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A year after Drupa, what new surprises do graphic arts vendors have in store for in-plants? Here's an advanced look. In-plant managers eager to see the latest graphic arts technologies can't do much better than Print 05 & Converting 05. Held in Chicago once every four years, this is the printing industry's main event. Larger than last year's Graph Expo show, Print 05 will feature nearly 800 exhibits covering more than 725,000 square feet of floor space. To help in-plants prepare, many of the industry's key vendors offered a peak at the products they plan to display in Chicago. Offset Boasting

In-plants produce a diversified range of products. Their collators must be just as versatile. By Kristen E. Monte FLEXIBILITY, VERSATILITY and productivity are three key qualities in-plant managers look for when choosing a collating system, says A.B.Dick's Dennis James. More specifically, he adds, in-plants look for equipment that can handle a variety of paper stocks without taking up a lot of floor space. In-plants today produce a diversified range of products, adds Ron Bowman, vice president of sales for Rosback Co. "Many of the items [in-plants] wish to collate...are varied and come in all sizes, shapes and weights," says Bowman. "They require a heavy-duty,

The latest envelope printing and inserting equipment has a focus on variable data printing. But is this right for your in-plant? By Kristen E. Monte The in-plant staff is now more frequently made responsible for overseeing the mail operation too," says Kerri Renshaw, marketing manager at Gunther International. In fact, IPG data shows that 50 percent of in-plants now have mailing responsibilities. As a result, envelope printing and inserting systems are becoming key components of many in-plants. But as those in-plants produce more variable data jobs, what effect is that having on the mail operation? "Organizations that invest time and money to personalize

While the price of collators remains relatively constant, manufacturers recommend considering a few things before buying. By Erik Cagle You don't have to tell Aldridge Free about the benefits of having a new collator. For years he ran an old, second-hand model at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Central Printing and put up with a host of difficulties. "We had a lot of trouble feeding certain kinds of paper," he remarks. Sometimes he would have to stop the machine after it put together two or three books and adjust it. Other times the collator wouldn't run the paper at all, and the in-plant's four

Higher-than-expected turnout made Graph Expo 2002 an exciting four days for both vendors and attendees. By Mike Llewellyn &012;and Bob Neubauer Graph Expo was back in action last month in Chicago, and from the look of the 380,000-square-foot show floor, the printing industry may soon spring back, as well. Close to 38,000 people attended the show, including buyers representing over 9,600 companies. After last year's big-ticket event, Print '01, was brought to a halt by the September 11 terrorist attacks, it was reassuring to see crowded exhibit areas and overflowing equipment demos this year. David Poulos, director of communications for the event's organizer,

In today's print-on-demand market, manufacturers are rolling out collators designed for shorter runs. by Chris Bauer The Kansas Department of Transportation's in-plant specializes in really big jobs—to be specific, high-volume 22x36˝ construction documents. Last year the Topeka-based shop output 1,679,100 square feet of these large documents. When it's not handling these projects, though, the 25-employee shop keeps busy printing smaller sized items like training manuals, monthly reports and a KDOT newsletter. To handle these jobs, the in-plant relies heavily on its 30-bin, three-tower C.P. Bourg BST 10 collator. "The best feature on the collator is that it's electronically programmable," notes Bill Crooks, print shop

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

Best Buy Minneapolis, Minn. When a business is able to grow from $160,000 in sales to over $7 million in less than a decade some people might attribute the success to a midnight deal with the devil—or at the very least a trade for some magic beans. But for Rick Fiebiger, director of Best Buy's 83-employee Print Solutions Group, all it took was focus and attention. "You really need to run your operation like you would if you were a commercial printer," declares Fiebiger. "You've got to earn the business, you have to provide top-notch service and you have to measure your contributions

In-plants are often called on to produce a variety of jobs in a short amount of time. Look for a collator that can meet your demanding needs. PRODUCTIVITY. RELIABILITY. Accuracy of set-up. Ease of changeover. Ease of use. Versatility. These are the key features in-plant managers should look for in a collator, according to Mark Hunt, marketing manager for Standard Finishing Systems. Since in-plants will need to use a collator for a variety of jobs, an easy-to-use and versatile system is crucial. "In an in-plant environment you may be asked to run a wide variety of stocks through the machine," Hunt explains. "You don't