Training and Education

NEW YORK CITY—November 6, 2006—The Association for Graphic Communications (AGC), the industry organization known for its traditional member services and for sponsorship of the annual Franklin Event, has launched a major renewal project that will create an entirely new industry entity that better serves the current needs and interests of members in today’s advanced, high-tech graphics environment. The announcement was made by the Executive Committee of the association’s Board of Directors. The AGC also announced that Michael Brice, former president of Superior Ink, has accepted an appointment as interim president of the AGC and will oversee the renewal project, coordinating the efforts of participating members.

CHICAGO—More than 21,000 attendees passed through the turnstiles at McCormick Place South during Graph Expo and Converting Expo last month, the Graphic Arts Show Co. (GASC) reported.That total does not include exhibitors, nor does it take into account people who registered but did not attend, the GASC said.The show, held October 15-18, was reportedly the…

ULTIMATELY, THE common goal among the manufacturers and suppliers of finishing and bindery equipment at Graph Expo (and any trade show, for that matter) is to place their equipment in as many shops as possible. But, as a commerce vehicle, companies displaying their wares approach the annual Chicago event with different goals in mind. Every year there’s a degree of spin doctoring that takes place in the trade press. A show’s attendance can drop 20 percent as tumbleweeds bounce off stitchers and binders, but some writers will rave about how many of the leads were high quality. Frankly, it’s generally 50/50 or slightly in

AWAY FROM the churning of offset presses and clicking of bindery machinery, a buzz was emanating from the comparably quiet booths containing consumable product vendors at Graph Expo—a buzz caused by new product announcements, enhancements and other newsworthy scuttlebutt. Toyo Ink America, for instance, showcased a comprehensive lineup of inks for sheetfed and web printing applications. Ink products that debuted at the show included: Kaleido four-color process ink; edible inks; heatset web inks; the Scuff Tuff SG process series; and the Aqualess Ultra process series. New non-ink products from Toyo included the TOYO 1050 Color Finder system, with color matches for 1,050 colors that are

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

Putting an iGen3 in Team Spells Digital Success CAROL STREAM, IL—Some 350 people attended the open house recently held by Team Concept to showcase the capabilities of its new Xerox iGen3 digital color press. The shop reports running the machine 24 hours a day within just four months of installing it. Pictured in front of the digital press are (from the left) Tony Rouse, Team Concept president and CEO; Paco Salcedo, its iGen3 certified specialist; Julie Higgins, customer business development manager for Xerox; Laurie Kaminski, Team Concept’s iGen3 manager; and Mike Murphy of Xerox. Punch Graphix Rolls Out Xeikon 6000 ITASCA, IL—After

With more than 630 exhibitors covering in excess of 440,000 square feet of show floor space, GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO 2006 was the largest national graphic communications and converting trade show held in the U.S. since 2000, according to its sponsors. Vendors reported strong interest among attendees across a wide range of products on…

This quick tour around the show floor provides a glimpse of what was new and gives a sense of the energy generated by attendees and exhibitors alike.

PHOENIX—The PIA/GATF Variable Data and Personalization Conference is slated for November 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel here. The conference will feature three educational tracks: management, technical, and sales and marketing.Among the conference topics: profiting with digital printing, assessing customer needs, re-engineering database files, and liability/security issues. A Web-to-print symposium will be held in conjunction…