Gent (Belgium), 20 September, 2007 - EskoArtwork, the global market leader in innovative design, pre-production and collaboration solutions for the packaging and commercial printing industry, reports that Graph Expo 2007, held last week in Chicago, proved to be positive for the company from a number of standpoints. Graph Expo 2007, the largest and most important prepress and printing trade show held in the United States this year, was EskoArtwork's first public appearance since the merger of Esko and Artwork Systems was announced in early August.
The primary message emanating from the company was its customer-driven philosophy. Additionally, the company's new corporate identity was incorporated in the exhibit designs and in much of the company's printed collateral, and dozens of the company's technologies were on display throughout the company's two exhibits.
"In addition to highlighting our solutions at the show, we were focused on conveying the benefits of the new and integrated EskoArtwork organization to our customers with the understanding that we want, and need, their input moving forward," says Carsten Knudsen, CEO of EskoArtwork.  "Graph Expo was our first major opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to our customers' investments and our future together."
"Most visitors to the EskoArtwork booths were genuinely positive and excited by the potential of our new organization, and are looking forward to the fruits of our combined expertise and strengthened R&D, marketing, sales and support operations," Knudsen adds. "It's gratifying to get this positive feedback from our customers. Their desire to bridge Esko and Artwork Systems data and technologies was one of the reasons we entered into this merger in the first place. And now that we've done it, the market is proactively affirming the wisdom of the decision." 
Knudsen and his colleagues, including Chief Commercial Officer, Guido Van der Schueren, and Senior Vice President for Business Development, René Delbar, utilized Graph Expo to share the company's additional reasons for the merger with customers, press and analysts.  Another strong catalyst for the decision was both of the former companies' recognition that being able to support their markets on a global basis would necessitate a larger, more resource-rich organization. With 2/3 of the company's now 1000 worldwide employees customer-facing, Knudsen says that management is able to monitor market reaction, and adjust plans accordingly, on an almost real-time basis. 
"We were very pleased with the results of Graph Expo. Our booths and staff presented a truly unified company. Given the timing of the event, on the heels of our merger, this was no small feat; however, because there was so much existing synergy between the former organizations, everything came together almost seamlessly," Van der Schueren says. 
EskoArtwork Solutions Garner Major Recognitions
EskoArtwork received six major recognitions from the prestigious Executive Outlook Must See 'ems program at Graph Expo.  Sponsored by the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) and conducted independently by the PrintCom Consulting Group, Must See 'ems and their companion Worth-A-Look products were selected from the almost 6,600 individual products being shown at Graph Expo 2007 by over 650 exhibitors.
According to the panel of 16 leading industry consultants and trade magazine editors who selected Enfocus Neo as a Must See 'em, it is a technology that will impact virtually all types of printers.  EskoArtwork also received Worth-a-Look selections for its packaging design and pre-production software products: Esko Software Suite 7, Esko DeskPack, Esko 3-dX, and Esko Visualizer; as well as Enfocus PitStop Server for the commercial print markets.
The company's next major tradeshow is Labelexpo 2007, scheduled to take place in Brussels September 26-29.