Nipson America

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

Xplor 2003 brought MICR and one-to-one marketing to the forefront in Atlanta. By Mike Llewellyn The exhibitors at Xplor 2003 were upbeat, talking about a market rebound and new ways for the printing industry to gain a foothold as new media proliferates. While attendee figures were down compared with past Xplor conferences, most exhibitors felt that those who had arrived were there to do business. Continuing the show's tradition of education, companies like IBM Printing Systems and Océ set up their booths more like learning centers than equipment showcases. And with a greater focus on transactional printing and variable data, many companies rolled

With high-speed, black-and-white printers designed to bear the brunt of an in-plant's workload, managers want to see how fast the machines cut costs. By Mike Llewellyn JIM ALLEN, the newly appointed manager of Printing Services at New York City's Fashion Institute of Technology, runs a pair of Océ 2600s to handle flyers, instructional packets for professors and countless other nuts-and-bolts projects that come into the in-plant every day. With black-and-white printing accounting for 85 percent of the in-plant's workload, the 2600s have become the backbone of the FIT shop. "They're definitely workhorses," says Allen. "They do almost all of the work." That's how many

An unexpected Spring snowstorm and a down economy couldn't keep attendees from crowding the 10th annual On Demand show. By Bob Neubauer and Mike Llewellyn Despite a surprise spring snowfall that blanketed New York City and weakened first-day attendance, the 10th annual On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing Conference went on as usual early last month. The exhibit hall at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center seemed much larger this year, due in part to On Demand's co-location with the AIIM Conference & Exposition. As a result, there were 438 exhibitors, compared with 150+ at last year's show. By the event's second day,

Despite the push for color, the future for black-and-white printing looks bright, especially as variable data applications grow. by Caroline Miller A WALK through any print trade show in the past year might leave you feeling that black-and-white printing is a thing of the past. Giant banners have been proclaiming the power of color printing. But actions speak louder than words. "There is an old phrase in marketing that says what you talk about and what you sell are often two different things," notes Mike Murphy, manager of marketing for DocuTech printing at Xerox. It's a sentiment that Kevin Kern, Konica's vice president of

Thousands of visitors flocked to Drupa 2000, the world's largest graphic arts trade show. IPG was among them. Find out what we learned about the direction the printing industry is heading. Everything worth seeing in the graphic arts world was at Drupa 2000. For two solid weeks, the world's printers crowded Düsseldorf, Germany's fairgrounds to visit some 1,669 exhibitors from 44 countries. In-Plant Graphics was there, finding out about the latest innovations and trends so we could share them with you. With 18 halls to visit, though, the task was a bit overwhelming. The most prevalent trend in the offset world was the move

Dallas was cold, but the topics were hot at Xplor's 18th annual document systems conference. Have you gotten any advertising postcards in the mail lately? Any brochures or newsletters? Bet you have. And I bet you tossed some of them with barely a glance. But what if, during that glance, you spotted your name? And what if, instead of useless, generic topics, the copy was about one of your main interests? You'd read it, wouldn't you? We're talking about targeted marketing, using variable data. It's nothing new. Nothing profound. But it may be something you hadn't thought your shop could provide.