COLE'S NEWSWIRE, July 3, 1996

July 3, 1996
Vol. 2, No. 29

The NEWSWIRE is a weekly distribution of information about the sales and installations of publishing technology and the latest news on new products developed by suppliers to the industry.

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AGFA DIVISION, BAYER CORP.
Agfa, based in Ridgefield Park, N.J., has introduced the SelectSet Avantra 44S, a large-format drum imagesetter with greater speed than its predecessor, the Avantra 44.

The 44S can output up to 36-inches by 44.5-inches at a speed of 742 square inches per minute at 1200 dpi. The $189,500 PostScript output device can take polyester plate material as well as helium-neon negative film and paper.

Agfa also has introduced the SelectSet Avantra 25E, an economical drum imagesetter that can output to film, paper or polyester in sizes up to 18-inches by 25-inches. Throughput of the $59,500 machine is 417 square inches per minute at 1200 dpi.

AMERICAN PRESS INSTITUTE
API will celebrate its 50th anniversary Sept. 26 in its hometown, Reston, Va. A reception, dinner and program will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, featuring an address by syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry and skits by the Capitol Steps. Tickets are $100; to order, call Angie King at (703) 620-3611.

AMICUS SYSTEMS
Amicus Systems of London, England, has sold to the JAPAN TIMES (74k daily) four copies of its proprietary justification program to convert output from a legacy SII system to PostScript. The system went into full production in May. Amicus also sells conversion justification programs for Alfa, CCI Europe, Pagitek, Penta and Xerox (Interpress).

CTEXT INC.
CText, a newspaper production systems supplier based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has announced an agreement to market with its advertising systems the agent-based search technology for the World-Wide Web created by Virtual Resources. Called CareerSite, the product enables newspapers to offer interactive classified ads on the web.

CareerSite matches job seekers with job opportunities by using an intelligent agent to search, sort and deliver relevant documents that match the user's personal search characteristics. CareerSite's concept-based searching scans the database of job openings and finds matches regardless of terms used in the search.

ECRM
ECRM, an imagesetter manufacturer based in Tewksbury, Mass., has released version 3.3.7 of the ECRM ScriptSetter Level 2 RIP for the Power Macintosh. The RIP lists for $7,500; upgrades for ECRM customers now using Level 2 RIPS cost $199.

GEAC COMPUTERS INC.
The VisionShift Division of GEAC, based in Tampa, Fla., has migrated one of its products to the Windows NT Server and Microsoft SQL Server. Making the move is VisionShift Database Marketing software, which enables newspapers to provide advertisers with detailed data about subscribers' lifestyles. In addition, VisionShift has introduced the Windows NT client version of VisionShift Advertising software.

GMTI
Gannett Media Technologies International of Cincinnati has announced an exclusive distribution agreement with NewsTech Co. of Miami for NewsTech to market GMTI's DiGiCol multimedia information management system to the Latin America market. Established in 1984, NewsTech Co. has regional offices in Bogota, Colombia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

LINOTYPE-HELL
Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Linotype-Hell has announced that it will ship a new imagesetter in August. The eight-up, internal drum Signasetter can image in resolutions up to 5080 dpi and 305 lpi in imaging areas up to 30.31-inches by 42.12-inches. At 1270, throughput is 507 square inches per minute. Priced at $210,000 to $230,000, the Signasetter has guaranteed color repeatability to 5 microns.

MAXUM DEVELOPMENT CORP.
Engineers from Maxum will be on hand at Mactivity/Web July 13 in San Jose, Calif., to discuss with attendees Maxum's add-on tools for servers on the World-Wide Web. Maxum's Mac-based product line includes NetCloak, NetForms, PageSentry, Phantom, WebLock and RushHour.

To RSVP, send e-mail to dean@maxum.com. For more information on Mactivity/Web: The Macintosh WebMasters University, check out http://www.mactivity.com or call (408) 354-2500 or (800) 798-2928.

NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
The NAA has released a study of classified ad readers which found that of the 98 million people who read classifieds last year, 45.3 million responded to at least one ad.

The NAA, which is based in Reston, Va., commissioned Belden Associates to examine private party ads. The results were released at the annual meeting of the NAA's Classified Federation in June in San Diego. The study found that of adults who read classifieds, 87 percent read daily or Sunday class ads and 67 percent read ads in a shopper or weekly. The study also found that readership of home or apartment publications is lower (29 percent), as is readership of vehicle publications (23 percent). Ten percent of those surveyed read classifieds on-line or on bulletin boards.

TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Chicago-based TMS has joined with another Illinois supplier, Multi-Ad Services of Peoria, to create the World-Wide Web Co-op Advertising System (WebCAS), which will be available to users of TMS' WebPoint interactive content product. With WebCAS, WebPoint affiliates will be able to use the Internet to access a database of co-op advertising programs for their on-line products.

The expectation is that through WebCAS, newspapers will find that access to 'Net-based co-op programs will make it easy and affordable for local advertisers to go on-line.

XITRON INC.
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Xitron has introduced Navigator XCS, a Windows-based job control and workflow management product that provides faster access to workstations. With XCS, queues can be created, prioritized and turned on or off to meet ongoing job needs. In addition, should an error occur, Navigator XCS sends a notice to a workstation window for early detection and correction.

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COLE'S NEWSWIRE is compiled by Pete Wetmore and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS, COLE'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING SYSTEMS and consultants to newspapers and magazines worldwide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

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