Baldwin Technology Co. announced that will reduce its workforce of 700 by 10 percent. This affects all of Baldwin businesses and locations around the world, including its graphic production and control, material handling and print on demand groups.

The company’s official statement said that the workforce reduction reflects Baldwin’s ongoing efforts to streamline the business and keep competitive in a difficult printing equipment market place.

www.baldwintech.com

Day International Inc. has brought together its three brands of pressroom products to create more value for the customer. Varn pressroom chemicals, dayGraphica offset printing blankets and sleeves and Rotec flexographic products will all be marketed and sold through Day’s Image Transfer Group.

The Image Transfer Group, introduced last year, offers a range of printing products, technical services and customer support.

www.dayintl.com

The Chicago Tribune Co., a subsidiary of Tribune Co. agreed to acquire Chicago magazine from Primedia Inc. through an affiliate for $35 million in cash. The magazine will operate as an independent publication and continue to maintain its own editorial and advertising staffs.

John Carroll, publisher of Chicago magazine and Richard Babcock, editor will remain in their current positions with the magazine. Chicago magazine was established in 1952 and has a circulation of 182,000 and readership of 1.5 million.

This year’s annual International Newspaper Group Conference is being held from Sept. 24-26, 2002, at the Westin O’Hare Hotel in Chicago, located at 6100 N River Road. The theme of the conference is “Reducing Costs and Generating Revenues — Lessons Learned.”

The program includes sessions on improving operational efficiencies, reducing costs and increasing revenue opportunities, as well as tours of the new Chicago Tribune Sunday packaging center and a tour of The Sun Times production facility.

The Halifax Herald is building a 60,000-square-foot printing plant on a greenfield site to house its new WIFAG OF 370 PCU newspaper press. It will be delivered in July 2003 and is expected to be operational by the end of that year.

www.wifag.com

Printing Industries of America and the Occupational Safe and Health Administration entered into an agreement to establish a collaborative relationship to foster safer and more healthful workplaces. The agreement marks the first alliance OSHA has made with an industry to target ergonomic safety training and awareness. The agreement includes the Screenprinting and Graphic Imaging Association International.

Out-of-market newspaper provider, NewspaperDirect, named Konica as its exclusive license partner for Japan. The service will be deployed throughout Japan as Konica NewspaperDirect. The agreement will make NewspaperDirect’s 135-plus newspaper titles available at locations using Konica equipment throughout Japan. Konica plans a quick rollout of the service throughout Japan, to make newspapers available to supply hotels, businesses and subscribers, tourists and foreigners.

Three newly published surveys from Printing Industries of America about compensation for employees in the graphic arts industry are now available for purchase. The studies were conducted by Ronnie Davis, PIA’s chief economist, among a sampling of more than 500 companies from throughout the U.S., and they are intended for use in developing salary and benefits packages for graphic arts personnel and allows for benchmarking compensation, benefits and HR policies against the industry.

The Automation Division of FKI Logistex introduced the Photo-Eye Accuglide Plus Conveyor. The FKI Logistex Accuglide Plus offers a design to handle high-volume, multi-SKU distribution and provides a transportation system for a broad range of product sizes and weights, true zero-pressure accumulation and a quiet working environment. The Accuglide Plus features a UHMW track for the roller chain with urethane driver pad and optional precision roller bearings for low sound volumes. The photo-eye sensor eliminates the noise created by product impact against mechanical sensors. The roller chain with urethane drive pad allows for zero-pressure accumulation for a smooth, continuous product flow.

News Communications, Inc. and Hollinger International Inc. announced that Hollinger has acquired an interest in News Communications, Inc., publisher of The Hill and Dan’s Papers, through a newly formed partnership from James A. Finkelstein, News Communications president and chief executive officer. The newly formed Hollinger-Finkelstein partnership will own, on a fully diluted basis, approximately 29% of the outstanding stock of News Communications. The partnership and Finkelstein control a majority of the voting power of News Communications through existing shareholder arrangements.

GEI Prepress, a division of Graphic Enterprises of North Canton, Ohio and ProImage Limited of Or-Akiva, Israel, have entered into an agreement providing each with the ability to market the products of the other.

GEI specializes in software development and the sale and support of OPI, workflow, copydot scanning and proofing solutions for the newspaper and related industries.

ProImage develops and markets NewsWay, a browser-based workflow automation system. It provides one management solution for planning, workflow, tracking and transmission.

Knight Ridder has adopted reverse auctioning as a new strategy to ensure the lowest total cost on certain goods and services. The company ran its first Internet-hosted reverse auction in May for incremental newsprint tonnage. A reverse auction is a live, Web-based event in which a buyer provides their specific needs and invites sellers to participate through an interactive bidding process.

Journal Register Co. presented its new suburban Philadelphia production facility to Bear Stearns’ clients on May 23. The facility commenced operations in December 2001 and is currently printing five daily and 14 non-daily publications. The company anticipates adding 16 non-daily publications from its Montgomery Newspapers weekly group by the end of June and another eight non-daily publications by the end of the third quarter of 2002.

Heidelberg’s Print Media Academy is sponsoring a Summer University program August 2002. Fees for the six-day seminar is $2,500 and does not cover travel and housing costs.

Topics at Summer University include innovation management, marketing and sales, Human Resources, finance and new technologies – with particular emphasis on digital printing. The curriculum will be taught through lectures, presentations, workshops and self-learning modules. Course size is limited to 25 people.

www.heidelberg.com

Detroit Newspapers officials announced the expansion of Detroit Weekend Direct’s weekly advertising package distributed in partnership with Advo Inc. Beginning in late June, distribution will increase to over 1.5 million households and will encompass Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and some adjacent ZIP codes in other counties. The package is an integrated weekend advertising package combining targeted direct mail with newspaper distribution in The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press.

www.advo.com

On May 26, the Chicago Tribune’s Sunday advertising inserts and coupons were gathered together and wrapped in a single package within the newspaper. The collated package also included the newspaper’s Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine, Comics, Parade, TV Week and Books.

The new Sunday wrap will roll out in phases as collating equipment gradually is installed at Freedom Center North, the Tribune’s new 117,000- square-foot Sunday inserting facility. Initial collated packages will be distributed outside of the Tribune’s nine-county primary market area-to places such as Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan, eventually moving into the suburbs and the city.