The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems articles from December 1996

The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems archives from December 1996

Court encryption ruling favors free speech. (Government Activity)(Brief Article)
December 30, 1996... U.S. district court judge Marilyn Patel has ruled that government restrictions on the distribution of encryption software violate First Amendment rights of free speech. The ruling regarded a suit filed by University of Illinois math professor...

High-speed variable PostScript RIP debuts. (Varis' VariScript software)(Product Announcement)
December 30, 1996... Hardware RIP can run 4,000 18.sup.2 -wide impressions per minute The latest competitor in the high-speed RIP market is a company called Varis, which has begun talking about a RIP capable of imaging variable PostScript data on most high-speed,...

Sentinel cleared in suit filed by LaserMaster. (Sentinel Imaging) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 30, 1996... Sentinel Imaging, a developer, manufacturer and distributor of papers, films, specialty substrates and ink products for the graphic and CAD markets, won a summary dismissal of patent infringement claims filed by LaserMaster in October 1995. A...

SGML '96: celebrating the tenth anniversary of SGML. (Industry Trend or Event)
December 30, 1996... THE CELEBRATION of the tenth anniversary of the publishing of the SGML standard was the subtext for this year's SGML conference, held last month in Boston. This year's fall conference, the most extensive to date, featured three or four...

Preflight testing of PostScript files: tools for aiding production workflow.(includes related article about "preflight" procedures) (Technology Information)
December 30, 1996... This is the first in a series on PostScript preflight theory and products. This article looks at the background of the preflight process and how it is implemented today at graphic arts firms. Next we'll examine the software tools available to...

Apple acquires Next: waiting for answers. (Next Software) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 30, 1996... Eyes on Macworld for next move By now, surely everyone in or near the PC or publishing business knows the basic story: A desperate Apple Computer, in a stunning coup, has announced that it intends to buy Steve Jobs's Next Software in a $400...

Dinin resigns as head of Linotype-Hell U.S. (president David Dinen) (Company Operations)
December 30, 1996... Replaced by Heidelberg U.S. VP The transition of Linotype-Hell to a Heidelberg company is continuing. The latest development is the resignation of David Dinin as president of the Linotype-Hell U.S. operation, and his replacement by a veteran...

Dutch IT firm buys Mediasystemen. (Triple P N.V.) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 30, 1996... Triple P gets newspaper system firm Mediasystemen, the Dutch newspaper system developer, is the latest system supplier to be absorbed into a large-scale, information-technology company. We commented on this trend in our recent IFRA...

Atex Media Solutions set for Jan. 6 start-up. (spin-off from Sydesco Group) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 30, 1996... Sysdeco spinoff to get $25 million Sysdeco has announced the details of the impending spinoff of its media business, to be owned partly by existing Sysdeco shareholders and partly by new ones. The new company, which will be called Atex Media...

People. (People)
December 23, 1996... Dan Carp has been appointed president and COO of Kodak, effective January 1. Currently executive VP and assistant COO, Carp will assume control of the Digital and Applied Imaging, Business Imaging Systems, Equipment Manufacturing and Greater...

Printing technology in limelight as Seybold launches event in Germany. (Industry Trend or Event)
December 23, 1996... SEYBOLD FRANKFURT, the first-ever German event for the Seybold organization, brought together personnel from many segments of the industry in a conference and exhibition focusing on the trends and technology of the day. It made sense to hold it...

Pin registration: making sense of the formats and the philosophy. (Technology Information)
December 23, 1996... AS WE MOVE into full digital workflows, attention is focused increasingly on ways to automate the tasks associated with the production of film or plates for printing. Preflight checks are run to ensure that errors are caught early in the...

Linotype-Hell to close Eschborn site, cut 1,200. (Company Operations)
December 23, 1996... Expects '96 loss of 70 million DM The news doesn't get better for the traditional heavyweights in the prepress business. The latest jolt comes from Linotype- Hell, which announced on Dec. 13 that it will lose more than $45 million this year,...

Fuji takes over sole Crosfield ownership. (Fuji Photo Film and Crosfield Electronics) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 23, 1996... DuPont reduces role in manufacturing Fuji Photo Film, which has been part owner of Crosfield Electronics for seven years through a joint venture with DuPont, has agreed to acquire DuPont's position and take over complete management of the...

Agfa profits up 20% in '96; revenues up 15%. (Company Financial Information)
December 23, 1996... Van Meeuwen takes over U.S. sales Agfa has forecast double-digit growth in revenues and profits for 1996, including a good performance for the Graphic Systems unit, which includes electronic publishing. The company also announced that...

New Rampage pricing features $14,000 RIP. (Raster Image Processor) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 23, 1996... Prices based on recorder size and type Rampage Systems has announced a new pricing strategy that bases the prices of its RIP systems on the size and type of recorder being used. The result is extremely attractive pricing that starts at...

Kodak expands facility making thermal plates. (Windsor, CO, facility) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Serving Creo thermal platesetters Kodak has expanded its thermal-plate manufacturing capability by doubling the capacity of the plate-coating line at its Windsor, CO, plant. Although the company would not comment on its total capacity, it...

Tektronix 450 latest in dye-sub printer line. (Phaser 450)(Product Announcement)
December 23, 1996... Faster, more media options than 440 Hot on the heels of unveiling its entry-level Phaser 350 solid-ink printer and its first large-format machine, the Phaser 600, Tektronix has introduced the midrange 450. Essentially a replacement for the...

Datalogics moves, gets new engineering head. (research and development VP Bruce Brown) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Refining editing, composition tools Following its buyout from Adobe last spring, Datalogics has been quietly reshaping its company. It has moved into new offices, still in downtown Chicago, and is working on developing new versions of its...

Matan debuts fast large-format device. (thermal transfer printer) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Matan has introduced a 36.sup.2 wide thermal transfer printer capable of imaging 60 square meters per hour, or about a 40.sup.2 long, 36.sup.2 -wide print per minute at 400 dpi. The printer uses thermal transfer ribbons with high-density...

Koepfler resigns as Interleaf president. (Ed Koepfler) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Interleaf's president and CEO, Ed Koepfler, has resigned. He will be replaced on a interim basis by Rory Cowan, a company board member. The resignation caps a year of struggle for Interleaf, which has closed field offices, cut staff by about...

Print chain in China gets 10 Quickmasters. (Beijing Heheng Printing Co, Heidelberg Quickmaster 46-4 DI presses) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Beijing Heheng Printing Co. of China has installed the first of ten Heidelberg Quickmaster 46-4 DI presses for use in setting up a chain of quick-printing shops. They were ordered from EACgraphics, the Heidelberg distributor for Asia, Africa...

PrePress Solutions updates Panther RIP. (release 6.0 of imagesetter software)(Product Announcement)
December 23, 1996... New storage options, screen control PrePress Solutions has introduced release 6 of its Panther RIP, allowing high-resolution files to be stored anywhere on the network, eliminating the need for specialized server software and additional...

StanTech vs. Yarc: enough is too much. (Yarc Systems, ownership dispute over PostScript software) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 23, 1996... Protagonists exhaust our patience The war of words between StanTech of Denmark and Yarc Systems of California has exhausted our patience. As both parties tread gingerly in the area of objectivity and the real issues become too clouded by...

Adobe, ITC move. (Adobe Systems and International Typeface) (News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Adobe Systems has relocated from Mountain View to three buildings in San Jose, CA. The new contact numbers are: Adobe Systems International, 345 Park Ave., San Jose, CA 95110-2704; phone (408) 536-6000; fax (408 537-6000. International...

Installations. (News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Digital Technology reports these installations: * The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL, circ. 176,221)--160-user integrated system, including Display Ad, Editorial, Pagination, Graphics and Locations/WAN databases. * Stuart News and...

Financial news. (Document Sciences, Documentum, and Imation) (News Briefs)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... In its first quarter as a publicly held company, Document Sciences posted net income of $332,882 on sales of $4.1 million, compared to last year's third-quarter net income of $60,875 on sales of $2.3 million. For the nine months, revenues were...

$5.3 million awarded in RSI case against DEC. (repetitive strain injury) (Company Business and Marketing)
December 23, 1996... Digital may appeal ruling One of the largest awards ever given in a repetitive strain injury case has been awarded by a federal jury in Brooklyn. A New York secretary won more than $5.3 million for arm, wrist and hand injuries suffered from...

BookTech '97 to debut in February in New York. (conference and exhibit) (Calendar of Events)
December 23, 1996... Publishing & Production Executive magazine will introduce BookTech '97, a new conference and exhibit, this February at the New York Marriott Marquis. More than 25 seminars will include topics such as: What key production decisions will...

Xionics to acquire XLI. (Xerography Laser Images) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Xionics and Xerography Laser Images (XLI) have signed a memorandum of understanding for Xionics to acquire XLI for approximately $5.2 million in stock and cash. XLI develops hardware and software products designed to produce enhanced-resolution...

Creo targets corporate users. (forms corporate accounts group) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... To support its largest customers, Creo has formed a corporate accounts group to work with the largest, most complex multi-plant printers in the world. David Lemaster has been promoted to corporate accounts manager, from central region sales...

Hexachrome on web offset line. (Pantone's Hexachrome printing process) (Product Information)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Pantone's Hexachrome high-fidelity printing process has been successfully run on a heatset web offset line at Lehigh Press. The Hexachrome six-color process consists of an ink set, design capabilities, separations, proofing and a color...

Chromapress users form group. (North American Chromapress Users' Association) (Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... A new trade association--the North American Chromapress Users' Association--has been formed to provide a forum for sharing business, marketing and technical expertise with each other and more open communications with Agfa about its digital...

Digital printing to get SIC code. (Standard Industrial Classification) (Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... According to the Digital Printing & Imaging Association, adoption of a specific Standard Industrial Classification code for the digital printing industry is expected to be granted in early 1997. In a recently released rule proposing revisions...

Lithostar plates for Predator. (Agfa Lithostar red high-speed laser plate for Gerber's Predator platesetter) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... Agfa and Gerber have jointly announced a new Agfa Lithostar red high-speed laser plate designed to work with Gerber's Predator platesetter. According to Agfa, the plates will produce more than 250,000 impressions using standard inks and...

270,000 presses in North America. (operations of North American graphic arts establishments) (Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... According to the publishers of the Graphic Arts Blue Book, North American graphic arts establishments operate more than 270,000 presses, including offset, flexo, gravure, letterpress, screen and digital presses, plus high-speed copiers. The...

Print growth forecast in '97. (Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... According to predictions offered by program participants at Print Outlook '97, sponsored by NPES in conjunction with PIA, the rest of the decade should be growth years for the printing and publishing industry. For 1997, William Lofquist,...

Survey says: computer vision syndrome on the rise. (Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... A study conducted by two researchers from Lake Oswego, OR, shows that patients exhibiting symptoms of computer vision syndrome are going to optometrists and opthalmologists in increasing numbers. The 1992 survey showed that 10 million people...

Sysdeco reveals new management team. (Sysdeco Media) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
December 23, 1996... As January split draws near As part of the separation of its media business from the corporate group, Sysdeco Media has announced its new structure and senior management team, which will be headed by Larry Mihalchik, CEO, who was appointed...