Industry News

Oct 17, 2006 12:37 PM

News from: Durst Image Technology, Neenah Paper, Value Chain Intl., Boise Paper, Cal Poly Graphics Communications Dept., Imagine! Print Solutions, Riegel Printing, Berryville Graphics, Sir Speedy Printing, Etheridge Printing, Roland, Domtar, Presstek, Big City Graphics, NAPL, Cranel Imaging, PIA/GATF, Interquest, Flower City Printing, InnerWorkings, Marketing Informatics, and people on the move.

Hot Topics, Management Tips, Newsmakers

TIDBITS…
» Durst Image Technology has revamped its Web site. See www.durstus.com.

» Neenah Paper has partnered with Pomco Graphic Arts. Pomco will help promote Neenah’s Environment brand of recycled papers.

» Value Chain Intl. Ltd. has acquired Digital Publishing Solutions (DPS).

» Boise Paper helps Hurricane Katrina victims. The company donated 319 tons of paper to the School, Home & Office Products Assn. (SHOPA) Kids in Need Foundation, providing much needed print and copy paper to 16 school districts in Mississippi that were hit by the storm.

» Cal Poly State University’s Graphic Communications Dept. has become an associate member of the Print Council as an educational partner.

» Imagine! Print Solutions has earned FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification as an FSC chain-of-custody printer by the SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance.

» Riegel Printing Co. received 10 Neographic 2006 “Power of Print” awards, including the “Best of the Best” award.

» Happy anniversary to Berryville Graphics, which celebrates 50 years as a premier book manufacturer.

» Sir Speedy Printing has been selected as a recipient of The Business Ledger 2006 “Annual Award for Business Excellence.” The AABEs are given for business achievement, growth and community involvement.

» Etheridge Printing Co. signed a long-term lease for 26,000 sq. ft. of additional production, warehouse and fulfillment work space adjacent to its building in Dallas for a total sq. footage of 81,000. Correction: In our September issue, we misstated the relationship between xpedx and Gmund. xpedx is the exclusive U.S. distributor for the Kaschmir gradeline, not for the entire Gmund product line.

‘Roland Innovation’ wins vehicle graphics contest
LogosPrint.com’s (Albany, NY) PJ Brassard has won the grand prize in the Roland (Irvine, CA) Wrap Vehicle Graphics Contest, a North American competition for the best Scion xB vehicle graphics design.

Brassard’s winning design, a multicolor graphic titled “Roland Innovation,” was selected from more than 400 entries received by the July 31st contest deadline. As the grand prize winner, Brassard received a new VersaCAMM SP-300V 30-inch inkjet printer/cutter and an expense-paid trip to Las Vegas for the SGIA ‘06 conference, September 26-29.

“I’m so excited and overwhelmed to be the winner,” Brassard said. “Roland has just made our year. Our SOLJET has been a great production tool, and I can’t wait to begin working with my new VersaCAMM.”

A whole new Domtar
Domtar Inc. has announced the creation of the largest manufacturer and marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America, and the second largest in the world. Domtar has signed a definitive agreement to combine with Weyerhaeuser’s fine paper business and related assets. The new company, to be called Domtar, will be headquartered in Montreal, while its operations headquarters will be in Fort Mill, SC. The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is subject to approvals by the shareholders of Domtar by a special resolution, the Superior Court of Quebec, appropriate regulatory and other authorities, as well as customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007.

Based on annualized Q2 2006 unaudited results for Domtar (excluding Norampac) and for Weyerhaeuser’s fine paper business, Domtar estimates the new company would generate approximately US$6.5 billion in sales and US$730 million in EBITDA, before synergies; the new company is expected to have an enterprise value exceeding US$6 billion.

The backbone of the new company will be six uncoated freesheet mills that will provide two-thirds of its more than five million tons of capacity. Domtar president and CEO Raymond Royer will lead an organization of nearly 14,000 employees with a management team composed of executives from Domtar and Weyerhaeuser paper operations. At the time of the closing, the combined company will be owned approximately 55 percent by former Weyerhaeuser shareholders and 45 percent by former Domtar shareholders.

Domtar and Weyerhaeuser will continue to operate separately until the transaction closes.

Presstek extends Open House series
Presstek, Inc. (Hudson, NH) has extended its schedule of Open House events for 2006. During these events, attendees are invited to drop in anytime during the day for educational sessions and live product demonstrations.

“We have conducted over 20 events in North American so far, this year, where printers can see Presstek DI presses and chemistry-free CTP solutions in action,” says Brian Wolfenden, director of marketing communications for Presstek. “These events provide the printer the opportunity to witness, first-hand, the high-quality and ease-of-use printing of the DI press. It also provides the time to discuss the impact Presstek products can have on their business.”

Presstek will host an Open House event in Newark, NJ, October 31 through November 2; Minneapolis, December 5 to 7. See www.presstek.com/events.

Long Island City full-service printer debuts
Christopher Gravagna began his career in print as a broker, focusing on the New York City night life. From there, his first plant was born: Big City Graphics. Gravagna later shifted his attention to more corporate and trade clients. On Demand Printing was created to meet the stringent printing demands of the corporate client. Coupled with a principal investment in B&T Bookbinding and the founding of Access Die & Display, he put together a 54,000-sq.-ft. facility, The Long Island City Graphic Arts Center, to provide a total production solution for high-end clients. The LIC Graphic Arts Center is located at 30-02 48th Ave., 3rd Fl., Long Island City, NY.

The center was created in response to growth in printing, art and culture in the Long Island City area. The LIC Graphic Arts Center plans to tap into that growth and build a synergistic system of companies that can work towards the goals of creating hybrid marketing solutions. Director of operations Steve Ramirez says, “The LIC Graphic Arts Center is bringing traditionally separate industries into one location, where we can pass on savings in time and costs to our clients.”

See www.ondemandprinting.com.

Branch named 2006 Soderstrom honoree
The Soderstrom Society of NAPL (Paramus, NJ) has named David C. Branch, chairman and CEO of Branch-Smith Resources Ltd., and president of Branch-Smith Printing Ltd. (Fort Worth, TX), recipient of the 46th annual Walter E. Soderstrom Award. One of the graphic communications industry’s most prestigious honors, the award will be presented at the annual dinner meeting of NAPL’s Walter E. Soderstrom Society in October.

“David optimizes all the qualities that continue to drive our industry forward—a steadfast commitment to excellence, an openness to innovation, and an eagerness to serve,” says Joseph P. Truncale, NAPL president and CEO. “NAPL and the industry at large have benefited greatly from David’s involvement and guidance and all of us at NAPL congratulate him on this honor.”

Named for the late Walter E. Soderstrom, one of the founders of NAPL, the award has been bestowed annually since 1961 to a distinguished individual who has contributed significantly to the development and progress of the printing industry.

Cranel Imaging to distribute PowerFile data storage
Cranel Imaging (Columbus, OH) and PowerFile, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) have announced a distribution deal to allows Cranel to offer its “Value Added Reseller” and “Document Imaging Service Provider” channels PowerFile’s flagship Permanent Storage Appliance.

PowerFile has devised a network-attached appliance that can install in less than 30 minutes, easily integrate within existing document imaging environments, and serve over 30 terabytes in a single network volume. The appliance is efficient, using only 5 percent of the power and cooling of magnetic disk-based systems.

2006 InterTech Technology awards
PIA/GATF (Sewickley, PA) has announced the recipients of the 2006 PIA/GATF InterTech Technology awards.

The winners:

Adobe PDF Print Engine—Adobe Systems, Inc.
Microsystems Microcip Software Module—C&P Microsystems
DALiM MiSTRAL—Dalim Software GmbH
WebCenter—Esko
The MAGNUM Ink Formulation Dispenser—GFI Innovations, Inc.
Zero-slip Nip Enhancement—Goss Intl. Americas Inc.
KBA Genius 52 UV Sheetfed Offset Press—KBA North America, Inc.
MAN Roland Inline Foiler—MAN Roland, Inc.
DeskDirect—PrintSoft
Liberty Sheetfed Inks—Sun Chemical
XMPie uImage—XMPie, Inc.

The awards will be presented at the 2006 PIA/GATF Fall Administrative Meetings, November 9-12 in Milwaukee.

Color VDP forecast to outpace digital color by 2010
Interquest (Charlottesville, VA) has released “Color Production Printing & Variable Imaging in Graphic Arts,” a comprehensive multi-client study analyzing the market for digital color production printing and variable imaging in the graphic arts market.

“We expect the volume produced on digital full-color production systems by graphic arts print providers to increase by 35 percent per year from 2005 through 2010,” says Gilles Biscos, president. “This growth will be fueled by technology developments from equipment vendors, continuous decline in TCO, the convergence with transactional printing, and the overall trend toward personalized communications. There is no doubt that the integration of digital and conventional printing will play a major role in the future as commercial printers continue moving into digital printing.”

The study is based on in-depth surveys of leading North American and European printing operations, supplemented with extensive, open-ended interviews printers and color printing systems vendors.

“Over the next few years, the color variable-data print volume in the graphic arts market will grow at a higher pace than the overall digital color production print volume, mainly fueled by the growth of personalized direct mail. By 2010, we expect variable data will represent 31 percent of the total digital color print volume produced by graphic arts providers,” Biscos adds. “A relatively small group of players, both in North America and Europe, will play a major role in the growth of the market.”

In addition to the survey results, the study includes in-depth analyses of key market trends, drivers and issues, applications and environments, as well as technology and product developments impacting the industry. Available for $1,095 in hardcopy (200 pages), the study can be licensed for electronic distribution. See www.inter-quest.com.

Flower City Printing debuts new look
After 36 years in the business, Flower City Printing (Rochester, NY) has unveiled its new corporate image with an updated logo and Web site. The privately-owned, large-format printer recently initiated an upgrade to its facilities, investment in new equipment and workforce training—a plan that will add 30 jobs over the next three years. See www.fcp.biz.

InnerWorkings IPO
Print procurement solutions provider InnerWorkings, Inc., (Chicago) made its initial public offering of 10,590,000 shares of its common stock August 16, 2006. InnerWorkings agreed to sell 7,060,000 shares and selling stockholders agreed to sell 3,530,000 shares. A copy of the prospectus related to the offering may be obtained by e-mail: prospectus@morganstanley.com.

InnerWorkings creates a competitive bid process to procure, purchase and deliver printed products as part of a comprehensive outsourced enterprise solution and in individual transactions. The company procures products for clients across a wide range of industries, such as advertising, consumer products, publishing and retail. See iwprint.com.

100 WORDS OR LESS:
How do you define excellence in marketing?
“By how much profit the marketing generates. Peter Drucker said, ‘Profit is the sovereign criterion of the organization.’ It is the dominating force that allows a management team to steer its own course, make its own decisions, determine its own destiny. So often ‘excellence’ is defined by self-congratulatory means, such as prestigious peer awards or stunning color displays of marketing efforts that didn’t even pay for themselves in sales. Marketing that demonstrably supports and drives sales in the hands of a team that converts it to profit—that is excellence at the most fundamentally important level.”
—Bob Massie, CEO, Marketing Informatics, www.marketinginformatics.com

PEOPLE
Presstek (Hudson, NH) has appointed William C. Keller as senior vice president of operations and Klaus Schleicher as director of international business development.

Tom Dyson has returned to Vertis Communications (Baltimore) as senior vice president of operations. He will be responsible for the facilities in Monroe Township, NJ; York, PA; and Irvine, CA.

ColorGraphics (Costa Mesa, CA) has named Craig Evans vice president of sales and David Carns vice president of manufacturing. David Madison will replace Craig Evans as managing director of the Orange County plant in Costa Mesa, CA, while Steve Houlbjerg will replace David Carns as director of manufacturing in Seattle.

NOW Technology Group (Baltimore) has named Richard Osborne as president.

Tony Costanzo has joined Gandinnovations (San Antonio) as a sales representative.

Transcontinental Inc. (Montreal) has appointed Natalie Lariviére as president.

Husson (Sturtevant, WI) has named Alvie L. Stephenson as national account manager.

Mike Stewart has been named director of services and operations at Great Lakes Integrated’s (Cleveland) GLDirect mailing and fulfillment facility in Avon Lake.

Mid Atlantic Printers (Wilmington, NC) has appointed Carter Edwards and Terrie Bentley as sales executives.

Steve Gilbertson was named president of Kammann Machines’ (St. Charles, IL) North American operations.

Cary Printing (Cary, NC) has hired Nicolette DeGroot as a customer service representative.

Shawn Pothier has joined UniGraphic (Woburn, MA) as sales and marketing manager.