June 2002 Issue
A View from Anywhere
Remote proofing developments raise fundamental business questions. by Terri McConnell, Prepress Editor REMOTE PROOFING IS a set of evolutionary image-communication technologies with mainstream appeal and very broad applications. There is debate on exact terminology, but we'll say that remote proofing denotes the concept of making digital image data accessible to another person, at another location, for review and commentary. The image data may be rendered on a hard copy output device, or it may be viewed onscreen, a practice known as soft proofing. In either case, remote proofing facilitates the sharing of printable images throughout the iterative approval process from concept to completion.
A View From Anywhere
Remote proofing developments raise fundamental business questions. by Terri McConnell, Prepress Editor REMOTE PROOFING IS a set of evolutionary image-communication technologies with mainstream appeal and very broad applications. There is debate on exact terminology, but we'll say that remote proofing denotes the concept of making digital image data accessible to another person, at another location, for review and commentary. The image data may be rendered on a hard copy output device, or it may be viewed onscreen, a practice known as soft proofing. In either case, remote proofing facilitates the sharing of printable images throughout the iterative approval process from concept to
Pulling Rank
Through well-considered acquisitions, Multi-Color has boosted its sales by more than $20 million in two years. By Kate Tomlinson, Assistant Editor ON VARIOUS FRONTS, Multi-Color Corporation (MCC) is a rising chart-topper. The Cincinnati Enquirer recently named MCC one of the city's 10 most profitable companies. MCC also held the number two spot in that paper's "80s Index," which ranks stocks according to annual return (after adjusting for splits, spinoffs, and stock dividends). Finally, as number 16 in pP's Top Tag and Label Converter Survey, President/CEO Frank Gerace has proven a diversified portfolio of print services goes a long way. Through a series of
Top Tag & Label Converters Survey
Label printers put expansion plans to action in response to a challenging economy. THE LESS-THAN-stellar sales of today's converting market haven't lulled key tag and label industry players into stasis. After all, the tag/label market is forecasted to outperform the GDP, and converters are quick to hatch, and act on, strategies for better exploitation of the existing market. In pP's 2002 State of the Tag and Label Industry Report (March 2002), Nashua Corp. President Tom Pagel advised: "Label producers must make a wider range of products, and be a specialist at every one of them." Respondents to pP's 2002 Top Tag and Label Converters
What Price Plates?
Flexo plate costs aren't likely to decrease dramatically until platemaking production is made fully digital. by Jessica Millward, Associate Editor PLATE EVOLUTION WILL always set the stage for further development of flexographic printing. But with the invention and advancement of "newer, better" systems and materials, inevitably comes the demand for "cheaper." Unfortunately, as plate manufacturers and prepress providers alike testify, a dramatic decrease in flexo plate prices won't be feasible until processing and production become substantially more simplified. Better conventional plate processing There are various methods for improving efficiency within the flexo platemaking process as it exists today. A primary cost-reduction strategy involves
