Convention Registration 18% Ahead of 2004

Steve Bova, CAE Executive Director The IRgA is poised for a highly successful convention and trade show next week – both from a quantity and quality perspective. Paid registration, at two weeks out, stands 18 percent ahead of pace from the successful 2004 Convention & Trade Show held in Florida, and the ratio of reprographers to exhibitors will be perhaps the highest in recent history.

From the association's beginnings in 1927, this association has served a niche industry with the core being the A/E/C market. While diversification has always been the case, the IRgA is about bringing the owners – the decision makers – of reprographics shops to one place, under one roof, for education and networking.

If you want to attend a quality convention and trade show, with excellent education programs, one–stop shopping and networking galore at the traditional golf tournament, eye–opener coffee sessions, meals and cocktail receptions, the IRgA is the place to be – May 11–13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

It's never too late to register! You can still call the IRgA at 800/833–4742 by the end of the week, or you can register on–site beginning Wednesday, May 11. And remember the part about "What happens in Vegas..."!

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EFI to Acquire VUTEk, Inc.
EFI (Nasdaq:EFII) recently announced it has signed an agreement to acquire privately held VUTEk, Inc. for approximately $281 million in cash. EFI expects the transaction to close early in the third quarter of 2005, subject to regulatory approval. Read more...

FedEx Kinko's to Add Three Signs & Graphic Centers
FedEx Kinko's recently announced plans to add three additional Signs & Graphic Centers focused solely on sign and graphics services. The three new locations to be in Edina, MN (opening by May 31), Ft. Lauderdale, FL (opening in late June or early July), and Orlando, FL (in late July or early August). Read more...

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Nashua Announces Plan to Exit Toner & Developer Business
Nashua Corporation recently announced plans to exit its toner and developer business by March 31, 2006. The toner and developer business had net sales in 2004 of $20.5 million, accounting for approximately seven percent of Nashua's net sales for the year. Read more...

Houston Better Business Bureau Recognizes A&E – The Graphics Complex for Exemplary Service
A&E – The Graphics Complex, a 40 year old, family–owned printing company, recently received the Pinnacle Award at the Houston Better Business Bureau Awards for Excellence luncheon. A&E was also recognized by the BBB for service excellence in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003 & 2004. BBB Awards for Excellence recognize local businesses that have excelled in quality, service and management. Read more...

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Canon U.S.A., Inc. Announces New President & CEO
Canon U.S.A., Inc., headquarters for Canon operations in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, recently announced the appointment of Yoroku Adachi as the company's new President and CEO. Adachi has also been named a Managing Director on Canon Inc.'s Board of Directors. Read more...

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Print–for–Pay Shop Owners Anticipate Shift from Aqueous to Eco–Solvent Wide–Format Printers
According to a recent survey by Lyra Research of 45 print–for–pay shops that own or lease both aqueous and eco–solvent wide–format printers, when asked whether they foresee a shift in their future output from aqueous to eco–solvent, or from eco–solvent to aqueous, more than half said they expect to use eco–solvent printers for more of the types of prints that they currently produce using aqueous printers. Lyra anticipates a major increase in the variety of prints that will be made using eco–solvent printers. (derived from Commercial Printing: An Overview of Production and Wide–Format). Read more...

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Inside the IRgA

For less than the cost of your daily cup of coffee IRgA members and their employees can enjoy all the information and services that IRgA provides to help you grow your business. Now for a limited time Join IRgA and get 15 months for the price of 12.

Just a Few IRgA Member Benefits Include:

• REPRO REPORT Magazine provides the most reliable and up–to–date information for businesses involved in wide–format technology.
• News Digest Email Newsletter delivers breaking imaging news, technologies, member information, and company profiles to your inbox.
• IRgA's Membership Directory is not only a great resource for peer networking, but also a resource for inquiries received by the IRgA for products and services, and sending potential clients to your door.
• Interactive Member Database provides active members with free comprehensive listings on the searchable association website and includes a link to your company's web site.

Find out about the rest of the benefits and take advantage of this incredible offer! Click here.

Feature

Give Your Dead Computers a Proper Burial
By John Marquardt

Recently I was walking through the PC graveyard for an international marketing firm. Now, I've had pretty big PC graveyards myself as the IT muckety–muck for a Midwest reprographics firm, but this was...impressive. I estimated almost 1000 computers–mostly Dells and Macs–with a few hundred monitors (generally over 19") and about 100 laptops as well. They filled almost the entire floor of a skyscraper in downtown Minneapolis.

As a technophile (go ahead, say it–"geek") I feel a strong connection to hardware. I know they are just objects, commodities that we use up. Except they aren't used up–they have the same capacity to perform that they did the day they came off the line. There is nothing inherently wrong with them; they are just not as good as the current state–of–the–art. I know many, many of you have your own computer graveyards. Maybe they came about because as a machine was replaced, there was no hand–me–down path for old PCs or maybe you just didn't want to deal with the headache of disposal. Maybe you thought they would still be of use some day.

Given my previous statements, I hope you can believe me when I say it pains me to advise this, but destroy them!

The full article on this subject will appear in the May/June 2005 issue of REPRO REPORT.

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