Heidelberg

The robotic scanner of yesteryear is long gone. Today's higher optical resolutions, advanced color user interfaces, fully integrated ICC-compatible software and faster scanning speeds are helping the prepress workflow scream. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Does it seem like the scanning market is standing in the conservative corner of digital prepress? Sure, glamorous, big-name PDF workflows are topics of industry discussion and intrinsic analysis, digital halftone proofing and digital platesetting devices duke it out for the time, attention and dollars of prepress executives and print production professionals—but what about the scanning market? Does anything scan-dalous ever happen to these image manipulators? As of

Sioux Falls, SD—In 40 years, Sioux Printing, based here, has seen a lot of changes. Two-color printing was "black and whatever color was in the press," recalls Jon Lewin, Sioux's third-generation owner. In 1959, Sioux employed eight people; now it has 85. And the pressroom, formerly home to a collection of older presses, has been completely remodeled to house two new six-color 40˝ MAN Roland 700 presses, a two-color Heidelberg Speedmaster 52 press and a two-color Quickmaster 46-2 press. "This is an exciting time for us," says Cathy Krueger, a sales representative for Sioux. "This company is really on the cutting edge. And I've

Is a digital proofer on your shopping list? Which digital proofing devices will you buy this year? What will be the improved range of spot colors accurately produced by these devices? Who's talking stochastic? Find out—today. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Happy new year. Need a new digital proofer? What an interesting time to shop for proofing expertise. (Sorry. No after-Christmas clearance on these items!) Expanding color gamuts, open front ends, new media selections, pigment-based inks, digital halftone and ink-jet devices, multi-setting proofers, spot color surprises—it seems every flavor of digital proofer is pushing to better mimic press conditions, deliver stable, accurate color and provide

Being able to run a 20˝ (or smaller) sheetfed offset press without a broad operator learning curve tops commercial printer demands of press manufacturers. BY ERIK CAGLE Commercial Printers have felt the pinch recently, with the amount of skilled press operators seemingly dwindling each year. Rather than choosing from a long list of prospects to operate their presses, many employers are faced with few options. As a result of the tight employment market, printers seek equipment that doesn't require lengthy operator training sessions—one of several issues facing not only those who buy small-format (20˝ and under) presses, but also those who manufacture them. While

Well, now that we've gotten over the millennium bug, or at least the hangover that accompanies the usual New Year's Eve festivities, we can hopefully focus our attention on the coming year. What will the new year/decade/century/millennium bring? Probably a lot of the same headaches the preceding one(s) bestowed upon us. That is, we can still expect to receive files that are missing fonts, images and other elements that are necessary to print. Of course, pricing and turnaround will continue to be the two legs of the stool expected to flex, while demands on quality remain as rigid as ever. Last year was

CLEVELAND—St. Ives/ Perlmuter Printing, having completed its name change to St. Ives, has broken ground on a $12 million expansion project. The expansion provides for 20 percent more space and will house a new web press and a state-of-the-art stitcher. Purchased three years ago by London-based St. Ives plc, Perlmuter officials say they were sensitive to changing their name in the local market. Established in 1917, the Perlmuter family provided a long legacy of printing services to customers in the Cleveland area, and nationally as well. "We are pleased to introduce the St. Ives organization to the Cleveland market," says Wayne R. Angstrom, president and CEO

Acquisitions, technology investments and the development of new market niches. Take a look at how Cunningham Graphics Int'l and Nationwide Graphics are employing these and other aggressive measures to grow their companies rapidly. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Printing is an industry of giants. Multi-million-dollar organizations, operating billions of dollars worth of collective technologies, employing hundreds of thousands, serving the varied needs of millions of consumers. This is your world. A world of entrepreneurs who realize the importance of customer service, employee recognition and technology investments, as well as the ability to satisfy Wall Street financial analysts. This is also the world of Michael Cunningham,

BY ERIK CAGLE In an age when the Internet may seem to be slowly eroding the print-on-paper medium, evidence suggests that a complementary relationship is being forged between the pair. This definitely appears to be the case with the catalog industry. According to a study conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), catalog retailers were expected to generate 5 percent of their sales from the Internet this year, more than double the figure for 1998. This was among the findings made by "The DMA State of the Catalog Industry Report: 1999." "This report contains significant information about how catalogers are turning their direct marketing

FORT WORTH, TX—Branch-Smith Inc. recently completed a expansion, adding more than $2 million in equipment. The move is expected to double sales in its Printing Division by the end of the year 2000. During the first half of 1999, Branch-Smith has reconfigured its printing plant and created what officials say are more efficient work processes. Newly installed equipment includes an eight-color Heidelberg press and new CTP prepress equipment. David Branch, Branch-Smith's chairman and CEO, notes, "We are excited that our Printing Division's market focus on bound products has created such success and demand. These enhancements will enable us to improve our response to current

As the new millennium approaches, e-commerce, PDF workflows, thermal CTP, digital proofing, computerized business management, and digitally equipped, automated printing and finishing technologies played starring roles at GRAPH EXPO 99. The rise of competitive e-commerce networks, PDF workflows, thermal computer-to-plate output devices, digital proofing systems, fully automated printing presses, new press control systems and quick-makeready finishing systems were on display by more than 600 exhibitors at GRAPH EXPO 99 in Chicago. What were the show stoppers? * E-commerce solutions—Internet-based, business-to-business solutions such as Noosh, Impresse, Collabria, 58k.com, PrintNation.com, Printable.com, PaperExchange.com and GraphicsResourceCenter.com, targeting the print procurement, supply purchasing and overall industry education needs of commercial printing,