August 2008 Issue
Facing Today’s Manufacturing Woes
You are not alone. Publishers are being buffeted by cost increases on all fronts, and while there are no magic wands to wave, we can gather round to share our sorrows and consider a few basic cost-control tactics. The latest blow is a 10-percent to 12-percent increase in ink prices announced by ink suppliers. Printers will differ in their implementation of this, but if yours is delivering bad news in the form of higher prices, you can accept it as a true reflection of the market. The costs of raw materials and freight have indeed affected the selling price of ink. Your printer
InterTech Award Winners Named
Ten innovative technologies have been selected to receive InterTech Technology Awards from the Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF). Inaugurated in 1978 to foster awareness and understanding of advanced graphic arts technology, the PIA/GATF InterTech Technology Awards honor excellence in innovative technology for the graphic communications industry. This year’s winners are: • Alwan Dynamic DeviceLinks, by Alwan Color Expertise. • EskoArtwork Neo, from EskoArtwork. • POLAR P.A.C.E. Cutting Systems, from Heidelberg. • Prinect Inpress Control, also from Heidelberg. • HIFLEX MIS and Web2Print, from HIFLEX Corp. • Inca Onset, by Inca Digital Printers Ltd. • KODAK FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic
IPG Earns Award of Excellence
In-plant Graphics has won an Award of Excellence in APEX 2008, a competition for communications professionals. In the category of “One and Two Person Produced Magazines & Journals,” IPG’s June 2007 issue—which focused on in-plants serving the religious sector—was singled out for excellence in editorial content, graphic design and overall communications effectiveness. The issue was designed by Frank Moore and edited by Bob Neubauer, who also wrote many of the articles. The 20th annual APEX competition was sponsored by the editors of Writing That Works: The Business Communications Report. Almost 4,480 entries were received, 837 of them in the Magazines & Journals
New iGen3 at Johnson County Community College
When demand for color printing increased, Johnson County Community College’s Xerox 2045 color printer could not keep up. So the Overland Park, Kansas-based in-plant recently added a Xerox iGen3 90 to meet its changing needs. “The speed and ease of use of the iGen has helped us improve production of high-quality complex color documents on tight deadlines,” says Bruce Hines, manager of JCCC Document Services. “It has provided the additional capacity to accommodate the increased demand for color-printed classroom materials.” The new iGen3 has allowed the in-plant’s staff to produce more complex pieces, including posters, brochures, books, postcards, labels, signage, pocket folders and educational
New Stitcher Boosts Production at RBC Ministries
Kendell Martin, director of print and distribution services at RBC Ministries, does not take investment decisions lightly. When it came time to look at new stitching equipment, a few members of the RBC staff traveled to Kennesaw, Ga., to visit Heidelberg’s Print Media Demonstration Center (PMDC). Armed with some of their toughest print jobs, the team tested Heidelberg’s stitching equipment and quickly became enamored. “We decided to replace our existing stitcher with Heidelberg’s Stitchmaster ST 350 when we experienced, first-hand, the advanced technology,” Martin reports. “We also received great counsel from our Heidelberg contacts, who helped us find the best fit for our
Penn State Gets FSC Certification
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is not just for West Coast in-plants. Penn State University’s Multimedia & Print Center (MPC) earned its FSC certification on May 13 and has been loading its presses and printers with environmentally responsible paper ever since. The new certification is a part of a green initiative that’s happening across many Penn State campuses. “It’s a part of being responsible for environmental purposes,” says MPC Project Coordinator Stacy Ostrofsky. “By making changes like this, we can help. It’s the right thing to do.” The paper that MPC purchases will be inspected annually by a qualified auditor to ensure that
Ricoh Targets In-plants
In-plants were a main topic of discussion at a recent New York press conference held by Ricoh’s Production Printing Business Group (PPBG). Speaking in a hotel overlooking Times Square, Ricoh executives explained how the company has been gearing up to serve the needs of the in-plant market. They then introduced a 90-ppm color printer, which the company feels is perfect for in-plants. To emphasize how seriously it is taking the in-plant market, Ricoh even asked Program Marketing Manager Mike Loyd, former director of Louisiana State University Graphic Services, to explain to the crowd of reporters the unique challenges in-plants face. In-plants, noted Loyd,
Riding the Paper Tiger
While deterrents to mailing catalogs continue to mount (rising postage and paper costs, threats of do-not-mail legislation, environmental backlash, the Web’s rising popularity, etc.), the benefits of this marketing medium seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle. So it’s fair to ask the question: Are catalogs worth it anymore? We randomly surveyed a cross-section of multichannel merchants and found the following facts illustrating the catalog medium’s continued importance in most marketing budgets. • Shiffler, a B-to-B cataloger of school and facility furniture, supplies and equipment, this year launched its second catalog title, Facility Hardware. More than 90 percent of its revenue comes
UK In-plant Conference Draws International Crowd
The University Print Managers’ Group, a UK-based association of in-plant managers, gathered an international audience for its conference in June, including attendees from U.S. and Australian in-plant associations. Jennifer Bowers, president of the U.S.-based Association of College and University Printers (ACUP), along with David Harrison and Martin Booth from the Network of In-house Print Professionals Australasia (NIPPA, www.nippa.com.au), joined 65 attendees from in-plants all over the UK for the three-day affair, which took place in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. Speakers offered ideas to help in-plants become both indispensable and respected at their institutions. To combat increasing competition, one speaker urged
