Hewlett-Packard

Taking place only once every four years, the drupa international printing trade fair is a huge show. By the time it wrapped up its two-week stint in Düsseldorf, Germany, last month 314,500 visitors from more than 130 countries had walked its 19 halls and visited its 1,850 exhibitors.

By consolidating four printing operations into one, Fidelity Investments’ Document Printing Services has already saved $1 million in costs. An influx of new equipment and software enhancements promises to further boost efficiency and effectiveness.

Hewlett-Packard Co. is considering cutting as many as 25,000 jobs, or 8 percent of its workforce, to reduce costs and help the company contend with ebbing demand for computers and services, people briefed on the plans said. The number to be cut includes 10,000 to 15,000 from Hewlett-Packard’s enterprise services group.

Agfa Graphics' wide-format digital printing experts will be on hand for the company's free open house technology demos on Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The event will take place at Agfa's technology center at 50 Meister Avenue, Branchburg, N.J.

After opening its 19 halls to the public yesterday, drupa 2012 is in full swing right now in Dusseldorf, Germany. IPG's sister publication, Printing Impressions, has two editors walking the show floor. With 1,850 exhibitors from 56 countries showing their wares, our editors have more than their share of work ahead of them. Here are just a few of the reports that have trickled back to IPG.

Wide format printing has become a big money-maker for Fred Meyer Stores Corporate Print Services, in Portland, Ore. It’s not only allowing the 19-employee in-plant to produce a wider array of signage for the retail supermarket chain, but it has opened doors to business with divisions of the company that did not previously use the in-plant.

Hewlett Packard brought more than 100 graphic arts journalists from all over the world to Israel, home of its Indigo and Scitex divisions, where it unveiled 10 new digital systems.

The Emerald Ball at the University of North Texas is proving to be a winning event for UNT Printing & Distribution Solutions. Last year the in-plant won Best of Show in the In-Print 2011 contest for producing the invitation for the fund-raising event. And now the invitation for the 2012 Emerald Ball has won the shop another high-profile award.

Student workers are a common sight at higher-ed in-plants, but it's rare to find one where 79 percent of the employees are students. That's the scenario at the Arizona State University Print & Imaging Lab.

I just got back from a rather unique business trip. I went to Israel to cover HP's pre-drupa event and get a sneak preview of some of its cutting-edge technology. Not a bad deal, all things considered. It was a fantastic opportunity to see a part of the world I likely would never have gotten to visit.