Environmental Printing Awards, held on February 8th, saw seven companies honored for their environmentally friendly practices in front of a capacity audience of more than 250 industry professionals. The event, which featured a keynote speech by conservationist Dr. David Suzuki, was the first of its kind in Canada.
The awards, judged by an independent panel from the academic and print world, were for seven categories. Each entry was judged not only on the process or item, but how environmental concerns are dealt with within the company. The winners, and in their respective categories, were:
Community Environmental Involvement – Gold: St. Joseph Communications Community Environmental Involvement – Silver: Hemlock Printers Ltd. Best New Environmental Process – Gold: Harris Printing Ltd. Environmental Innovator – Gold: Jetrion LLC (Flint Group) Best Environmental Printing Project – Gold: Warren’s Imaging and Dryography Inc. Best Environmental Printing Project – Silver: Thistle Printing Ltd. Most Environmentally Friendly Corporation or Vendor in Canada – Gold: Hewlett-Packard Canada Most Environmentally Friendly Printing Company (1-49 employees) – Gold: Thistle Printing Ltd. Most Environmentally Friendly Printing Company (50+ employees) – Gold: Hemlock Printers Ltd.
In his speech, Dr. Suzuki emphasized the need for people to see the interconnectiveness of all things, including manufacturing. “I think we have to internalize what economics traditionally externalizes,” said Suzuki. “Many of your activities I’m sure are energy intensive, being more efficient is a way of reducing your carbon dioxide emissions and a way of saving a lot of money.”
Dr. Suzuki stayed on to answer questions and to autograph his books and received a very positive response from the crowd.
“I think - in professions all over the country - there should be these kinds of recognition as we become more aware of the need … to become more responsible to mother earth, and taking care of what we remove from the earth and what we put back in it,” said Suzuki.
“The PrintAction Environmental Printing Awards will be an annual event,” said Sara Young, the publisher of PrintAction, the organizer of the event. “Due to the overwhelming success, we will be holding the event in a larger location next year!”
Cuttell Brothers, a fine finishing company, has closed its doors after 72 years in business. The Toronto-based firm has been family run for three generations and have worked with printing companies such as Transcontinental and Quebecor World in producing foil, embossing, die cutting, holography and other finishings.
Fuji Photo Film Canada Inc. and Fuji Graphic Systems Canada Inc. are joining their operations into one company that will serve the photo imaging, graphic arts, computer media, and motion picture markets in Canada.
The name of new company will be Fuji Photo Film Canada Inc. and the headquarters will be located at 600 Suffolk Court, Mississauga. The company currently operates in Toronto at two separate offices. The combination of the two is expected to result in some cost savings for the company.
The company says it expects the amalgamation to be completed by April 1, 2006 and a president for the new combined Fuji Canada operation will be named by that date. Most staff from the Fuji Graphics building at 6425 Airport Road in Mississauga will relocate to the newer and more modern facility occupied by Fuji Photo Film by June 30, 2006. New construction to accommodate the expanded demonstration & service facilities is currently underway at Suffolk Court.
In a meeting with employees of both companies, Shunji Saito, President of Fuji Photo Film Canada explained that “we are in the midst of a dramatic shift in digital imaging technology. With this merger, we are positioning ourselves to provide all of our Canadian customers totally integrated digital solutions through the focusing of all of Fuji’s resources and technologies.” Toshiaki Mori, president of Fuji Graphic Systems continued, “we see a considerable overlap in our core businesses, and our customers tell us of their desire to deal with a single solutions provider that can provide integrated digital solutions that span across traditional business unit lines”. The new combined Fuji Canada operation will provide sales, technical and professional services of the business lines of Consumer Photographic Products (including Digital Cameras), Digital Image Printing Solutions, Graphic Arts solutions, Motion picture film, and Computer Media products.
X-Rite and Amazys Holding, two major players in the colour management market, have agreed to merge, with X-Rite buying out Amazys with a purchase price of US$280 million plus 2.11 shares of X-Rite stock per share. Amazys develops colour management tools under the GretagMacBeth brand.
The combined entity will save approximately US$25 million on operating expenses for the two companies, but will cost $20 million initially for the restructuring. Following the deal, Michael C. Ferrara will remain CEO, Thomas J. Vacchiano Jr. (Present Amazys CEO) will be named President and COO, Mary E. Chowning will remain CFO, and Dr. Francis Lamy will be appointed CTO.
"X-Rite is excited about the opportunity to achieve greater scale, reduce operational costs and leverage combined R&D efforts. With the combined company, we will be in a position to deliver more innovative and high quality solutions," said Michael C. Ferrara, X-Rite CEO. "We believe this is a strategic combination that will provide value for our shareholders, customers, employees and partners."
The companies have announced that X-Rite and Amazys Holding AG will continue to operate as separate companies. Throughout the integration process, brand strategy for both companies and their respective product lines will be reviewed in a thoughtful, deliberate manner to add the most value for stakeholders. Following the transaction's completion, global headquarters will be located in Grandville, Michigan with the European Headquarters in Regensdorf, Switzerland.
Workers at the Quebecor World, Inc. facility in Recife, Brazil, shut down the plant's morning shift today, winning an agreement by the company to negotiate on the union's demands by Feb. 21. The workers' union demand that issues regarding health and safety problems be addressed after conditions left three injuries in January alone, with one man requiring hospitalization.
Union representatives from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Canada and the Union Network International were on hand to support the workers' actions. Also in the delegation were officials and workers from union locals at QW plants in the United States and Chile, and at Quebecor World's plant in Montreal, the company's headquarter city.
"Today was a first step, and a powerful one, because the pressure from workers acting together has forced the company to recognize and negotiate with the union," said Denis Fournier, president of GCC/Teamsters' Local at QW's plant in Montreal in a release. "I've talked with workers on the picket line here and heard of how they're working long hours without breaks and suffering injuries."
"Union locals at Quebecor World's Canadian plants have always enjoyed a mutually respectful relationship with the company and have been able to negotiate decent contracts with good health and safety conditions for our members. We urge Quebecor World to create similar working conditions, not just in Canada but in its plants around the world," said Fournier.
Eight of QW's nine Quebec plants are organized and the province has some of the strongest labor laws in North America.
Xerox Corporation has posted its fourth-quarter earnings which includes a 18 percent profit increase. The company attributes this to the rise of its colour products and the result of cost cutting.
Total expenses declined by US $95-million in 2005 to US $3.9-billion. The company has also announced that it will extend its shares buyback program by $500-million.
"Our earnings performance in the fourth quarter met expectations with increased gross margins, lower costs and operational improvements," said Anne M. Mulcahy, Xerox chairman and chief executive officer. "We delivered another quarter - and another year - of earnings growth. Our strong financial position, with full-year operating cash flow of $1.4 billion, gives us the flexibility to invest back in the business and enhance shareholder value through an expanded share repurchasing plan.
Xerox's result for all of 2005 includes the following:
* Net income of $978 million or 94 cents per share, an increase of 9 percent from full-year 2004. * Equipment sale revenue of $4.5 billion, an increase of 1 percent from full-year 2004. * Total revenue of $15.7 billion, which remains unchanged from 2004. * Debt balance of $7.3 billion, a reduction of $2.8 billion from year-end 2004. * Operating cash flow of $1.4 billion. * Year-end cash and short-term investments balance of $1.6 billion.
Vancouver-based Catalyst Paper has recorded a net loss of $8.0 million in the fourth quarter due to what the company claims to be the adverse impact of the strong Canadian dollar.
Catalyst is a producer of mechanical printing papers, de-inked and market kraft pulp. It employs 3,800 people in southern British Columbia and produces 2.5 million tonnes of product annually for the North American market.
"In Canadian-dollar terms we made good, steady progress in managing costs and improving our performance," said Catalyst president and chief executive officer Russell J. Horner in a media release. "We are making the most of competitive advantages like affordable electricity and fibre, low exposure to fossil fuels and our proximity to the western US market. Yet with most of our sales in US dollars, the exchange rate makes it tough to gain ground."
The fourth-quarter net loss of $8.0 million ($0.04 per common share) on sales of $471.9 million compared with net earnings of $34.2 million ($0.16 per common share) on sales of $450.3 million in the previous quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) totaled $48.3 million in the fourth quarter, up slightly from $47.9 million in the third quarter.
Schawk Inc has launched a new digital division aimed at dealing with enterprise asset and workflow management. Schawk Digital Solutions, is formed from the combination of Winnetts technology groups, Seven Worldwide (both recent Schawk acquisitions) and InterchangeDigital.
Schawk Digital Solutions will serve the consumer product goods, retail, pharmaceutical, publishing, and media and entertainment industries. The group focuses on aligning technology with strategic business objectives to create dynamic digital solutions that help brand-driven organizations transform their competitive capabilities. These collaboration-enabling solutions are comprised of integrated software products and technology services that support innovation, speed-to-market, and global brand
consistency initiatives.
"We are fully engaged in driving an aggressive trail of innovation that will deliver exciting new offerings not yet seen in the market," said David Frederick, managing director of Schawk Digital Solutions. "The ability to be fully responsive to our clients brand-driven needs through the development and implementation of innovative technology solutions will enable Schawk to accelerate the value and return on investment its clients expect from a comprehensive global solution."
Israel-based Genoa Color Technologies has engineered a display which adds Cyan, Magenta and Yellow to the traditional RGB display.
The addition of the three colors expands the display gamut by as much as 40 percent. The company claims its Colorpeak technology can display one trillion colours compared to the 16.7 million of the typical RGB screen. ColorPeak adds between one and three additional colours. At CES, a display which adds an additional yellow was shown alongside a traditional RGB display.
Genoa Color, named as one of the top upstarts to watch by Fortune magazine, says ColorPeak is the successor to the RGB technology introduced 50 years ago. The company is currently focusing on consumer efforts by intially implementing its technology in home theater displays.
ECRM Imaging Systems has installed its 1000th CTP system at Goodway Graphics in its Burlington, Massachusetts facility.
“Reaching the 1,000th ECRM CTP solution in the field is a proud moment for our company,” said Rick Black, ECRM CEO. “It validates our strategic vision that violet laser technology would, and has, provided the greatest value for our customers. Moving forward, as plate technologies mature, partnering with ECRM will provide an excellent alternative to those customers who wish to transition to a processless plate environment. We’re confident that Goodway Graphics will see an excellent return on its CTP investment.”
The ECRM CTP device, which replaced an imagesetter, is now imaging plates in Goodway Graphics’ multiple press environment - a 40 inch Harris two-color V-25 web press, a 29 inch four-color Heidelberg, and a 40-inch two-color Miller. Goodway Graphics also has digital print capabilities that include the Xerox iGen3 Digital Color Production Press, bindery, fulfillment, and mailing services. Goodway Graphics prints testing materials, transactional documents, books and monthly publications for its customers that include Harvard University.
Robert H. Brust, Kodak's chief financial officer and execrutive vice president, says he plans to retire after his contract expires in January 2007.
"It is an honor to work with Bob, and I am enormously thankful for his many contributions, among them Kodak's continued strong cash performance," said Antonio M. Perez, Kodak's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Bob is a tremendous asset to the company and to me personally as Kodak continues its digital transformation."
Brust joined Kodak in 2000 from Unisys Corporation, following a 31-year career at General Electric Co.
"I am pleased with the progress of Kodak's digital transformation, and I feel that now is the right time to begin a more active search for a successor," Brust said. "Moving now gives us a full year to find and groom a successor. While the company has a number of qualified internal candidates, it is also important to look outside the company to ensure that we have considered a broad range of talent before making a final selection."
Industry veteran Edwin H. Yeoman has been named corporate technology manager at Muller Martini.
Mr. Yeoman assumes responsibility at Muller Martini for leading the development and deployment of emerging technologies in strategic segments of the company’s U.S. marketplace.
During a distinguished business career that has spanned nearly three decades, Mr. Yeoman has held management positions with several of the best-known organizations in the graphic arts industry. He began his career in 1978 in the Bindery Engineering group of Harris Corporation Bindery Systems, and he subsequently served the company’s successors: Harris Graphics/Am International/Heidelberg and Goss International.
“Ed Yeoman possesses a wealth of experience,” said Werner Naegeli, President and CEO of Muller Martini Corp. “His background encompasses a diverse spectrum of expertise that will be instrumental in our ability to address the continually-changing technological demands of our company and our markets.”
André Préfontaine has left his position as president of Transcontinental Media, the publishing and distribution subsidiary of Transcontinental Inc. chief financial officer Daniel Denault has also resigned from Transcontinental to work at another firm.
Préfontaine's transition will be handled by Luc Desjardins, president and chief executive officer, and Benoît Huard, the current treasurer, will take over as interim CFO after February 12.
"André Préfontaine and Daniel Denault have contributed to the company's success for ten and eight years respectively," said Luc Desjardins. "I've worked with both of them a great deal and have appreciated their personal and professional qualities. They have both established solid teams with whom we can pursue our growth. On behalf of senior management, I thank them for their contribution and wish them every success in their future projects."
Daniel Denault
André Préfontaine headed Transcontinental Media during a period that saw the acquisition, among others, of the Telemedia and Avid Media magazines and the CanWest and Optipress newspapers, as well as the launch of the magazine Elle Canada and the daily paper Métro. Daniel Denault instituted disciplined financial management and strengthened Transcontinental's credibility in the financial community.
Mr. Denault said: "My experience at Transcontinental was highly stimulating. The company has developed a solid business plan that is already well underway. I am proud to have contributed to the growth and success of Transcontinental. It is a very fine company with excellent values."
XMPie announced that it has entered an integration and reselling agreement for the worldwide distribution of Adobe InDesign Server CS2. XMPie is the first licensed worldwide reseller of InDesign Server.
InDesign Server CS2 brings layout and composition support to a server platform, allowing automation and design quality to editorial workflows, collateral creation, data-driven publishing and template-based Web publishing solutions.
XMPie’s says its integration of InDesign Server is part of the immediate release of its upgraded uProduce, featuring two key enhancements:
1. Parallel print and proof processing: The new uProduce provides scalability options to customers in producing or proofing concurrent documents, depending on server configuration
2. Optimized composition technologies, for any document: Each uProduce server now comes out of the box with two fully optimized composition engines for InDesign Server and XLIM
“This is part of our continuous effort to diversify our offerings to become the most inclusive software provider in the market," says Eyal S. Goldwerger, CEO of XMPie. "We set the bar higher for VDP. Ultimate creativity, and ultimate performance is our new standard.”
Since the release of the QuarkXPress 7 public beta on January 10th, more than 12,000 users have downloaded a trial copy to evaluate, according to Quark. QuarkXPress 7, due in the second quarter of this year will contain new features such as OpenType and Photoshop file support, JDF job jackets, and improved colour management.
Quark says the impressions left by people who have tried the beta has been "overwhelmingly positive." The beta will run until March 31 where it will then go into a period of fine tuning before release this summer.
RR Donnelley and Sons has filed suit against Quark and Eastman Kodak's Creo division, alleging that the two companies have infringed digital print processing technology patented by the company.
The lawsuit, filed the federal court in Delaware seeks monetary compensation and injunctive relief. The company says the products in question are "central to a significant segment of RR Donnelley's service and product offerings."
InfoTrends, a consulting firm for the digital imaging and document solutions industry, will be dropping CAP Ventures name.
InfoTrends says it has decided to change its name to better reflect the services, scope, and worldwide consulting it provides.
“About four years ago, we purchased InfoTrends and combined the companies,” says Charles A. Pesko, managing director at InfoTrends. “We always intended to change the name, and, as we kicked off 2006, the timing was right to make the full transition and better reflect what we do for the industry.”
In 2002, the CAP Ventures acquired InfoTrends Research Group, a consulting firm that tracks the digital photography, Internet imaging, image processing, and scanning markets. The acquisition allowed CAP Ventures to expand its services portfolio and geographical footprint, and to solidify its position as a leader in the business communications and consumer imaging markets.
Konica Minolta Photo Imaging has announced it will be leaving the photography business and transferring its interest in digital SLR production to Sony.
This move will result in the trimming of 3,700 jobs worldwide representing 11 percent of its workforce worldwide. The company lost an estimated US $78 million in 2004 and sales continued to slip in 2005. The company says it will focus its priorities on its office printing systems. Konica Minolta will complete its withdrawal from the photography industry by late 2007.
Konica Minolta was formed in a merger between Konica and Minolta in January 2003 and had revenues of more than US$9-billion in 2004.
Xitron, a developer and integrator of Raster Image Processors, RIP management software and workflow solutions have announced it has added personnel in its support and engineering departments. Bryan Drewry, has joined Xitron as a Support Specialist, and Douglas Boenke as a Systems Engineer.
Drewry comes to Xitron with twenty years of experience in production, including the past six years with Print-Tech, an Ann Arbor-based commercial printer, where he served as the Prepress Manager. Drewry’s expertise encompasses prepress software products and output devices including digital proofers, on-demand systems, film imagesetters and CTP systems. Drewry has worked with Xitron’s Navigator and Xenith product lines during his tenure in production.
Douglas Boenke has more than twenty years experience as a systems engineer with expertise in embedded processing, peripheral device control, user interfaces and small to mid-size operating systems. Much of Boenke’s career has been spent with Saline, Michigan-based American Broadband, Inc., an engineering R&D company.
Drewry and Boenke will be based at Xitron’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Hollinger International has sold most of its Canadian assets to Glacier Ventures International Corp for $121.7 million.
The sale means that a variety of trade magazines, directories, newsletters, electronic databases, specialty websites, and newspapers will change hands. The newspapers affected are mainly located in British Columbia, but two are based in eastern Quebec.
Hollinger chairman and CEO Gordon A. Paris said in a statement that the sales were to allow Hollinger to focus on its Chicago-area operations, including the Chicago Sun-Times.
In December 2005, Hollinger International sold to Glacier its 70 percent interest in Great West Newspaper Group Ltd. and its 50 percent interest in Fundata Canada Inc. to Jamison Newspapers Inc. and Glacier for total consideration of approximately CDN$47.1 million.
Quebecor World Inc. announced today that it has concluded an agreement with Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking for the Canadian dollar equivalent of $191 million long term committed credit facility relating to the company's purchase of MAN Roland presses as part of its previously announced U.S. re-tooling program.
The unsecured facility will be drawn over the course of the next 25 months, and repaid over the next 10 years. The facility will provide funding at a cost that is below that of the company's conventional unsecured financing alternatives.
According to Jacques Mallette, Quebecor World's executive vice-president and chief financial officer, "This facility provides low cost funding while further diversifying our sources of capital. Combined with the December, 2005 renewal and extension of our $1 billion credit facility to 2009, the company now has a very solid liquidity position going into 2006."
VistaPrint North American Services Corp., the North American manufacturing subsidiary of VistaPrint Limited has installed a third ROLAND 700 in its Windsor, Ontario plant. The expansion comes less than six months after VistaPrint opened its North American facility, which has 68,000 square feet of production space.
With the new addition, the company now runs a total of five 41-inch presses from MAN Roland. Each ROLAND 700 is equipped with five printing units, in-line coating and perfecting. Two have been operating at VistaPrint B.V., VistaPrint’s European production center in Venlo, The Netherlands for over a year.
VistaPrint says it is able to efficiently print short-runs by aggregating jobs on the ROLAND 700’s 41-inch sheets. A proprietary computer program developed by VistaPrint’s resident team of software engineers decides which project is positioned where, based on such variables as format, run length and customer location.
The number of projects placed on each sheet depends on the type of product that is being produced. For example, a sheet can hold 143 business cards, 42 post cards, 21 oversized postcards, or 9 pages of letterhead. This ganging process is what enables VistaPrint to print massive volumes of products at low cost. The average run length is 250 to 500.
Sun Chemical, the world's foremost ink maker, has announced a licensing agreement for it to make and sell MetalFX inks in North America.
Sun Chemical says it will have five locations strategically located throughout the United States to support MetalFX sales. They are St Charles, IL; Santa Fe Springs, CA; Atlanta, GA; Philadelphia, PA and Grand Prairie, TX.
"The MetalFX technique expands the gamut of special-effects possibilities for printers," said Chris Morrissey, Sun Chemical corporate vice president of marketing.
Pantone has partnered with GretagMacbeth to make colour management more accessible for a wide variety of users, ranging from consumers to professionals.
As a first step in their relationship, Pantone and GretagMacbeth today announced several new products for managing colour on displays: huey, Eye-One Display LT and Eye-One Display 2.
The huey, an easy-to-use monitor calibration tool, is aimed at the consumer and enthusiast market. According to Pantone, it is also the only device that monitors colour levels continuously based on the ambient light. It will retail for US$89.
Pantone says that huey is based on GretagMacbeth’s technology for professional-level products and coupled with an affordable device. huey delivers excellent results on LCD, laptop and CRT displays without requiring users to have any knowledge of color management. In addition, huey is the first monitor calibration device to continually adjust the monitor as room lighting changes.
Eye-One Display LT features more advanced controls than huey. A software wizard calibrates the monitor to produce consistent, predictable color in just a few simple steps. Eye-One Display LT can also be used to calibrate multiple monitors connected to a single workstation. It is the ideal entry-point for the price sensitive creative professional and can also easily be upgraded to the capabilities of the Eye-One Display 2 as the user’s needs expand.
Eye-One Display LT includes a profile summary reporting capability that shows target color temperature, luminance and gamma, and stores all the information in a profile, which is ideal for post profile analysis.
Eye-One Display 2 includes all the features of Eye-One Display LT and also provides unlimited control and customization capabilities over the gamma and whitepoint settings. Its lightweight, sleek design comes with an ambient light head that easily snaps onto the device, also acting as a dust protector designed to ensure the sensor’s longevity. Eye-One Display 2 creates high-quality ICC profiles for accurate, onscreen softproofing.
Cascades Fine Papers, Domtar, and Unisource Canada have all pleaded guilty of price-fixing in the Ontario Superior Court and have been sentenced to record fines totaling $12.5-million for each company.
This ruling, three years in the making, concerns illegal agreements between the companies in regard to carbonless paper which occurred between October 1999 and September 2000. The court fined each company the statutory maximum $10-million for breaking the competition act with their domestic conspiracy in Ontario, with an additional $2.5-million for infractions in Quebec. The previous record fine was $2.5-million.
The three companies pleaded guilty to: - respecting each other's market share to stabilize prices; - coordinating a response to a new market entrant; - implementing a common discount program; - maintaining price discipline to avoid a price war;
- and sharing sales and pricing data.
"Conspiracies of this nature destroy competition by interfering with private markets and hurt both business and consumers," said Sheridan Scott, Commissioner of Competition in a government release. "These record fines reflect the serious nature of this criminal behaviour and put corporate executives and employees on notice that they are accountable for their actions."
Section 45 of the Competition Act states that anybody who prevents or lessens, unduly, competition in the production, manufacture, purchase of a product is guilty of an indictable offence and liable for imprisonment of up to five years, a fine up to $10-million or a combination of both.
Domtar, in a statement, says that the company has chosen to plead guilty to avoid potentially lengthy and costly litigation. It went on to say that the company does not manufacture carbonless paper, but resells it. Carbonless paper makes up less than one percent of Domtar's sales volume.
GO2Press of Richmond, BC has the first installation of the 74 Karat offset press in western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. GO2Press was incorporated in 1974 as Lulu Island Printing Ltd. With the arrival of the new press, the company has changed its name and re-branded the company with the Karat as the cornerstone.
Go2Press has traditionally dealt with the short-run market, with an average of 4,000 impressions per run. Go2Press says it acquired the 74 Karat to stand out in the marketplace and to improve profitability with jobs shorter than 1000 copies.
Pictured beside the new press are (L to R); Tim Seaton President, Rodney Cameron Production Manager & Phil Wylie Pressman.
Metroland Printing, a subsidiary of the Torstar Corp, has garnered the praise of the Suburban Newspapers of America association in the form of 53 awards.
Metroland won the second most awards in the 2005 contest, second to The Journal Register Co. of New Jersey, which had 114 winning entries.
Organizers said the SNA's 2005 contest was the most competitive in the association's 35-year history, with over 3,100 entries — a 40 per cent jump over last year.
"Outstanding journalism is alive and well as evidenced in this contest," said contest judge Jody Calendar.
The Journal Register Co. led all newspaper chains with 114 winning entries. In third place was Lee Enterprises. The SNA is an association of both daily and weekly suburban newspapers. The American Press Institute judged the contest.
Kodak's Matchprint inkjet proofing system has been SWOP (Specifications for Web Offset Publications) certified. This news comes just three months after the Matchprint Inkjet Desktop 400 and 800 were launched at Print 05.
SWOP was established in 1974 in response to the printing industry’s need for uniform specifications and tolerances to ensure consistency and quality of material in publications. Over the past 30 years, SWOP has become a major factor in the publication printing industry.
Because modern inkjet printers often run a larger gamut than what web offset presses can reproduce, SWOP certification is essential to the production of accurate proofs which conforms to those, and in-house restrictions. Kodak says the Matchprint Inkjet Proofing Solution achieved SWOP Certification driving the Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800 printers using Matchprint Pro Publication Semi-Matte 245 Media.
To achieve the SWOP Certification Mark, manufacturers submit a SWOP Application Data Sheet (ADS) and representative proofs for review. The ADS provides directions for producing proofs as closely as possible to the SWOP Certified Press Sheet. A system earns ‘SWOP Certified’ designation through its ability to produce proofs that closely match the appearance of the SWOP Certified press sheet.
The merger between Europe-based XSYS Print Solutions and Flint Ink Corporation has created a new entity to be called Flint Group.
"Flint Group is a strong new leader in all sectors of the worldwide printing, packaging, and colorants industries. It brings together long traditions of superior products, expert service and a commitment to meeting customer needs in all of the major markets of the world," said Dave Frescoln, CEO of the new company.
Dave Frescoln, the CEO of the new company, says that the name was chosen because the company wanted to maintain business brands that were familiar to the global printing marketplace. "Customers, employees, and the industry need to be able to make sense of this new company. ‘Flint Group’ was based on the international recognition of the Flint name, and the fact that the organization comprises a group of business units dedicated to specific segments of the global printing market."
With more than 150 facilities worldwide and a global network of distributors, Flint Group says that it can serve customers in every major market segment in every geographic region. The company employs nearly 8,000 people, of whom approximately 2,000 are technical staff. With estimated 2005 revenues are $US 2.7-billion, it will be the biggest or second biggest company in each of the regions it serves. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the new company is jointly owned by the management and CVC funds.
Dick Tilanus, chief executive officer of Punch Graphix plc, has passed away from complications following a routine operation.
The company will shortly begin the process of appointing a new chief executive officer. Until this appointment is concluded Jan Smits, the chief financial oficer of Punch Graphix, will assume the role of acting CEO. He will be assisted by Ken Humphreys, one of the company’s non-executive directors, who will until further notice work for the company for three days a week.
Geoffrey White, chairman of Punch Graphix, said, “We are deeply saddened by Dick’s death, which was wholly unexpected. Dick had made an enormous contribution to the development of Punch Graphix. He will be greatly missed by all his friends and colleagues at Punch Graphix, and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family.”
Robert G. Burton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cenveo, Inc. announced today the promotion of Thomas W. Oliva to the position of President of Cenveo, Inc. In his new role, Oliva will have responsibility for all of Cenveo's Sales and Manufacturing efforts, will continue to report directly to Burton and will remain on Cenveo's Board of Directors.
"When I joined Cenveo as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, back in September, I left the President's role vacant to better assess our progress," said Burton in a press release. "As we move into 2006 the entire Board and I feel that Tom is an individual who will be instrumental in driving improved performance throughout the organization as President of the organization."
Burton also made the following appointments:
William Burch as Executive Vice President, Envelopes. Joseph Cortes as Executive Vice President, Labels. Robert Lynn as Senior Vice President, Treasurer. Harry Vinson as Senior Vice President, Purchasing. Timothy Davis as Senior Vice President, General Counsel. David C. Hunter as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Ken Viret as Senior Vice President and Controller. Gina Genuario as Director, Employee Benefits.
Epson Canada will be partnering with Cirque du Soleil, a world-renowned artistic entertainment company based in Montréal, Québec. Epson has signed on as official sponsor of over 240 performances of the company¹s Canadian touring productions in 2006 and 2007. The sponsorship includes the touring shows Quidam, Varekai, and a new production slated for spring 2007, as well as DELIRIUM: Turning Music into Motion, which premieres January 26th in Montréal.
"We are thrilled to partner with Cirque du Soleil, a premium Canadian brand known the world over for its creativity and vision," said Tony Rossi, Director of Sales and Marketing, Epson Canada Limited. "The uncompromising commitment to excellence Cirque du Soleil and Epson Canada share enables us to be leaders in our respective fields, consistently providing Canadians with experiences that exceed their expectations."
Wes Lucas, President and CEO of Sun Chemical has resigned from his post, effective December 31, 2005. Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Sun's parent company, has appointed industry veteran David Hill in his place. Lucas will remain as Sun Chemicals' Chairman of the Board.
DIC has also elected Naoki Tsuji and Kazuo Kudo to the Board of Sun Chemical Corporation. In addition, Tsuji will become Vice Chairman of the Board. Both Tsuji and Kudo have long and distinguished careers at DIC. Tsuji’s current position is President, DIC Logistics, and Kudo’s current position is General Manager, Corporate Strategic Planning.
Hill has 36 years of experience in the chemical industry, the last four with Sun Chemical Corporation. Hill received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970. During his career he has held many positions of senior responsibility with Fortune 100 companies. His longest tenure was with Allied Signal Corporation where he was Chief Technology Officer for their chemical and materials businesses as well as President of their Fibers and Specialty Chemicals units.
GMC Software Technology has established a new Canadian subsidiary. The company says this new Canadian subsidiary is being formed to address significant business growth in the Americas and will enable GMC to better serve and support its existing and new customers throughout the Americas.
Mike Watts, formerly the Regional Sales Manager for GMC America's Canadian and Mid-West US territories, has been appointed to the position of President, GMC Software Technology, Ltd. He will be responsible for all software sales, marketing, professional services and customer support for the regions served by the Canadian subsidiary.
GMC Software Technology, Ltd. will sell and support GMC's entire range of PrintNet software including PrintNet T for customized promotional, transaction and on-demand document design and production; PrintNet PA for business process automation; WebProof for web-based approval and proofing; and PrintNet Connect for integration and support of enterprise applications and J2EE web services environments.
Digital storage media has taken another leap in capacity as InPhase Technologies debuts its H-ROM system, capable of storing 300GB of data on a holographic disk.
InPhase claims it will be the first company to deliver a holographic product for professional archive applications in late 2006. The initial InPhase Tapestry holographic recording device will record 300 gigabytes of data onto a 130 mm disc with a transfer rate of 20 megabytes per second. This is compatible with high-definition television transmission rates, and high-end enterprise computer applications. At the speed stated, it would take more than four hours to burn up to the media's capacity. Industry experts view holography as the successor to the optical media (CDs and DVDs) that are used today.
According to the company, data is written by using a single laser beam split into two beams. These beams, depending on its angles, write data to multiple layers of the disk, thereby achieving more storage in the same amount of physical disk space. In order to read the data, a beam deflects off the hologram thus reconstructing the stored information. This hologram is then projected onto a detector that reads several data tracks at once. This parallel process provides the potential for fast data access.
InPhase is currently in a media partnership with Maxell as well as other technology companies in developing consumer and professional products using InPhase's core technology.
InPhase says it has been shipping Tapestry HDS4000 media since late 2005 to companies developing consumer holographic devices. The media can be used for distribution of audio or video content. The media will be made in several different sizes from postage stamp to credit card size, which could hold several high definition movies.
PAPER FIRMS GUILTY OF PRICE FIXING
