Manroland

WSD of Nordhorn, Germany, has selected manroland Inc., to be the  exclusive North American distributor for its MAG-In® product line of on-press finishing blankets and dies.

LOUISIANA STATE University Graphic Services has long been ranked as one of the top university in-plants. When IPG profiled the Baton Rouge operation back in March 1998, it boasted a $7.6 million budget and 98 employees. By 2004, sales had grown to $9.1 million. But then Hurricane Katrina hit, and life hasn’t been the same since. “It significantly cut state budgets mid-year,” recalls Tony Lombardo, who was recently appointed director of Auxiliary Services, which includes the in-plant. “It threw all of the departments into panic mode. You had to get real ‘creative’ in how you made it to the end of the

WESTMONT, IL—09/12/08—manroland announced it is offering for the first time online price quotes for its Roland 50 and Roland 200 presses through the company’s web site. Printers can review information about the small format presses and receive a reply directly to their email. The link can be found at www.manroland.us . “This is just another example of how we are challenging the conventional thinking about sales and service to customers,” said Vince Lapinski, manroland CEO. “The technology is available to get the process started, so why not make it easier for people to get information from us? It’s a smarter way to

In other legal news, manroland and Goss International resolved patent infringement litigation this week involving web offset press sleeve blanket technology. Neither would disclose terms of the agreement, saying only that the resolution was in the best interest of their companies and customers, and allows them to offer their full press portfolios to the worldwide marketplace. The patent litigation was initiated in 2003 and alleged that the manroland ROTOMAN S press infringed three U.S. patents held by Goss International for sleeve blanket technology used in its Sunday web offset press models.

Last week, press manufacturer MAN Roland (now rebranded as “manroland”) held a rededication ceremony at its Westmont, Ill., headquarters. The event, attended by local dignitaries, marked the U.S. unveiling of its new logo and branding. On hand at the ceremony were Kirk W. Dillard, Illinois State Senator; Patricia R. Bellock, Illinois State Representative; and Polly Jensen, President and CEO of the Printing Industry of Illinois Association. Each made brief statements, as did manroland CEO Vince Lapinski. After the company’s new logo was unveiled at the intersection of Pasquinelli Drive and East Oak Hill Drive, attendees took a brief tour of the facility,

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

THOUGH MOST of the press conferences and “big news” at Drupa centered on digital printing, innovations in bindery and finishing were no less prevalent. In fact, many of them sprang from the very digital printing trends that overshadowed them. As digital printing speeds have increased, bindery equipment has also gotten faster, with vastly improved automation and simplified touch-screen controls to make them even easier to set up. JDF compatibility is becoming more common in bindery equipment, allowing devices to be preset using production data. Demands for higher-quality printed products have led bindery vendors to improve their paper-handling techniques. Folds look better on the latest

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—01/22/08—Four months before the start of drupa 2008, print media trade fair, the exhibitor registration reflects the international market situation and industry developments. Consequently, the leading technology producing nations will be the most strongly represented countries at drupa 2008: Germany (745,100 sq. ft.), Italy (148,200 sq. ft.), the U.S. (142,600 sq. ft.), Switzerland (130,500 sq. ft.), Netherlands (99,100 sq. ft.), Japan (89,200 sq. ft.), the UK (80,000 sq. ft.), Belgium (70,800 sq. ft.) and Spain (68,600 sq. ft.). Exhibit space booked by emerging industrial countries such as China and India has increased considerably: by 300% for China (84,700 sq. ft.) and 60% for

THINK OF a sheetfed offset UV press as a chemistry set for grownups, complete with an ever-shifting set of variables and a hands-on learning curve. The upside of that curve is the license to print an endless range of special effects impossible to achieve with conventional inks and coatings. And the downside? There isn’t one, according to a growing number of practitioners that may have assayed the market with a vague notion of value-added, then stayed once it became apparent what a mastery of UV techniques could mean to their competitive position and their bottom line. UV printing is not for the faint

VERY YEAR, the City of Los Angeles Publishing Services holds an open house to show off its capabilities and meet its customers. This year’s event had a very special twist: it celebrated the in-plant’s 100th year of existence. Established in 1907 with two police officers working part time, the city’s in-plant has flourished over the past century to become a 47-employee operation incorporating some of the latest digital technologies. Only a handful of in-plants can boast 100 years of operation, and Publishing Services made the most of this accomplishment at its recent open house. The event celebrated the rich history of the shop