessions, plant tours, networking, baseball, Indian dancing, an Olympic medalist and a small dose of hypnotism. Digital color printing was a popular topic, with at least four sessions and numerous informal discussions dedicated to it. Other hot subjects were PDF workflows, marketing, best practices and mail. After the sessions, attendees took strolls along the Oklahoma City Bricktown river walk with new friends from all over the country, then cheered their colleagues during
The recent ACUP conference in San Francisco was both a good time and a great educational experience. Now you can see what it was like.
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY—06/13/2007—Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) clearly increased both sales and earnings in financial year 2006/2007 (April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007). “For the fourth year in succession, we have been able to draw on the upswing in the global economy and the resultant upward trend in our industry,” stated Bernhard Schreier, CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. “For the current financial year, we are expecting moderate growth in the volume of business,” he added. Sales by the Heidelberg Group during the period under review climbed six percent to 3.803 billion Euro (previous year: 3.586 billion Euro). The fourth quarter alone returned sales of 1.214 billion
CONSIDERING THE role the Bible played in the invention of the printing press, it’s not surprising that religious institutions still hold the printing process in such high esteem. In fact, some of the largest in-plant operations are maintained by religious organizations. To name just a few: • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), has a massive Printing Division in Salt Lake City with 400 employees. • More than 340 Jehovah’s Witnesses, all volunteers, work at the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society’s Wallkill, N.Y., Printery, with over 1,000 volunteers in its 18 printing facilities worldwide. • Pacific Press Publishing Association, the
WHEN SOUTHERN Illinois University Printing/Duplicating Service installed a new Screen FT 3050 imagesetter in 1998, it was a big step forward. Gone were the days of shooting film. After nine years, though, time took its toll on the FT 3050. “It was a good machine. We were happy with it,” remarks Dennis Maze, superintendent of the 22-employee operation, in Carbondale, Ill. “But we had some problems with it a little over a year ago.” Error messages and the need for parts left the machine out of commission for days at a time—once for a full week. “So that’s when we decided to start
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
