Offset Printing - Sheet-Fed

FRESNO, CA—11/07/06—Big3D.com Worldwide of has ordered a six-color ROLAND 500 press with inline coating and an extended delivery from MAN Roland Inc. The privately held company is the industry leader in lenticular and three-dimensional printing processes. The versatility of the ROLAND 500, which can handle the widest range of substrates in the industry and stock thicknesses from onionskin to 40 pt board, will be put to good use on lenticular jobs at Big3D.com. The technique involves placing special lenses over a two dimensional print, allowing the eye to simultaneously view alternating sections of multiple images. “Today’s lenticular 3D graphics are a vast improvement over the

DALLAS—11/06/06—While the demand for six-color sheetfed presses remains strong, many commercial printers that strive for differentiation in a commodity-driven market find presses with unique attributes of 10 or more printing, coating and drying units increasingly more attractive. Buchanan Visual Communications went further—and longer—than that. The Dallas-based firm installed a 12-color Mitsubishi Diamond 3000R convertible perfector with twin coaters. Known as the Double Diamond perfector, this 40-inch press incorporates 17 total units, the largest number of units of any commercial sheetfed press currently in operation. “This is truly a one-of-a-kind press,” remarked David Johnson, president. “The ability of the Double Diamond perfector to print six

KENNESAW, GA—10/31/2006—Heidelberg USA announces the following sample of new product installations: Whitmore Group Transitions Print Facility with Heidelberg’s Speedmaster XL 105 Boasting more than 65,000 square feet in three plants, 115 employees and a new six-color Speedmaster XL 105 from Heidelberg, Whitmore Group President George Shenk is looking forward to another record-breaking year. “We wanted to re-capitalize our plant in Baltimore,” he said. “We recently acquired both Reese Press and Schneidereith & Son. Our challenge was the need to consolidate these two companies and position the new entity for the future by improving productivity and quality.” With its new Speedmaster XL 105 with coater

THERE MAY have been fewer large sheetfed presses or standalone web press units on the show floor at last month’s Graph Expo and Converting Expo exhibition—especially in comparison to the PRINT show held last year—but don’t infer that this resulted in disappointing sales activity and lead generation for conventional offset press exhibitors. Quite the contrary. Even with less heavy iron dotting the landscape at Chicago’s McCormick Place South Hall, the general consensus among press manufacturers indicated it was the most productive Graph Expo event they’ve experienced since the late ’90s. Visitor traffic was brisk and serious buying activity persisted. Chalk it up to

IT MAY be telling that, with a few exceptions, the presses in operation around the show floor of Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006 were of the digital variety. Offset units were conspicuous in their absence. Digital presses largely have become part of the commercial printing mainstream, rather than being a specialty product segment or market niche. The exhibition’s Wide Format Pavilion showed ongoing interest in that segment, but adding a wide, large, superwide or grand format digital system still is seen as a way to diversify rather than being standard equipment. Hewlett-Packard shared results from an InfoTrends study that surveyed a sampling

WESTMONT, IL—Using the performance of its first Roland 500 as its benchmark, Superior Printers, Inc. in Winter Park, FL has ordered its second Roland 500 in as many years. Both presses are six-color-with-coater models, and the new press will bring perfecting capabilities to Superior. “Back when we were shopping for our first 29-inch system, we analyzed two competitive presses,” says Ed Sengel, Superior Printers’ President. “The MAN Roland appeared to be the most productive for us, based on its speed, its high level of automation and the ease of working its console.” Sengel’s expectations were exceeded considerably. “The Roland 500 is twice as productive as the

How does a 100-year old printing company map out a robust path of growth for the 21st century? David Torok, CEO of Texas-based Padgett Printing, ought to know. He’s spent the past 17 years guiding Padgett through an extraordinary evolution from traditional print provider to a cross-media powerhouse. Under his leadership, the company grew in sales from $8 million to over $29 million and has become a major digital and offset technology leader capable of producing and mailing 750,000 pieces per day. Torok brings over 30 years of industry experience to Padgett, is active in national printing activities, and has agreed to speak at

KENNESAW, GA—10/10/2006—Heidelberg USA today announced the launch of a new program for small businesses. Called Heidelberg Printers Advantage, the program is designed to connect small printers with information and business solutions to help them solve problems unique to small business enterprises. Printers can learn more about program benefits from a new Website at www.printersadvantage.com or by visiting the Small Business solutions section of the Heidelberg booth #1200 at Graph Expo. “Heidelberg believes that small businesses are the backbone of the printing industry and deserve access to the same benefits and privileges as their larger counterparts,” said James Martin, senior vice president of marketing

MINNEAPOLIS—October 4, 2006—Maximum Graphics, a Consolidated Graphics Company, is tapping the innovative resources of MAN Roland for a new eight-color ROLAND 700 perfector with inline coating and an extended delivery. Maximum, which describes itself as a high-end sheetfed printer of full-color marketing and advertising material, will make good use of the ROLAND 700’s versatility. The company produces collateral, packaging, manuals, direct mail and newsletters for some of the most visible agencies, design studios and corporations in the Twin Cities region. Craig Mandery, COO at Maximum, sees the new press providing an extra measure of productivity to his clients. “The ROLAND 700 will be able to produce

LINCOLNSHIRE, IL—Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP U.S.A., Inc.) has announced a leadership change, effective October 1, to reflect the company’s strategy and focus on growth. Marke Baker, formerly Vice President of Customer Service, has been named President by the Board of Directors. In his new capacity, Baker will have primary responsibility for MLP U.S.A.’s day-to-day operations domestically and in the Mexican, Central American and Caribbean markets. K.G. Katayama, who has served as the company’s President since January 2002, will return to the Printing Press International Sales Group of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI). Commenting on the organizational change, Katayama stated: “Throughout his career with