MLP USA

SINCE ITS inception in 1976, when owners Cindy and Dave Casey established Phoenix Marketing Services, the business forms manufacturer has been continuously evolving. Today, it is a completely different business operation. The two-site enterprise—with facilities in Claremont, CA, and Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico—now boasts 200 employees and offers services ranging from marketing, advertising and design, to interactive media, printing, bindery, fulfillment, warehousing and shipping. Initially based in Pomona, CA, the company developed its own creative department in 1980 to design forms and other marketing materials for its customers. It reached another milestone in 1982 when clients, namely those in the cruise line industry, began

WASHINGTON, DC—January 28, 2008—Membership in the organization that is promoting the marketing and promotional power of print continues to grow. Jet, Inc. and Lake County Press have joined The Print Council as full members. Jeff Norby, Jet’s President, will also serve on the Marketing Steering Committee to the Print Council’s Board. “Jet joined the Council because we are quite aware and concerned that print has become somewhat marginalized or commoditized in the eyes of both clients and suppliers,” he says. The Print Council is working to turn that perception around. “We believe in the value of print as a very important component in a

WASHINGTON, DC—January 8, 2008—The Print Council, a national business development initiative created to help promote greater use of printing and print media, today announced that GLS Companies and The Hickory Printing Group have recently joined the organization. As new members, the companies will work in concert with other member companies of The Print Council on initiatives to help develop, maintain and expand the market for printed materials. Members of The Print Council include commercial printers, paper manufacturers, press, ink and equipment manufacturers, publishers, industry associations, ad agencies, and public relations firms. Through advertising and speaking engagements, The Print Council is a visible and leading

Commercial Web Printers Compare Notes CHICAGO—MAN Roland held its first Commercial Customers Conference as a way of getting its commercial web press users together in a forum where everyone can benefit from one another, explains Douglas Bradley, vice president of web service at MAN Roland. “We developed the conference to focus on the topics that have the greatest impact on the key metrics of their businesses. Through interactive discussion and structured presentations, we can share ideas to help everyone improve their operational performance.” The conference, held in conjunction with Graph Expo in September and conducted at Chicago’s James Hotel, was themed “A Partnership Focused

Planting Pinwheels for Peace AMBLER, PA—Kathy Davis Studios recently set out to spread the message of world peace. Pinwheels for Peace, a global art therapy project founded by two teachers in Florida, was chosen as the ideal venture to teach local children and raise awareness over important global initiatives. For the past two years, on September 21 (International Day of Peace), pinwheels are assembled around the world and “planted” into the ground as a public statement and art exhibition. In 2006, more than 1 million pinwheels in some 2,300 locations across the globe were displayed. The project was localized when Kathy Davis encouraged 100-plus

WITH THE massive Drupa exhibition in Germany just seven months away, Graph Expo 2007 held in Chicago last month won’t go down in graphic arts history as a watershed event from a jaw-dropping new product standpoint. But that didn’t stop more than 20,000 upbeat attendees from filling the aisles at what was the largest Graph Expo event since 2000, and the second largest ever. Despite the Drupa effect, from a traditional offset printing standpoint there were a few new presses introduced, several automation and makeready advancements on display and, of course, a sprinkling of press sale announcements. An emphasis on environmental sustainability and improved

CHICAGO—9/24/07—Chicago printer M&G Graphics caters to many of the Windy City’s premier institutions. Since 1984, M&G has printed brochures, mailers, postcards and annual reports for an impressive client list that includes the Chicago Park District, Field Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Historical Society and Morton Arboretum. “The quality requirements of our customers are quite high,” said Josephine Meyer, owner. “The Mitsubishi Diamond 3000S is surpassing their requirements.” A first-time Mitsubishi press buyer, M&G installed the five-color, 40-inch sheetfed press with coater in July to replace two six-color machines from another manufacturer. The Diamond 3000S is doing the job of the older

Printers Flock to See Two-Sided Coating DALLAS—Neither heavy rains nor threatening tornadoes could dissuade roughly 75 printers and journalists from visiting Buchanan Visual Communications on April 24 and 25 for Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses’ 2007 National Open House. The violent weather wiped out a planned visit to a Texas Rangers-Seattle Mariners game at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, TX, but the guests were treated to some towering, long drives nonetheless during the “State of Perfection” demonstration. At the core of the open house was a display of the firepower behind Buchanan’s 12-color, 40˝ Mitsubishi Diamond 3000R convertible perfector equipped with tower coaters. The dual coaters

PICKERING, ONT—05/10/07—Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses and Ironstone Media Corp. co-hosted a series of web offset technology demonstrations to coincide with Offset and Beyond 07. Billed as “New Technology Opening New Worlds,” the event took place on April 30, May 1 and May 2, at Ironstone Media’s Pickering, Ont., production facility. The three special demonstrations showcased the Mitsubishi Diamond 16 MAX-M commercial web press. Guests represented a range of printing operations. They learned how the five-unit, one-web Diamond 16 MAX-M is helping Ironstone Media’s Web Offset Publications division enhance an already solid reputation in the Canadian publication printing arena. Presentations and live print demonstrations

A SMALL, but growing number of printers are taking a big leap of faith (and finances) to invest in what may well be the commercial and packaging printing equivalent of the Gold Rush. Printers big and small—like Branch Smith Printing, Carter Printing, Ambassador Press and Strine Printing, to name a few—are expanding into large- and very-large-format sheetfed technology and betting the ranch...’er, press...on their ability to boost productivity and expand into new product niches. Hoping to hit the motherload of profitability, printers are staking their claim by offering up to 81˝ formats to blend the high-quality printing capabilities of sheetfed offset with the ability