KBA North America

Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) announced the recipients of the 2007 InterTech Technology Awards. A recurring theme with 2007 InterTech nominations was green printing, and numerous submissions contained solutions to minimize the environmental impact of printing. Great strides in technology were also demonstrated in the form of innovative press design, touchless workflow systems to automate production steps, anti-fraud measures, and new materials and systems that increase productivity. The InterTech Technology Award recipients this year were: • :Energy Elite Dual Layer “No Bake” Plate. AGFA Graphics N.V. • Kodak Traceless System. Eastman Kodak • EIS UV Printing Blanket Refurbishment. Enviro Image

WILLISTON, VT—1/18/07—KBA North America, a leading press manufacturer, is announcing an exclusive distributorship in the U.S. and Canada with Vegra, an international company specializing in the development of high-quality and environmentally-friendly products for the graphic arts industry. The new consumables line, which can be ordered online through http://consumables.kba-usa.com, includes fountain solutions, coatings, washes, and varnishes, and is designed to work with all printing press manufacturers and available to all printers, regardless of their press models. “We are pleased to announce this exclusive distributorship with Vegra,” says Ralf Sammeck, president and CEO of KBA North America. “This furthers our goal of addressing the

WILLISTON, VT—01/16/0—As a result of integrating the North American web and sheetfed business units into one combined entity, KBA North America has announced the following sales staff changes, effective immediately: Heinz Schmid assumes the position of senior vice president, web press sales. Gary Owen has been appointed vice president, sales and communications newspapers – regional. Bruce Richardson and Steve Brown have become sales managers, East and West, respectively. Ralf Sammeck, president and CEO of KBA North America, commented that, “The combined experience of over 100 years of our dedicated newspaper sales staff demonstrates to our customers the serious commitment that we have made to

RADEBEUL, GERMANY—12/01/06—In its November session Koenig & Bauer’s supervisory board approved changes at the executive level. On 31 July next year, at his own request, Andreas Mössner (43) will step down from the parent company‘s board of directors, resigning the position he has held since January 1998 as executive vice president for sales at KBA’s sheetfed division in Radebeul (Dresden). He will be replaced on 1 August 2007 by Ralf Sammeck (44), who has guided KBA North America’s sheetfed division to new heights since being appointed president and CEO in October 2002. Mössner has accepted an appointment by the supervisory board of KBA’s Austrian

More coverage of Graph Expo product introductions . IT MAY be telling that the majority of presses in operation around the show floor of Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2006 last month were of the digital variety. Offset units were conspicuous in their absence. Digital presses have become part of the commercial printing mainstream, rather than being a specialty product segment or market niche. To emphasize this, Hewlett-Packard shared results from an InfoTrends study that surveyed a sampling of digital color printing buyers and producers. The research firm found that the percentage of color printing jobs with a run length

OFFSET PRESSES continue to pull their weight amidst the flashy digital printers that have been popping up in offices nationwide. These digital newcomers might be great for short-run work, but for big projects they still must step aside and let ye olde offset workhorses do their thing. Don’t think being called “old” is an insult, though. The longevity of these machines is impressive and can easily add up to decades. Jim VanderWal, production manager at CRC Product Services in Grand Rapids, Mich., says that his shop’s four-color Heidelberg SM102 was purchased in 1989 and the two-color Heidelberg SM72 dates back to 1975. Over

The Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation has selected 11 technologies to receive 2006 PIA/GATF InterTech Technology awards. Each company will receive a Lucite Inter­Tech star during the competition’s November luncheon in Milwaukee. The winning technologies are: • Adobe PDF print engine, Adobe Systems • Microsystems Microcip software module, C&P Microsystems • Dalim Mistral, Dalim Software • WebCenter, Esko-Graphics • Magnum ink formulation dispenser, GFI Innovations • Zero-slip nip enhancement, Goss International Americas • KBA Genius 52 UV sheetfed offset press, KBA North America • InlineFoiler, MAN Roland • DeskDirect, PrintSoft • Liberty sheetfed inks, Sun Chemical • uImage, XMPie Inc.

A year after Drupa, what new surprises do graphic arts vendors have in store for in-plants? Here's an advanced look. In-plant managers eager to see the latest graphic arts technologies can't do much better than Print 05 & Converting 05. Held in Chicago once every four years, this is the printing industry's main event. Larger than last year's Graph Expo show, Print 05 will feature nearly 800 exhibits covering more than 725,000 square feet of floor space. To help in-plants prepare, many of the industry's key vendors offered a peak at the products they plan to display in Chicago. Offset Boasting

In-plant managers got a chance to see the technologies they've been reading about at the recent Graph Expo show. For the many in-plant managers in attendance, the recent Graph Expo and Converting Expo 2004 show in Chicago was a graphic arts fantasy land. "I felt like a kid in a candy store," observes Mike Renn, of Mellon Corporate Publishing, in Philadelphia. "I went to take a look at the latest direct-to-plate systems and software management packages and came away with numerous options." Attendance this year was pretty healthy, he adds: "I had to wedge myself between bodies to check out the latest gear." Other managers agreed. "I

Large-press automation is now available on almost every model of medium- and small-format offset press. By Chris Bauer When it comes to automation, small- and medium-format sheetfed presses (up to 23x29˝) have just as many bells and whistles as the large presses—but for a lot less money. "The main features required by today's press buyer [are based on] automation," notes Mike Dighton, vice president of Hamada of America. "Auto plate loading, blanket washers, color consoles, including CIP3/4, are almost always asked for by our customers. The automation carries into prepress, as well." Hamada's new Impulse 452P is a 14x20˝ perfector. The Impulse runs at