The PIA/GATF Digital Print Council has stepped up with a Marketing 4 Digital (M4D) program intended to give printers very specific and detailed incites into 24 different vertical segments. They will be sold as three separate packages of eight reports each for $199 for members or the complete two dozen for $499. The Executive Summary of the HealthCare application was shown at Print 05 while the initial eight will be released at the VDP Conference November 6-9 in Phoenix.
Oce introduced their DPconvert software which allows a customer to process Xerox DigiPath RDO files across the entire printing environment to include Oce equipment. The DigiPath files are converted into industry-standard PDF and XML formats by DPconvert . This software was developed to allow Oce to replace Xerox in taking over the huge Boeing aircraft in-plant facility that needed access to their Xerox Digipath archived files.
Wide format digital printers are taking the industry by storm. The wide format pavilion has grown steadily in the four years of their dedicated space. Only the Photo Marketers Association (PMA) national convention draws more wide format vendors, suppliers and manufacturers. AGFA made an interesting observation when queried about the breakeven point between wide format inkjet digital devices and the large format automated presses; their answer was 170 prints. The cost breakeven is one element. However, the extended time required to produce inkjet prints may also play a role in the large format printing direction.
KBA - Leaping up to second place by doubling sales
Komori had three interesting announcements: their largest single sheetfed order for $15 million of nine 40 variously configured presses to different Consolidated Graphics plants, their reentry into the commercial web press market and their pulling the plug on the DI press. Considering that none of the Consolidated presses were simple or little, the $1.7 million average was a real discounted deal. The justification by COO Stephan Carter for getting back into the web press market with the long proven single or dual web System 38 is that the consolidation of general commercial printers means that several of them are as big as $30-40 million in annual sales. At that size they want a web component to complement their sheetfed stable. Mr. Komori announced a $10,000 gift to the victims of hurricane Katrina while Carter announced a corporate gift matching all employee contributions for the same purpose.
While the main line manufacturers had no earth shattering product releases, there were interesting sales announcements. KBA has doubled their sales in the last three years with six 64 or larger presses sold in the last six months alone. Forty of the huge Rapida 205s (59.5 by 80.75) have been sold in less than two years with ten coming to the USA. Every manufacturer reported strong sales into the Far East. While these countries might have some of the cheapest labor rates on the globe, they now also have the finest printing technology available.
