Print Industry News
Freek takes on new responsibilities at Heidelberg
Ken Freek, a 35-year printing industry veteran, has a new role
at Heidelberg Canada leading its Subscription Sales Support
efforts as the OEM introduces the Heidelberg Subscription
Model to Canadian printers. Through its subscription model,
Heidelberg provides everything a printer needs – including
new Heidelberg equipment, Prinect software, Saphira con-
sumables, parts, consulting, and service – all for a monthly
fee that’s based on the number of printed sheets produced
each month. The cost-per-sheet
charge is calculated by working with
individual printers to analyze their
current operations and to predict
what production levels can be
expected once all Heidelberg com-
ponents are in place. This also helps
establish a goal for printers to
increase their overall production and
decrease their total cost-per-sheet. Ken Freek
Bachant is new President of Xerox Canada
Xerox has appointed of Martin Bachant as President of Xerox
Canada Ltd. He’ll report to Mike Feldman, President of Americas
Operations for Xerox. Bachant will be responsible for Canada’s
go-to-market strategy, operations, sales and delivery of document
technology, and services for enterprise, graphic communica-
tions, and public-sector clients across all business channels.
Prior to his appointment, he was Senior VP of Xerox’s Canadian
sales operations. Before that, he held roles of increasing
responsibility – including VP and GM of Eastern Regional
Operations and Québec. “In my 30 years with the company,
there has never been a more exciting
time at Xerox,” said Bachant. “We’re
re-positioning the business for long-
term growth and success, focusing
on adding value for our clients with
our expanded portfolio of software
and services. I’m honoured to lead
our Canadian organization at this
pivotal point in Xerox’s history.”
Martin Bachant
Canon announces Océ corporate name change
Canon (Tokyo, Japan) and Océ (Venlo, The Netherlands) have
announced the official corporate name change of the Canon
Group Company Océ, to Canon Production Printing. After
joining the Canon Group in 2010, Océ continued to develop
and manufacture its printing products under the Océ brand.
By renaming Océ to Canon Production Printing and integrating
Océ products under the Canon brand, the OEMs said that the
move will “create brand unity across all areas of our printing
business, improve synergies across our portfolio, and establish
a clear end-to-end, go-to-market approach.” The official name
change takes effect January 1, 2020. “Since its establishment
in 1877, Océ has introduced a number of unique copying and
10 | November 2019 | GRAPHIC ARTS MAGAZINE
printing technologies. Through further
integration with the Canon Group, Océ
will continue to develop its core tech-
nologies and grow its market share as
Canon Production Printing, in order to
accelerate the growth of the Canon
Group’s commercial printing business
worldwide,” the companies added.
Canon Group Company Océ will become Canon Production Printing.
Hundreds celebrate the life of Mary Black
With the theme of “The House that Mary Built,” Ryerson
University’s School of Graphic Communications Management
(GCM) organized a special evening last month at The Heidelberg
Centre in downtown Toronto to celebrate Mary Black’s life
and numerous accomplishments. She passed away July 5. In
1996, she became Professor and Chair of Ryerson’s GCM
where she developed management trainees for the printing
industry. During her 10 years at Ryerson, she was the force
behind the creation of GCMs new home, The Heidelberg
Centre. After Ryerson, Mary became a leading recruiter for
the printing industry. Guest speakers and special guests
included Mary’s daughter Heather Black, GCM Chair Jason
Lisi, Mohamed Lachemi, current President of Ryerson, other
industry leaders, former alumni and GCM faculty members.
Each and ever y speaker
praised Mary for her contribu-
tions and added some lighter
moments that they shared
with this industry icon. As a
lasting and memorable tribute,
the new Mary Black Board-
room was unveiled. A special
thank you to GCM’s Taras
Karpiuk and his staff, who Mary’s daughter Heather
made this evening such a Black, beside a poster of her
mother, addresses the crowd.
memorable success.
Agfa improves high-security printing software workflow
Agfa Graphics has further automated its high-security printing
portfolio with the addition of Asecuri all-in-one prepress work-
flow. The OEM has also updated Fortuna, its high-security
printing-design software. This addition of Asecuri will enable
“a fully-fledged prepress workflow that covers all bases.” The
software can be connected to Fortuna or other security-
design solutions, as well as to the printing presses themselves.
Users will get a full-resolution output preview and an automatic
comparison at pixel level between two security jobs. Asecuri
also automatically corrects line thickness and makes adjust-
ments for specific printing processes. Fortuna was also
updated via a new and improved user interface that emulates
Adobe Illustrator, and uses its shortcuts as well. It’s now
possible to open multiple documents and create complex,
random security rasters much more easily.
graphicartsmag.com