Industry News, Part 1

Feb 1, 2005 12:00 AM, AP staff

News from: Imagine Print Group, Citiplate, Xeikon, MediaFinder, Maxcess Intl., PODi, CTI Paper USA, Agfa-Gevaert, Cenveo, Intl. Color Consortium, Graphic Whizard, APG, Direct Group, Creo, Baldwin Technology, Tresu Royse, Staffing Tools, Bobst Group USA, RR Donnelley & Sons, All Printing & Graphics, Sandy Alexander, Flint Ink, and Kohl & Madden.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Tidbits…
» Imagine Print Group (Chicago) and Universal Press have merged to form U&I Print Communications. Universal Press’ facility in Niles, IL, houses the new company, providing offset and digital printing services.

» Citiplate now exclusively manufactures its CTP plate technology solutions for other businesses. Citiplate offers custom-designed and off-the-shelf CTP plate solutions precision-tuned and optimized for performance in UV, thermal and violet platesetters, as well as for specific markets, workflows, print applications and run-lengths. To mark this transition, Citiplate has adopted a new logo and launched a new Web site at www.citiplate.com.

» Xeikon installed the first Xeikon 5000 digital color press in Germany at Straub Druck+Medien. Xeikon transported the press to the Straub plant immediately after exhibiting it at the Druck+Form Messe trade show. See www.xeikon.com.

» MediaFinder announced a new site license program to provide easy access to its media database. MediaFinder provides access to information about 72,000 publications, including 15,300 magazines, 11,000 catalogs, 11,500 journals, 13,000 newsletters, 9,400 newspapers and 3,500 directories and yearbooks. See www.mediafinder.com.

» Maxcess Intl. announced the winner of its Daytona 500 trip giveaway. Steven Havens from Specialty will receive a complete travel package to the Daytona 500, including tickets to the race, accommodations, airfare and transportation for two. To qualify, attendees were asked to complete a tour of the company’s booth at Pack Expo 2004. See www.maxcessintl.com.

» The United States Postal Service has joined PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, as an Associated Industry Vendor, joining PODi in market development activities and the use of industry standards such as PPML. See www.usps.gov.and www.podi.org.

» CTI Paper USA has acquired the Currency and Jazz grade lines and trademarks from Appleton. See www.thepapermill.com.

» Agfa-Gevaert has signed an agreement to divest Agfa Monotype Corp. to Boston-based private equity investor TA Associates. The value of the transaction amounts to $169 million. See www.agfamonotype.com.

» Paul Reilly has resigned from his post as chairman, president and CEO of Cenveo, Inc. He will remain a director of the company. Board member Susan Rheney is serving as interim chairman.

» At its recent meeting in Scottsdale, AZ, the International Color Consortium voted to adopt v4.2 as the latest version of the ICC Specification.

» Graphic Whizard Inc. has doubled its floorspace, moving its offices and plant to a new facility: Unit 2, 6535 Millcreek Dr., Mississauga, ON, L5N 2M2. Phone and fax numbers remain the same. See www.graphicwhizard.com.

» Advanced Prepress Graphics (APG) has become the first user of Agfa’s new AquaFLASH photopolymer plate. AquaFLASH reportedly is the fastest flexo plate available in the North American market. See www.flexopress.com.

» Direct Group, a provider of high-volume direct mail services, plans to add a 250,232-sq.-ft. building to its operations in Swedesboro, NJ, bringing the facility’s total size to 417,000 sq. ft. Visit www.directgroup.net.

» Creo Inc. has shipped its 1000th Trendsetter very-large-format (VLF) CTP device. The semi-automatic model was installed at Eclipse Print a.s., a printer based in Prague, Czech Republic. See www.creo.com.

» Baldwin Technology Co., Inc. has approved plans by Baldwin Germany GmbH to move by 2006 into a new 26,250-sq.-ft. office building and production plant in Augsburg, Germany. The site will house a new Technical Competency Center for commercial printing technologies and products. See www.baldwintech.com.

» Tresu Royse Inc. (formerly Royse Manufacturing Co.) has signed on as a reseller of Nordson UV graphic arts equipment. See www.tresu.com.

» StaffingTools, Inc. received a 2004 Indiana Growth 100 Award from the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, a division of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. See www.prepresstraining.com.

» Bobst Group USA Inc. has entered into a distributor agreement with Advanced Die Supplies, which will now serve as a primary supplier of Bobst diecutting and die making components. See www.advanceddiesupplies.com.

Donnelley forms strategic alliance with All Printing & Graphics
RR Donnelley & Sons (Chicago) and All Printing & Graphics (Chicago), a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), announce a multi-year master service agreement. Under terms of the agreement, All Printing & Graphics will increase its own manufacturing capacity by partnering with RR Donnelley. The companies also have announced a multi-year extension of All Printing & Graphics’ contract to serve as RR Donnelley’s tier-one supplier for print stationery, corporate identity and other products.

"This agreement transcends the ordinary tier-one vendor relationship and creates a new model that encompasses the spirit of minority business development," says RR Donnelley CEO Mark A. Angelson. "Our strategic alliance enables an important MBE supplier to draw upon RR Donnelley’s manufacturing, information technology and new product development resources."

Hoyett Owens, president and CEO of All Printing & Graphics, calls the agreement historic. "Public, private and government organizations seeking to do business with a minority-owned printer have sometimes encountered capacity, scale and financing barriers that prevent relationships from developing to their full potential. Through this agreement with RR Donnelley, All Printing & Graphics will be able to eliminate those barriers and provide many more customers with world-class services from a minority owned business."

Sandy Alexander, TBC form digital partnership
Commercial printer Sandy Alexander (Clifton, NJ) has acquired 50 percent of digital printer TBC Color Imaging, Inc. (Teterboro, NJ). According to Sandy Alexander president and CEO Roy Grossman, "The digital print segment, especially variable-data imaging, represents one of the strongest areas for growth in our industry. TBC has been a valuable resource for Sandy over the past several years, and the opportunity to create this partnership will enable us to provide our clients with additional capabilities to help meet their communication goals."

Bob Logan, president of TBC, adds, "We have made tremendous progress in developing the variable-data imaging market with our digital technology, and the opportunity to have the resources of Sandy Alexander will allow TBC to grow to a much higher level."

Grossman notes Sandy Alexander’s MGA facility in St. Petersburg, FL, has been producing direct mail for many years with high-speed, in-line inkjet imaging on its web presses. He says, "Through our partnership with TBC, we will now be able to provide short-run, digital, one-to-one marketing solutions." TBC has received two imaging awards for digital excellence and innovation from Xerox Corp.

Ink manufacturers raise prices
Flint Ink North America (Ann Arbor, MI) has announced a price increase of 6 percent for its commercial ink products. The company cites the rising cost of raw materials, transportation and energy as reasons for the increase.

Similarly, Kohl & Madden (Northlake, IL), a member of the Sun Chemical (Fort Lee, NJ) group of companies, has increased by 4 to 8 percent its commercial printing ink prices. Company president Brad Bergey says, "Due to the current imbalance in the supply and demand of many of the raw materials used in the formulation of printing inks and varnishes, Kohl & Madden has had to accept multiple price increases during the past months while also dealing with shortages and allocations on some raw materials. "The underlying factors of this imbalance include strong worldwide demand for specialty chemicals, high oil prices, inflation, poor profitability of the chemical industry and as a consequence, a lack of investment in new capacity," Bergey adds.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3