The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems articles from April 1996

The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems archives from April 1996

Sysdeco's loss for year is $34 million. (Company Financial Information)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Sysdeco has posted a huge loss for its 1995 fiscal year, far exceeding the negative warnings issued by the company in its preliminary forecast at the end of February. The net loss totaled $33.7 million (219 million Norwegian kroner), including...

Xeikon denies Xerox patent charges. (Xerox alleges patent infringement of its DCP-1 digital printer) (Industry Legal Issue)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Xerox has filed suit against Xeikon alleging infringement of three patents in conjunction with its DCP-1 digital printer. Xeikon responded by calling the suit "without merit" and said it would defend the suit vigorously. The suit was filed...

PrePress adds remote RIP to Panther line. (PrePress Solutions' Panther Remote imagesetter, Raster Image Processor)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... PrePress Solutions has added remote printing capabilities to its Panther RIP lineup through the addition of a version for use in locations without an image recorder. Panther Remote, as it is called, runs on a Mac or a PC and sells for $5,000 to...

Creo offers PreScript RIP aid and scanner; sees rapid growth ahead. (PreScript printer support software, Raster Image Processor, Creo Renaissance Scanner) (includes related article on company at a glance)(Product Announcement)
April 29, 1996... CREO PRODUCTS has gained a reputation for being a technology leader in the production of plates from digital data, but its latest efforts have broadened the company's scope considerably. They include two key initiatives that deal with...

Euromax: a radical approach to serving the newspaper market. (Euromax newspaper system)(includes related article about formation of Euromax) (Company Business and Marketing)
April 29, 1996... WORKFLOW IS THE industry buzzword these days, and nowhere is it more important than in the deadline-oriented newspaper market. In that perspective, a relatively unknown European vendor of newspaper editorial and advertising systems has put...

Scitex, Adobe, Apple form printing alliance. (Adobe Systems, Print on Demand Initiative) (As On Demand trade show) (Industry Trend or Event)
April 29, 1996... In the belief that the demand-printing application is a key to the future of publishing, Scitex, Adobe Systems and Apple Computer have formed an alliance to help build a market for short-run demand printing and to help their customers make...

Monotype, ATS, Sparrow and more from Hershey. (America East newspaper trade show in Hershey, PA) (Industry Trend or Event)
April 29, 1996... In our last issue, we featured a few new items from the America East newspaper show in Hershey, PA, at the end of March. Here we offer a few more items. Besides these notes, we have saved a few more demonstrations for next time, including some...

Archiving and online publishing at Digital '96. (Industry Trend or Event)
April 29, 1996... Digital archiving and online publishing were the topics of most interest at this year's Digital '96 in Denver in February. The show, which has a tradition of featuring leading-edge digital photo applications and tools, this year could not...

High-performance RIP offered by TransCal. (Stealth Dominator Raster Image Processor)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... TransCal, the developer of the HiLine high-definition screening software, has added a high-performance Level 2 RIP to its product line. Called the Stealth Dominator, it runs in a Pentium with a hardware accelerator and uses TransCal's own...

IIR takes over The Printing Show. (IIR Exhibitions acquires show organizer Prentice Churchill) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... IPEX organizer, IIR Exhibitions, has acquired Prentice Churchill, the organizer of The Printing Show held annually in London. IIR Exhibitions is part of the International Research Group, a conference and exhibition company that hosts more...

PixelCraft introduces 30-bit color scanner. (Pro Imager 7100 color scanner)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Pixelcraft has introduced an updated version of its Pro Imager 7000 color scanner. Called the Pro Imager 7100, it offers 30-bit color, yet costs $1,500 less than the 24-bit model 7000. The Pro Imager 7100 uses a 5,000-element CCD to produce...

3M names imaging company Imation. (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Imation will be the name of 3M's spin-off company consisting of its data storage, imaging, printing and publishing system, hard-good, and electronics service and support groups. The company, which will be independant and publicly owned, will be...

Scitex ships Wideboard. (large-format ink-jet printer)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Scitex recently announced that it has begun to ship its Wideboard large-format ink-jet printer designed for indoor and outdoor signage applications. The device is capable of producing output up to 16.4 feet wide. Six units are currently...

Xerox launches "Digital Scan and Send" systems. (image scanners)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Xerox has offered the scanner portion of the DocuTech production printing system-the DocuCS scanning system-as a stand-alone product since 1994. At the recent AIIM show it announced that it is incorporating the scanner system along with Xerox...

Kodak changes digital camera line. (Kodak to market EOC-DCS 3 digital camera and reduce price of its DCS 465 digital camera) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Kodak announced recently that it will take over marketing for the EOC-DCS 3 digital camera. Previously, the DCS 3, a 1.3-megapixel, 36-bit camera suitable for photojournalism and other professional uses, had been available only through Canon,...

ECRM gives VR30 visible-red laser. (ScriptSetter VR30 imagesetter)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... ECRM announced it would begin making its ScriptSetter VR30 imagesetter available with a visible-red laser diode. The new imagesetter, offered as the VRL30, will give users the choice of working with either visible red or infrared media. ECRM...

Xyvision adds Web tools to PDM. (WebPorter, Parlance Document Manager)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Xyvision has introduced WebPorter, an extension to its Parlance Document Manager (PDM) for managing and distributing documents over the World Wide Web. WebPorter allows users to take documents stored in a PDM database as SGML or word processing...

Intergraph cuts PromoSuite prices. (DTP software) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Intergraph has announced price cuts in its PromoSuite line, a series of Quark Xtensions aimed at the retail and catalog markets. The PromoSuite software includes PriceLinks Plus, a product and pricing database link; SKUgetter, a tool for...

Dicomed, Loral Fairchild ink marketing deal. (Dicomed to develop and distribute Loral Coupled Charge Device) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Dicomed has signed an agreement with Loral Fairchild to develop and distribute Loral's 6x6cm CCD. The worldwide agreement, for which Dicomed will pay Loral $27 million, includes backing from the Itochu Corporation, a Japanese-based trading...

Juno expands drum scanner division. (Juno Enterprises expands US sales and marketing division to handle JEI CP4000 desktop drum scanner line) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Juno Enterprises has established a U.S. sales and marketing division to handle its JEI CP4000 desktop drum scanner line. JEI is taking over marketing and sales for the line from The Color Partnership, a California-based firm that also bundles...

Monotype signs distribution deal with GSI. (Monotype Systems, Graphic Systems International) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Monotype Systems has completed a distribution agreement with Graphic Systems International to distribute Monotype products in the Caribbean and Latin America. GSI will handle Monotype file servers, output devices, RIPs, database tracking...

Leaf digital photography user group formed. (EI to offer services to Leaf Systems' Digital Camera Back products users) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Two former Leaf Systems employees have announced the creation of a user group for Leaf's Digital Camera Back (DCB) products. Andy Jenks and Mike Brunzell, who currently own EI etc., a digital photography training and consulting firm, plan to...

Milestone for Scitex Smart 300. (Scitex 3,000 scanner)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
April 29, 1996... Scitex has shipped the 3,000 scanner from its Smart 300 series. Since the introduction of the line at IPEX '93, the Smart series has become something of an industry standard. The series includes the Smart 340, 340L, 342, 342L and 320.

ISGI, Scangraphic, Alfa get $33 million order. (Alfa System Partner, RB Presse-Data group editorial and commercial system order) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... ISGI, Alfa System Partner and Scangraphic have received an order for an editorial and commercial system valued at more than $33.5 million from the RB Presse-Data group of Germany, publisher of the Rheinische Post and Westdeutsche Zeitung....

Openshaw acquires Typetronics. (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 29, 1996... Openshaw Ltd. has purchased Typetronics and will operate the company as a partly owned subsidiary. Typetronics will keep its name and operate independently, although the two companies will cooperate on sales and marketing. The combined...

Edgil Associates'. (WebCentral software for interactive Web advertising bought by The Tribune Co) (Product Information)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... The Tribune Company has purchased Edgil Associates' WebCentral software for interactive World Wide Web advertising. The software will process ads from the Fort Lauderdale (FL) Sun-Sentinel, the Orlando (FL) Sentinel, the Chicago Tribune and the...

Mediasystemen. (contracts with Uitgeverij de Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant bv for Forum News System image, text, data flow system) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... Mediasystemen has signed a contract with the Dutch publisher Uitgeverij de Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant bv, the producers of Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (circ. 62,000), for a Forum News System to be used at PZC's main production site in...

Monotype Systems. (new sales) (News Briefs)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... * Manchester (Cheshire) Evening News -- RipExpresses; remote transmission gear. * Huddersfield (Yorkshire) Examiner -- Macintosh RipExpress. * Bradford (Yorkshire) Telegraph & Argus -- MGS3; ExpressMaster. * Nottingham (Nottinghamshire)...

Minolta clarifies CF900 specs. (color copier)(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
April 23, 1996... In response to our coverage of its new CF900 color copier in our Special Report, Part II, from Seybold Seminars in Boston, Minolta has clarified some of the machine's specs. The zoom range is 25%-600%, the drum will last for 30,000 pages, the...

Newspapers wrestle with the online bear. (issues covered at 7th annual Interactive Newspaper Conference) (includes related article on awards for best online newspaper service) (Industry Trend or Event)
April 23, 1996... THESE ARE CRITICAL TIMES for newspapers. The future world of online communications is being shaped around us, and it isn't clear what role the newspaper will play. None of its key functions of the past appear secure. Even its function as a...

Document management embraces the intranet: report from Documation '96. (conference on technical information management) (Industry Trend or Event)
April 23, 1996... THE INTERNET and the World Wide Web are affecting every aspect of publishing, and corporate technical publishing is no exception. At the recent Documation '96, a conference devoted to technical information management, the impact of Web...

Canadian government sinks its teeth into Herculean SGML effort. (Treasury Board of Canada announces SGML initiative at SGML Technology 1996, Application in Government and Industry conference) (Government Activity)
April 23, 1996... The use of SGML in the government sector is spreading, lending support to the standard's adoption in industry. As writer and SGML market analyst Liora Alschuler discovered at a recent conference in Canada, our northern neighbor has decided that...

Presstek unveils Omni direct-image press. (Omni 705C)(Product Announcement)
April 23, 1996... 4-up, 4-color unit will cost $895,000 Presstek and Omni-Adast have unveiled the latest direct-imaging printing press using Presstek's Pearl technology to image plates after they are mounted on the press. The 19.sup.2 x26.sup.2 (four-up)...

T/R to unveil 6-engine monochrome printing. (T/R Systems' MicroPress 024 printing system)(Product Announcement)
April 23, 1996... T/R Systems of Norcross, GA, whose first MicroPress printing system was based on four Canon color laser print engines and electronic collation software, is set to introduce a second configuration. To be unveiled at the On Demand show in New...

Xerox, seeking buyer, cuts Verde Film staff. (Xerox Graphics Systems cut development of Verde Digital Film technology) (Company Operations)
April 23, 1996... Ettinger moves to AGT as COO Xerox Graphic Systems has cut the staff of its Verde Digital Film to the bone as it seeks to find a buyer for the technology. It has halted all beta testing and withdrawn test equipment from the beta sites. Mel...

Scitex debuts 4news for double broadsheets. (imagesetter)(Product Announcement)
April 23, 1996... Monotype shows 4-up unit in Hershey Scitex has developed a version of its 4press imagesetter for the newspaper market. Called the 4news, it images an area 22.sup.2 x 28.5.sup.2 --large enough to handle two double-truck broadsheet pages, or...

America East '96 is a big show for newspapers. (regional newspaper show) (Industry Trend or Event)
April 23, 1996... Halls filled, lots of new products The annual America East regional newspaper show was one of the biggest we can remember, filling nearly all available exhibit space in the Hershey Convention Center. It also was an active one on the show...

Scitex remains cold to takeover bid; Gilo holds. (Davidi Gilo wants to buyout failing Scitex) (includes related article on Scitex upcoming promotions) (Company Financial Information)
April 23, 1996... Hostile attempt still believed possible In an effort viewed as so significant it has been covered heavily by the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, an Israeli-American entrepreneur is aggressively pursuing a bid to acquire Scitex....

Exoterica and AIS update SGML tools. (Exoterica's OmniMark 3.0, Berger-Levrault's Advanced Information Systems' Balise 3.0 programming tools for document transformations)(Product Announcement)
April 23, 1996... Exoterica is adding a number of new features to its OmniMark file-conversion software that greatly increase its versatility. OmniMark version 3, shown in prerelease form at Seybold Seminars and at Documation, is a tool that can act as "glue" to...

Are you missing out? (article briefs) (News Briefs)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... The Seybold Report on Desktop Publishing continues to track innovations in desktop publishing software and peripherals. Here are just of a few of its recent stories: Assessing the major full-text players. Full-text retrieval has moved from...

PromoSuite prices lowered. (Intergraph RSG's modules discounted) (Product Information)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... PromoSuite prices lowered Intergraph RSG has lowered the prices of the modules in its PromoSuite family of Xtensions. These include PriceLinks Plus for linking pricing on pages to database information, SKUgetter for turning SKU lists into...

NPES, GASC open new office. (Graphics Arts Show Company open West Coast office) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... The NPES association for printing and publishing suppliers and the Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) have opened a West Coast office. Gary Chesnutis, the former executive director of the Adobe Technology Exchange (ATX), will organize programs...

Europe Online picks HotMetal Pro. (Europe Online to integrate SoftQuad's Web authoring software into service pack) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... The Europe Online interactive, multilingual and multimedia online service will integrate SoftQuad's HotMetal Pro 2.0 into its introductory service pack for its content providers. Also, subscribers to its Member City service, which includes Web...

New PPI, DEC relationship. (Publishing Partners International; market, support PPI's Advertising Management System) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... Under a new agreement between Publishing Partners International and the Digital Equipment Corporation, PPI and DEC will market and support PPI's Advertising Management System, with DEC becoming an authorized AMS integrator. The initial...

RIT a Conceppts '96 coproducer. (The Rochester Institute of Technology, others produce industry show) (Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... The Rochester Institute of Technology has joined with the Graphic Arts Show Company, the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation and the International Digital Imaging Association to produce the Conceppts '96 show (Orlando, FL, April 17-20). RIT's...

New Creo dealer, sales reps. (Creo Products new VARs, sales reps) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... Creo Products has selected London Litho, a value-added dealer and system integrator for prepress, pressroom and electronic imaging equipment, to be, in conjunction with Creo's direct sales force, a dealer for Creo's computer-to-plate systems in...

Sales restructuring at Konica. (Konica Imaging's domestic sales organization) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... Konica Imaging has announced a restructuring of its domestic sales organization. It is now composed of eight districts, and, although the number of sales representatives will remain the same, the departments of dealer relations, strategic...

300 Printware CTP platesetters sold. (Printware 1440 Platesetters for paper-based printing plates) (Product Information)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... The 300th Printware 1440 Platesetter for paper-based printing plates was installed at a new Liberty Check Printers in Dallas, TX -- the third Liberty production plant to have Printware Platesetters. Liberty is one of the U.S.'s five largest...

ScanView adds 2 distributors. (partners with ProGraphix reseller, Besco Graphics Systems) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... ScanView has teamed with reseller ProGraphix (Costa Mesa, CA), which will deliver its desktop drum scanners into the sign-shop and screen-printing markets, and with supplier Besco Graphic Systems (Chicago, IL), which will sell ScanMate...

CEMA, Softbank Comdex alliance. (Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Assn) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... In response to the accelerating convergence of consumer-electronics and computer technologies, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) and Softbank Comdex have formed a strategic partnership. Beginning in Atlanta, GA, June...

Xeikon makes IPO. (Company Financial Information)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... Digital printing system vendor Xeikon made its initial public stock offering on the NASDAQ exchange on March 19. Comprising 4.8 million new shares and 2.56 million shares from existing stockholders, the offering raised more than $65 million.

People. (News Briefs)
April 23, 1996... David Nagel has left his position as senior VP of worldwide R&D at Apple Computer to become the first president of AT&T Labs. He will oversee the development of a new communications and information service. He had joined Apple in 1988. His role...

Oce, Xerox lead short-run printer parade at Cebit. (Xerox DocuColor 4040, Oce EuroColor 3125C digital color copier-printers)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
April 23, 1996... At the Cebit show in Germany last month, Xerox and Oce previewed digital color copier-printers that heat up the short-run color market. Both provide the speed and quality to compete against the Scitex Spontane and Canon CLC 1000. The new...