May 7, 2007—The AIIM/On Demand Conference and Expo, held in Boston this year, April 16-19, attracted nearly 25,000 visitors from 50 states and 77 countries, and featured more than 425 exhibitors, including more than 150 new companies—a success any way you look at it.

"The conferences and expos succeeded beyond our expectations. The conference program attracted business and technology professionals from around the world to learn about the entire information life cycle. The energy of the expo floor was exhilarating, with attendees exploring a variety of technology options. And the prominent keynote speakers, special events, and sponsors demonstrated the critical importance of these industries," said Christina Condos, group show director, Questex Media Group.

The show was the largest event ever held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, with more than 180,000 sq. ft. of floor space devoted to the exhibitors' booths, and 2.6 million pounds of freight.

But What About the News?
As always, there was an abundance of news and new products on the show floor. While we can't cover everything that made news this year in this space, we will hit a few of the highlights. For additional information about the show and the products displayed there, visit www.ondemandexpo.com or the manufacturers' Web sites.

The Best of Show awards, given each year by On Demand and InfoTrends, this year were divided into eight categories.

This year's winners were: PAT Technology for its Varstar Digital UV Coater in the Bindery, Finishing and Mailing Equipment category; Enfocus for NEO in the Document Creation Software category; Xerox for the Nuvera 288 in Monochrome Digital Printing Equipment; Avanti for its Graphic Arts Management System in Print MIS/ERP; Kodak, for the NexPress M700, in Process Color Digital Printing Equipment; Océ's VarioStream 9240 in Spot Color Digital Printing Equipment; Bitstream for its Pageflex Storefront 5 in Web-to-Print Solutions; and Rochester Software Associates (RSA) for its WebCRD 6.06 in the Workflow Solutions category.

The competition was judged by a panel of respected professionals from the graphic arts and printing community, including Frank Romano, professor emeritus, Rochester Institute of Technology; Don Goldman, director, ConsultWare; and Noel Ward, executive editor, On Demand Journal.

"The awards program recognizes the companies that are truly at the forefront of innovation and leadership in the digital imaging and document solutions industry. We are thrilled to honor them for their outstanding achievements," said Patrick Gallagher, event director, AIIM and On Demand Conferences & Expos, Questex Media Group.

To bring the power of personalization to a wider variety of business documents, XMPie, a standalone software unit of Xerox Corp., and Pitney Bowes Emtex Software, a subsidiary of Pitney Bowes, are collaborating to offer a software solution that will help print professionals gain dominance over the "Promotional Transactional" printing market.

Promotional Transactional is the practice of adding personalized promotional messages and advertisements to mandatory transactional communications. The strengths of XMPie's PersonalEffect variable-data publishing software combined with Emtex's VIP output management software for high-volume transaction printing provides a unique product for these jobs. The two companies are examining an even more intimate integration of their products to deliver an easier, more streamlined, and more efficient total solution for promotional transactional communications.

Xerox Corp. bolstered every part of its business with 15 new and enhanced products at the show, all designed to spur growth, productivity, and efficiency in the on demand printing and document management market.

"At the end of last year, we committed to bring more products to market in 2007 than we did in 2006. With [this] roll-out, we've already delivered on that promise—within the first four months of the year," according to Ursula Burns, president, Xerox. "Our unrelenting push in digital printing and consulting keeps us at the forefront of the digital document revolution, and there's more to come."

Xerox launched a range of offerings for the production printing market from high volume to light production. The Nuvera EA Digital Production System and Nuvera 288 Digital Perfecting System further strengthen the company's high-volume black-and-white portfolio of machines; new digital copier/printers target the growing light production space; and additions to Xerox's color family deliver high image quality at an economical price. In addition, new workflow software from the company is available to streamline the printing process from start to finish.

Océ demonstrated a variety of solutions at the show, with the theme of "Breakthrough Business Results." The company's Job Appropriate Color strategy offers a product set with multiple speed bands, technologies, and capabilities so customers can purchase and pay for only the level of color they need to make a job effective. The VarioStream 9000 family is the centerpiece of Job Appropriate Color, and its newest member made its U.S. debut at On Demand. The VarioStream 9240 4/4, full-color CMYK system will produce a variety of applications in a roll-to-roll configuration.

Canon U.S.A. Inc. made a number of hardware- and software-related announcements designed to enhance the digital printing workflow experience for corporate users, print services providers, and production printers. The company also showcased the imagePRESS C7000VP digital press and related imagePRESS workflow solutions.

"The results of Canon's continued commitment to and investment in innovative digital workflow solutions and technologies can be seen in products like our new imagePRESS C7000VP digital press, which have enabled us to exceed customer expectations and be a market leader," according to Tod Pike, the senior vice president and general manager of Imaging Systems Group for Canon.

Presstek Inc. demonstrated its printing solutions that yield superior quality in a cost-effective manner. With more than 3,000 systems installed worldwide, Presstek's family of DI presses continues to offer a competitive advantage in the short-run growth market segment.

"Presstek solutions are designed to deliver the most profitable short-run color in the on demand space," said Todd Chambers, the chief marketing officer of Presstek. "By delivering fast turnaround, cost-effective, superior quality through the combination of digital and offset, DI presses help drive our customers' business growth. Our customers continually demonstrate how the DI has helped them become more competitive in their market."