Paul Beyer

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Just when it seemed safe to go back online, the specter of short-sighted Internet business models has risen to threaten print margins. It's the players, more so than the concept, that is new. Reverse auctions are now being touted by accounting firms and business consultants as a means for Corporate America to dramatically cut the cost of print work.

WHITE STONE, VA—Top technologists and strategic planners from leading printing, premedia and publishing companies around the world met in Orlando, FL, recently at the R&E Council/GCA Digital Smart Factory Conference to discuss integrated manufacturing in the printing industry. The meeting, co-sponsored by the R&E Council and the Graphic Communications Association, was an outgrowth of the 1999 Digital Networked Production Systems conference, staged by the R&E Council to explore the efficiencies possible in automating the print manufacturing process. The conference was co-chaired by Orlando Boleda, vice president of product development at Hart Graphics, and Stephen Franzino, vice president of technology for Courier Companies.

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