Courier at BookTech '99

No phrase describes the book publishing industry better than "rapidly changing," and no event is better timed and equipped to bring publishing issues to the forefront than BookTech '99. Now in its third year, BookTech is offering speakers, discussions and exhibits invaluable to book publishing professionals. On Courier's part, Steve Franzino, V.P. of Technology will bring hands-on experiences and issues to the subject of implementing PDF files into book production workflows. "The use of PDF files has changed our industry," said Steve Franzino, "But we're still tinkering. We have some distance to go before we realize the full potential of PDF files in production processes. Sharing our individual solutions is a good way to beef up the entire industry's use of this valuable tool." Hear Steve and fellow panelists at PDF Academy Practitioners Roundtable, Tuesday at 8:45 a.m.

Peter Tobin, V.P. of Sales and Marketing, will participate in an interesting discussion of industry financial trends. The Publishing Budget Watcher's Fast Forecast begins at 10:45 on Tuesday. "What do you watch, book buyer's habits? Consolidations? Industry trends? Physical inventories? We'll be discussing critical financial issues facing book publishing professionals in a complicated market," reports Tobin. No one should miss the Y2K: Ready or Not forum at 1:45 on Tuesday because no one will be unaffected by the millennium bug. Don Hunter, Director of Courier's Y2K project, will join a panel of industry IS experts in a lively and informative discussion.

Why is the public still buying books when information is easily accessible on the Internet, and how can we support this trend by making printed material available more quickly? On Wednesday, A Need for Speed, Strides Toward Faster Book Manufacturing will feature this interesting discussion. Gary Gluckow, President of Book-mart Press, will discuss Courier's participation in Prima Publishing's Starr Report, and address strategies and technologies that will help publishers and printers speed up their work flows.

See you at the show!

Update: Y2K at Courier
by Donald Hunter, Director, Year 2000 Project

Since Courier began addressing the Year 2000 issue in late 1997, much work has been done to insure the readiness of the Company's information systems. But the Year 2000 challenge extends beyond the mainframes, PCs, network infrastructure, and software into all aspects of a business and also extends beyond every company's boundaries.

For example, embedded chips (hidden mini-computers) utilized in manufacturing equipment, telecommunications, and facility systems must also be Y2K compliant for uninterrupted operations on 01/01/00. Courier has currently assessed over 90% of its manufacturing embedded systems and all units are compliant.

Y2K issues outside the Company involve being sure that all of Courier's business partners will also be Year 2000 ready. To date, our mission critical vendors have been contacted, rated, and visited to insure their turn of the century readiness.


The preceding is a Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure under the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act.

The Digital Smart Factory

Steve Franzino, V.P. of Technology, will chair the Research and Engineering Council of the Graphic Arts Industry's upcoming conference, Digital Smart Factory: Synchronizing Workflows in Print Manufacturing. The conference, to be held March 16 and 17 at the Marriott O'Hare in Chicago, is widely regarded as the first step to integrate the many digital elements of the printing industry.

Franzino describes the event as interactive in nature, providing attendees the opportunity to participate in the coordination of printing industry technology. "While the importance of digital workflow is widely recognized in the printing industry, blending the many technologies into a cohesive whole will require the efforts of everyone in the printing business, as well as those who rely on the industry." The conference will capitalize on similar efforts in other industries, beginning with a keynote presentation by Dennis L. Ferrell, Operations Manager for the Saturn Consulting Services Team of the General Motors automobile group.

For information, call 610-388-7394, or visit www.dnps.org.

Courier People - On the Move

William A. Flavell has joined National Publishing Company as Executive Vice President and as Vice President of Courier Corporation. Previously, Bill was a senior vice president at R.R. Donnelley & Sons.

Gail Sloan and Sandi Magoon recently joined Courier Westford's Production Services staff. Gail has 20 years of experience in book production services with Courier. Sandi, most recently with Quebecor in Vermont, has over 25 years of book production services and management experience.

Right from the Start Tip of the Month
from Courier Kendallville EPP Staff

Customers using vector-type drawing programs such as Illustrator or Freehand should be aware of the pitfalls of double-imbedding. This occurs when a scanned document or drawing file is placed into another drawing file, before it is placed into a page layout program like QuarkXpress or PageMaker. Double-imbedded documents are difficult, if not impossible, to output and can result in additional production time and costs.

If you need to incorporate various elements like photos or postscript text into your drawing, paste them directly into the page layout program separately from your drawing file.