Following is a special report from Day 2 of the 2009 Offset and Beyond Conference. Printing Industries of America's Executive Team is reporting from Caesars Palace, where the Conference continues today. What do you do? If your answer is "I am just a printer", you are not likely to be in business much longer in these turbulent times. Tuesday's general session opened with Making the Transformation from Printer to Marketing Communications Provider.
GARY STIFFLER considers himself a good judge of people. A 28-year printing industry veteran, Stiffler’s background includes stints with World Color and Quebecor World. During that time, he also became a shrewd arbiter of talent, appreciating the timber of employees that can enable a company to endure the peaks and valleys of business over the long haul.
CHEVERLY, MD—MOSAIC, a carbon neutral printing company specializing in commercial, digital, UV and waterless printing, has installed the first five-color, 29? KBA Rapida 75 sheetfed press plus aqueous coater in the United States at its facility here. The printer took possession of the press in January 2009. The Rapida 75 features a KBA Densitronic full scanning densitometer and color control system as well as special cooling for waterless printing.
THE WORLD is full of people who grouse about the company they work for, bemoaning the manner in which operations are conducted, and placated by the notion that if they were in charge, things would be done differently. Manny and Jorge Hernandez, who began their respective careers working for other printing companies, could have chosen the grouser tact. But these brothers didn’t just want to be in charge.
IT’S HARD not to automatically view everything through the frame of the current economic climate. In most cases, however, the business challenges companies are struggling with were preexisting conditions that have now been greatly amplified. The trend toward print buyers, at every level, cutting back their order quantities is a case in point.
BIG PICTURE perspective is the ultimate goal of the Web Offset Association’s (WOA) Offset and Beyond Printer-to-Printer Business & Technology Conference. After all, attendees of the printer-driven conference, which takes place May 4-6, 2009, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, don’t benefit just from talking about web offset, sheetfed offset or even digital printing.
When it comes to forecasting the current sheetfed and web offset markets, the biggest threat isn’t just digital technology, it’s the state of the economy. There are some pretty exciting developments going on in the lithographic printing market this year, but that’s the problem. It’s 2009.
WURZBURG, GERMANY—Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann, president and CEO of press manufacturer KBA, resigned from the company during its supervisory board annual audit meeting in the wake of poor financial results. Helge Hansen, who was named CFO in February, now steps into the role of president.
NILES, IL—The Garvey Group is installing its second six-color, 81˝ KBA Rapida 205 sheetfed press at its facility here. This second Rapida 205, being installed nearly 24 months after the first, is specially configured with in-line UV capabilities manufactured by Air Motion Systems (AMS), which will provide both production and environmental bonuses. Its features include a fully automatic plate changer with lifting facility, automatic blanket and impression cylinder washing systems, an in-line anilox coating system, and IR, UV or hybrid drying options.
MECHANICSBURG, PA—Fry Communications has begun installing a customized Komori Lithrone sheetfed press. The new acquisition is equipped with multiple in-line finishing units, including cold foil, multiple UV coaters, emboss/deboss units and a diecut unit. The press will allow Fry to add the aforementioned accoutrements to printed products, covers, inserts and direct mail pieces.
