For seven days beginning on 9 September, Chicago became the worldwide showcase for printing machinery, press auxiliaries and supplies, pre- and post-press equipment, and a wide foray of other graphic arts paraphernalia. Print 2005 _ the largest printing industry event to be conducted this year _ took place in America's renowned exhibition center known as McCormick Place.
More than 800 exhibitors from around the world came into Chicago to take part in this quadrennial event, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries together with MLP U.S.A. were there in a very big way, exhibiting one of the longest sheet-fed presses among all participating press manufacturers.
The press specifically brought in for the event was Mitsubishi's increasingly popular DIAMOND 3000TP Tandem Perfector.
The 10-color TP was configured as a five-over-five model and included a chamber coater for the front side of the sheet. Focusing on the merit of the TP and supported through video testimonials from current TP customers in the U.S. Each demo also featured a complete job changeover with stock changes to or from thin and thick sheets.
Print samples run and distributed at the show were designed to highlight the highly versatile features of the TP. For commercial and publication printers, the Tandem Perfector produced a unique 16-page brochure based on a Nikon Camera catalog supplemented with TP photos and features. Two of the Tandem Perfectors currently installed in the U.S. are used for printing phone directory covers and this market was targeted in the design of the second print sample.

Mitsubishi's digital workflow was another prominent part of the overall presentation and was particularly useful in promoting this segment of printing house operations. Two management information systems (MIS) _ one from HiFlex and the other from EFI _ were available for monitoring real-time TP press operations and status. These were linked with the Mitsubishi IPC Server, the IPC of the Tandem Perfector and a separate IPC display which ran a simulation program. A wireless network conveniently linked all components.
We received a number of orders and inquiries compared to Print 2001, thanks to Mitsubishi's aggressive approach to promoting printing presses and the robust U.S. economy.
While official attendance figures for the show have yet to be released, organizers anticipated a visitor turnout of nearly 80,000. In support of international visitors, Mitsubishi sales agencies and distributors from MLP Canada, MLP UK, MLP Hong Kong, Turkey, Mexico and South America were also on hand.