EFI

BY THIS time, the shipping crates are certainly well on their way to Birmingham (UK), if not already on the grounds of the National Exhibition Centre, laden with the latest and greatest that exhibitors at IPEX 2006 have to offer. Earlier this year, nearly a dozen companies gave the industry media a preview of their show plans at an event organized by the British public relations firm AD Communications. The primary intent was to give those already committed to attending the international exposition a head start in developing a must-see list. But, it’s not too late for others to book a last-minute trip if

Raising the Bar for Print Buying As adoption of digital printing has spread and evolved in the marketplace, it has become a catalyst for changes that extend beyond the way ink (toner) is put on paper. What people buy has been impacted by the short run, on-demand and variable data printing capabilities enabled by the technology. How people buy is also changing as digital printing provides impetus for the development of Web-to-print solutions. The printing industry saw its share of dotcom startups promising to revolutionize the way business is done, but the concept gained limited traction. Digital printing was one area where e-commerce/e-procurement did

Heidelberg Puts Accent on Education KENNESAW, GA—The calendar said December, but the menu at Heidelberg's recent "Brats & Dots" customer event gave it the feel of an Oktoberfest, minus the beer. This open house at the company's Print Media Demonstration Center (PMDC) was followed by two days of classes for printers in its Print Media Academy and a briefing for industry editors. On the first day, printers were able to witness live demonstrations of Heidelberg's prepress, press, direct imaging and postpress solution in the 33,000-square-foot PMDC facility. The clear stars of the show were its new 40˝ Speedmaster XL 105 sheetfed press platform and

Nothing 'Static' About PIA/GATF VDP Conference PHOENIX—Somewhat akin to the early days of the California Gold Rush, there are endless growth opportunities in today's digital frontier. And the riches will go to those printers that can master variable data printing (VDP), database management and cross-media applications. There's no secret map to the gold, but shops that can provide these services—coupled with the ability to market, sell and then track the benefits of one-to-one marketing—will be the ones most likely to strike it rich. That seems to be the general consensus of the more than 300 participants who attended the 2005 PIA/GATF Variable Data and

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor "Workflow" used to be an easy, concise way to reference the digital equivalent of conventional prepress. It spanned the processes from when a file came in the door until the plate went out to the pressroom. Over time, usage of the term has been extended to encompass so much of the print production process that it now is in danger of applying to everything and effectively defining nothing. Workflow already has been—or is in the process of being—extended: * back to the customer, initially in the form of preflighting and remote proofing solutions, but increasingly including production portals

Tackling a sizzling-hot topic in the printing industry, the 2005 PIA/GATF Variable Data and Personalization Conference scheduled for November 6-8 at the Sheraton Crescent Hotel in Phoenix is designed to offer attendees the critical information needed for personalized digital printing success. In the following special section you will find articles pertaining to the main topic of this upcoming PIA/GATF event. Included are a look at several digital printers who have successfully implemented variable data printing (VDP); how a leading direct marketing agency relies on VDP to boost response rates; compensation plans for digital salespeople; results from a recent study concerning postal damage to digitally printed

Two dozen exhaustive overviews on opportunities for digital printing that exist in various U.S. markets are slated to be unveiled as Marketing 4 Digital (M4D) reports this fall. Introduced during PRINT 05 and CONVERTING 05, the findings will be issued in three sets of eight reports, with the final installment being released by April 2006. Each set will consist of a book containing eight complete market reports, each about 40 to 80 pages in length. The 24 research publications were developed by the Digital Printing Council of PIA/GATF. Researched by graduate students from Cal Poly and the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Marketing 4

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor One of the most striking trends to take shape at PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 is the degree to which one can now play a "zero degrees of separation" game between vendors of digital printers and prepress workflow systems. Some level of cross-linking seemed to be announced for almost every possible pairing. (More details are included in the "Prepress Workflow and CTP" show recap on page 28.) In terms of the print engines themselves, developments appear to have at least temporarily hit a plateau. The pieces required to build a viable business are already in place, so the focus

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Industry vendors continue to weave a convoluted web of interconnecting technologies and business relationships. Imagine, for a moment, if all of such connections between exhibitors at PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 had been represented physically by running strings between their booths. The result likely would have rivaled the work of even the most industrious spider. Quiet a few new strands would have been added just at the show, particularly in the areas of interfacing offset and digital workflows and marketing of new plate technologies. Though not expressly sold as JDF (Job Definition Format) solutions, that technology generally

Agfa Talks Tech With Printers NORTH BERGEN, NJ—Agfa recently held a one-day "Technology Showcase" for area printers, featuring its chemistry-free CTP solutions and Sublima XM screening. Deborah Hutcheson, Agfa's senior marketing manager, Digital Solutions, gave attendees an overview in a formal presentation and then two of the company's customers shared their first-hand experiences. John Santangelo, executive vice president of H&S Graphics in Lodi, NJ, conducted demonstrations of Azura aluminum plates being imaged by an Acento thermal platesetter for chemistry-free CTP production. The family owned, 10-person general commercial shop made the move to that system after trying a competitive technology. According to Tom Santangelo, president,