SEATTLE, WA -- January 25, 2001 -- Canopy LLC, a joint venture of PrimeSource and Xeikon, announced it has begun a formal initiative to create product solutions for substrates and post-press applications for on-demand digital press clients. To that end, Canopy LLC has appointed Bill Ehrlich product manager of digital media and finishing. Bill has a formal title to complement the work he has already begun at Canopy -- to provide in-house and partnered solutions for Canopy customers. This initiative is consistent with Canopy's objective of providing complete digital printing solutions. Mr. Ehrlich will focus on two distinct product categories -- media and finishing. Previously, he was PrimeSource market development manager selling Xeikon digital color presses in the upper Midwest and held roles in sales and marketing for the printing and publishing systems division of 3M for 15 years. Mr. Ehrlich believes his experience as an educator teaching biology and chemistry provides a solid foundation for his problem solving and organization skills. Canopy conducts research on substrates to help customers accommodate specific applications. Certain situations are as simple as looking for the most cost efficient vendor for a certain paper. For example, in searching for a lighter weight paper stock that would fit the bindings of adoption books, Mr. Ehrlich identified a 40# text weight stock that would run through XYAN.com/Banta MDC's press. "Rather than using typical paper that bulks to 500-600 pages per inch, Canopy helped find a paper that would fit a one-inch spine on a 750-page book preventing a new cover," noted Brian Johnston, operations director of XYAN.com/Banta MDC.