Small-format sheetfed presses now offer many of the features found on larger presses, such as increased speeds, automation and digital controls. by Caroline Miller There was a time when small-format sheetfed presses sat in the shadows. Workhorses, but nothing compared to their fast and flashy 40˝ brothers. Today, small presses are becoming the envy of the larger presses. The small press market has been the subject of intense technological development. As a result, small presses—ranging in size up to 20x29˝—now offer the features found on larger presses, such as increased speeds, makeready automation, networked systems and digital controls. This is great news for
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Though tragedy cast a pall over the show's final days, most of Print 01 was filled with exciting product introductions and surprising merger news. by Bob Neubauer Even the biggest industry news at Print 01 was overshadowed by the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center, which stunned attendees as they prepared for the sixth day of the show. The resulting shock and cancelled travel plans drastically slowed trade show traffic on the show's final three days. Many vendors even abandoned their booths. Prior to that tragic Tuesday, the largest graphic arts trade show of the year had been a place of
Are your blade's a little worn? The newest cutters on the market will bring some sharp features into your bindery. (The online version of this story features information not included in the print version.) by MARK SMITH Cut. Knife. Blade. Guillotine. The terminology alone shows why safety is a must when it comes to paper cutters. Two-handed cut activation, non-repeat knife cycles and auto-stop infrared light curtains are just some of the safety features that have been mandated by law and market demand. Because manufacturers are not willing to compromise much in this area, all the latest cutters are endowed with
Louisiana offered government printers a warm welcome as they gathered for the 25th year to trade tips and ideas. by Bob Neubauer Despite coming less than three weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the National State Publishing Association's 25th annual conference went on without a hitch last month. Held in Baton Rouge, La., the conference drew 54 government attendees from 33 states. United States Public Printer Michael DiMario was also in attendance. With American flags at every table, a color guard leading the Pledge of Allegiance, and renditions of the "National Anthem" and "God Bless America" to kick things off, the
Print 01 featured numerous innovations in prepress, offset and bindery technologies. Find out all about them in part two of our show report. &002;by Bob Neubauer Walking the show floor at Print 01 was a printer's dream. Presses were churning out color posters, software was being demonstrated on large screens for small crowds, books were being folded, stitched and trimmed—wherever you looked, something was happening. Though the September 11 attacks brought the show to a halt, show management said about 66,300 people attended overall. Vendors reported a number of sales. Heidelberg's NexPress subsidiary sold more than 70 NexPress 2100 presses, part of
Managers Honored In-plant managers received more than just knowledge from the recent International Publishing Management Association conference in Portland, Ore. Dozens of them took home awards. The In-Print awards got the most attention. All 105 plaques were on display, and first-place winners had their awards presented to them on stage during the awards banquet. Boeing claimed the Best of Show victory, its fifth in 11 years. Additionally, IPMA recognized a number of in-plants for their accomplishments: • Duke Energy, of Houston, won IPMA's annual award for In-house Promotional Excellence for holding an open house in the company's lobby that drew more than 500
Small-format sheetfed presses now boast many of the features previously only available on larger machines. As the saying goes, "good things come in small packages." This is especially true for small-format presses. They provide a quality product with fast turnaround time, while meeting the requirements of a tight budget. Take A.B.Dick's 9995A-ICS, for example. A line extension of its two-color 9995 offset press, the 9995A has a semi-automatic plate loading feature for metal and polyester plates. The Ink Control System (ICS) allows for automatic adjusting of the ink fountains. "The 9995A-ICS gives a printer the ability and automation to produce four-color process work
Twice The Color—Without The Cost Customers wanted more color. But Arkansas State University Printing Services had only a one-color, 29˝ Heidelberg press. Posing with Arkansas State University Printing Services' new MAN Roland R204E press are (front row, from left) Director David Maloch, L. C. McHalffey (press operator), Allison Brown (printing management student), and Terri Collins (accounting tech). Standing behind Maloch: Homer Hallet (press/bindery operator), Phareta Calkin (prepress tech), and Mark Meyer (assistant director). For years, the nine-employee operation had been running four-color work on the press, in addition to black-and-white book jobs. But despite operating the press eight hours a day, five days a
Both PrintTalk and printCafe have made promises of seamless integration from the buyer to printer. Find out what they have in mind. IN THE realm of printing management systems, there's probably no hotter topic right now than printCafe and PrintTalk. The announcement last January of the merger of nth degree software and Prograph to form printCafe, then the subsequent acquisitions of AHP, Hagen Systems, Logic Associates, M Data and Programmed Solutions left the industry confused, nervous and full of questions. That air of uncertainty was further fueled when, in June, the remaining MIS systems and 10 e-commerce companies announced the formation
Ace Hardware Downers Grove, Ill. When Mark Krammer, graphic service manager at Ace Hardware, first came to the Downers Grove, Ill., in-plant 15 years ago he was on a mission. He wanted to make Ace Hardware's in-plant that best it could be, but he also wanted to do something more. He wanted to bring the company some thing extra in the form of revenue. "In any operation there are always peaks and valleys," Krammer observes. "What better way to maximize those valleys than to subsidize your company's printing by taking on commercial work?" Insourcing revenue has helped Ace Hardware's 92-employee in-plant to offset