Ricoh Corp.

Color printing may be the latest trend, but black-and-white copiers are still crucial parts of any in-plant. Find out more about the latest models. Numerous Sorting Capabilities The Canon NP 6035F is a modular 35-copy-per-minute (cpm) copier. Its recirculating document feeder feeds up to 50 one- or two-sided originals at a time, giving you numerous duplexing and sorting capabilities. A large-capacity paper supply option lets you increase the standard 1,050-sheet capacity to 2,550 sheets. Enhanced features like Image Combination and other automatic features reduce paper consumption and save time. The user-friendly LCD panel has a 3-D graphic display. Output options include two stapler/sorter choices.

Leasing can bring the latest technology into your in-plant now. But there are pitfalls. Learn how other managers make their decisions. "Years ago, you could easily justify the purchase of a press and be confident of a 10- to 20-year productive life span. Technology changes so fast today, it's very difficult to commit to a major purchase unless the return on investment is relatively short." That comment from Dean A. Focht, manager of GPU Energy's in-plant in Reading, Pa., probably has you shaking your head in agreement. But what can you do about it? Leasing is one answer. It lets you try out

Color copier/printers are coming down in price and going up in quality. Find out why you should fit one into your in-plant's future. "INTRODUCING THE new ABC 2000000 color copier/printer/fax/coffee maker/toothbrush." OK, that's a little extreme. But color copiers are becoming more versatile every day. You can't afford a machine like that, you say? Well, prices are dropping. Even small in-plants can afford quality multi-task machines. Plus, these machines quickly pay for themselves, says Ron Potesky, Ricoh's director of color products—especially if you're outsourcing more than 500 copies a month. "The in-plant is saving at least a 40 percent margin over

The print world certainly has gone digital, and On Demand was the place to see the latest—from digital printing to Internet-based job management. If you haven't left your in-plant in a while, the recent On Demand Digital Printing & Publishing Strategy Conference and Exposition would have made your head spin. Judging by the abundance of digital technology packed into New York's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, it was clear that the printing industry's move into the digital world is accelerating rapidly. "The world is now moving at Internet time, so fast that the landscape is just a blur," noted Charles Pesko, managing

The DocuTech is no longer the only choice when it comes to high-speed copying. New players in the market are now vying for customers. Equipment choices used to be clear-cut for in-plant managers: High-quality and long-run reproduction went on an offset press. Shorter-run, quick and dirty black-and-white work went on a duplicator. Copiers were low-end, low-quality devices. Not anymore. Today's crop of black-and-white copiers offer true 600x600 dpi resolution, speeds of up to 85 ppm (with tandem or cluster printing magnifying that 12-fold) and, through digital technology, networking, printing, scanning and advanced finishing. For instance, Ricoh's new digital Aficio 850 offers 85-ppm, 600-dpi output

For short-run, on-demand work—especially work that can be enhanced with variable data—digital printing is the answer. FOR YEARS the data center at Georgia Tech University was churning out up to 12 million impressions annually and was a separate department from the in-plant. Paul Thomas, director of printing and copying services, knew that if he could combine both departments, he would produce this work cheaper and faster. Last year Thomas merged the in-plant with the data center. He then made another bold move by purchasing two new 110-ppm Kodak DigiSource 9110s, distributed through Danka. He hasn't looked back since. "It enabled us to take

Printers showed up in force to see the latest in graphic arts technology and learn how E-Commerce might affect their futures. From all reports, Graph Expo 99 was a huge success. According to the Graphic Arts Show Co., which organized the event, 45,217 people took part—including numerous in-plant managers who stopped to chat with In-Plant Graphics' staff at our booth. All told, the show's 622 exhibitors occupied more than 430,000 net square feet of booth space. IPG spent three days walking the show floor at Chicago's McCormick Place, examining the new equipment and talking to the numerous E-Commerce vendors. Here's what

Several vendors have released products designed to tap the high-speed digital printing market, long the domain of the Xerox DocuTech. Ever since the Xerox DocuTech made its debut in 1990, it has stood virtually alone in its class. In recent weeks, however, other vendors have unleashed products designed to cut into the digital market that Xerox created. Specifically, these new products are geared toward printers who don't have the volume to afford a DocuTech, but want the same features at a slower speed. One unlikely entrant into the print-on-demand market is Heidelberg, a dominant force in the offset world. At Graph Expo

Texas Christian University's in-plant has opened a new copy center after years of studies, surveys and cost-justification reports. by CHRIS BAUER STUDENTS ARRIVING for the fall semester at Texas Christian University, home of the Horned Frogs, found a new facility in the lower level of the Student Center. A much needed 800-square-foot copy center, dubbed Frog Prints, was added over the summer hiatus—just down the hall from the newly remodeled, 3,500-square-foot print shop. "TCU did not have a retail copy center where students or staff could get copying services," reports Glen Bradford, manager of Printing Services in Fort Worth, Texas. "With Frog Prints, the

Digital printing will surge to a $35 billion market by 2003. At the recent On Demand Conference, in-plant managers learned how to prepare. Every year at the conference he started back in 1994, Charles Pesko presents the crowd with figures predicting the tremendous growth of on-demand printing. Even so, when Pesko, managing director of CAP Ventures, announced this year that digital printing will surge from $13.3 billion in 1998 to $35.1 billion in 2003—a 21 percent per year growth rate—the crowd at the On Demand Digital Printing and Publishing Strategy Conference and Exposition was duly impressed. Nearly 20,000 people arrived in New York