BW Papersystems Acquires Zerand

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BW Papersystems, Phillips, Wisconsin, a Barry-Wehmiller company and capital equipment supplier for the paper industry, has acquired North American Cerutti Corp.’s Zerand division from Officine Meccaniche Giovanni Cerutti S.p.A. The transaction is Barry-Wehmiller’s 94th acquisition. Fredericks Michael & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Cerutti.

Zerand, based in New Berlin, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer of high-speed platen and rotary diecutting machinery for the print and converting industry. By adding Zerand into BW Papersystems, both manufacturers will strengthen their positions in the industry and expand their product offerings.

Zerand, which will be called BWP Zerand, will remain in New Berlin, and the team will work cooperatively with three other BW Papersystems facilities and team members in Wisconsin, as well as with other team members at locations internationally.

For more information, visit www.bwpapersystems.com.

IBIS Announces Distribution Partnership

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IBIS, Wycombe, United Kingdom, announced a new sales and service distribution partnership with Best Graphics Inc., based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Best Graphics now will operate as the US distributor for IBIS, focusing on IBIS Smart-binder sales to the digital print market.

The Smart-binder complements Best Graphics’ sales of Osako saddle-stitchers and Wohlenberg perfect binders to the offset print market. Best Graphics also will provide Smart-binder service and parts service support through its US-wide after-sales network.

For more information, visit www.ibis-bindery.com.

Martin Yale Acquires Dry-Lam

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Martin Yale Industries, LLC, Wabash, Indiana, announced its second bolt-on addition in the past two years with the acquisition of Dry-Lam, LLC, located in Shawnee, Kansas.

Dry-Lam, LLC is a leading distributor of laminating equipment and films to the office product and commercial print finishing markets. Dry-Lam’s expertise in laminating machines, films, transparencies and tissue will expand Martin Yale’s product offerings and service. The acquisition positions Martin Yale to offer a great variety of laminating products to the print finishing and office markets – from lower volume desktop machines to high-speed, automated trimming floor models.

As part of the acquisition, Dry-Lam’s distribution center will be relocated to Martin Yale’s facility in Indiana. This move will increase capacity and efficiency, as well as ensure that the high standard of customer service and technical support that Dry-Lam has been known for continues.

For more information, visit www.martinyale.com.

Mimaki USA Launches Mobile App

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Mimaki USA, Suwanee, Georgia, announced availability of the Mimaki USA mobile app for users to search and find printer, plotter, ink, software, color analysis and other information directly from their mobile devices.

The Mimaki USA mobile app includes the following key functions for quick access to product information and support: search, printers and plotters, ink, dropper and contact.

The app is a free download available from the App Store for iOS devices and from Google Play for Android devices, by entering “Mimaki USA” in the search field.

For more information, visit www.mimakiusa.com.

UEI Group Introduces Magnetic Quick System

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UEI Group, Overland Park, Kansas, debuted the NW SpeedChase® NXT™ system in September during Labelexpo Europe in Brussels, Belgium. The magnetic quick system aims to make set-up and job changeover faster, simpler and more efficient.

The NW SpeedChase® system was developed for the narrow web industry, and it can accommodate any narrow web flatbed press. The system is designed to help press operators experience easier lock-up, quicker changeover, lower costs, increased production speeds and overall improved efficiency.

“Through the NW SpeedChase® NXT™ system, job changeover can now be accomplished, on average, in as little as one minute,” said Todd Rima, vice president of operations and sales at Universal Engraving, Inc.

The system is comprised of an NW SpeedChase® NXT™ and an NW SpeedPlaten NXT™ that use an NW UniLock-Up® Plate Ejector NXT™ box to quickly set up, dismount and change the UniLock-Up® die or counter force plates.

Rima added, “We even added traditional mounting holes within the NW SpeedChase® NXT™, so if necessary, customers can still use their existing engraved die inventory on the NW SpeedChase® NXT™.”

For more information, visit www.ueigroup.com.

W.H. Leary Unveils Cold Glue Valves

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W.H. Leary, headquartered in Tinley Park, Illinois, has unveiled Quantum™ cold glue valves. The valves use a micro-adjust stroke that delivers up to a 1mm gluing accuracy when using extrusion grade glue.

These valves are adaptable enough to be used with high-, medium- or standard-pressure systems. The easily-adjustable mounting hardware and slim 22.5mm valve body profile make it the ideal choice for most machines. The two-piece nozzle not only makes cleaning and changeovers simple, its 45mm long nozzle also gives the flexibility to glue in even the tightest of spaces.

For more information, visit www.whleary.com.

BIA Names Conference Speakers

 

The 2014 BIA Conference – March 31-April 2, 2014, at The Fairmont Dallas Hotel, Dallas, Texas – will feature a dynamic lineup of speakers who will deliver sessions to encourage attendees to exchange ideas and grow their companies.

Valerie Price, director of business operations at Coyne Graphic Finishing, Inc., will speak of the importance of a Disaster Recovery Plan. Attendees will receive a template on DVD for writing a customized Disaster Plan.

Kelly Mallozzi, rainmaker at Success.In.Print, will focus on defining a target market, identifying where to look for profitable customers and overcoming objections.

Anthony Griggs, a former NFL player, will share stories from his NFL days and reveal stories of hardship and glory as the coaches did what they could as leaders to be a successful team. He will explain the various roles that leaders need to take on to develop, train and engage an employee.

For more information – including the full list of conference sessions, descriptions and plant tours – call Mike Packard, BIA director, at 800.910.4283 ext. 704 or visit bia14.printing.org.

Flint Group, K Laser Introduce Cold Foil Technologies

 

In response to an increasing need for improved sustainable print solutions, Flint Group Narrow Web, Dallas, TX, and K Laser Technology (USA) Co. Ltd., Garden Grove, CA, have introduced a series of cold foil and cold foil adhesive technologies for UV LED curing systems.

The EkoCure™ cold foil adhesive was developed using specially selected photoinitiators that match the narrow and targeted wavelength area that is typical for UV LED lamp output. The main advantages with UV LED can be summarized as ecological and economical. UV LED lamps are ozone- and mercury-free for improved worker and environmental safety. On the production side, cold foil runs faster with less production problems and can cure through dark-colored cold foils. Economically, presses run longer and without lamp faults. Printers experience higher certainty and faster rates of cure with inks using the process.

For more information, visit www.coldfoil.com.

Bill Targets Patent Trolls

 

A bipartisan bill on Dec. 5 passed the House of Representatives that seeks to address the increasing problem of abusive patent litigation, otherwise known as “patent trolling”. It is estimated that more than $29 billion per year is wasted on these lawsuits. The bill would increase transparency, discourage frivolous patent litigation and update current US patent laws. The effort to address patent litigation reform now moves to the Senate.

The Innovation Act (H.R. 3309), introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), is compiled from previous bills from both sides of the aisle and is supported by a number of public interest groups. It builds on the reforms that were made last Congress in the America Invents Act. Cosponsors of the bill include Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Howard Coble (R-NC), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Blake Farenthold (R-TX), George Holding (R-NC), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Tom Marino (R-PA), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Steve Chabot (R-OH), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Betty McCullum (D-MN) and Mike Honda (D-CA).

Other key components of the bill include modernized fee shifting, greater clarity surrounding initial discovery and small business education.

For more information, visit www.govtrack.us.

PFP Offers New Bindery Quality Control System

 

A new bindery quality control system for gathering machines and saddlestitchers from German manufacturer WST can ensure quality by reducing downtime and rejects.

The WST Cam 4-60 features a 1.57″ square reading pane that can decode most types of barcodes, such as 2/5 interleaved, Code 128, Code 39 and pharmaceutical code. The user interface is an operator-friendly 17″ touchscreen monitor.

Print Finishing Partners, Lakewood Ranch, FL, is the exclusive agent for WST in North America. For more information, call 941.927.5933 or visit www.printfp.com.