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14

Gondwana Print Augmented Reality and more than 10,000 square feet of print, produced by Beyond Digital Imaging, bring Royal Ontario Museum’s Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit to life

16

Technology Report: Labels Over 100 North American product launches are expected at this September’s Labelexpo show in Chicago, which is to include around 70 first-time exhibitors

Print

6

NEWS Linzbach prepares for Heidelberg lead, Hoover joins Fujifilm Canada, and Marquis buys two Transcontinental book plants

8

CALENDAR September 2012 Japs-Olson hosts the Automation Solutions Network, MAILCOM kicks off in Las Vegas, and CMA discusses onboarding

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FINISHING Building an Edge United Precision Cutting Technologies becomes a powerhouse resource for printers in Southern Ontario

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AWARDS Stars of InterTech Printing Industries of America names its top picks for technologies most likely to be influential in print

Digital Printing

Features

Data Services & List Management

CONTENTS Volume 51, Number 8

e-tools

Variable Imaging

Columns

12

NICK HOWARD Break Through White Noise Why commodity printers, creative marketing printers and packaging printers can find success against the deluge of the World Wide Web

13

TRISH WITKOWSKI The Hands that Bind Some of North America’s largest finishing companies share their costs and challenges, secrets and successes, with demanding hand bindery

Archive

26

August 1987 Ben Johnson clocks 9.83 seconds, Michael Jackson debuts Bad, and Shorewood Packaging acquires a second Planeta

Resources 17 Services to the Trade Cover Illustration: Clive Chan

www.andrewsdm.com tel: 416.798.7557 email: info@andrewsdm.com 226 Industrial Parkway North, Aurora, ON Est. 1951

25 Marketplace AUGUST 2012 • PRINTACTION • 3

PERSPECTIVE

Inside the Crystal uterwear retailer Moosejaw in late-2011 released an augmented reality (AR) app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices that allows users to see through clothing featured in its winter Ocatalogue and view male and female models in their underwear.

According to an article by mashable.com’s Lauren Indvik, relying on stats from the app developer (Marxent Labs), this X-Ray AR drove over 1-million impressions on Twitter, 160,000 video views, and 75,000 app downloads in just five weeks. Moosejaw, with a typical print catalogue distribution of 120,000, claims the X-Ray app helped increase its sales by 37 percent over the same period of the previous year.

In February of this year, Starbucks released an augmented reality Valentine’s Day campaign for its Cup Magic app used on mobile devices. Customers who put app-enabled phones in front of their Starbucks beverage saw images of heart-shaped flower petals flying off of the cup. They could then send a video of the scene to their valentine via email or post it on Facebook. Starbucks‘ sales rose 16 percent in the associated quarter.

With a more educational tone, the ROM’s new exhibit, Ultimate Dinosaurs, Giants of Gondwana, is a shining example for the effective use of augmented reality. Dave Moon, a Ultimate Dinosaurs is located in the basement of the Canadian contributor to ROM’s Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, where angular walls Wired.com since 2007, added to the complexity of installing nearly 10,000 visited the exhibition and square feet of print. wrote, “The use of iPads as interactive display elements that flesh out the skeletons was a big hit and a clever use of technology… the exhibit makes the best use of iOS devices that I’ve yet seen.”

The public can download the ROM Ultimate Dinosaurs app, developed by Toronto’s Meld Media, directly from Apple’s iTunes store and bring it with them to the exhibit. This ROM app can also be used to interact with outdoor advertisements across the city, primarily displayed in transit shelters.

As the roar over QR codes dies down, or perhaps already becoming an expected piece of an advertisement, the communications industry is beginning to see a proliferation in the effective use of augmented reality, connecting print to a myriad of World Wide Web and social-media platforms that are enabled by mobile computing and two years of astounding app development.

Jon Robinson, Editor

Canada’s Graphic Communications Magazine. Proudly published for two generations.

Editor Jon Robinson • 416.665.7333 ext. 30 • jon@printaction.com Associate Editor Clive Chan • 416.665.7333 ext. 25 • clive@printaction.com Contributing Writers Zac Bolan, Clint Bolte, Peter Ebner, Chris Fraser, Victoria Gaitskell, Dr. Martin Habekost, Nick Howard, Thad McIlroy, Gordon Pritchard, Josh Ramsbottom, Nicole Rycroft, Andrew Tribute, Trish Witkowski Publisher Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Associate Publisher Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com Production Manager Anders Kohler • 416.665.7333 ext. 37 • anders@printaction.com Intern Tiffany Kay Garcia • 416.665.7333 ext. 34 • tiffany@printaction.com Advertising Sales Sara Young • 416.665.7333 ext. 31 • sara@printaction.com Stephen Longmire • 416.665.7333 ext. 26 • stephen@printaction.com Circulation ADPIC Subscription Services • 800.363.3261 • subscriptions@printaction.com PrintAction is published by Youngblood Publishing Limited and is Canada’s only national monthly publication serving the graphic arts industry. ISSN 1481-9287.

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PrintAction is printed by Sina Printing on Starbrite Plus 70lb Velvet Text and 80lb Gloss Text available from Unisource Canada, Inc. Youngblood Publishing Ltd. 610 Alden Rd., Suite 100, Markham, ON L3R 9Z1 Tel: 416.665.7333 • Fax: 905.752.1441 www.printaction.com Publications Mail Agreement Number 40010868 • ISSN 1481-9287 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to subscriptions@printaction.com We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

4 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2012

Photographed with the new Komori, George Mazzaferro, President, and at the console, Brian Auty, Plant Manager (right) and Borge Peterson, Lead Press Operator

OUR FAITH IN KOMORI CONTINUES

PRINT NEWS received. The system will then generate a PDF proof of the document and take the user along to the ordering process. Finally, once the order has been placed, the user can then notify his or her acquaintances via a shared news item. XMPie uStore Facebook Connect is an add-on available to customers with uStore 6.0 and PersonalEffect Print MI or higher.

DR. GEROLD LINZBACH is to become the CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG this September, replacing Bernhard Schreier who has led the German press maker for the past 13 years. Linzbach holds a degree in chemistry and a Ph.D in chemical engineering from the University of Dortmund. In 1991, he was a member of Hoescht AG’s corporate planning team and later led its fibers operations (Trevira GmbH). In 1999, Linzbach helped found Aventis and became CEO and President of the Celanese Acetate Group based in the United States. From 2003 to 2005, he was responsible for the textile fibers division INVISTA, also in the United States. From 2005 to 2009, Linzbach served as Chairman and CEO of Symrise AG in Holzminden, Germany, before he was appointed as CEO of D+S Europe and its successor companies in Hamburg. Schreier, who has been at Heidelberg for 37 years, will stay on until the end of the year to aid the leadership transition.

KAZ YAMAMURA becomes President of Fujifilm Holdings America Corp., as well as CEO and Chairman of Fujifilm North America, overseeing the management of 11 Fujifilm companies operating in the United States. Now in his 36th year at the company, Yamamura is also Corporate VP and a board member for Fujifilm Corp. based in Tokyo. Go Miyazaki, meanwhile, has been promoted to President and COO of Fujifilm North America, where he is responsible for the company’s photo imaging, electronic imaging, graphic systems, optical devices and motion picture business, as well as operations for Fujifilm in Canada.

XMPIE introduced a new feature for its uStore product, which allows printers to provide its clients with a new way to sell printed goods through social media site Facebook. Fans of a company can click on an application within the company’s Facebook page, which will then take the users to available document templates. It will then be populated with personalized information once permission has been 6 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2012

SERGE LOUBIER, President of Marquis Book Printing, moved to acquire two of Transcontinental’s book-printing plants in Quebec, including Transcontinental Gagné based in Louiseville and Transcontinental Métrolitho based in Sherbrooke. Prior to the purchase, Marquis specialized in short- and mediumrun book production out of three facilities, including: Marquis Cap SaintIgnace, Marquis Montmagny, and Marquis Laurentien in Saint-Augustin. The company also runs graphics and prepress production centres in Sherbrooke and Quebec City, as well as a sales office in Montreal. “These acquisitions are aligned to the Marquis business plan, which will see us continue to grow in Canada and in foreign markets from our base in Quebec,” stated Loubier. Transcontinental plans to remain active in specific book markets like four-colour web offset printing for educational book segments in Québec, Canada and the United States.

MACE HOOVER becomes Director of Sales for Fujifilm Canada, which is a new position established by the company based in Mississauga. As well, Stefan Biasi takes on more responsibility at Fujifilm Canada, following his promotion to Vice President, Graphics Systems and Photofinishing. He previously served within the Canadian operation as Vice President, Graphic Systems. Biasi held this role since 2006 and joined Fujifilm in 2003.

With over 25 years of experience in sales and sales management, Hoover most recently served as National Sales Manager with Kodak’s Canadian operation focusing on graphic communications.

C.J. GRAPHICS, led by President Jay Mandarino, won three of the total six Benny Awards earned by Canadian printing companies in the 2012 Premier Print Awards, hosted by Printing Industries of America. C.J. Graphics received its bestof-category Benny Awards in Business Cards, Magazine Inserts and Product Catalogs (four or more colours, printers with 21–50 employees). The remaining Canadian winners include: Colour Innovations of Toronto in the Miscellaneous THE PRINTING HOUSE, headquartered in Specialties category; Friesens of Altona, Toronto, recently celebrated the one-mil- Manitoba, in School Yearbooks; and Met lionth order made through its TPHDirect Fine Printers of Vancouver in Presentaprocessing system, based on the number tion Folders (4 or more colours). of times customers have uploaded a job request. TPHDirect accesses a network of 70 printing locations across Canada, allowing customers to order a range of applications, from photo-books and large-format work to more traditional short-run toner and offset production.

Marc Petitpas, VP of Marketing at The Printing House, presented an Apple iPad2 to Leanne Henshall, who placed the millionth order from Standard Life Centre located in Toronto’s financial district.

BRIAN BARNES, Production Manager of M&T Printing Group, and Steven Foglietta of Xerox, oversaw the installation of an iGen3 press as well as a new Nuvera EA system. The Xerox equipment was installed into M&T Printing’s Kitchener, Ontario, facility. Founded 44 years ago as a single print shop in London, Ontario, M&T now operates 10 locations across Southwestern Ontario. M&T offers toner and offset printing as well as wide-format production, graphic design, bindery and mail services. The company also runs a Web-to-print portal, with a division called Volumes, to service self-publishing authors and photo-books.

MARC FORTIER becomes President of RP Graphics Group, which is a diverse commercial printing operation – with litho, toner, and inkjet production – located in Mississauga, Ontario. “Marc’s operational and marketing expertise is specifically focused on print production, database marketing and direct marketing,” said George Mazzaferro, owner of RP Graphics Group. As a result of Fortier’s appointment, Mazzaferro is moving to the position of CEO at RP Graphics. Fortier previously served as President of TI Group; Executive VP of Business Development and Digital Services at PLM Group; and GM and Director of Sales and Marketing at Transcontinental Yorkville Printing.

MARC JACQUES and Sophie Grenon of La Pub Express in Québec City, along with Michel Thériault, Equipment Sales Specialist with Fujifilm Canada, celebrate the installation of a Fujifilm Acuity Advance inkjet system – driven by a ColorGATE RIP. Marc Jacques, owner of La Pub Express, commented that he chose the Acuity because of its variable-dot head technology, as well as the ability to jet white ink and print directly onto rigid substrates. Founded in 1993, La Pub Express produces display applications like vehicle wraps, banner, pop-up, 3D lettering and panels.

PACIFIC BINDERY SERVICES of Vancouver, BC, was the lone Canadian winner of a 2012 Product of Excellence Award, based on an annual competition hosted by the Binding Industries Association (BIA) – a special-interest group of the PIA. Pacific Bindery actually picked up two of the BIA’s best-of-category awards within the stitching and adhesive-binding categories.

The BIA states that entries must be technically flawless to receive consideration for its Product of Excellence Award.

PRESSTEK of Greenwich, Connecticut, signed a distribution agreement with Spicers Canada Ltd., which will supply Presstek’s 34DI and 52DI presses, Vector FL52 CTP systems, and related consumables. Based in Vaughan, Ontario, Spicers operates 15 distribution centres across Canada. “This collaboration will bolster our presence in the region and enable printers to capitalize on Spicers’ vast expertise and experience,” said Todd Phillips, Presstek Canadian Sales Manager.

Presstek’s 4-colour DI sheetfed presses produce 300-lpi quality and stochastic screening, while, according to the company, also providing one of the lowest costs per sheet at run lengths of 500 to 20,000.

CENTRAL REPRODUCTIONS of Mississauga, Ontario, entered receivership, which is to be administered by trustee Paddon + Yorke Inc. The news comes just one year short of the company’s 30th year of operation, after its founding in 1983. Central Reproduction’s was a long-established commercial printing operation in the Greater Toronto market. In addition to its focus on the 40-inch sheetfed market, the company was an early adopter of toner reproduction technologies. In more recent years, Central Reproductions expanded its services into mailing and fulfillment and a range of creative services for print and online communications.

HADI MAHABADI, former Director of the Xerox Research Centre of Canada becomes a member of the Order of Canada for his contributions in promoting scientific development in Canada. Mahabadi became Director of the XRCC in 2004 and contributed to the milestone of the facility being granted its 1,500th US patent. The Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest civilian honours, aimed at recognizing a lifetime of dedication to the community and service of Canada.

Printers.

Who needs ‘em?

PATRICK BOLAN, President of Torontobased Avanti Computer Systems has been appointed to CIP4’s Advisory Board. He will help direct the development of printing automation protocols, notably the Job Definition Format (JDF). Avanti produces print management information systems and has contributed to CIP4 for a number of years. The Advisory Board is CIP4’s governing body and Bolan will become a representative of the “full” level class of membership, comprised mainly of systems and software vendors.

ADAM CADMAN and Ash Khan, owner of a Minuteman franchise in Pickering, Ontario, celebrate the installation of a DigiXpress system purchased from Pressdown Services (PDS). The DigiXpress system produces full-colour envelopes K-NORTH, which sells and services Komori from 3 x 5-inches to up to 12 x 18-inches presses in Canada, reached an agreement at a maximum speed of 50 envelopes per to be the sole Canadian distributor for the minute. The machine is also capable of Finito line of adhesive blanket under- producing postcards, labels and banners. packing, as well as blankets with underpacking built into the blanket. The Finito PAPERLINX LIMITED of Australia, amid its No Stop product is based on a completely continuing restructuring, completed the new blanket design with high compres- sale of its operations in the United States sion of the top surface. The blanket is rec- and Italy. The company’s U.S. operations, ommended for producers of high-quality listed as Spicers Paper Inc. and Kelly Paper sheetfed printing and packaging. It is suit- Company, were purchased by Central Naable for both standard and UV inks. In tional-Gottesman (CNG) for US$76 milparticular, the blanket’s high compression lion, while the company’s Italian entity was rate makes it applicable for a range of officially purchased by Lecta for €45 milpackaging applications. lion. PaperlinX also entered two more purchase agreements to sell its South Africa EASTMAN KODAK saw more setbacks on its operation to local management for net road out of bankruptcy protection as its proceeds of around €5 million, while the second quarter revenues fell 27 percent company plans to sell operations in Slovacompared to that of 2011 as net losses kia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia grew to US$299 million in the quarter. to the Heinzel Group for €19.6 million.

The beleaguered company further saw creditor claims grow to US$20.5 billion CATALYST PAPER looks to exit creditor proas of August 2nd. Kodak’s efforts to gen- tection after receiving a commitment letter erate funds through the sale of 1,100 of with a Canadian chartered bank for a $175 its patents also hit a setback as the U.S. million loan facility. The company entered International Trade Commission upheld bankruptcy protection in January. Catalyst a decision against Kodak, stating RIM also announced the permanent closure of and Apple did not infringe on its camera its Snowflake recycled paper mill in Aripreview patent. The bidding process got zona and its subsidiary, the Apache Railoff to a slow start, with Google and Apple way Company at the end of September, bidding under a tenth of Kodak’s antici- after which the company will operate three mills, all in British Columbia. pated value of US$2.6 billion.

Actually, we do.

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AUGUST 2012 • PRINTACTION • 7

PRINT CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER 9

The 19th-annual MAILCOM 2012 conference kicks off at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. This year’s event features a small exhibitor pavilion, as well as 110 educational sessions organized into 12 tracts.

10

IDEAlliance hosts its Spectrum 2012 at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix. The annual conference is designed to integrate and engage all media production professionals, including an expanded network of Leadership Councils and Working Groups. $895

10

IDEAlliance begins a 3-month training window (online) for the recertification of G7 Professionals who currently hold a 2-year certification that is within three months – before or after – expiration. $150

11

Sustainability Forestry Initiative hosts its annual conference at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. The conference features sessions exploring what SFI and its partners are doing today to maintain healthy forests and strong communities across the United States and Canada.

11

Labelexpo Americas 2012 begins at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center just outside of Chicago.

The 3-day event is expecting over 400 suppliers and manufacturers, including 67 completely new exhibitors.

18

The 750,000-square-foot facility of Japs-Olson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, hosts PIA’s next Automation Solutions Network Meeting looking at best practices in JDF-driven print manufacturing. Japs-Olson employs over 700 people focused on directmail and commercial printing.

19

Canadian Marketing Association hosts a daylong seminar in Toronto about Onboarding, referring to mechanisms through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to become effective team members and build customer loyalty. $745*

24

The Boston Marriott Peabody Hotel plays hosts to G7 Process Control Training, which builds upon the G7 Master program that, according to IDEAlliance, has qualified more than 860 companies worldwide.

25

Canadian Marketing Association hosts a daylong direct-marketing conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with exhibits, called The Evolution of Direct Response Marketing. This year’s conference focuses on the roles that technology, channel, data and creative play in the delivery of successful programs. $799*

25

Dave Dezzutti, Technology Analyst and G7 Certified Expert at the PIA, hosts a workshop called Optimizing Color from your Digital Press in Sewickley (Pittsburgh), covering topics like RGB versus CMYK and DFE colour options. $1,095

Boston and its metropolitan area has a population of approximately 4.5-million people. The city is globally ranked number one for innovation, which may explain why the city also boasts one of the highest cost of living numbers in North America. Birthplace of printing notable Benjamin Franklin, Boston continues to be a big publishing centre, with companies such as Houghton Mifflin Harcour and Little, Brown & Company having headquarters in the city.

Pricing listed at standard rates, with * denoting the availability of member of early bird discounts.

8 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2012

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PRINT FINISHING

Master Machinery Movers was established in late-2011 to facilitate the union of Duracut, United Press, Precision Systems and Graphic Equipment.

Building an Edge n melding together four vertical companies, and founding a fifth, Mitch Rich has spent the past two years shaping United Precision Cutting Technologies of United Precision Cutting Technologies, outside their Markham headquarters (left to right): into a powerful resource for Southern Members Wasworth Boston, Lowen Tenerife, Karl Boelling, Pho Lam, Danny Snyder, Andy Naskas, Ramon Cabel, Ontario printers. The foundation of his Ray Rich, Mitch Rich, Bob Nisbet, Ravi Lakeram, Gregory Robert, John White, Buddy Miaflores and Jim Soulias. revamped business strategy is built upon Duracut Machine Knife Company Ltd., which he began ment on a global scale, allowing operators to continually United Precision’s fifth business arm, Master Machinery jog piles, saving vast amounts of person-hours, and Movers Inc. – “We are our own biggest client.” in 1997 at age 27.

Rich estimates he has sold 16 used cutters – scrapping By the end of 2010, as many industrial vendors strug- spurring a flood of guillotine retrofits.

In the early days, the Gergek system was put on up- another five – over the past six to eight months. In gled in a crippling global economy, particularly hard on Ontario’s manufacturing sector, one of the partners wards of 80 to 90 percent of all cutters, new and used addition to the diversity of United Precision, he feels of United Press & Bindery Service was looking for an alike, until patents dissolved and guillotine manufac- Master Machinery Movers provides even greater stabilexit. “I saw it as a good opportunity for me to buy into turers began integrating their own computers. Gergek ity as attrition hits several Ontario manufacturing the service end,” remembers Rich, who took a majority systems, however, remain a viable component of many sectors, particularly print. “It seems like I get bankinterest in the operation, partnering with United’s re- cutters sold around the world. “We are now one of the ruptcy papers once a week, now. It is at an all-time high. biggest overseas exporters of that product, because We need for the industry to clean up and we also need maining owner, John White.

Although Rich’s Duracut operation provides knives, emerging countries are trying to compete,” says Rich. people to understand that if they diversify correctly they are not going to lose their jobs.” knife sharpening and related consumables for several “They are sitting on all of our old iron.”

Rich takes pride in treating United Precision’s 17 On the domestic front, Rich is content focusing on manufacturing sectors, such as steel, plastics and wood, he regularly bumped into White over the past decade Ontario, which he estimates to hold anywhere from 60 employees as if they too are partners in the business. while working with printers. Looking to create more di- to 65 percent of Canada’s printing market. “I have always “I have a very strong policy of paying people well and versity for United Precision, Rich then partnered with attributed success to the fact that we deal with people making sure they are enjoying life,” he says, “and you who are within arm’s reach,” says Rich, who reinforces will have the greatest team if you can accomplish that.”

Precision Systems owned by Lowen Tenerife.

Almost a year later, discussions with Buddy Miraflo- another key reason for United’s model. “Along with the The company’s highly experienced team is also a key res of Graphic Equipment and Machinery brought a resources of my knife company, it pretty much gave us a ingredient for future growth, as skill falls out of the fourth company under the United Precision umbrella complete list of every printer who is cutting paper. It al- industry and printers face the necessity of employing for the beginning of 2012. This four-company union lowed us to have this gargantuan customer base that we low-cost labour.

“From a service perspective, this helps a company like was largely harmonious because many of all of its prin- just continue to sock the heck out of with service.”

United Precision employs seven highly skilled service ours because we are going to people who do not know ciples had originally worked together for Frank Gergek, technicians, including Rich. Some of the technicians how to turn wrenches,” says Rich, who plans to soon add one of Canada’s quieter printing innovators.

As modern offset lithography was taking hold in the had experience moving capital equipment, which was machine set-up services. United Precision, because of its industry, guillotines used a metal tape-measure mecha- a welcome skill by the end of 2011. Rich spent the better diverse service offerings, not to mention the specialized nism for sizing cuts. In the 1970s, Frank Gergek invented part of $50,000 in rigging costs during the first year of Duracut machine shop, sits in a unique position within a readout computer for operators to automatically adjust the United Press, Precision Systems and Duracut amal- Greater Toronto’s large manufacturing base. their paper-cutting sizes. It was a pioneering develop- gamation. This served as a catalyst for Rich to start up – Jon Robinson

I

10 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2012

PRINT AWARDS

Stars of InterTech

Handed out to industry vendors since 1978, the Printing Industries of America proudly proclaims the InterTech Award as a barometer of innovation, with more than 80 percent of recipients going on to find market success.

For 2012, the panel of judges selected these 12 submissions as being potentially influential offerings for the printing community.

– Clive Chan

Enterworks Enable

EskoArtwork i-cut Suite

Fujifilm J Press 720

A content asset management system to help centralize data and media assets.

Once the assets are compiled into Enterworks’ central repository, it can be easily output to a variety of media, including print-ready files for catalogues, brochures as well as variable data files.

The assets can also be used for selfservice printing portals as well as purely electronic media.

Despite its name, the i-cut Suite tackles more than the finishing stage of a sign or display project. It includes PDF preflighting, nesting impositions, tiling oversized jobs and billboards, as well as automating a wide-format printing and finishing workflow through XML data.

The Fujifilm J Press 720 has received a lot of coverage in the industry for combining sheetfed delivery with inkjet imaging. First making a splash at drupa 2008, the machine is now reaching customers’ hands. Having production speeds of up to 2,700 sheets per hour, the machine can use standard coated and uncoated stocks.

Heidelberg Prinect Performance Benchmarking This Internet-based tool allows printers to compare their operations to others using similar equipment around the world. Via remote services, Speedmaster presses transmit production data back to Heidelberg, where it is compiled and anonymous results are generated for participating companies.

QuadTech Web Inspection System (AccuCam) The image-based, closed loop system eliminates the need for colour bars or grey bars. Scumming, blanket smashes and colour variations are all detected. The system can even verify plating issues such as transposed plates or wrong versions. The result of the automation is a large reduction of operator intervention.

Utopia Digital Technologies Avatrex Transportable Imaging A substrate which allows print to be placed on uneven surfaces such as clothing, and also be removed with ease.

A popular application is the production of custom designs applied to athletic shoes, which can be printed on consumerlevel printers.

Notable InterTech recipients 1979 – Xerox 9700 1980 – Heidelberg CPCI and CPC II 1982 – Butler Datamat Computerized Splicer 1983 – System Brunner 1984 – QuadTech TGS III Register System 1985 – Printing Research “Mark-Less” Super Blue 1986 – Web Printing Controls MicroTrack CCR 1987 – Baldwin Auto Newspaper Blanket Cleaner 1990 – PANTONE Color Toolkit

Keen MIS and Web-to-Print The Keen system is a subscription-based service that provides a turn-key Web sales portal for printers. The system has automatic file inspection of uploaded files to reduce bottlenecks in preproduction.

It also processes payment information, shipping details and provides reports to management.

Kodak NexPress Red Fluorescing Solution A security ink feature that uses the NexPress’ fifth colour unit to produce an image that is invisible under normal lighting conditions, but illuminates under an ultraviolet light source.

The degree the image illuminates can be controlled by the amount of toner applied during the process.

Sun Chemical SunPak LMQ SunPak LMQ (Low Migration Quality) inks are designed for packaging applications where migration to food products or surrounding environments is a concern. Produced in Frankfurt, Germany, the company also offers low migration inks and coatings for films and foils using flexo and gravure.

Techique Business Systems iTechnique The iTechnique system allows a print executive immediate access to his or her company’s production information using either an iPhone or iPad device. The app interacts with Technique’s MIS system to accomplish common tasks such as estimating, production scheduling and even analyze the goings on of a printing shop floor.

Xeikon X-800 with VariLane

X-Rite i1Pro 2

Designed for Xeikon’s 3000 series of label presses, the X-800 VariLane technology allows for the easy imposition of labels of different sizes and from different SKUs in the same run, post RIP. Prior to the VariLane, labels had to be equal in size, which also meant that the print lanes needed to be equal in size. Xeikon claims the software can save up to 30 percent in both time and waste during production.

A spectrophotometer which features three standard measurement conditions and enhanced optical brightener compensation.

The new design allows for three standard measurement conditions (ISO 13655 M0: Tungsten; ISO 13655 M1: D50; ISO 13655 M2: UV Cut).

The i1Pro 2 also features better self-maintaninece and self-correction ability.

1991 – Photoshop, X-Rite 938 SpectroDensitometer 1993 – Komori APC, Xerox DocuTech 1994 – Creo Computer-to-Plate, Heidelberg Harris Sunday, MAN Roland 700, 1995 – Baldwin IMPACT Blanket/Cylinder Cleaner, Xeikon DCP -1 1996 – Creo Thermal Laser Head, Indigo E-Print 1000 1997 – Océ DemandStream 8080DI 1999 – Agfa Apogee, QuadTech Color Control (CCS) 2000 – Heidelberg ImageControl 2001 – Presstek Dimension CTP

2003 – Epson Stylus Pro 7600, Komori Lithrone S40 2004 – FloClear Fountain Recycling, Xerox iGen3 2005 – KBA Rapida 205, LithoTechnics Metrix, Müller-Martini SigmaLine 2006 – Adobe PDF Print Engine, KBA Genius 52 2007 – Heidelberg Speedmaster XL105, manroland 700 DirectDrive 2008-2011 – Heidelberg Prinect Inpress, Hiflex MIS, MetalFX, Inca Onset, Kodak NexPress, Kodak Prinergy, Komori H-UV AUGUST 2012 • PRINTACTION • 11

NICK HOWARD

Breaking Through White Noise he growing speed and efficiency of the World Wide Web continues to blow my mind. As it evolves, the Web will bring greater opportunities to our lives as we become more accustomed to connecting with information and news in the moment.

With its incredibly cheap cost and remarkable accessibility, now buoyed by maturing wireless and mobile structures, new businesses spawn seemingly overnight, created not with buildings and engineering but with computers and code. The Net has formed new economies, altered entire industries and mothballed all sorts of things.

Apps are spreading like good-natured viruses, uncontrollable but providing incredible knowledge and productivity for everyone. In mid-June, Apple Computer announced its App Store had provided 30billion downloads since its inception. The company also reported that it paid App developers around US$2.5 billion in 2011 and $1.5 billion in 2010 – an economy onto itself, based on the integrated computing of a single company.

An article in The Economist, called “Data, Data Everywhere,” reports that retail-giant Walmart handles more than 1-million customer transactions every hour, feeding databases estimated at more than 2.5 petabytes – the equivalent of 167 times the content in the books of America's Library of Congress.

These staggering online retail numbers, again coming from a single company, were reported two years ago. In the same article

by The Economist, Cisco forecast that by 2013 more than 667 exabytes of information will be flowing annually on the Internet – “The world contains an unimaginably vast amount of digital information which is getting ever vaster ever more rapidly. This makes it possible to do many things that previously could not be done. Managed well, the data can be used to unlock new sources of economic value, provide fresh insights… But they are also creating a host of new problems.”

T

Print breakthrough

For the printing industry, where many traditional commercial shops ultimately see the World Wide Web as a nemesis, this growing online white noise of digital information also provides opportunity to break through the clutter. White Noise, as used in this article, borrows from the definition that all sounds or tones combine to neutralize the message.

Online white noise can bore you much in the same way a verbose blowhard might in conversation – you simply stop listening.

12 • PRINTACTION • AUGUST 2012

Regardless of which generation you are from, there is so much WWW material coming at you each day that it becomes difficult to effectively organize the information. The most powerful advertising agencies, those with enough resources to study the marriage of consumer and technology trends, are well aware of the Internet’s white noise. While online programs will continue to be a prime focus for their clients’ campaigns, these ad agencies are also beginning to appreciate print again.

Differentiation is key for their advertis-

have come back to be more profitable than ever. A similar rebound has happened in the communications sector with the rejuvenation of the radio, once thought to be doomed by TV. “The Internet has already vastly changed the music and movie industries, with consumers now being able to instantly download tunes and films to their laptops.

Traditional publishing is now having its turn in the bucket, with Kindles, e-readers, and iPads flooding the market,” said bestselling author Seth Gordin, speaking to Media-

Since the App Store opend in 2008, Apple has served up over 30 billion applications, all of which contribute to the digital noise which makes it difficult for marketing messages to get through. ing clients. Modern printing, now with so many ways to reproduce and finish a page, whether sheetfed or web offset, inkjet, or toner, is a pillar of differentiation.

Remove that bombardment from the Web and instead place a printed piece at the door. It is unlikely to be a highly personalized piece of print, and might not be addressed to you, but even the most mundane mass mailers will be read as a standalone pitch – often kept for future reference, even if pointing to the Web. Sure, there is no real way to track how this print is digested, which is one of the reported strengths of the Internet, but I also have doubts about how much someone truly absorbs an email pitch just because it is clicked.

The lure of the white noise – like the force of a growing digital black hole – pulls in more and more marketing dollars and continues to be the prime culprit of a shrinking print industry. Not every printer will be able to break through the white noise with innovative products. There will be no amazing bounce-back to print economies of years past and the reduction in the size of our industry is an entirely real issue now affecting all of us.

Printers’ emotions today are fueled by many of the same challenges faced by railways some 75 years ago when scattered, mature yards owned long distance transportation, taking huge chunks of business away from the waterways. The once fascinating arrival of the railway systems, however, was superseded by air transport and even efficient cross-continent freeways for trucking. But the railways remained and today, after agonizing downsizing, they

The company had tried it before when Hartmut Mehdorn was named leader in 1995. He attempted to diversify Heidelberg’s famous press brand and was ultimately replaced by Schreier in 1999. That move was met with a sigh of relief from most Heidelberg employees because Schreier had risen through the ranks.

However, it is clearly not the 1990s anymore. Unfortunately for Schreier and everyone else in the machine-building sector, world markets tumbled, the Euro took flight and the business power of a mature World Wide Web took hold. Key structures of the modern economy changed drastically over the past decade and big machinery, while still vital to large manufacturing industries, lost credit because of the transformations in how business and people connect. Despite huge losses from the dotbomb era, financial markets are again favouring the relatively low capital investment needs of online business 2.0.

Heidelberg, as the world’s largest litho press builder by size and sales, is watched by many in the printing industry as a sort of Dow Jones index – particularly in a drupa year. Like most printing machinery builders, the company is going through its own painful downsizing. Linzbach’s priority certainly revolves around figuring out how to redeploy many of the company’s still vast resources – providing a fresh look at digital-printing opportunities, unburdened by the memory of millions lost on Heidelberg’s collaboration with Kodak – in light of the dying love for big iron and significant structural change brought on by a shrinking industry.

bistro about how sales of his new series, Idea Manifestos, are primarily driven through the online Kindle store. “I can reach 10 or 50 times as many people electronically.”

“No – it’s not better, but it’s different,” wrote Stewart Pinkerton in his 2011 book, The Fall of the House of Forbes. In his wellwritten history of the eminent Forbes magazine, Pinkerton dedicated a great deal of type to discuss the interaction – and infighting – between Forbes and Forbes.com.

Here, print and Web first collided with dire results as a result of growing pains. With its lower costs, Forbes.com was constantly pilfering accounts already booked for the print version.

Commenting on Pinkerton’s work, Seth Godin appropriately opined, that like the Forbes magazine versus Forbes.com squabble, use of the Internet is not the complete Pigeonhole printers solution.

I believe the vast majority of operations in the printing industry can be pigeonholed into three distinct groups: Commodity Changes ahead Recent changes at Heidelberger Druck- printers, creative-marketing printers, and maschinen AG, the world’s largest press packaging printers.

Commodity producers invest to be the maker, indicate our industry may be starting to envision the future of lithography. most-efficient, and often cheapest, option The new leader of Heidelberg, Dr. Gerold of putting ink on paper. This includes the Linzbach, who will take over as CEO this most traditional litho printer on the planet September, does not have a press-maker as well as some of the most modern who background. He has an understanding of drive all of their business through the Web. the printing industry based on time spent Commodity printers offer one thing, price, with Hoescht AG, but his big-business ex- and they combat white noise only with perience is founded in the world of chem- lower costs. There is still plenty of cost-sensitive printing out there and this group gets icals and later textile fibers.

After 13 years of leadership from Bern- the majority at the expense of slower and hard Schreier, the move to hire a CEO from less proactive companies.

The creative-marketing printers leverage outside of the business suggests a new way of thinking at the top levels of Heidelberg.

Continued on page 24

TRISH WITKOWSKI

The Hands that Bind I n a time when most of us in printing are admiring all of the advancements of inline and near-line finishing systems, it feels a bit strange to turn our focus on manual labour in the bindery. However, if we’re realistic about the printing process – about the variability of equipment offerings from printer to printer, the variety of forms and features a printed product can have, and the decreasing run lengths of targeted marketing techniques, it’s hard to ignore how hand bindery operations can play a critical role in the modern-day print production workflow.

So, I reached out to some of my friends in the industry to see what they’re doing to address their hand bindery needs. It was very interesting to learn about the different ways in which commercial printers address hand work in comparison to a trade bindery, a long-run web printer and a dimensional marketing solutions provider.

There was overlap in some areas, but a variety of interesting solutions and feedback emerged along the way.

Structural Graphics’ Piedras Negras facility along the Mexican border employs over 500 skilled workers for hand finishing work.

work to workshops, these organizations tend to charge on a per piece basis. They do a time test to see how many pieces a worker can complete in 15 minutes, then multiply that by four to complete an hour and charge a per piece price to get to the (often very reasonable) hourly rate. Workshops can be a welcome resource, since in

In-house, outsource or off-shore?

The first thing I wanted to know was how companies manage hand bindery work.

Unlike other print-related services, hand bindery work is quite inconsistent with regard to the tasks that must be completed and the frequency of the work itself. So, how do companies plan for The pop-out accordion design requires the the fluctuations in staff dimensional sections to be manually popped while keeping the quality up opposite the direction of the fold. and staying on schedule?

Joe Wagner, Director of Business Devel- many cases hand bindery work is not a opment for Baltimore commercial print good usage of in-house skilled labour, communications company HBP-Whit- given the expense and random availability more, offers his perspective: “A lot of com- of workers. Most surveyed have used inpanies are using workshops – organizations house employees for smaller jobs and in a that offer employment opportunities to pinch to help with a final burst effort to physically and mentally challenged people. finish a job on time, but temporary workThey’re great for certain types of jobs, like ers are often the in-house solution for hand collating, some hand folding and in- companies that don’t want to outsource serting, glue dots. They’re well managed, hand bindery services.

Single source print and marketing servefficient, and extremely fast. They’ll put 50 people on a project and get it done in no ices provider GLS Companies of Mintime, and the workers have a lot of pride in nesota does most of its hand bindery work what they’re doing, which is important in-house. As a large operation with varied services, the company has found the need from a quality perspective.”

Wagner does offer a word of caution to work closely with a growing group of about workshops, however. “To ensure trained bindery workers. Shipping and quality, you do need to give detailed in- Distribution Manager Mike Collins of structions so that they understand exactly GLS explains: “Skill and capacity is a difwhat is required. Also, beware of the snow ferentiator. We manage a growing pool of day. Workshops usually follow the school skilled workers. I see that hand worker resystem’s schedule, so if the school has a quirements are changing. Jobs are more snow day, the workshop will be closed, complex making it critical that each individual has good comprehension skills. It is too, which can be a real problem.”

Regarding the cost of outsourcing hand not often that we have jobs where just any-

body can be called in to work on them.”

Baltimore-based full service trade bindery, Bindagraphics, is one of the largest binderies in the U.S. and boasts more services than any other trade bindery in the world. So what do they do?

“We use a lot of temps,” states Marty Anson, President of Bindagraphics. “For large jobs we hire temps and for small jobs we often use our in-house crew.”

Long-run web printer and direct-mail solutions provider Specialty Print Communications (SPC) in Chicago has mastered the art and science of

Perhaps the highest form of hand bindery can’t really be classified as bindery at all. Ethan Goller, President of dimensional marketing solutions provider Structural Graphics states “Structural Graphics needs are typically unique, in that our hand assembly is more complicated than what I might define as hand bindery.” The company designs and assembles unique feats of paper engineering in the form of direct-mail solutions and sensory-stimulating, emotionally engaging print materials. “With that said, and mostly for our clients who are printers, we also do hand bindery work (folding, collating, stitching, polybagging, etc.) where the quantities are sufficiently large.” Structural Graphics has a Connecticut-based facility where it accomplishes hand assembly for small- to medium-sized projects, and a scalable hand assembly, lettershop and fulfillment operation in Piedras Negras, Mexico, operating with an average of 500 skilled hand assembly workers.

What does it cost?

When it comes to the cost of labour for hand bindery services, the answer varies considerably This piece by Alexander Isley Designers for Durham depending upon the Academy features a hand-punched cover. kind of work, and where high-speed automated inline finishing, but the work is being done. even when the majority of your work is Hand assembly rates in the U.S. versus machine-processed, you can still have a Mexico, versus other countries, all differ, need for hand bindery work – which in and within each of those regions, geograSPC’s case, is usually accomplished in- phy within the country also has an influhouse. Truman Pope, VP of Lettershop ence. For example, hand labour in New Services for SPC, shares, “The time and York or New Jersey can sometimes be sigspace required for handwork is highly vari- nificantly more expensive than hand able, which is why massive jobs are typically labour in the southern states. Union outsourced to specialists. Because these re- labour as opposed to non-union labour quirements shift so dramatically, staffing is makes a difference, too. a major challenge. You need people who are In general, hand labour rates average capable of following process and procedure $12 to $16 per hour, and can go as high with great attention to detail, but much of as $21 per hour for highly skilled assemthis labour force is temporary workers. As bly work. On the low end, however, rates a result, strong supervision becomes the can go as low as $8 to $11 per hour dedifferential.”

Continued on page 23 AUGUST 2012 • PRINTACTION • 13

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