Steve Jobs will not show up at MacWorld next months. Bad news for MacWorld's parent company IDG, but probably no serious loss for developers. Although a few print industry software developers still show up at MacWorld, they are largely those who either have a consumer focus, or (like Adobe, are big enough to play in both the professional and consumer marketplaces.

No doubt Jobs' absence will hurt turnout, as will Apple's decision to pull out completely next year. And for the little guys who are not print-focused that could be very bad news. But it has been a long time since consumer desktop publishing had a major voice at MacWorld. Today it's mostly music and video and, more recently, iPhone developers. Does anyone go to MacWorld to check out the latest in tools for print production? I'd be skeptical.

One of the realities of the print industry is that it has...Read More

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“Profit margins are not the only things being squeezed in this challenging business environment: so is the margin for error.” That point was made in an article in the NAPL Business Review recently, and it ought to be every printer’s battle cry in these tough times.

It doesn’t mean we can eliminate errors. But it does mean we need to set up business practices that make errors less likely to occur. We can’t eliminate human imperfection, but we can set up systems that detect mistakes before they become costly. The further along in the process an error is caught, the more expensive it is to fix.

One approach to accomplishing that is to cut down on the number of times opportunities for errors present themselves. It is often said the fewer times you have human intervention, the fewer mistakes will be made. But, much more to the point, ...Read More

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Update: today Markzware announced the release of the new Windows version of Q2ID in addition to the Mac version announced last week. Both are available for download and purchase immediately.

Markzware (www.markzware.com), a developer of preflighting, data extraction and conversion software today released an upgrade to its conversion tool Q2ID (QuarkXPress To InDesign). This new version boasts full plugin support for Adobe InDesign CS3 and CS4 and converts QuarkXPress versions 3.3 through 8. Q2ID v4 is developed with the needs of the graphic arts industry in mind. This conversion tool provides a comprehensive solution to simplify the creative process and optimize the graphic design workflow.

I have used previous versions of the software and it works surprisingly well. Like all conversion products, the conversion is never perfect, and users need to be aware th...Read More

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I'm don't have too many people on my list that I spend $130 on for Christmas, but if you have a color lover on your holiday shopping list and a bigger budget than I have the PANTONE UNIVERSE(TM) Mug Collection from W2 might be an ideal holiday gift. The price I'm quoting is for one of two 10 piece sets being offered. But there are also 4 piece sets for $50 and individual mugs for $13 each. I can't explain why you get a 50 cent discount for the 4 piece set but no discount on the 10 piece. I suppose if you have that kind of money to spend on mugs, you don't need a discount. And in that case you might want to opt for all four available sets (28 mugs in 27 colors as near as I could tell). The only color that appears more than once is PANTONE 732 Chocolate, and it seems to me Chocolate is worth repeating!


There are other gifts available in the PANTONE Accessories Collec...Read More

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Want to get the latest information on color management, and get a bargain too? The IPA is having a half-off Holiday Sale on many of their webinars, including a whole slew of Color management webinars. The webinars are delivered on CD and vary in length and cost.  For example, the PDF/X, SWOP and Color Management webinar is of 3 CDs and the regular price for IPA members is $279.00, while the non-member price is $379.00. Enter the code HOLIDAY08 when you check out and get half off the price. The offer runs through the month of December.

The half price offer also includes other programs on graphics workflow, graphics applications, and business improvement. See the IPA web site
http://www.ipa.org/knowledge/webinars for more information.

Color management offerings include:

G7 Implementation: What You Need to Know
The G7 method i...Read More

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Part of the reason digital presses are making such a large impact in the marketplace is not merely because they are very productive and extraordinarily good at handling the shorter and shorter print runs print providers must supply. The biggest reason they are so productive is the small third party software providers who add value to  these machines.

Automation is an absolute necessity to feed digital workflows. The next job has to be ready in the queue to keep the machine running. That makes the software that controls the machine every bit as important as the machine itself. True, manufacturers have put a lot of work into the workflows and interfaces for their machines, but a lot of the credit really does go to third party developers. After all the best machine manufacturers are engineering experts. They know how to make toner and the best way to provide for heat d...Read More

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German smart card manufacturer Giesecke & Devrient(G&D) has contracted with contract with Commerzbank to print a line of scented credit cards. The three-year deal covers production of several million cards for the bank's partner brands, though not all of the cards are scented.

Sylvia Vandeven, Commerzbank vice president, said: "The series of scented credit cards emit fragrances of coffee, orange or cinnamon, making an ordinary payment card into a small sensory experience."

The cards will be issued with the Maestro (MasterCard), V-Pay (Visa) and EMV credit cards (MasterCard or Visa) names and feature a Secure Chip Card Operating System (SECCOS).

Axel Deininger, head of G&D's payment division, said: "This exclusive contract from Commerzbank represents an important milestone in the German banking industry's migration to...Read More

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Click to visit Printing Tools Online 
It has always been the little things that impress me most. The sleight-of-hand magician who does close up feats of dexterity and misdirection - the one that leaves you shaking your head even if you know how he does it - is so much more impressive than making the Statue of Liberty disappear. It's even more impressive if you have ever tried sleight-of-hand magic yourself and realize the amount of practice that goes into pulling the feat off.

That's why coding gurus that make software sing really grab my attention. And to be honest, it's not simply a matter of putting together the lines of code, it's putting together the whole package. For printing software development that means knowing what it is people are actually doing day to day out in the real world. I...Read More

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Click to visit Printing Tools Online www.graphicartsonline.com/info/CA6605972.html

The 2008 election has finally come and I don't know anyone who isn't glad it's over. Whether their candidate won or lost may be very important - this was certainly an importand election with longterm consequences - yet there is a feeling of relief that all of the decisions have been made and now it's time to deal with the consequences of those decisions. For better or for worse, it's time to move on.

There is certainly a message for the printing industry in this. For the past decade, printers have been trying to figure out how to prepare for the future of print. Should we embrace the digital age or fight it kicking and screaming and hold on to the old ways of doing things, which, after all, served us well for m...Read More

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Click to Visit Printing Tools Online www.graphicartsonline.com/info/CA6605972.html

There is now doubt there is an anxious group attending Graph Expo this year. With the economic downturn affecting the entire industry, it would be foolish not to be anxious. But there also seems to be an almost stoic sense that we'll get through it.

What also seems evident is that the maturity of print technology is partly responsible for keeping folks condifence up. While there is little that could be termed "dazzling" this year, there are solid incremental improvements in the products being shown. What it points to is the fact that digital technology has matured: people are comfortable with it. They know what to expect from it, and they are happy to see that the world is still going 'round and the ...Read More

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Click to Visit Printing Tools Online www.graphicartsonline.com/info/CA6605972.html

The Printing Tools site of Graphic Arts Online will go live at Graph Expo with an "official" live date of November 1.  The web team has been scrambling to get everything ready so people will be able to see what the site will look like while they are pounding the exhibit floor in Chicago.

Printing Tools is a dream I had a couple of years ago, and Sam Bogoch  of SeeFile and I and some others kicked it around for a while and talked to folks about it and even had a webbie work on some preliminary site plans. It never took off because neither Sam not I had the time or money to make it happen. I thank Sam for his interest in the project that helped keep it alive.

But then I kicked t...Read More

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Click to Visit Printing Tools Online www.graphicartsonline.com/info/CA6605972.html

Maybe it’s a trend, and if so it couldn’t come at a better time. Even before the current economic chaos, a few forward thinking companies began working together - instead of as competitors - to provide solutions for print service providers.

The truth is, suppliers of software and hardware for print production have become more and more specialized over the years. It has been interesting to watch as giants like Kodak and Xerox have been looking to smaller players to provide the software and integration flexibility their customers need. That has certainly happened in our industry for a long time, but more recently the developers of those products have seen a market for their own brand names to supplem...Read More

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