Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), solutions provider for the entire printing industry, has produced a new standard reference for the graphics industry called the Handbook of Print Media. Published by Springer-Verlag, it describes the technologies and production methods in the printing industry in a volume of over 1200 pages. ”The graphics industry is shaped by far-reaching changes, characterized mainly by digitalization and the networking of steps in production processes,” explains Professor Dr. Helmut Kipphan, head of technology and innovation research at Heidelberg. He is the editor and author of this huge reference. ”Our goal and challenge was to gather the knowledge of experts in an up-to-date standard work that is independent of any one manufacturer. It should take into account the international state of technological development as well as point out trends of the future,” Kipphan continues. Traditional printing processes and the workflow sections prepress, press and postpress / finishing are dealt within the book. The new computer-aided and digitally controlled processes and equipment for the production of print media and all relevant information about digital printing are described in depth. For the first time, the non-impact printing processes are thoroughly dealt with in their entirety and compared to conventional printing processes which require a printing plate. The book assesses electronic media and multimedia as opposed to print media. The fact that print media and electronic media ideally complement each other is demonstrated in the product itself: The accompanying CD-ROM contains the entire manual in fully searchable form complete with a user-friendly database with information on the graphics industry. The systematic and detailed structure of the book satisfies the highest didactic demands. The fundamentals of communication technologies, materials, and commercial aspects are presented, and chapters on prepress, the various printing methods, and the printing-finishing processes are included. Production strategies for print media and the comparison of printing and production processes are also discussed. The book is aimed at skilled workers and managers as well as trainees and students. Trade associations, universities and technical schools will benefit from this standard reference work.