• Hot topic: digital books

  6/24/2008 12:00:00 AM

  An upcoming Page 1 item in the Greensheet will focus on the rising use of print-on-demand books, especially across college campuses. With that in mind, I was interested to read that Borders and Barnes & Noble both launched new digital plans in the past few weeks, as each tries to take on a leading role in the online bookselling sector. Their moves come at a time when questions abound regarding the future of book­selling. Stay tuned for more scoop on POD books, and what it could mean for digital printing.

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  Darin Painter

• Eyes on China

  6/20/2008 12:00:00 AM

  An item I'm working on for the next Greensheet deals with the success of Chinese printers. The Printing and Printing Equipment Industries Association of China (PEIAC) said it expects Chinese printing to develop rapidly, with an expected annual rate of 8% in the coming years. The national trade association held a conference at drupa to discuss the county’s main print trends: digitization, diversification, increased speed to market, and networking. One of the best shows of this decade was All in Print China 2006, and this year's event will be held Nov. 14-17 in Shanghai. Check out www.allinprint.com.

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  Darin Painter

• Staples and Corporate Express

  6/18/2008 12:00:00 AM

  If the Staples/Corporate Express deal mentioned in this week's Greensheet is approved by European regulators as expected next month, the combined firm will be a behemoth in the print space. Staples hopes its deal will enable expansion into the more profitable business of delivering office supplies to corporate customers—Corporate Express’ strength—and build off the company’s non-retail contract business in Europe, Canada and Australia. Interesting that firms once occupying the periphery of the print industry are now squrely in the middle? Does this news affect your firm?

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  Darin Painter

• Check out DigitalNirvana.com

  6/18/2008 12:00:00 AM

  Just something to check out: Océ is part of a new educational Web site and industry blog at www.TheDigitalNirvana.com. The site aims to educate the print community about evolving technologies. It also offers a free weekly e-newsletter. Seems worth a look!

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  Darin Painter

• Two interesting Scuttlebutt items

  6/11/2008 12:00:00 AM

  1) A bill that would restrict direct mail has been introduced in the Pennsylvania State House. HB 2551 would prohibit unwanted mail solicitation. Interestingly, it has no exceptions for different classes of mailers. Since the bill would restrict non-profit solicitations as well as business, it will probably have strong opposition from a number of organizations.

  2) UK-based print and packaging workers' union Unite will form an alliance with the US-based United Steelworkers union to coordinate collective bargaining and give both unions additional powers when dealing with multinational companies, says Tony Burke, Unite's Assistant General Secretary. (Print, paper and packaging is one of the largest industries covered by United Steelworkers, despite its name.) The two organizations held talks in London last month, and a merger has been endorsed by the executive of Unite..

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  Darin Painter

• Warren Buffett and Heidelberg?

  6/6/2008 12:00:00 AM

  Heidelberg, the world's largest press maker, denied rumors that it's in takeover talks with the renowned investor Warren Buffett. Rumors of a possible marriage between Buffett and Heidelberg began last month when Buffett revealed he was interested in buying German businesses. Stay tuned for more...

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  Darin Painter

• Kodak has the right 'Stream'

  6/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

  News from drupa: Kodak CEO Antonio Perez gave a bullish outlook for his company's Stream Inkjet Technology, saying that it will change print "forever." That might be more real than rhetoric, according to experts on the show floor. The company showcased the technology on its monochrome Stream Concept Printhead as well as its full-color, high-speed digital Stream Concept Press. The technology enables continuous inkjet printing to expand beyond its core base of transactional printers and secondary imprinting into high-volume commercial applications, enabling print service providers to bring the benefits of digital print—variable data, short runs, personalization, versioning, etc.—to jobs traditionally produced using offset presses.

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  Darin Painter

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