Print Buyers Online.com weekly e-letter November 3, 2008

PBO Welcomes New Strategic Partner
We're pleased to announce that Foster Printing Service will be one of our key printing partners over the coming year. Foster Printing Service is a leading solutions provider of multiple print and digital needs, from custom print products, reprints and ePrints to mailing services. We're looking forward to learning more about their unique perspective on managing workflow and print technology. For more information, please visit www.fosterprinting.com.

Registration Now Open for Print Oasis 2009!

Securely register now by visiting: Print Oasis 2009 Attendee Registration

We invite you to check our website regularly for new details and the latest information about our conference at: www.printoasis.com

Highlights from Graph EXPO
Below are several of the highlights Print Buyer Online.com's Associate Editor Sarah Channing Grieboski and I experienced at Graph EXPO 2009. As you will see, it was an action packed four days for us! For a glimpse of PBO on location, take a peek at the video Hal Hinderliter filmed for Graphic Arts Monthly, listed below:

http://www.graphicartsonline.com/flashVideo/element_id/2140288079/taxid/31112.html

On Expo floor with President of DA Digital

Dan Adler

Komori
Graph EXPO 2009 was kicked off with a Komori press conference on Saturday, October 25. Komori continues to create sheet-fed and web presses that reduce make-ready and cycle time on print projects. This allows for shorter press runs, which of course is the way that print projects are trending. Of note was one Komori customer who said he turned around a 3 million run print project in less than 36 hours.

As we made the rounds, we talked to other reporters, industry manufacturers and consultants about the economy. The overall consensus was there are many concerns about the short term prospects for the industry - and large equipment manufacturers are the hardest hit. Komori reported an 18% decrease in net sales year to date from last year. Fortunately, their cash position is very strong at over 43%, but the problem that printers are facing is getting financing for equipment and new technology. Obviously the larger the purchase, the more difficult that becomes. www.komori.com

Heidelberg, USA
Later in the evening, we attended an awards dinner hosted by Vice President of Heidelberg's Print Media Academy Larry Kroll, in acknowledgement of the winners of the Skills USA contest. Heidelberg has been instrumental in supporting the awareness of the opportunities in the print industry to high school and college students.

It was wonderful to see these promising youths and their advisors being rewarded for their enthusiasm in the graphic arts. Heidelberg is a true proponent of education - and that is so needed in our industry as it continues to be fragmented. They have made a commitment to help grow the future workforce in the print industry by supporting competitions for high school and college level high school students - and it is programs like these that keep them on the print path. www.heidelbergusa.com

Xerox Premier Partners
The next morning, we attended the Xerox Premier Partners Global Network panel discussion on Sustainability. Even with a 7:30 AM start time, the conference room was filled to capacity. Panelists included Steve Damman of Quantum Digital, Chris Hutson of Digital Color Graphics, Robert Kashan of EarthColor, and Patricia Calkins of Xerox.

At our Print Oasis Print Buyers Conference, attendees often find that one of the most beneficial parts is to network and learn best practices from both peers and industry leaders. This also held true at Xerox's event. I felt the most inspiring talk was given by Robert Kashan, the CEO of EarthColor (www.earthcolor.com). Kashan clearly demonstrated that sustainability practices and cost savings go hand in hand for both the printer and the print buyer. EarthColor is so committed to eco-friendly printing that they even have a director of sustainability, David Podmayersky, and they go above and beyond the typical environmental solution offerings of less savvy printers.

Kashan detailed how EarthColor offers digital technologies, extensive VOC management, wind energy, and other effective eco-initiatives. In fact, EarthColor has saved $1.1 million for one customer by providing environmentally friendly solutions. Kashan is optimistic about the future of print and sustainability, saying that he expects a huge amount of growth in the number of corporations who are looking to go green.

This was supported by Xerox VP and moderator Robert Wagner, who said in a recent survey of Xerox Premier Partners stated that 79% said green is no longer "the nice thing to do", it is a core part of how they are doing business. www.xerox.com/creative

Apollo Systems
In between press conferences, we had the chance to walk the exhibit floor. It was great to see Stanley Rosen of Print Solutions, who is currently serving as lead marketing consultant for Apollo Systems. Located in Boxboro, Massachusetts, Apollo Systems provides inspection products and support services to currency, stamp, security and commercial printers. Rosen provided us with a demonstration of Marksman 2.3, the industry's only press-side full-sheet/full-image color analysis and defect inspection system, which was introduced at Graph EXPO 2009.

The product allows for 100% note-to-note inline on press and has five inspection systems running at full speed, 10,000 sheets per hour in real time. The system quantifies the quality of a print project within the parameters selected and customized by the print buyer. What is unique about this quality control system is it runs while the substrate is being run on the press, being stretched, skewed and rotated. When it catches something that lies outside the set parameters, it will make adjustments based on the anchors in less than half a second. Print buyers can also set different tolerance levels to fall within the range as certain items need tighter tolerance levels, such as brand colors.

This tool also allows the press operator to have the ability to see things that his eye won't be able to decipher, for instance the buildup of static electricity in suction cups, which is typically not caught until the substrate has gone through the press. www.apollo-systems.com

AGFA Corporation
We also visited with Susan Wittner of AGFA Corporation, one of the world's leading imaging an information technology companies. AGFA recently introduced GreenWorks, a tool to help printers measure and promote their sustainability efforts. Over 100 printers have successfully completed the program which is judged by an independent advertising agency. AGFA has a listing of sustainable printers which can be found on www.gdusa.com and www.appliedartsmag.com/agfa.

One of the things that I really like about GreenWorks is that it offers marketing support to printers in the form of press releases, awards, plaques and direct mail campaigns. Interestingly, some printers who have sustainability programs fail to market their efforts to their customers and prospects. AGFA helps printers get more leverage from their efforts.

Another interesting product of AGFA is Anapurna Mv, a 63-inch six-color hybrid printer that also prints spot or overall UV varnish to further improve printed materials' cosmetic appearance. Print buyers will be interested that it brings photo quality UV technology to the wide format market. www.agfa.com

Pantone/X-Rite
We met with Pantone's Andy Hatkoff, who is VP of Technology Licensing and OEM Business Development and Tobias Rausch, Product Manager PrePress of X-Rite, to learn about ColorMunki Design, which allows designers to share color palettes in a calibrated environment. This ensures colors are reproduced in any medium, as they were intended. They also discussed GoeBridge coated, which was created in a fan-like composition for easy portability. With over 2000 colors, the GoeBridge allows creatives to evaluate how colors will reproduce in CMYK. www.pantone.com

Andy Hatkoff and Tobias Rausch

XEROX PIXI Awards
We attended the Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging (PIXI) Awards on Sunday evening, hosted by Valerie Blauvelt. This annual digital printing industry's premier awards competition recognizes excellence and innovation in digital printing applications around the world. This year's Best of Show went to De Budelse b.v. of Budel, Netherlands for the Sjakie Child Booklet and Music Package. The North American region was won by American Greetings Corporation for their Gorant Packaging Ensemble. For a complete list of 2008 winners, visit www.xeroxawards.com.

FUJIFILM
We had the opportunity to meet with Kristi Mendez and Peter Vanderlaan of FUJIFILM to learn about Taskero Universe, introduced at Graph EXPO 2009. This process-based web tool allows printers and print buyers a way to analyze quality and performance on print jobs through multiple print devices. Using real time monitoring, Taskero analyzes production problems immediately and provides reporting on how close the print project stays within customized parameters.

Printers using Taskero can give their print buyers a login to track quality on soft proofs (monitors), proofs, inkjet printers, large format devices, digital presses, offset presses, and more. This can be particularly useful to print buyers who are printing the same project at multiple locations or with multiple print suppliers and ensures consistent quality. It also has extensive reporting capabilities and can show how closely the print project matches G7 (Gracol 7) standards. Taskero Universe also provides environmental benefits by reducing waste and energy.

Don Schroeder, Director of Solutions Development for FUJIFILM and manager of the Taskero product, expects it to be one of FUJIFILM's lead sellers over the next year.  For print buyers who have high quality standards, this is an exciting analytical tool. www.taskerouniverse.com

Heidelberg's Print Media Academy
While at Graph EXPO, I spoke at Heidelberg's Print Media Academy on the subject of Print Buying Trends of 2008. I was among industry leaders Andy Paparozzi of NAPL and Julie Shaffer of PIA/GATF. It was rewarding to see printers' interest in our print buying community and provide them with some of trends our section of the industry are experiencing such as sustainability initiatives and the economy.   The Print Media Academy (PMA) of the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Germany, is a center for qualification and communication in the print media industry.   www.print-media-academy.com