Mailbox

Editor:

A friend of a friend living in India is looking to buy bindery equipment, such as saddle stitchers and folders, at discounted prices. This sounds like used equipment to me.

Do you have any ideas on the best way for this individual to find this type of equipment?

pgordon@reedbusiness.com

Graphic Arts Monthly has a special arrangement with PressXchange.com, a worldwide Web site for used equipment. Either by visiting the gammag.com site, or subscribing to e-GAM, our weekly e-mail newsletter, GAM readers can link directly to the company's U.S. portal, PressXchangeUSA.com.

There, a search in the bindery and finishing category turns up options to search in "folders" or "gatherer-stitcher-trimmers," where scores of machines are listed by manufacturer, model, the equipment's age and present location (country), and date of availability.

Free registration at PressXchange is offered, with options to receive e-mail updates on either site developments or messages from advertisers.

The portal also offers visitors information on how to advertise their equipment or how to list machinery that they are seeking. Machinery-wanted listings are free for the first month.

Editor:

About 25 years ago, I re-call that Graphic Arts Monthly published a full-page holiday greeting that incorporated many nationalities and religions by using the languages of many different countries. I think the theme of that holiday ad was "Peace."

GAM ran that same ad every year for at least 10 years, and it may even have been the cover of an issue. In my opinion, that greeting was one of the best ever.

I had saved that page for some years, but in moving several times over the past quarter-century, it has disappeared. Is there any chance that you may have a copy of that ad in your archives, and could send me a copy?

Bill Becker

Brandon, Fla.

This one stumps GAM's editors and staff members, even those who have been on the magazine for quite a long time. No one here can recall preparing a holiday ad that you describe, nor publishing it for a period of 10 years.

A check of GAM issues from the 1970s shows no cover illustration of this type.

Even in the '80s, only a few cover illustrations come close to your description.

One is the cover of our December 1985 issue, prepared in support of a feature on the greeting card market, which portrayed a dove of peace (the simple illustration could be cut out, folded, and glued to make an ornament).

In April 1986, an all-type cover announcing the Drupa '86 trade show in Germany repeated the phrase "Printing, the International Market" in a number of languages.

We'd welcome input from any of GAM's long-time readers in solving this question.