September 18, 2006 -- Lexington, Kentucky USA – On Thursday, September 14th, WhatTheyThink.com conducted a free printing industry educational webinar: Web or Sheetfed? How Innovation is Reshaping Short-run Options, hosted by Senior Editor Cary Sherburne and sponsored by Goss International. More than 200 printing and publishing professionals from around the world registered for the event. A free replay of this session is available at this special Internet page: http://members.whattheythink.com/home/webinars/webinar060914.cfm During this one-hour event, expert speakers provided graphic arts and marketing executives with insights into how increased innovation and automation is changing the dynamics between web presses, once considered to be dedicated to long-run printing, and their sheetfed cousins. In an interactive question and answer session, including live questions from the audience, panelists shared their insight into the new cross-over points for economic order quantities delivered by offset web and sheetfed presses. By taking advantage of automation, inline finishing and other aspects of today’s web presses, these companies have opened new markets and are generating new revenue streams by delivering short-run applications that were formerly restricted to production on sheetfed presses. Panelists included: - Michael R. Murphy, President, Japs-Olson. Murphy has been with Japs-Olson since 1993 in a number of roles, and has been responsible for developing a wide range of innovative practices in the firm. - April Burke, VP of Manufacturing for Cenveo McLaren Morris and Todd Limited. Burke joined Cenveo MMT as a college intern and has worked there in various roles ever since. Cenveo MMT is a General Commercial Printer in business for 50 years, specializing in greeting cards, packaging and general commercial print. Hundreds of printing executives regularly attend WhatTheyThink Webinars and access the archived material for later review. “With new product announcements from both the web and sheetfed press manufacturers, the web/sheetfed debate is heating up,” stated Randy Davidson, President of WhatTheyThink.com. “Our speakers shared valuable insight into the pros and cons of these two offset printing technologies in a market increasingly driven by shorter runs and faster turnaround times, offering valuable advice to print service providers as they consider future investments in their businesses. We appreciate Goss International sponsoring this event.” Cary Sherburne, WhatTheyThink Senior Editor, is a well-known journalist, author and strategic marketing consultant working primarily with the printing and publishing industries. Sherburne frequently moderates and presents at WhatTheyThink Webinars and other events. “The dynamics of offset printing are changing dramatically,” Sherburne says, “One interesting point made by the speakers was that, in their opinion, automation for both sheetfed and web have significantly improved production efficiencies. The speakers agreed that half web presses had less value than in the past, and that economic order quantities for web presses can be as low as 5,000. Unified sheetfed/web workflows and advanced color management also make it easier to redirect work across the two technologies with greater ease than ever before. This was an excellent session, especially for print service providers considering an offset press investment.” When accessing the archive, the presentation can be viewed and listened to using a standard Internet browser with audio streamed via computer. Alternatively, a PDF and MP3 can be downloaded for offline viewing. About Goss International: Goss International is a global leader in web offset printing solutions, with a complete product range of newspaper and commercial press systems, as well as mailroom and postpress equipment to worldwide markets. With quality accredited global design and manufacturing facilities, Goss International offers the widest range of web offset press systems, enhancements and lifetime service capabilities. About WhatTheyThink.com: WhatTheyThink.com is the print and publishing industry's leading online community. The company offers a mixture of free and subscription-based content for industry executives. Additionally, WhatTheyThink.com provides a robust content syndication program serving related web sites. About Cary Sherburne Cary Sherburne is a well-known journalist, author and strategic marketing consultant working primarily with the printing and publishing industry. Prior to launching her consulting practice, Ms. Sherburne was the Vice President of Marketing Communications and Outsourcing Solutions at IKON Office Solutions. Her tenure in the printing and publishing industry has also included sales, marketing and management roles at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, Xerox Corporation, Indigo America and Bitstream. She is a frequent speaker at industry events, a regular contributor to WhatTheyThink.com and has written three books, available through the National Association for Printing Leadership (www.napl.org). Sherburne can be reached at [email protected] or www.SherburneAssociates.com.