InfoPrint Solutions

Viewing On Demand BOSTON—Changing locations continues to be part of the story from the On Demand Conference & Expo, which last month completed its 2007 run at the (nearly) new Boston Convention & Exposition Center (opened in 2004). The event first moved from its long-standing home in New York City to Philadelphia for a two-year stint and now on to Boston through 2008. Close to 200 exhibitors had booths in the On Demand portion of the show floor, which the event continues to share with the AIIM Expo. New, or at least now commercialized, color printing systems added up to the largest category

ARMONK, NY—Ricoh and IBM are teaming up to create a joint venture company, InfoPrint Solutions, which Ricoh will gain full ownership of during a three-year period. IBM will receive $725 million in cash upon closing of the deal.Ricoh will initially hold 51 percent of the joint company—which is based on IBM’s Printing Systems Division—before buying…

BOULDER, CO—October 15, 2006—IBM announced today that IWCO Direct, one of the largest direct marketing firms in the United States, has chosen the Infoprint 4100 production printer to deliver increased speed for segments of IWCO Direct’s demanding environment. IWCO Direct installed IBM’s highest-speed production printer – the Infoprint 4100 model 5/6. “The Infoprint 4100 has delivered on our expectations for a high speed printer that produces quality documents,” said Marc Hacker, Operations Manager, IWCO Direct-New York. “With the appropriate applications, we can print 10 million feet per month on the 4100, delivering a 12% rated speed increase over competing production printers in our environment. In

FOR A time, it seemed as if the only point of distinction in digital printing was the simple fact of it being digital. The term became virtually synonymous with short run, quick turnaround printing, maybe with a little variable data work thrown in. Companies looking to invest in digital printing services typically evaluated the full range of equipment options available, a trend that continues today. At first blush, all the machines seem more alike than different—in terms of format, speed, resolution, etc.—and are capable of getting the job done. Some vendors like the connotations—solid, durable, productive—of the “digital press” designation. Other have opted to

Industry Consortium to Join in Unparalleled Collaboration Effort for Printing of Customer Communications BOULDER, CO—August 30, 2006—IBM announced that a key open standards initiative for the digital print industry has reached a major milestone. A majority of the AFP Color Consortium, a 28-company standards body, has approved IBM’s proposal to fully open the development of the Advanced Function Presentation (AFP) architecture. With this agreement, the members of the consortium will collaboratively develop all extensions to the AFP architecture, which is used by clients worldwide for the high speed printing of bills, statements and other customer communications. The consortium has already jointly published key

Borgata Wins Repeat Revenue [The Business Objective] When visitors come to the luxurious Borgata Hotel (www.theborgata.com) in Atlantic City, NJ, they spend money in the hotel, the casino and the spa. In return, guests leave with memorable experiences and, since 2003, a targeted mailing campaign has helped the hotel capitalize on these memories to encourage repeat visits and drive more revenue. With its 2,000 guest rooms, 125,000 square feet of gaming area, 11 restaurants, boutiques, a spa and event space, the Borgata is an impressive property. Still, the elegant facility competes with many other casinos and hotels in Atlantic City, and Borgata managers want

Buhrs, a producer of mailing and fulfillment solutions, has announced its intention to enter the market for FSI collating and wrapping systems for the newspaper industry. Buhrs has appointed Don Piontek, of Finishing Resources, to develop its presence in the market. John Kia has been named manager, production product marketing, for IBM Printing Systems. Also, Chris Reid has been named commercial print solutions manager. In this capacity, he is responsible for worldwide output solutions customized for commercial printers, including service bureaus, direct mailers and book printers. FileAmerica, a custom file folder manufacturer, is celebrating its 30th year serving the trade in the printing industry. Formerly known

On Demand Closes Doors on Its New York City Run NEW YORK—Two surprises awaited exhibitors and attendees at the recent 2004 On Demand Conference & Exposition. Unfortunately, they both related to the event itself. On the first day, word spread of a change in location and timing for the next installment of the industry forum, which is scheduled to be held May 17-19, 2005, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the heart of Philadelphia. There was no formal announcement, so most exhibitors first learned of the move when they were approached about reserving a booth for the 2005 show. The second surprise awaited attendees

The broader trend toward convergence in the digital printing segment also is evident at the product level. Black-and-white and color printing systems are being enhanced and expanded to meet the needs of corporate and commercial users alike. The trend is reflected in the capabilities and features of the latest product introductions from leading vendors. To expand its market, Heidelberg introduced the Digimaster 9110m network imaging system that uses magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) toner and prints special fonts and characters. It said to enable data centers and transactional printing environments to also do print-on-demand work with normal toner by simply changing developer stations. The

Digital duplicators and production printers are leading the industry down a new path. Find out what solutions are out there. BY CHRIS BAUER Touted by some vendors as the most cost-effective printing method available today, digital duplicating machines have come a long way since their predecessors: mimeograph machines and spirit duplicators. Digital duplicators and high-speed production printers give users a combination of the convenience and simplicity of a copier with the economics and versatility of an offset press. This versatility makes duplicators and production printers ideal products for both short-, medium- and high-volume printing applications, vendors say. Looking back, digital duplicating equipment was not