Konica Minolta Business Solutions

Any in-plant manager lucky enough to be in Chicago last month for Graph Expo got to witness some significant developments in the world of graphic arts. Dubbed “The Inkjet Graph Expo” by some, the show featured more inkjet technology than most in-plant managers had ever seen in one place.

On Tuesday, market research and consulting firm InfoTrends announced the winners of its fifth annual On Demand Best of Show awards during the On Demand Conference & Expo in Philadelphia. One Best of Show award was presented in each of the following categories:

The University of Houston’s Printing and Postal Service department celebrated its 60th anniversary last month, an event that honored not only the in-plant’s longevity but its recent advancements as well. Over the past 12 months, the 30-employee shop has added several major pieces of offset and digital printing equipment, gearing itself up for a very busy 2010.

HOW DID Ray Embury, manager of Konica Minolta's bizhub Image Center, Office Services and Community Relations get started on his career path? He followed his heart. Born and raised just north of Detroit, Embury headed south to the Sunshine State to earn a business degree at Florida Atlantic University. One sunny day in March 1974, Embury was boating with a friend when their attention was drawn by two young women—twin sisters—standing on a bridge.

Both digital duplicators and color copiers have made major strides to meet changing customer demands. Which is right for you?

In-plant managers got a chance to see the technologies they've been reading about at the recent Graph Expo show. For the many in-plant managers in attendance, the recent Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2004 show in Chicago was a graphic arts fantasy land. "I felt like a kid in a candy store," observes Mike Renn, of Mellon Corporate Publishing, in Philadelphia. "I went to take a look at the latest direct-to-plate systems and software management packages and came away with numerous options." Attendance this year was pretty healthy, he adds: "I had to wedge myself between bodies to check out the latest gear." Other managers agreed. "I

The demand for black-and-white printing continues in an increasingly colorful world. By Gretchen Peck Digital color printing has been stealing the spotlight from black-and-white in recent years. But the black-and-white technology developers have had no fear; they realize it's still, very much, a black-and-white world out there. According to Paul Preo, business line manager of distributed printers for IBM Printing Systems, recent data indicates that as much as 75 percent of the work managed by in-plants is of the black-and-white kind. "Monochrome is still a lot less expensive and now offers excellent quality," he notes. "Today's digital monochrome technology boasts the strongest image

Even though Drupa is just a month away, vendors still had plenty of new products to show at On Demand. By Bob Neubauer The biggest news at the recent AIIM On Demand Conference & Expo was certainly Eastman Kodak's announcement that it would purchase Heidelberg's digital printing business. That announcement, unleashed the morning of the show, slowly filtered through the crowd of 33,753 at New York's Javits Convention Center, engendering lots of speculation. The upshot: Kodak will buy Heidelberg's 50 percent interest in the pair's NexPress Solutions joint venture, as well as the equity of Heidelberg Digital, which makes the Digimaster black-and-white printer. This