Komori America

Heatset web offset press manufacturers tackle burning issues BY CAROLINE MILLER Less waste, shorter runs and labor shortages are all issues that commercial printers who use heatset web offset presses must contend with on a daily basis. These issues, coupled with customer demands for better quality and lower costs, can quickly put web printers in the hot seat. It's enough to make anyone start to sweat. In response, heatset web offset press manufacturers are coming to the rescue, finding ways to put out the flames and respond effectively to these age-old problems. Several heatset web offset manufacturers were interviewed by Printing Impressions to discuss

BY SCOTT POLK What do The Little Engine That Could, Allen Iverson and Vern Troyer (Mini-Me) all have in common? They're proof of the old saying that good things come in small packages. You can add another item to that list from the printing world, specifically small-format sheetfed offset presses. For small- and mid-size commercial printers, as well as quick and franchise printers, small-format presses are ideal since they provide a quality product with fast turnaround time, while meeting the requirements of a tight budget. Last year, A.B.Dick introduced one of these models, the 9995A-ICS, a line extension of its highly successful two-color 9995

Now there is a color digital production press to suit every printer's desire. Is it time to throw your hat in the ring? BY CAROLINE MILLER Color digital press manufacturers are setting their sights on the commercial printer. No longer is digital printing just for the on-demand and quick printing market segments; it has finally matured to the point where commercial printers can begin to seriously consider integrating these output devices into their business strategy. Today, digital presses offer print quality that is close to offset quality. The mix of improved quality, coupled with quick turnaround, speed and flexibility, is a recipe that

The stakes are high and the iron-producing players are few in the world of 40˝ and larger sheetfed presses. Today, manufacturers are looking at what printers want in a press tomorrow. BY ERIK CAGLE The crystal ball is working overtime at manufacturing facilities around the world. While you make your way at DRUPA 2000 through the hundreds of thousands of people cramming the aisles of the 18 buildings at Messe Dusseldorf, the R&D people, the tech heads and marketing gurus are looking past the present. They're thinking DRUPA 2004. Phrases float through their brains: increased automation, but what's left on the press?...what is the

The graphic arts world shifts its attention to Dusseldorf for the World Series of Printing. For some manufacturers, it's a coming-out party for new heatset web offset press hardware. BY ERIK CAGLE Don't worry, it's not too late to book a hotel within a half-hour commute of Dusseldorf for May's DRUPA 2000 exhibition. Should nothing be available, there's always nearby Brussels or Amsterdam. Yes, when it comes to attending the world's foremost ink-on-paper (et al) exhibition, early planning is absolutely necessary. The same can definitely be said for the many manufacturers, technology providers and assorted vendors that will be displaying their goods and

Celebrating its 25th (silver) anniversary, Graphics of the Americas 2000—held February 4th to 6th in Miami Beach—was the first international printing and converting trade show of the new millennium. But, unlike the Y2K fears that generated false media headlines as the new millennium approached, this event lived up to all of its advanced billing. Catering to both the U.S. and Latin American graphic arts industries, Graphics of the Americas 2000 featured more than 23,000 attendees and 1,500+ exhibit booths encompassed within more than 500,000 square feet of exhibit space. For the first time, the show occupied all four halls of the Miami Beach Convention

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

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,

BY ERIK CAGLE Shorter runs, longer runs, less waste, reduced makeready time, skilled labor shortages, increased automation—some of the biggest issues facing the commercial printers who use heatset web offset presses are also some of the oldest issues. They are issues constantly being addressed. It is a flourishing market, as some of the open web industry's manufacturing stalwarts now offer enhanced commercial models or are breaking into the heatset specialty for the first time. That gives the printer more variety of choices in both the quantity and quality departments. For the manufacturers already entrenched in the heatset web market, the quest is to answer

CHICAGO—What were the odds that GRAPH EXPO 98 would be a Show of Shows—when the international spectacles that are IPEX and PRINT 97 captured the printing industry's collective practically within the same 12 month span, with IPEX in September and PRINT 97 the previous September? How about $108 million to one? If you're talking GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, that's not bad—that's the figure Heidelberg registered during GRAPH EXPO's four-day stay at McCormick Place here. Heidelberg's sales success was not singular. Scores of the show's more than 550 exhibitors reported GRAPH EXPO was a money maker. MAN Roland, for example, reported a