Heidelberg

Sometimes, the beauty of acronyms is that they can be re-used. There may come a time, for example, when CTP stops meaning computer-to-plate or even computer-to-press and begins to mean "cerebral cortex-to-press." At least, Cal Poly Professor Harvey Levenson believes it's possible. "Imagine thinking of an image and, through electrical signals naturally generated by the brain, the image is sent directly to a digital printing press where 50,000 copies of your thoughts are reproduced in perfect color," he says. You're laughing at Levenson? Remember, they also laughed at Fulton. Laughing or not, tens of thousands of commercial, package printing and converting professionals will turn

The Final Countdown Exhibiors are scurrying to make final preparations for their booths. Visitors who procrastinated are just now pre-registering for the mega-show, and scrambling to find what's become a dwindling supply of hotel rooms in downtown Chicago. With nearly 800 booths filling almost 750,000 net square feet of exhibit space, roughly 70,000 people are expected to converge on McCormick Place next month during the seven-day run of PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05. If you've never travelled to the mammoth Drupa exhibition in Germany, this international show is the only event held domestically that even comes close in comparison. With renewed industry optimism, expectations are high.

arizona MESA—Hogue Printing Solutions is the new home for a seven-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Diamond 3000TP tandem perfector. california GLENDALE—An eight-color Komori Lithrone S40 perfector with coater has been installed at 4-Over Inc. Irwindale—The Processors recently added a five-color Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 74 with perfector and coater to its pressroom. Founded in 1974, the shop houses 19 employees and services advertising agencies and network-based companies. SAN DIEGO—Printing Industries Association of San Diego held its annual membership meeting at PetCo Park, home of the San Diego Padres baseball team, in June. Among those enjoying the game were the new 2005-06 PIA/SD board of directors: Richard

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Given all the debate about the technology of coatings in recent years, one might think printing plates are an exception to the rule that it is what's below the surfaces that really matters. One thing almost all of the solutions, even analog plates, have in common, though, is an aluminum base. Polyester plates are the exception, of course. This commonality in printing plates hit home earlier this year when vendors notified customers of price increases due to the rising cost of raw materials. Aluminum prices reportedly have risen some 40 percent over the past two years, and higher

DALLAS—Williamson Printing has activated what is reportedly the largest Heidelberg Speedmaster SM 102 press in the world. The 40˝ SM 102 12P+LX has 12 printing units, plus coaters, and has the ability to print six colors on both sides of a sheet, six-over-five with dual-side coating, and 12 colors in-line with aqueous coating. A redesigned Preset Plus feeder system reduces setup time when changing stocks, as well as increasing net output and running speeds, particularly when printing on difficult substrates. Additionally, modular coating units located throughout the machine provide maximum production capabilities and specialized applications. "With this new technology, we will be able to produce the

KENNESAW, GA—Touted as its largest Print Media Demonstration Center (PMDC) in the world, Heidelberg showcased the newly expanded, 33,000-square-foot facility during a President's Night gala held here on May 25th. The event was attended by some 300 printers from throughout North America. Housing a range of prepress, press and postpress equipment and workflow solutions, the PMDC will serve as a venue where prospective and existing customers can run actual test jobs, as well as a site for hands-on tutorials, meetings and conferences. The center required a 12˝-thick continuous concrete slab with rebar and 4,000 amps of power consumption. The special event also marked the

Cenveo Plans Cost Savings ENGLEWOOD, CO—Cenveo announced a comprehensive plan to reduce operating expenses and streamline management functions, a plan that includes the elimination of about 125 jobs—mostly managerial positions. Through these moves, the company expects to save $9 million in 2005 and generate annual savings of $20 million. After having his May 6 formal proposal to take over Cenveo rejected, veteran print executive Robert Burton of Burton Capital Management informed the troubled printer that he will seek a special meeting of shareholders with the intention of removing the existing board members and replacing them with a slate that will "affirmatively act in the best

Web Printers Hit The Race Track DALLAS—Sun Chemical offered Web Offset Offset Association Conference attendees the opportunity to climb into a NASCAR race car for a high-speed ride around the track at the Texas Motor Speedway. Of the 250 guests in attendance at the event, nearly 160 people elected to ride as passengers in the stock cars, which reached speeds of 170 miles per hour as they sped around the oval track. DiMS! organizing print's entire European staff have relocated to a brand new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art office building in Lichtenvoorde, the Netherlands. The building is equipped with ultra-modern demo spaces and well-equipped training classrooms. KBA North America

State of the Industry I attended two industry events recently where presentations by Ronnie Davis, Ph.D., and Andy Paparozzi—chief economists of the PIA/GATF and NAPL, respectively—reaffirmed my beliefs about the current state of commercial printing and some of the foremost challenges we face going forward. The commercial printing industry is finally growing again. Speaking to attendees at the annual Web Offset Association conference, Davis credits the 2.8 percent increase in U.S. printing shipments in 2004 and projected 3 percent increase this year to several factors, including overall economic growth for the U.S. economy, a rebound in advertising spending, the 2004 Presidential election and,

Attendees Soak Up the Views ORLANDO, FL—In a bid to inject new energy into the event and build attendance, the Vue/Point Conference was relocated to sunny Florida for its recent 2005 run. The results were mixed with regard to those goals, but attendees seemed pleased with the event overall. Judging by a show of hands in the opening session, there clearly was a spike in the percentage of first-time attendees. Also, representation by printers—as opposed to vendors—was said to be up. However, the total attendee number held more or less steady from the 2004 event in Washington, DC. There were several topics of