Presstek Inc.

Don't cling to your analog past. Digital solutions abound. Analyze your operation, research your options and move into the digital age. The technology is now securely in place for totally digital production of a job from initial design to printed piece. In the near future, in fact, the decisions you make may not be whether to go digital, but rather which parts of the digital pie you choose to bring in-house and which parts you use outside services for. To make these decisions you need to be aware of the options that are available so that you can analyze your present and future

Graph Expo marked the debut appearance of many of the technologies unveiled at Drupa. After seeing so many new technologies displayed at the massive Drupa trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany, trade journalists found few surprises at the recent Graph Expo show in Chicago. But it was for printers, not journalists, that McCormick Place opened its doors—and they were certainly impressed. "I thought the show was very complete, with more than enough new things to see and want," remarked Don Davis, associate director of LSU Graphic Services, in Baton Rouge, La. He went to the show to look at prepress and computer-to-plate (CTP) equipment and

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

Drupa 2000 was the best of the old, the best of the new and the best of what's yet to be for true integrated digital prepress. As far as prepress was concerned, Drupa 2000 affirmed the reliability of the old, elevated the promise of the new and positioned leading market players in new strategic patterns. All that, in just 14 days. Drupa 2000 registered a strong vote for the necessity of true digital prepress integration—as well as the health of proven technologies, from imagesetters to scanners. Drupa also marked the true affirmation of PDF as the globally accepted next standard—with more

No more film. Faster makeready. Better quality. Direct imaging presses seem to have everything a printer wants. Is this where the industry is going? SAFECO had a dilemma. Press runs at its in-plant were getting increasingly shorter, and these short-run jobs were keeping the six-color 20x28˝ Mitsubishi constantly busy—so busy that when long-run jobs arrived, they frequently had to be outsourced. "We knew we needed another press, and we needed a press that would facilitate the shorter-run jobs," recalls Larry Jablinske, manager of graphic and printing services for the Seattle-based insurance and financial services firm. Additionally, the new press would have to run five

Better color management and expanded spot colors are increasing the accuracy of halftone proofs and facilitating an all-digital workflow. It seems that every flavor of digital proofer is pushing to better mimic press conditions, deliver stable, accurate color and provide printers with the best tool for making the customer happy: the contract proof. Easier said than done? Maybe not. Contract proofers, sporting better color management, expanded spot colors and flexible multisetting capabilities, are prepared to push the contract digital proof to the next level. Kodak Polychrome Graphics reports that the Kodak Approval XP4 halftone digital color proofing system with Open Front End (OFE) will

Despite falling just a month after IPEX in England, this year's show drew more than 44,000 visitors—and the vendors didn't let them down. When graphic arts industry representatives from all over the world arrived in Chicago for Graph Expo recently, Xeikon decided to shock them a little bit. At a press conference, the Belgium-based digital color press manufacturer contended that digital color production costs are now comparable with offset at runs of 1,000 units or more. Based on a study Xeikon had commissioned, which used real costs and time factors in actual production environments, the company insisted that digital color presses have