Agfa Graphics

I happen to be a big believer in PDF. I think it's the best technology driving workflow improvement today, and that it will bring even more benefits to workflows in the years ahead. Now that's hardly a controversial statement—you could even call it a widely-held belief in our industry. But I know there are lots of people out there, both publishers (in the broad sense of the word) and printers (ok, in the broad sense of that word, too), who, while they have a generally positive attitude towards PDF (how could they not, after all the good press we've given it?), still have some doubts,

Enovation Graphic Systems announced the formation of Arkin Graphics, which will be based in Flushing, NY. The new company was created to acquire the graphic arts products distribution business from Arkin-Medo Inc. As an Enovation company, Arkin Graphics will continue to serve the companies and customers that Arkin-Medo established over the past 80 years. Creo Inc. has appointed Jonathan Agger as product marketing manager for scanning solutions in North America and Latin America. He has held positions with Agfa, Polaroid Graphic Imaging and Sprockets.com. Screen (USA) is marking its 35th anniversary with an assessment of its success in satisfying its customers and providing quality products. Results

BY MARK SMITH Job Definition Format (JDF) support came the closest to being a theme among prepress exhibits at the recent Graph Expo and Converting Expo 02 in Chicago. The competitive pressure to beat the drum for JDF compliance may be causing an unintended complication, however. There are signs of a growing trend toward JDF being equated with all efforts to digitally integrate the entire print production process, a concept also known as computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). That leap is not completely accurate, or at least premature. JDF capabilities are not precisely a successor to the CIP3/4 support touted by manufacturers in the

LARGO, MD—After more than a year of researching the various CTP options, the management of Chroma Graphics decided to install a Screen (USA) PlateRite 8000II thermal plate recorder. The company reportedly was producing 100 percent of its work on the eight-up device within a month of the installation. Chroma Graphics was started in 1989 as a prepress operation and has since evolved into a full-service commercial sheetfed printer with sales of $9.5 million in 2001. It serves a broad base of customers, including high-profile clients such as the Washington Redskins, Nasdaq and the National Academy of Sciences. (www.screenusa.com) TAMPA, FL—Martin Litho is

BY ERIK CAGLE Want perspective on just how old Omaha Print is in relation to our young country? When the company's initial flagship publication—the Omaha Republican—debuted in 1858, Nebraska was still nine years away from becoming a state. Abe Lincoln and the Pony Express wouldn't bow for two more years, and the Civil War was three years away from the first cannonball being fired. And the new printer could count, as one of its first customers, a new company called the Union-Pacific Railroad. Omaha Print has not only changed along with the country—it once sold furniture and stationery supplies from a retail outlet—it has

PALO ALTO, CA—R.R. Donnelley announced the development of a new Inventory Management Solution (IMS), which is a book-on-demand, soft-cover production system that it says is designed to help book publishers improve cash flow through shorter printing runs. The system will combine a HP Indigo 3000 digital color press with an integrated, in-line binding module. According to John Conley, vice president of digital services for R.R. Donnelley, the first IMS module will be installed this summer in the company's Harrisonburg, VA, book plant. (www.rrdonnelley.com / www.hp.com) HUDSON, NH/VANCOUVER—Presstek Inc. and Creo Inc. report signing an agreement under which Presstek's Anthem chemistry-free

BY MARK SMITH Advancing the capabilities of computer-to-plate (CTP) systems requires plate and platesetter manufacturers to perform a tricky little digital two-step. The pair's timing has to be just right since each half of the CTP solution is useless without the other. While the platesetter may represent a much larger initial investment, the plate really does the leading because of its broader impact on the success of a CTP implementation. As a whole, the printing industry hasn't been content to just dance with the ones (technologies) that brought it to the party. Thermal imaging barely had its coming out before people were looking ahead

ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE—A new two-color, 28˝ Komori Lithrone press has been installed at All American Printing. TUSCALOOSA—The University of Alabama has added a new four-color, 21 1⁄16 x 19 1⁄8˝ Sakurai 474EPII press. CALIFORNIA IRVINE—The Dot Printer recently installed a Fujifilm Javelin Luxel T-9000 CTP thermal platesetter. The company is a five-facility, $36 million commercial printing operation. LOS ANGELES—Lithographix has installed its second Rollem TR die-scoring system and a Durselen/Rollem PB01 drilling system. NAPA—Label printer Jonergin Pacific has purchased CRC Information Systems' "The System" business management software. The company specializes in the production of high-quality wine labels. SAN DIEGO—Speedy Bindery has purchased a Best Osako

BY MARK SMITH Digital files have become the norm in print production, but the processes involved in generating them continue to evolve. Image capture—chiefly, photo-graphs into color separations—was one of the first areas to feel the impact of electronics with the introduction of scanners. Decades later, the scanning process and market continues to be reshaped by technological advances and dropping prices. For the past 10 years or so, the production step has also faced possible obsolescence due to the rise of digital photography. This context gave added weight to Heidelberg's recent announcement that it was discontinuing "all scanner development and production operations." The company

GAERF Launches Education Push RESTON, VA—The Graphic Arts Education and Research Foundation has begun distributing educational information about the printing industry to 65,000 high school teachers and guidance counselors across the country as part of the Make Your Mark in Graphic Communications program. The program, which has the potential to reach six million U.S. high school students, consists of a kit that includes teachers' curriculum and counselors' guides, posters, student brochures and follow-up surveys. The program is aimed at introducing and enticing young people into careers in the graphic arts fields. Mail-Well Names Group Head ENGLEWOOD, CO—Mail-Well Inc. announced Gordon Griffiths has been named president and