Editor's Picks

Jan 1, 2006 12:00 AM, By Katherine O'Brien

The best of InRegister from: Printable Technologies, Hitchcok Press, Canada's Graphic Monthly, PrintDevizor and the PaperMillStore.com.

The Best of InRegsiter

Variable-data software: The price is right
Printable Technologies has reduced the price of its latest release of FusionPro Desktop to $399, with the stated goal of “putting VDP on every desktop and accelerate the adoption of personalized and variable printing.”

According to Coleman Kane, Printable’s president and CEO, FusionPro Desktop is a robust stand-alone application: “It is not stripped down, hobbled, or limited in any way; it provides more features and functionality than applications selling for $5,000, $10,000, or even $25,000. FusionPro Desktop is all you need to get into the business of VDP; no additional Printable products or services are required.”

FusionPro Desktop is a VDP template creation and print-stream output tool based entirely on Adobe PDF workflow. Templates with variable text, graphics, and charts, driven by advanced business logic, can be merged at amazing speed with tens of thousands of data records to create print-ready output streams.

See printable.com.

Everything old is new again
Hitchcock Press (Holyoke, MA) has long been known for producing high-quality sheetfed work, such as letterhead, brochures and mailers. But a recent letterpress revival, coupled with owner J. Guy Gaulin’s artistic talents, has resulted in a new specialty: letterpress note cards.

Gaulin, an expert photographer, joined American Pad and Paper Co. in the 1950s where he apprenticed on a letterpress. In 1971, he bought Hitchcock Press.

The first series of cards reflect finely detailed barns, trees and nautical scenes, all from Gaulin’s original photography. The award-winning cards are letterpressed in black and three values of gray ink. The complete line of cards can be purchased at www.hitchcockpress.com.

Holding out for a print production hero
Filomena Tamburri, editor of Canada’s Graphic Monthly (graphicmonthly.ca) told me about “Look like a hero,” an 84-page guide that makes it easy for sales people to explain print production concepts. Specifically created for the publication market, it’s printed on six different stocks so users can easily make paper comparisons. A color bar in the top-right corner throughout the book shows how a CMYK equivalent matches a real spot color. Single copies are $19 (Canadian); volume discounts are offered.

See www.looklikeahero.com.

Picture this
No more special effect nightmares! PrintDevizor, developed by Stonecube (Bristol, UK), simulates process and spot colors, metallics, fluorescents, blocks, gloss/matt varnishes, lamination, embossing and other special finishes through its real-time, interactive print visualization program. Multiple effects can be applied using design images generated in standard creative software. Each final finish can be viewed with 360° rotation in a range of lighting environments.

See www.stonecube.com.

Let your fingers do the walking
Buying paper online just got easier at www.thepapermillstore.com. The PaperMillStore.com’s (TPMS) redesigned Web site lets users search by color, size, weight, end use, brand and manufacturer. The redesigned TPMS also includes new premium brand names and a wealth of improved graphic design resources.

Wednesday is InRegister™ day
Editor’s Picks features selected highlights from AMERICAN PRINTER’s InRegister™ newsletter. InRegister is published on alternating Wednesdays. For a free subscription, see www.americnprinter.com. Want to comment on something in this issue? Drop us a line at katherine.obrien@penton.com. We look forward to hearing from you!