Rochester Software Associates

As printers gear up for Graph Expo, this look back at the On Demand show provides an excellent preview of what to expect in Chicago.

BOSTON—April 17, 2007 -- At an awards ceremony this afternoon, Questex Media Group, Inc. announced the winners of the On Demand Best of Show Award program. InfoTrends, a leading market research and consulting firm in the digital imaging and document solutions industry, partnered with the On Demand Conference & Exposition to produce the awards program. The On Demand Conference & Exposition is taking place this week at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center. The On Demand Best of Show Awards were judged in eight categories. One Best of Show award was presented in each of the following categories: Bindery, Finishing and Mailing

DIGITAL COLOR was introduced to the marketplace more than a decade ago. Indigo and Xeikon unveiled key new products in the mid-1990s, and early projections were that these technologies would take off. Initially, as with a number of new technologies, there were technical issues. Presses were unreliable; ink and toner didn’t stick to the paper; and the cost of consumables was too high to generate any substantial application transfer from offset technology. Today, Indigo has been taken over by Hewlett Packard. Xeikon faced bankruptcy before being acquired by Punch Technologies. Kodak bought out Heidelberg’s share of NexPress. Ink and toner are now sticking

WHEN RAJ Nadrajan took the job as director of Document Solutions at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, he knew the in-plant needed change. Upon his arrival he discovered the full extent of the task ahead of him and admits it gave him pause. “After my first few weeks when I joined the operation, I did not have much hope that the operation would make it,” Nadrajan remembers. “I even considered going back to my last position, but stayed to challenge my ability to make the operation one of the best in the industry.” Five years later that goal has become

SOFTWARE E-ticketing with Hardcopy Jobs Rochester Software Associates has introduced QDirect.SCAN Connector for eCopy Share­Scan OP. QDirect.SCAN enables electronic job ticketing with hardcopy submission directly from multi-function printers (MFPs). Users log in for accounting purposes and specify options such as duplex, stapling and paper stock. Those choices, along with the scanned documents, are transmitted to QDirect, which generates a confirmation receipt that is printed at the requestor’s MFP. An electronic job ticket is automatically created from the user entry. The resulting print-ready file can be sent to any printer in the in-plant. Software Delivers Jobs ‘To Spec’ Quickcut has introduced QuickPrint 5, the

Xplor joined up with Graphics of the Americas last month to bolster its conference. Did it work? By Bob Neubauer AFTER WATCHING attendance at its conference dwindle since the booming days of the '90s, Xplor International teamed up with the successful Graphics of the Americas (GOA) conference this year, putting on a joint event last month in Miami Beach that drew about 24,500 attendees, according to organizers. The partnership seems to have been a wise move, as it freed Xplor from the task of organizing a trade show, allowing it to concentrate on its educational mission. GOA, in turn, got a host of

Print management solutions are crucial to an in-plant's health and longevity. By Gretchen A. Peck "The only way a printer can hope to survive long-term is to improve efficiency, take costs out of the process, and create a market differentiation that ensures some level of competitive advantage," insists Gerald Walsh, director of product marketing at EFI, in Foster City, Calif. Today's print management information systems (MIS), he says, provide the foundation for addressing these competitive challenges. "In fact, with today's realities of high competition and tight margins, a good MIS isn't an option for printers; it's an absolute necessity," he adds.

From college and university in-plants all over Canada, managers traveled to a resort in Ontario for the 38th annual CUPMAC conference. By Bob Neubauer For 37 years members of the College and University Print Management Association of Canada (CUPMAC) have been getting together at locations around Canada to discuss their mutual concerns. Last month, for the first time, IPG joined them. Twenty-five members of the group met for four days at a lakeside resort in Ontario, about two hours northeast of Toronto. Despite some uncharacteristically hot and humid weather—especially jarring for those coming down from chilly Newfoundland—the group managed to have a good time

In-plant managers from all over the country met in downtown Philadelphia for the 40th annual IPMA conference. By Bob Neubauer To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the International Publishing Management Association went back to its roots: Philadelphia. That was where the group got its start back in 1964. And that was where about 150 IPMA members gathered recently for the 40th annual conference. Since Philadelphia is also In-Plant Graphics' home turf, more IPG staff than usual were on hand to mingle with managers during the four-day event, which included educational sessions, an exhibition hall and several evening outings. One of those outings took