Komori America

Ask yourself a simple question. Where will you be when opportunity knocks? Take Terry Pegram, for example. Rather than wait for an opportunity to show up at his doorstep, Pegram made his own chances by being a risk taker—despite having a low-key demeanor more fit for the Southern gentleman that he is. Who is Terry Pegram, you ask? He is the founder, chairman and CEO of PBM Graphics, based in Research Triangle Park, NC. In terms of stature and industry recognition, the company is as much a mystery as the peculiarly named city in which it resides. His vision was of a company that

The sheetfed offset printing market continues to feel pressure—be it from rival markets or outside forces such as pricing battles and shrinking run lengths. As more economical digital print runs extend, and affordable web press runs shorten, manufacturers involved in the small- and medium-format (29˝ and smaller) sheetfed space are equipping their wares with the capabilities needed to compete—and win. “The competition from the web market is becoming more noticeable, but when it comes to the short-run color market, web presses have a number of things going against them,” contends Michael Iburg, product manager, KBA North America. “On a sheetfed press, makeready time is much

Fresh, intensity-riddled faces swarmed the lobby of the Houstonian Hotel, most of them young enough to appear in auditions for an MTV reality show. But aspiring actors these youngsters were not—they hoped to become role players in the ever-growing printing industry dynasty best known by its stock symbol: CGX. It was late July, and the sixth annual Consolidated Graphics (CGX) National Associates Meeting was in full swing. Despite the fact that most of the participants’ drivers licenses indicated a birth date in the 1980s, these participants boasted a confidence, an eager aggressiveness and a tireless optimism regarding their present and future roles with the

By Erik Cagle Senior Editor It wasn't long ago that large and extra-large format sheetfed offset presses were considered primary tools for the package printing market. In Europe, notes Ken Kodama, vice president of sheetfed sales for Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A.), these oversized machines were not used just by folding carton producers, but also by publication and commercial printers. But the productivity of the super-sized press and its ease of use is winning over favor among U.S. printers in the commercial sector. "The manning for a large-format is similar to a 40˝ press, so the makereadies are very similar," Kodama says.

By Mark Michelson Editor-in-Chief Growing interest in digital press offerings notwithstanding, the estimated 62,000 attendees at PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 surely didn't go home with the impression that the traditional sheetfed offset market has lost its luster, especially given all of the big iron dominating the show floor during the seven-day-long exhibition last month. Sealing the deal for nine new Komori six-color, 40˝ Lithrone presses at various Consolidated Graphics facilities are, front row from the left: Robert Birmingham, Consolidated Graphics; John Marotta, Komori America; back row: Yoshiharu Komori, Komori Corp.; George Abboud, Consolidated Graphics; Stephan Carter, Komori America; and Satoshi Mochida, Komori

Jetrion will move into a new 35,000-square-foot facility in Ypsilanti, MI, in early 2006. The company also has announced the addition of Pitman Co. as a distributor of its ink-jet systems and inks. Kompac, a division of Day International, is celebrating the successful installation of its 100,000th Kompac automatic dampening system. In other news, the company announced the addition of three new team members: Mike Scaglione as director of sales worldwide; Charles Gray as director of supply chain management; and Carmen Costa as marketing manager. Böwe Bell + Howell has launched its Website, www.bbhsupplies.com, offering an expanded product line and supported by a 24-hour

IRVINE, CA—A 10-color Komori Lithrone S40P sheetfed perfector operating at Precision Offset, based here, served as the star attraction during a recent open house sponsored by Komori America. Printers came from as far as Florida, Texas and Maine to attend the event. Before touring the 26,000-square-foot printing plant, Komori America President and COO Stephan Carter welcomed the attendees, followed by a detailed overview on Komori perfector technology by Doug Schardt, product manager. Schardt highlighted the key components in a perfector press design, including the turning mechanism, impressions cylinders, delivery sheet control, transition to slowdowns and the slowdown mechanism. Unique to the Komori design, according to Schardt,

by chris bauer Managing Editor The demand for technology that allows web printers to efficiently produce shorter, versioned runs continues to increase. Print becomes a more attractive option for media buyers when they can combine the impact of highly targeted pieces with the advantages of the web offset process, including faster turnaround times and lower costs. As a result, web press manufacturers are designing machines able to satisfy the ever-changing needs of web printers. "The playing field for web offset is expanding," assesses Greg Norris, manager of marketing communications for Goss International. "Innovations in areas like automation, waste reduction and makeready speed are pushing

Despite all of the changes afoot at Applied Printing Technologies (APT), there is something very familiar about this full-service, general commercial printer. For example, APT President and CEO Carl Grossman has been on the job a little less than two years, yet is a very familiar figure in the printing industry. Jack Egan, executive vice president, has been with the company for roughly one year, but was recently with a very large, well-known national printer. Even Joe Rondone, vice president of sales and marketing, has been on board less than a year. Want familiarity? The Moon-achie, NJ-based printer is owned by Morton Zuckerman,

In the not-so-distant past, it was easy to look at small- and medium-format sheetfed offset presses (29˝ and smaller) as the less-coordinated sibling to large-format units. While small-format machines could print with similar quality, they lacked some of the automated features and bells and whistles of their larger counterparts. Today’s generation of smaller-format presses refuse to be overshadowed—most features offered on large-format presses are now available on smaller machines. “For the past few years, equipment manufacturers of sheetfed presses have been adding the same automation that can be found on their larger 40˝ presses to their mid-size and smaller sheetfed presses,” says Thomas Goecke,