The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems articles from June 1997

The Seybold Report on Publishing Systems archives from June 1997

Barco not dropping 3700 and 3800. (Barco's MidSetter 30 and 44S not replacing BG 3700, 3800 filmsetters, other news) (Product Information)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... In response to our report from its pre-Imprinta press conference, Barco has asked us to correct or clarify these points: The MidiSetter 30 and 44S (Barco's OEM versions of the Agfa Avantras) are not replacing the BG 3700 and 3800 filmsetters,...

SoftQuad International. (reports net loss for first fiscal quarter ending Mar 31, 1997) (Company Financial Information)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... SoftQuad International reported a net loss of $14.8 million ($1.13/share) on sales of $5.4 million for its first quarter ended March 31. The sales increase from $2.9 million for the same quarter a year ago was aided by a strong con- tribution...

Bitstream. (revenues for quarter ending Mar 31, 1997) (Company Financial Information)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... Bitstream reported revenues of approximately $2.5 million for the three months ended March 31, compared with $2.7 million for the same quarter a year ago. Net income was $232,000 ($.03/share), compared with $540,000 ($.13/share) for the 1966...

Optronics International. (secures million-dollar line of credit) (Company Financial Information)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... Optronics International, the new company established after the sale of Optronics by Intergraph to Fong Brothers, has secured a multimillion-dollar line of credit from BankBoston Corp. It will be used to finance growth and expansion, according...

PANPA: Pacific Area newspapers tackle the issues, see new products. (convention) (includes related article on the Pacific Area Newspaper Association organization and the convention) (Industry Trend or Event)
June 9, 1997... THE PACIFIC RIM'S newspaper business is facing the same concerns over the future that newspapers elsewhere are facing. How much of a threat is the Internet? How long will advertising revenue hold up? Is this the time to invest in...

Cybergraphic readies new system for world stage; SII's fate may be linked. (CyberSell newspaper advertising application, CyberNews, CyberPage, Newspaper Automated Intelligent Layout System newspaper management applications)(includes related article on Cybergraphic management information) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
June 9, 1997... CAN CYBERGRAPHIC emerge from its mysterious past to become a dominant system supplier in the Pacific area and the world? It has built a new system around Windows NT, captured key newspaper groups in Australia and New Zealand, and is gearing up...

Cybergraphic and SII at Pantech '97: Grinberg and Washington discuss stratgies and cooperation. (Cybergraphic managing director Bernie Grinberg, Systems Integrators Inc's CEO Frank Washington) (Company Business and Marketing)(Interview)
June 9, 1997... At the PANPA conference in Adelaide, we had an opportunity to talk with Bernie Grinberg, managing director of Cybergraphic, and Frank Washington, president and CEO of SII. This was a unique opportunity to see how these company leaders view...

Seybold Seminars New York '97: page layout and composition systems. (Industry Trend or Event)
June 9, 1997... ALTHOUGH THE SEYBOLD Seminars aren't crucial events for newspaper profes- sionals, they attract a healthy contingent of participants interested in developments relevant to newspaper production and new publishing ideas. Among these participants...

Agfa increases speed of Avantra 25 again. (Avantra 25E imagesetter)(Product Announcement)
June 9, 1997... Agfa, which not too long ago increased the speed of its line of Avantra inter- nal-drum imagesetters with the S models, has done it again. At Imprinta, it introduced a new model of the Avantra 25 featuring a 45,000-rpm spinner motor that makes...

Scitex unveils compact dry-film drum imager. (2Dry dry-film imagesetter)(Product Announcement)
June 9, 1997... Scitex has unveiled the latest contender in the dry-film imagesetter market with a product that may offer the best package yet. It's a version of its 4Press internal-drum imagesetter with the heat processor packaged inside the same cabinet as...

On Demand brings out the printers. (Industry Trend or Event)
June 9, 1997... We covered earlier some of the highlights from the On Demand show in New York May 6-8, including Xerox's announcements of a higher-speed DocuTech and its agreement to market the Xeikon engine as a higher-speed model in its DocuColor line. We...

Ultre offers updated RIP to imager clients. (UltreRIP 4.1)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
June 9, 1997... Ultre, which under Heidelberg's new order is known as the Heidelberg Group's capstan imagesetting division, is offering a new, multifunctional RIP to existing users of Linotype-Hell imagers. Aimed at customers with antiquated hardware RIPs...

The CCI Europe juggernaut. (newspaper industry software maker)(Cole's Corner) (Company Business and Marketing)(Column)
June 9, 1997... Back in 1993, when I was being especially critical of System Integrators and its newspaper pagination strategy, I first heard of CCI Europe. Executives at NDU, the big newspaper publisher in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, ran a session at an...

FFEI commences operations. (FujiFilm Electronic Imaging acquires Crosfield Electronics) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... FujiFilm Electronic Imaging has completed the acquisition of the applicable assets of Crosfield Electronics. FFEI is FujiFilm's first electronic imaging, research, development and manufacturing group of facilities in Western Europe.

X-Rite Light Source deal done. (X-Rite acquires assets of Light Source Computer Images) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... X-Rite announced at its annual stockholders meeting that it has completed the transaction to acquire the assets of Light Source Computer Images. The acquisition, which pairs two of the industry's leading suppliers of color-measuring tools,...

Printware deals for Adobe RIP. (to market Monotype Systems' ZapRIP raster image processor as option for Printware's PlateStream computer-to-plate system) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... Printware will market an Adobe PostScript version of its ZapRIP raster image processor. The RIP, developed by Monotype Systems, will be sold as an option for Printware's new PlateStream computer-to-plate system. The PlateStream uses...

A slice off the old Apple. (separate company to market Newton PDAs) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... They're calling it a slice off the old Apple -the setting up of a separate company to develop and sell the Newton hand-held computer and related products. The new company will be owned by Apple and Newton employees, but Apple says it also might...

RUN drops prices 24%-56%. (Rad Unlimited Networking drops prices for RunShare network acceleration products) (Product Information)(Brief Article)
June 9, 1997... Rad Unlimited Networking (RUN) has reduced the list prices of its network acceleration products for the Macintosh. RUN claims that its RunShare product on the Macintosh is four times faster than any NT product. A five-client, one-server...

Installations. (News Briefs)
June 2, 1997... Creo reports that it has shipped 50 CTP systems in the first quarter, which makes it the best quarter the company has ever had. Ninety percent of systems being sold now are thermal imagers, Creo said. Atex Media Solutions has reported the...

Computer-to-plate imaging: state of the industry, Imprinta '97. (Industry Trend or Event)
June 2, 1997... THE COMPUTER-TO-PLATE imaging market has finally taken off. After many false starts-first in the 1970s, then in the late 1980s and again in the early 1990s-the market has started to adopt the technology and is seeing its benefits. We don't mean...

Scitex and KBA to unveil digital offset press. (Digital Office Press) (Product Development)
June 2, 1997... Already expected to have one of the most interesting booths at Imprinta, Scitex has added to its lineup with the announcement that it will announce and demonstrate a new digital offset press developed in cooperation with Koenig & Bauer-Albert...

Agfa to buy DuPont film and plate business. (Company Business and Marketing)
June 2, 1997... DuPont and Agfa have signed a letter of intent for Agfa to acquire DuPont's graphic arts film and offset printing plate businesses. DuPont will continue to operate its core photopolymer proofing and Cyrel flexographic plate businesses. The...

Ultre, Imation to show dry film at Imprinta. (Company Business and Marketing)
June 2, 1997... Ultre will demonstrate a new, dry-film imagesetter in the Imation booth at Imprinta. The machine, developed in conjunction with Imation, uses the same laser exposure system that is employed in a conventional imagesetter, but the intensity of...

Ying takes top spot at Bitstream, Boeling quits. (Charlie Ying made CEO) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
June 2, 1997... Charlie Ying, whose key role in the founding and success of Atex will never be forgotten, has been named chairman and CEO of Bitstream. The announcement fol- lowed the resignation of Raymond Boelig, who had been chairman, CEO and presi- dent....

Minolta unveils $3,000 color laser printer. (Color Page Works)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
June 2, 1997... Minolta has introduced a 600-dpi, 3-ppm color laser printer it expects will have a street price of less than $3,000. The Color PageWorks model will operate in monochrome at 12 ppm. The printer uses a conductive flexible sleeve to carry toner to...

Rogers takes key post at Harris, Peri at CText. (Toni Peri made Pres and COO of CText, Don Rogers made VP and general manager of Harris Publishing Systems) (Company Operations)(Brief Article)
June 2, 1997... Toni Peri has left his position as VP and general manager at Harris Publishing Systems and taken a position as president and COO at CText. The vacancy at Harris will be filled by Don Rogers, president of Harris's Baseview sub- sidiary, who will...

Networld+Interop: a report from the floor. (1997) (Industry Trend or Event)
June 2, 1997... Wolfpack vs. Wolfmountain Do you think there is a coincidence in the naming of these competing tech- nologies? You win a free coffee mug if you come up with the correct answer. After speaking with several people, at both the Novell...

Impressions from the CNI crew. (Networld+Interop 1997) (Industry Trend or Event)(Brief Article)
June 2, 1997... Ariel: Three technologies had a prominent place: ATM, Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel. Not surprisingly, these all share what everyone is looking for in a LAN/WAN environments-speed. We heard often that rather than the network being the...

Goss going direct to press at Print '97. (Goss Graphic Systems's Automated Image Makeready Web press) (Company Business and Marketing)(Brief Article)
June 2, 1997... Goss Graphic Systems, the well-known supplier of printing presses spun off from Rockwell last July, is getting ready to demonstrate a "concept" of a new-technology press with an erasable cylinder that is imaged directly from a computer. Called...