Reston, VA – The upcoming PRINT 05 & CONVERTINGSM 05, September 9 – 15 at McCormick Place Complex in Chicago, IL will be heavily focused on the linkage between commercial printing and package printing, with many of the exhibitors offering equipment suitable for both, sometimes within the same machine. Commercial printing equipment manufacturers have seen that some of the needs of package printers can be met by similar quality equipment to that used by commercial printers with some specific alternations or modifications. This cross-over approach is one that commercial printers are using to diversify their own service offerings, differentiate and expand their businesses. That trend is strongly reflected in the upcoming PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 event, which blends commercial printing equipment and package printing equipment on the same exhibit floor. Show visitors will be able to compare features and specifications of the various presses directly, and see a multitude of options from different manufacturers in the same place. Manufacturers offering a mixed product line suitable for both high quality commercial work and package printing are located all around the show floor, and include Bobst, Creo, Esko-Graphics, Gallus, Heidelberg, Kampf, KBA, Komori, MAN Roland, Standard Paper Box, and others. This event is the only logical place where they can adequately display operating machinery of this kind and hit both markets at the same time. KBA will be displaying their large format sheetfed press, and recently sold such a machine to Trojan Litho of Seattle. “We believe that our new KBA Rapida 142 56-inch press will bring us further efficiencies due to its larger sheet size and its increased automation,” says Wayne Millage, president of Trojan Litho. “Instead of running 100,000 sheets for a box design through our 40-inch presses one-up, we'll be able to put through 50,000 sheets two-up. It is a press that is equipped with a variety of features that will differentiate us from our competition.” Eric Frank, Vice President Marketing for KBA-North America, commented “We’ve seen the lines between commercial work and package production increasingly blur over the last few years, and have expanded our portfolio to offer equipment that is more flexible to the end user over a wider range of jobs and substrates.” That diversification and service orientation is one that visitors will find throughout the show floor at the world’s largest, most comprehensive industry event for commercial, package printing, and converting in Chicago this September. Press manufacturers aren’t the only suppliers offering equipment or solutions suitable for both commercial and package printing. Under the Kodak banner, Creo will be offering prepress systems, flexographic computer-to-plate imaging systems, and proofing systems, to meet the needs of flexographic printers, converters, package printers and trade shops. Some vendors have seen the value in creating alliances and partnerships to achieve the wider product offering that takes advantage of the convergence of commercial and package printing. Heidelberg’s Speedmaster press is used to demonstrate the application of Cito’s RSP in-line finishing system. Perforating, punching, creasing and cutting for package printing work can all be performed on the machine in a single pass. The Speedmaster CD 74 perfector, which was officially unveiled at drupa 2004, enables high quality perfecting with the flexibility to run anything from lightweight papers all the way to 32-point board - with no restriction on the maximum running speed. This makes the Speedmaster ideal for industrial printers handling a wide range of printing stocks, as well as companies operating in the demanding world of packaging and label production. Other companies have adjusted their entire business strategy to take advantage of the opportunities the package production market offers. Prepress hardware and software provider Esko-Graphics now primarily focuses on the global packaging market. Esko-Graphics' packaging activities currently account for over 60% of revenues. “The packaging market is a healthy and growing business environment, attracting many new customers. We have decided to put more focus and resources towards this booming part of our activities, to grow and expand it even further,” says Rene Delbar, Senior VP-Marketing, Esko-Graphics. Vendors exhibiting in the show will be offering the most comprehensive product lines they have shown in North America in recent years. Some items will be in the United States for the first time ever, having been unveiled as prototypes in other European shows earlier in the year. Visitors are in for a truly unique international experience when attending the Chicago event, and will have lots of options for both commercial and package printing to see on the show floor. PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 will encompass over 750,000 square feet of exhibits, and host almost 800 exhibiting companies from around the world with 80,000 registrants. In addition to PRINT & CONVERTING, GASC manages the leading annual industry show serving the commercial, package printing and converting market, GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO. GASC also produces the annual GUTENBERGSM & DIGITAL OUTLOOKSM show, and the annual VUE/POINT Conference. GASC is owned by the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL), NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies (NPES), and the Printing Industries of America (PIA). GASC is located at 1899 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4367 USA, telephone: 703/264-7200, fax: 703/620-9187, E-Mail: [email protected]. For additional information, visit www.gasc.org.