On Demand Goes to Philly

Event features the latest technologies and strategies for profiting big time from digital printing and finishing.

Staff Report -- Graphic Arts Online, March 1, 2009

The largest digital printing conference and expo in North America, On Demand moves from Boston to Philadelphia, running March 30—April 2 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Blustery Northeasters had dampened attendance during the show's recent years in Boston.

The annual event encompasses all the technologies used to create, manage, personalize, print and deliver content. Beyond print on-demand technology, management and strategy, show organizers say On Demand will deliver insights into the future of the printing industry via market innovators.

This year the event, which runs in tandem with the AIIM expo for corporate information managers, will feature 200+ exhibiting companies showcasing the latest in digital printing devices, software, finishing and substrates. Three keynote presentations promise to tackle the most pressing issues in digital printing and document production.

New this year is a Mailing & Fulfillment Pavilion co-sponsored by the Mailing Fulfillment Service Assn. and featuring BCC Software, The Bennett Group, MT&L Card Products, Satori Software, Rena Systems, Virtual Systems and Whittier Mailing Products. The exhibit will showcase the newest hardware and software for controlling folding, slitting, inserting, sealing, tabbing, sorting, weighing, addressing, traying, palletizing, strapping, transporting and sorting mail prior to entering the mail stream.

The conference kicks off with the “Annual State of the Industry Address” by Charles Pesko, Jr., executive VP, Questex Media Group/InfoTrends. “Despite a challenging economic picture in the U.S., digital workflow is gaining momentum and barriers to acceptance are falling due to recent technology and process developments,” Pesko says. “Perhaps it is clearer in a down economy just how tightly profits are tied to efficiency both in print operations and overall business communications,” he adds. The overall theme of Pesko's industry analysis will be that 2009 is the year for “digital efficiency.”

RR Donnelley presentation

Immediately following Pesko, Mary Lee Schneider, RR Donnelley CTO and president of its Digital Solutions unit, will present, “The Digital Print Perspective: The State of the Industry and the State of the Art from RR Donnelley.” Schneider will address what Fortune 500 customers are telling RR Donnelley they need in terms of variable print capabilities, as well as key factors driving technology and equipment decisions. Donnelley launched its EcoM for handling corporate communications needs in November.

On Wednesday, Dr. Sophie Vandebroek, Xerox's CTO and president of its Innovation Group, will present “Turning Inspiration into Critical Customer Assets.” Vandebroek oversees Xerox's worldwide research and technology centers. “Innovation at its best marries aspiration with inspiration, bettering industries today and tomorrow,” Vandebroek says.

The conference program features 13 education tracks, seven making their debut, as well as free exhibitor-driven educational seminars in an Application Showcase Theater on the Expo floor.

“This year's show is all about helping print executives tap into the significant pockets of profit potential that exist in today's challenging business climate,” says Tom Bliss, group conference director for Questex, the event's producer. He says there is money to be made for printers in the form of untapped revenue and more creative approaches to cost control.

New tracks include: sales and business development strategies, pricing strategies, hardware and software investment analysis, vendor assessment and selection tools/strategies, becoming a marketing service provider, Web-to-print technologies, and print MIS. Other tracks cover everything from managing in-plant printing operations to digital workflow solutions.

A mailing education track will take attendees through all of the steps a printer needs to quickly move into this arena, including mail piece design, mailing software, database management, variable-data processing for mail and marketing mailing services. In addition, an applications theater on the Expo floor features presentations by Konica Minolta, Presstek, Pitney Bowes and MindFire. Early reports on what's on display on the show floor include:

Trade printer 4Over, booth 2054, will exhibit for the first time at the show. The company recently opened plants in Miami and in Arlington, TX, near Dallas, and will open in New Jersey in conjunction with the show.

Canon, booth 1701, will be showcasing the latest additions to its imagePRESS line and a new print management software suite. Previewed at AIIM/ON DEMAND 2008, the imagePRESS 1135/1125/1110 combines Canon’s digital monochrome technology with the core architectural design of its imagePRESS line. Canon’s first device to offer a clear toner feature, the imagePRESS C1+, will also be on display at the booth.

Duplo, booth 616, will introduce the Ultra 205A UV Coater, DC-445 Creaser, and DP-C110 Digital Printing System.

EFI, booth 1943, will launch its most advanced Fiery interface and job management system, EFI Command WorkStation 5.0. The new Colorproof XF 4.0 proofing solution will be shown for the first time, along with the latest versions of Fiery, EFI Pace, EFI PrintSmith, EFI PrintFlow, EFI Digital StoreFront, EFI Colorproof eXpress and Fiery XF.

InfoPrint Solutions, a joint venture of IBM and Ricoh, booth 1824, will showcase its ProC900 high-speed digital color cut-sheet printer and the InfoPrint 100 continuous forms laser printer.

interlinkONE, booth 2623, will feature its ilinkONE Version 8.5 software capabilities and will feature interactive demonstrations that show how the software builds personalized landing pages to create integrated multi-channel marketing campaigns.

MBM, booth 2635, last month introduced the Creasematic 150, a manual feed, 2,000 sph, entry-level machine for sheet sizes up to 39´´; the Auto 50 creaser, an automatic, bottom-feed suction system designed for continuous high-volume operation; and the Creasefold online folder.

Morgana, booth 2310, will feature the DocuMaster, a complete finishing system capable of creasing, folding and booklet-making.

Presstek, booth 1836, will show its Presstek 52DI and 34DI digital offset presses, which can run up to 20 pt. stock, up to 20.47´´ on the 52DI. A UV option converts them into a waterless UV presses. Presstek Workflow Solutions include Latitude PDF/JDF prepress workflow, Momentum Pro fully integrated RIP and workflow using PDF tools, and PathWay Web-to-print solution.

Screen, booth 1925, will show its Truepress Jet520—a continuous-feed, single-pass inkjet web press—featuring a single printing engine with inline Standard Hunkeler Gen6 paper handling.

Standard Finishing, booth 1625, features the theme “Think Intelligent Automation” at its exhibit, and will showcase a range of highly automated postpress, paper handling and inserting solutions. The company is to show its recently introduced Standard Horizon BQ-270C single-clamp perfect binder, designed for the short-run POD and one-off commercial print book markets.

Xerox, booth 2000, will feature real-world applications of customers using its technology and tell how other printing firms can “prosper with print” by producing similar applications. Visitors will see how implementing the right business model, the right workflow and the right technology can automate print production.