NEXPO'97

    They call it "The Big Easy," and at NEXPO'97, New Orleans clearly lived up to the name. Never in recent NEXPO history have the deals and dollars flowed so easily.

    Exhibitors were practically pinching themselves. Observed Tom Shafer, director of production technologies for the Thompson Newspaper Group, "I have not seen a vendor who did not have a smile on his or her face in the last three days. They have been packed."

    That was especially true for the pre-press and new-media booths. Said Tony Adeshina, quality-assurance manager for The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, "There were vendors that used to talk to me that didn't have time to talk to me because of how busy they were."

    The stars over the mighty Mississippi seemed to line up in just the right way to put newspapers in a buying mood. Retail advertising is up. Newsprint prices, down. Then there's the fear factor: Our 30-year-old classified systems just might explode on Jan. 1, 2000, injuring millions, and they don't speak "Internet."

    Microsoft Corp. of Redmond, Wash., attended NEXPO for the first time, apparently attracted by the scent of money. Once again, Mr. Gates' timing was impeccable.

    Computer-to-plate systems, which may have seemed like a gamble last year in Las Vegas, now appear much more of a sure thing. "There's an incredible amount of activity on the floor in computer to plate," said Jack Stanley, vice president of operations for the Houston Chronicle. "It is impressive what has happened in a year, and a lot of people are taking it seriously."

    Shaftless presses, much like the CTP systems, were out in full force this year after last year's debut. Maschinenfabrik WIFAG of Bern, Switzerland, stole the show in Las Vegas with its new GTD systems and a sale to The Tulsa (Okla.) World. This year, in contrast, all the major manufacturers showed systems and had sales to discuss.

    For those not in the market for a new press, controls and accessories were the rage. "There are at least five vendors who are seriously chasing the business of retrofitting offset presses with not only digital ink packs, but also new control systems and new color-monitoring systems," said Stanley.

    Several new post-press products were on display, including a three-story-tall line-storage system from Heidelberg Finishing Systems. Some saw it as a giant pizza box, while others were reminded of the monolith in "2001: A Space Odyssey." Said Shafer, "In the last four or five years, we have been looking at remanufactured equipment. While we are still doing some of that, there is once again an emphasis on new equipment. It's becoming where we can afford it."

    Next year's NEXPO will be in sunny Orlando, Fla., and we're already breaking out our similes. Will the industry continue to roar like the Lion King, or will it squeak like Mickey Mouse? If it's the latter, we can always meet in New Orleans Square at the Magic Kingdom and reminisce.

    See the following NEXPO stories:

    NEXPO'97 New Media

    NEXPO'97 Pre-Press

    NEXPO'97 Press

    NEXPO'97 Materials

    NEXPO'97 Post-Press

    NEXPO'97 On Site

    NEXPO stories were written by:
    Elise Burroughs,Presstime executive editor. E-mail, burre@naa.org; phone, (703) 902-1678; fax, (703) 902-1690.
    Mark Toner, Presstime staff writer. E-mail, tonem@naa.org; phone, (703) 902-1684; fax, (703) 902-1690.
    Rosalind C. Truitt, Presstime staff writer. E-mail,truir@naa.org; phone, (703) 902-1684; fax, (703) 902-1690.
    Additional reporting by Atwood Convention Publishing.
    Photographs byJim Richards, NAA director of multimedia and special projects.

    TechNews Volume 3, Number 4: July/August 1997
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©1997 Newspaper Association of America. All rights reserved.