Sakurai USA

THE WORLD of the printing press has changed. Color printing once mandated longer runs because the setup time (makeready) was an hour or two. When the first direct imaging (DI) press was introduced in 1991, its makeready was at 20 minutes, and over time it came down to less than 10 minutes. Today older presses are at about 60 minutes for makeready. On newer presses, Komori has a user who was quoted with six-minute makereadies. Heidelberg introduced a press with a seven-minute make­ready—and heading to five minutes. MAN Roland customer Vista­Print boasts three-minute setups. KBA claims to be in the same league. A run

OFFSET PRESSES continue to pull their weight amidst the flashy digital printers that have been popping up in offices nationwide. These digital newcomers might be great for short-run work, but for big projects they still must step aside and let ye olde offset workhorses do their thing. Don’t think being called “old” is an insult, though. The longevity of these machines is impressive and can easily add up to decades. Jim VanderWal, production manager at CRC Product Services in Grand Rapids, Mich., says that his shop’s four-color Heidelberg SM102 was purchased in 1989 and the two-color Heidelberg SM72 dates back to 1975. Over

In-plant managers got a chance to see the technologies they've been reading about at the recent Graph Expo show. For the many in-plant managers in attendance, the recent Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2004 show in Chicago was a graphic arts fantasy land. "I felt like a kid in a candy store," observes Mike Renn, of Mellon Corporate Publishing, in Philadelphia. "I went to take a look at the latest direct-to-plate systems and software management packages and came away with numerous options." Attendance this year was pretty healthy, he adds: "I had to wedge myself between bodies to check out the latest gear." Other managers agreed. "I

Large-press automation is now available on almost every model of medium- and small-format offset press. By Chris Bauer When it comes to automation, small- and medium-format sheetfed presses (up to 23x29˝) have just as many bells and whistles as the large presses—but for a lot less money. "The main features required by today's press buyer [are based on] automation," notes Mike Dighton, vice president of Hamada of America. "Auto plate loading, blanket washers, color consoles, including CIP3/4, are almost always asked for by our customers. The automation carries into prepress, as well." Hamada's new Impulse 452P is a 14x20˝ perfector. The Impulse runs at

CTP can substantially slash the amount of time, labor and money needed to complete an offset job. by Mike Llewellyn Michael George is a very busy man. Whether he's meeting with customers, flying to trade shows or solving any number of daily crises in the in-plant, he's always looking for a way to get a little more time. George is director of Villanova University Graphics, a 13-employee shop tucked away on the second floor of Galberry Hall in a far corner of campus. Operating in what was once a house, the in-plant is its own storm of activity, and it's in a constant race

As the need for efficiency increases, sheetfed presses are getting smaller, faster and more automated. By MARK SMITH Just what is a "mid-size" press? Most would agree that 40˝ presses fit into the large-format press category, but defining a cutoff point for the mid-size designation has proved more elusive. "Most manufacturers have discontinued their 26˝-wide presses because the format was just a downsized version of a 28˝/29˝ press with a similar cost," says Mike Grego, marketing manager for Sakurai USA. "We are taking the opposite approach by introducing the compact, 466SIP 26˝ press that is a super-sized version of a 22˝ press. This

Digital presses are making in-roads into offset printing territory, but by no means is offset dying, according to offset vendors. by CAROLINE MILLER IT SEEMS as if all everyone is talking about lately is the rapid growth of the digital printing market. And as the output quality of digital presses comes closer to that of offset printing, some are even questioning the future viability of offset. Not Mike Grego, though. "Offset printing is alive and doing well," says Grego, marketing manager for Sakurai USA. "Digital direct-to-paper has taken a bite into the small-format, short-run work that was typically performed on duplicator presses. The majority

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

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

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