Kodak Graphic Arts Users Assemble in Las Vegas

Both attendees and hosts reaped in the benefits of the open exchange at this year's annual Graphic Users' Association conference held April 20 to 23 within the refined elegance of the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
Dedicated to users of Kodak graphic arts solutions, the GUA conference (formerly the Creo's Users Group event) provides an atmosphere of relaxed intensity, where casually attired front-line print production workers interact with colleagues as well as like-minded technically-inclined software product developers to share ideas and solve problems.
A handful of Canadians were among the 314 graphic arts delegates at the conference. Peter Madliger, vice president, prepress for Hemlock Printers in Burnaby, B.C., has been on the GUA Board of Directors since 1997. "Unlike a trade show, there's the user interface after sessions among user peers," says Madliger. "And the access level is different. Developers are here, and the product management team."
In his welcoming address, Tom Clifford of R.R. Donnelley and president of the GUA indicated that overall Association membership is up 11% from last year, and attendance at this year's conference increased over 50% compared to 2007.
An indication of the heightened interest level, according to Clifford, was how six classroom sessions dedicated to Kodak Prinergy's Rules Based Automation "sold out faster than Apple iPhones on their opening day."
A member since 1997 and an avid GUA supporter, Clifford's message to all attendees was, “I want you to go home with far less questions than you came here with.”
Faraci stated that restructuring to a digitally focused organization is behind them, and the transformation is now contributing profit to the company. He illustrated how the sudden drop in Kodak's traditional film business, from $10 billion in 2000 to $500 million last year, required an equally dramatic change in direction. “We’ve now started to focus on growth,” says Faraci, adding that the company will now become more aggressive on that front.
The remainder of the conference addressed new product enhancements and insights into Kodak's drupa offerings, along with business development offerings.
Judi Hess, general manager, enterprise solutions with Kodak's Graphic Communication's Group, detailed developments in enterprise marketing management solutions, introducing Kodak InSite Campaign Manager, a comprehensive tool for analyzing data and delivering post-campaign analytics. Still in development, it's slated to become available in early 2009.
Hess also introduced the Kodak Graphic Community, a conceptual framework based on a Web 2.0 philosophy, leveraging the Internet to create relationships among like-minded service providers. The backbone is Kodak InSite. “If you have InSite you can join the community,” says Hess, stressing that membership is entirely optional.
Other highlights included a session on Kodak's Stream continuous inkjet technology, where Dan Denofsky, director product management, inkjet printing solutions, piqued the audience's attention with a printed comparison from the lab, setting a Stream print beside an offset printed piece. Attendees were impressed.
Overall GUA 2008 represented an atmosphere of camaraderie among graphic arts professionals, with both users and vendors walking away winners from this Vegas trip.