A Big Show Goes On

GRAPH EXPO 2007, the largest print industry exhibition and conference in the Americas this year, will be held in Chicago's McCormick Place South, September 9-12. More than 600 exhibitors are expected to fill over 450,000 sq.ft. at this year's exhibition. The annual trade show encompasses prepress, printing, finishing, converting, mailing, wide-format and digital technologies.

GAM begins its Graph Expo countdown with quick takes on workflow and digital print products that we've learned of by presstime. Accompanying this issue is the Official Attendees Planner, and when the show opens, GAM will produce four editions of the Official Show Daily, covering the day-to-day happenings of the show, published live and distributed each morning to hotel rooms, at bus stops and to McCormick Place entrances.

Graph Expo will be punctuated by themed interest days and concentrations, as well as special exhibit areas (as highlighted in Sidelights, p.38).

The Mailing and Fulfillment Center, growing at a faster pace than last year, will feature the largest showcase of processing, sorting, stamping, weighing, addressing and preparation equipment under one roof.

“The growth of this section of the show has been remarkable,” says Ralph Nappi, Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) president. “We're extremely pleased to see attendees' continued interest in the expansion of this area, demonstrated by their visits with exhibitors, attendance at the seminar sessions and general interest in driving business opportunities forward.”

The Mailing & Fulfillment Service Assn. (MFSA) has slated its annual Leaders Conference for the days just prior to Graph Expo again this year. Attendees at MFSA's top conference will gain valuable insights into the general health of the mailing sector, then learn about new systems at McCormick Place as they visit the show. A full schedule of free presentations by exhibiting vendors in the Center's own theater on the show floor will detail prospects for today's mailing industry.

At this year's Graph Expo, attendees will have more than 60 educational seminars to choose from, including Hands-On Computer Labs each day (Adobe CS3, Adjusting Color, PhotoShop Makeovers, Print-Ready Files and more.) Two GAM columnists will present on Sunday, Sept. 9: Bill Farquharson on digital print sales (“Show Me the Money”) and Hal Hinderliter on asset management systems (“All the DAM Facts”). RIT professor emeritus Frank Romano's addresses will include “Digital Printing—Your Guide to the Hot Markets” and “The Future of the Printing Product.” Julie Shaffer, director of the PIA/GATF Center for Imaging Excellence, will cover such topics as “Color Management Tips 'n Tricks for Digital Printing” and “Web to Print: Everything You Must Know.”

Thumbnails of preliminary exhibition plans are offered here, emphasizing workflow and digital print. Next month, we'll extend the coverage on pressroom and finishing systems exhibition plans.

Canon USA will show the imagePROGRAF iPF5000 17´´ and iPF9000 60´´ large-format printers. Both employ a 12-color pigment ink system with Lucia inks. Fujfilm Sericol will show Inca's Uvijet UV and Color+ solvent-based piezo inks. Uvijet inks reduce the need for purging and press maintenance. Also at the show will be the Inca Columbia 220, which handles media as big as 126×86´´ at speeds up to 1,325 sq.ft. per hour, and the UVijet 215-Combi, able to print on substrates of any length up to 40 mm thick and 2150 mm wide.

EFI will showcase its Fiery color print servers, VUTEk superwide digital inkjet printers, Jetrion industrial inkjet systems and the latest versions of its proofing, print MIS and workflow solutions. The VUTEk 3360 prints up to 10.5´ in width at speeds up to 1,622 sq.ft. per hour.

Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering (MGE) will show its i-Cut Vision digital cutting/finishing system. Mutoh America will be exhibiting the ValueJet printer lineup: 1204-48´´, 1604-64´´ and 2606-100´´, with speeds up to 185 sq.ft. per hour in production mode. The ValueJet uses the i2: Intelligent Interweaving Printing Technique to minimize banding.

Free 45-minute educational sessions will again be offered within the pavilion covering technical, marketing and management topics. Next door will be the Innovation Gallery, displaying prime examples of jobs printed on versatile substrates. Jack Collins, this year's featured American artist, will be showing samples of his work.

Agfa Graphics will show chemistry-free :Azura and low-chemistry :Amigo CtP plates, using ThermoFuse technology, plus other offerings.

Heidelberg will show its imagesetting family of platesetters: Quicksetter, Prosetter and Suprasetter, as well as the Prinect Pressroom Manager, which it bills as the world's first JDF-based prepress to pressroom system capable of controlling and managing all data required in print production. Job data entered in the JDF ticket can be called up anywhere in the pressroom, such as at the pressroom manager's workstation, the operator's console or the press itself. The information provided by the JDF provides presetting data for the press.

HP Indigo press 5500, successor to the 5000, includes enhancements such as light cyan and light magenta for 6-color photo album runs, as well as the ability to change individual ink cartridges on the fly.

Kodak will display its NexPress 2500 digital press, available in a 4- or 5-color configuration. It prints 11.7×16.5´´ at 83 ppm. Other items include the Approval NX proofing system, Prinergy workflow software, Unified Workflow solutions, ColorFlow technology and MarketMover Services.

MGi Digital Graphic Technology will show Meteor DP40 Pro and DP40 Smart digital presses.

MindFireInc. will demonstrate LookWho'sClicking, a Web-based service that automates the creation, management and tracking of personalized Website addresses (PURLs) and variably printed landing pages.

Objective Advantage will bring its flagship offering, OASymbio, a suite of automated workflow tools that integrates Web-to-print production equipment, shipping/fulfillment and MIS systems.

Presstek will display its 34DI (13.5×18´´) and 52DI (20.5×14´´) presses imaging chemistry-free plates directly on press. Its chemistry-free Anthem Pro thermal CTP plates will also be exhibited.

Xerox will show the DocuColor 8000AP (shown above) digital press with new “All Weights” mode that sets the press to run at 80 ppm, regardless of paper stock. The Nuvera 288 mononchrome digital perfecting press with fully integrated, tandem-engine architecture also will be shown running two-sided prints at 288 sph and 4800x600 dpi.

xpedx is putting on live press demonstrations with the Ryobi DI series, which prints 4-, 5- and 6-color offset with an integrated digital imaging system from Presstek.

Next issue, continuing preview coverage of Graph Expo will include further advance news, with an emphasis on presses, pressroom and finishing systems. To register for Graph Expo, visit www.graphexpo.com.

Online: www.mfsanet.org, usa.canon.com, efi.com, kmbs.konicaminolta.us, mge-us.com, fujifilmsericol.com, graphics.agfa.com, us.heidelberg.com, hp.com/go/graphicarts, graphics.kodak.com, mgi-usa.com, mindfireinc.com, presstek.com, xerox.com/printing, ryobi.xpedx.com, ricoh.com and infoprintsolutionscompany.com