Media Days — Get Ready to PRINT

August 2009 By Mark Smith
Technology Editor

multipage

NORMALLY, THE point of comparison for PRINT 09 would be the 2005 show and maybe Drupa 08, but attendees will find the show floor more akin to Graph Expo 08 in terms of the number of exhibitors and the makeup of their booths. The Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC) has taken an unprecedented step to maximize the amount of equipment on hand by offering exhibitors a stimulus program to offset most of their setup costs. It also hosted a Media Days briefing for nearly 50 members of the international industry press, at which the following group of companies shared some of their plans for the show.

Kodak is set to prosper, according to Chris Payne, director and vice president of business-to-business marketing, most notably by using the term as the brand name for products based on its Stream continuous ink-jet printing technology. The company has already commercialized the Prosper S10 monochrome imprinting system and has moved up the schedule for the initial installations of the new Prosper Press 241⁄2˝ platform to the first quarter of 2010. 

Its toner-based Nexpress digital color press line, meanwhile, is getting a productivity boost with an upgrade to the SE platform that features the Intelligent Calibration System and the top-of-the-line SE3600 that outputs 120 ppm. For black-and-white applications, the new Kodak Digimaster EX300 prints at a maximum 300 ppm.

Now Taking Orders

On the workflow front, InSite Campaign Manager, for integrated marketing campaigns, and the ColorFlow solution, for color management of the entire production process, will be commercially available at PRINT 09. 

Also highlighted will be Prinergy Digital, which can drive other digital devices as well as Kodak digital presses, and the Intelligent Prepress Manager controller.

manroland indicated it was still finalizing its booth layout. According to CEO Vince Lapinski, the company is focusing on cost-efficient, flexible production capabilities, and giving sheetfed printers the innovations they need to produce new products. Examples include the makeready advantages of the Roland 700 DirectDrive press and enhancements such as Inline Inspector, Inline ColorPilot, Inline Foiler Prindor and CutCon Plus automated web cutoff control.

In place of its usual PIXI Awards program and event, Xerox is instituting the Best-of-the-Best Contest for its Premier Partners, and will produce the winning, real-world customer applications in its booth. This is part of its focus on helping customers drive profits, which includes offering free, 30-minute consulting sessions that attendees can sign up for in advance of the show. On the equipment front, the company will have the high-volume Concept Color 220 color press, iGen Automated Packaging Solution and ColorQube 9200 series of solid-ink color printers on display.