St. Paul, MN

Printing Impressions' Sustainability in Commercial Printing News for April 2009

Printing Industries of America proudly announces the recipients of the 2008 Best Workplace in the Americas Awards. A total of 51 graphic arts companies, both Printing Industries of America members and non-members, were selected by a committee of distinguished Human Resource experts from within the industry. The program is designed to recognize graphic arts companies for outstanding human relations efforts that contribute to a successful workplace.

IF THIS magazine chose to hand out an award for the biggest newsmaker of the year, the 2008 honor would go to Quebecor World (QW), hands down. One might contend that the attention, while merited, is not the type of exposure a company would want: Financing issues, trying to sell an unprofitable venture and muddling through with bankruptcy in two countries. But Quebecor World is a printer for our economic times, the No. 2 in North America at a time when market leaders (Circuit City, AIG, Lehman Bros.) have come crashing down.

ST. PAUL, MN—After a review of its cost structure in light of a weak U.S. economy, check printer Deluxe Corp. has decided to close manufacturing facilities in Greensboro, NC; North Wales, PA; and Thorofare, NJ. The company has also identified more opportunities to streamline portions of its business unit support and corporate shared services.

FROM THE workflow and business standpoints, there’s becoming less of a need to make a distinction between digital and offset printing. New tools are bringing together the formally divided file processing paths, and digital devices are becoming standard equipment for more offset shops. With concerns about quality largely assuaged, it’s all becoming just printing under one service umbrella. The one exception is variable data printing, which remains somewhat of a special case from a production standpoint due to the processing required to integrate content from databases. The market that Western Graphics, St. Paul, MN, is targeting with all of its services (digital or offset)

Printers Attend Lenticular Seminar Williston, VT—KBA North America recently offered a comprehensive five-day seminar on lenticular printing. The professional development seminar, held at KBA’s headquarters here, brought together KBA’s lenticular, printing and marketing experts with owners and press operators of the KBA Genius 52 UV press. Lenticular printing is a special technique that involves printing an image on the back side of lenticular plastic, allowing the eye to simultaneously view alternating sections of multiple images to give the impression of 3-D, flip, or motion. KBA reports it is planning several repeat seminars this year. Graphic Systems Group in New York City announced the appointment

More Blogs