Reston, VA – Market forces in their purest form will be in evidence on the exhibit floor of PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05, September 9 – 15, 2005 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL. Demand for printing equipment suitable for both commercial print work and folding carton package printing is rising among graphic communications businesses world wide, as they seek expansion, diversification and a broader range of services. Vendors of such equipment have seen the value in displaying and selling this type of machinery at the upcoming global mega-event in Chicago, the only place in the U.S. to see such equipment for both commercial printing and package printing in one place, operating in production mode right on the display floor. The show’s emphasis on package printing, tag and label work, and converting will be clearly in evidence to anyone visiting the displays of the top press and prepress suppliers in September, including AGFA, Flint Ink, Heidelberg, Kampf, KBA, Komori, MAN Roland, Mitsubishi, Sun Chemical, and others. 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.” KBA’s Rapida 51" and other package printing-oriented presses will be on display in Chicago in September. Heidelberg’s (Kennesaw, GA) newest press, the Speedmaster XL 105, is rated at 18,000 sph and has a sheet size of 29.52 x 41.34 inches. John Dowey, Heidelberg’s vice president product management, sheetfed, says the XL 105 is targeted for the “highly industrialized commercial, label and packaging printers - operations that run 24/7 and whose customers demand speed, fast turnarounds and the highest possible quality.” Dowey says it’s a good choice for a variety of consumer goods, pharmaceutical and food packaging jobs. Posters are another potential application. “It’s a good size for printers doing movie posters,” says Dowey. “The so-called one-sheet, a 28 x 41-inch poster for movie marquees, has room to spare on this press – it’s not squeezed to the edges as it would be on a typical 40-inch press.” Mitsubishi Lithographic Press offers a 41 x 56-inch press, the Diamond 6000, in two models. Diamond 6000LS and Diamond 6000LX presses print at speeds up to 14,000 sph and boast Mitsubishi’s full range automation features. These include remote control of frontlay register, an ink clutch remote-control system and remote-controlled adjustment of oscillating roller dead point. Inline UV or aqueous coating is available. “The large-format press fits well with large-format carton and label printing companies,” says John Santie, Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (MLP)’s manager of sheetfed products. “The D6000 basically is a two-up 28 x 40-inch format. So not only does the sheet size offer printers square inches for carton and label, but it also can be used to print two-up, two-out signatures if the printer wants to do book work.” Also on display at the show will be Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses’ 28 x 40 inch MLP sheetfed-offet press that runs 13,000 sph, prints six colors and features a tower aqueous coater. The press allows the transfer of digital files straight to the press—a major technological advantage for today’s food and beverage companies in the packaging of their products. “We’re committed to providing our clients with the highest quality printing, and this new press enables us to not only further enhance the quality of our finished products but provide cost-savings through the added speed of the new machine,” says Tom Staib, principal at DWS, a large package printer in Bay Shore, NY and recent purchaser of the MLP press. Suppliers of labels for pharmaceutical, household and office products can view Agfa’s :Dotrix digital press, and get an inside look at how the :Dotrix operates in a live production environment. The benefits that :Dotrix brings to label and package printing workflows will be on display, demonstrating the speed and versatility of :Dotrix. Reynders, one of the largest speciality label printers in Belgium, purchased the :Dotrix system because of its fast, flexible short-run production capabilities. Anticipating that the future would continue to bring shorter-run, variable-data printing jobs, the company needed a versatile system that could meet those needs. MAN Roland offers three large-format presses in its Roland 900 series. The largest handles sheet sizes up to 51 x 73 inches and produces 10,000 sph. The second largest provides a 47 x 64-inch maximum sheet size and reaches 12,000 sph; the third is a 43 x 64-inch press that runs at 13,000 sph. MAN Roland’s three other Roland 900 models are a 32 x 45-inch, 38 x 51-inch and 40 x 56-inch press. These large format presses are ideally suited for package printing work due to their speed and efficiency of make-ready. “Advanced press design, powered by digital technology, has revitalized large format productivity and print quality,” says Christian Cerfontaine, MAN Roland Inc.’s director of marketing. All these vendors and many others will be displaying these larger format presses and other equipment and supplies suited for folding carton and label and other packaging work. PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 will be the only place in the U.S. 2005 to see all these package printing and other commercial presses under one roof, operating right on the show floor. PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05 is being held at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL More information, including online registration for the event can be found at www.PRINT05.com. GASC, producers of PRINT 05 & CONVERTING 05, is jointly 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). In addition to the giant international PRINT & CONVERTING exhibition, next scheduled for September 9 – 15, 2005, GASC manages the most important national and international industry events in the western hemisphere, including the annual GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, EXECUTIVE OUTLOOK, GUTENBERGSM & DIGITAL OUTLOOKSM, as well as the national VUE/POINT Conference. Complete information about GASC events can be obtained from its web site at www.gasc.org, by mail at 1899 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4367, telephone 703/264-7200, fax 703/620-9187, or e-mail: [email protected].