Scientists at Xerox have built a new technology that can translate human descriptions of colour into mathematical algorithms. The technology, called Natural Language Colour, can take phrases like “make the reds more vibrant” or “make the skin tones more warm” and compute them into real hue edits to apply to photos. This latest development has far-reaching implications for today’s office worker, graphic artist, painter or photographer.

Domtar Corporation, based in Montreal, Canada, is the largest integrated manufacturer and marketer of uncoated freesheet paper in North America and the second largest in the world. The company recently announced a significant milestone: the sale of its millionth ton of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper.

PacBlue Printing is a Vancouver-based digital printing and reprographics company that has been in operation for more than 60 years.  The business has recently announced the opening of a new downtown branch on Pender Street for retail sales and service. The family-owned company boasts its ability to print on many kinds of substrates such as paper, vinyl, fabric, wood, or Plexiglas.

Presstek DI press owners can now be more eco-friendly by using the company’s new environmentally conscious brand of waterless inks. Originally debuted at the Print 09 show, the DI-Dry ink series is designed to stay open in the ink fountains for up to a week, resulting in fewer washups. The inks are available in Pantone colours, special mix PMS, metallic and fluorescent colours, as well as varnishes.

Epson Canada has recently announced its new 17-inch printer – the Epson Stylus Pro 3880. The new product features the company’s UltraChrome K3 with Vivid Magenta ink technology. The Stylus Pro is capable of 17”x22” output and utilizes a MicroPiezo AMC print head which can produce gallery quality colour and B&W output, says the company.

EFI’s Pace management system is a software solution that has modules for estimating, scheduling, production, accounting, sales management and e-commerce. It is JDF compliant and has a customizable architecture. The company has recently announced that version 22 of the system features an iPhone interface that has been designed with salespeople and executive managers in mind.

Agfa has recently expanded its GreenWorks program to include additional “green” printers. The initiative highlights their customers that are contributing to eco-friendly efforts and becoming more environmentally responsible. The company honors these GreenWorks organizations and assists them in building awareness about their accomplishments.

INX International demonstrated their latest technology at Chicago’s Print 09 show – a UV press that can image on cylindrical objects such as bottles, cans and even golf club shafts. The company says that the equipment will be beneficial for short-run production of items like commemorative sports team cans or holiday bottles.

For the second time this month, RISO has launched a new envelope feeder onto the market. Earlier in September, the company unveiled its KR324-R, a high-speed inline envelope feeder. Now RISO has announced the AR9100 – a high-speed envelope feeder designed for use with the ComColor and HC5500 inkjet printers.

Fujifilm's Taskero Universe ColorPath Verified is a system for remotely monitoring and maintaining the color production process. A recent announcement reveals the company's plans to partner the technology with EFI's Colorproof XF RIP and proofing solution, which produces ISO-compliant prints and contract proofs on inkjet, laser and LED printers.

KBA has partnered with Pace Industries, a plastic extrusion manufacturer for the graphic arts industry, to produce biodegradable products that can be printed on. The Agribase plastic is called BIOGRAPH.ics and is fully compostable, meaning that it won’t spend years degrading in a landfill and adding toxins into the environment.

C.P. Bourg, a manufacturer of print finishing equipment, demonstrated its BSF Sheet Feeder at Print 09 – showcasing an in-line connection to a Xerox Nuvera 288 EA Perfecting Production System. This collaboration has resulted in the industry’s first fully automated hybrid document finishing workflow.

InfoPrint Solutions, a joint venture between IBM and Ricoh, has announced two new TransPromo workflow packages. The first is the InfoPrint ProcessDirector (IPPD), which manages the document print cycle from creation through insertion. It utilizes the Whitespace Manager to recognize unused space and to insert targeted messages and promotions into the document.

Avanti Computer Systems received two “worth-a-look” awards at Print 09 from the show’s Executive Outlook Committee. The Print MIS and web-to-print solutions company was honoured for their Direct Mail Management module and the addition of Microsoft Outlook into their CRM module.

At the Print 09 show Xanté and Pantone revealed a new partnership, announcing that Xanté’s Ilumina solutions line has become licensed by Pantone. This collaboration makes it possible for smaller print shops to compete for corporate colour business and for larger printers and design shops to create production-quality jobs.

Xerox has announced a new cost-effective, eco-friendly coated stock to its line of paper products. Called Digital C1S, the paper is FSC certified – meaning that it meets strict environmental regulations and has been manufactured using raw materials that come from certified sustainable sources.