ON DEMAND 2004 NEW YORK--Jan. 20, 2004-- Advanstar Communications, Inc. today announced that it will host the second annual Books for Schools program at the ON DEMAND Conference & Expo, March 8-10, 2004 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Books for Schools partners, Delphax, Muller Martini, Stralfors, Shuttleworth, KTI (Keene Technology, Inc.), Boise Paper, and Xeikon, will produce classic books - The Last of the Mohicans, Homer's The Odyssey, and Sherlock Holmes - in real time to demonstrate the power of print-on-demand technologies (in booth 3004). More than 6,000 books will be presented to the New York City Department of Education Office of Strategic Partnerships, as a donation to New York City junior and senior high schools, at an acceptance ceremony, Wednesday, March 10. "We look forward to accepting these classic texts from the Books for Schools program partners," said Dr. Askia Davis, Superintendent, New York City Department of Education Office of Strategic Partnerships. "The Children First reform, an agenda set forth by the New York City Department of Education, is focused on literacy and we appreciate the contribution made by such innovative public-private partnerships to support the city's educational programs." With the efforts of various partners, the Books for Schools production line can produce a 200-page classic book every five seconds - starting from the blank paper to the printing and binding of each book. Those partners involved in this year's program include: -- Delphax Technologies will provide its CR1300 Digital Web Press, which will print each book block at a rate of 2400 six-by-nine-inch pages per minute. The 600dpi by 600dpi ultra high-speed press utilizes the company's unique Electron Beam Imaging (EBI) Technology to place images on the Web at 300 feet per minute -- Muller Martini will integrate an AmigoDigital perfect binder to produce commercial quality, soft cover books at speeds of up to 1,000 fully variable size books per hour. The books will then be trimmed at a rate of up to 2,000 books per hour on a near-line Esprit three knife trimmer making its debut for the digital market -- Stralfors will provide its LASERMAX LX560 Cutter, which works in conjunction with the LX565 Stacker to cut and stack the continuous Web into three-up, six by nine inch book blocks. The LX560 Cutter uses a rotary knife for maximum precision and speed and the format selection is made electronically. The LX565 Stacker will deliver each set of book blocks to the Shuttleworth conveyor system one at a time -- Shuttleworth will provide its Star Roller Conveyor, which uses specially designed rollers to move, accumulate, and index stacks of loose paper. The Star Roller Conveyor will transport the printed, cut, and stacked pages to the binding machine where the books then receive covers -- KTI will provide an LS Series Automatic Web Splicer to feed paper into the digital printer. This automatic splicer will provide a non-stop supply of paper by automatically splicing from a depleted roll onto a full roll of paper -- Boise Paper Solutions will provide Dakota Digital Paper for the 2nd year in a row. Boise's Digital Paper has the exacting moisture and smoothness required for today's dry-toner print engines and the caliper control required for book publishing -- Xeikon will print 4-color covers at a rate of 3,500 covers per hour. The covers are printed 2-up on the Xeikon DCP 500D digital press, which offers the highest throughput of any high-resolution digital color press, has the widest print format, and can print any length. Lamination or UV coating will be applied to the book covers for long-term durability in a school environment "The Books for Schools program provides an excellent platform for showcasing technology advances and critical community involvement," said Brian Randall, general manager of Advanstar Technology Communities. "We look forward to working with the New York City Department of Education, as well as industry partners on this innovative program." Books for Schools Press Opportunities -- Press Conference - Monday, March 8, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, room 1D03/04 Delphax Technologies, Muller Martini, Stralfors, Shuttleworth, KTI, Boise Paper Solutions, and Xeikon will host a press conference to review the technologies and processes involved with the Books for Schools program. Immediately following, a live demonstration will take place in booth 3004 -- New York City Department of Education Ceremony - Wednesday, March 10, 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m., booth 3004 Books for Schools industry partners will present the New York City school system with over 6,000 literary books at an acceptance ceremony featuring Dr. Askia Davis, Superintendent, New York City Department of Education Office of Strategic Partnerships For additional information or to attend ON DEMAND 2004, please visit www.ondemandexpo.com/.