SPIRITED COMPETITORS OF GCI CONVERTING (COVER STORY)

Strengthening direct-to-plate services will also be a key focus in 2002, Ruebenson relates. "More and more of our customers want to eliminate the film cost," he says. "We are working closely with a few film houses to handle all of our prepress that requires direct-to-plate."

Market opportunities center in specialties such as tinted metallic coatings, tinted pearlescent coatings, lenticular print, and several new proprietary products under development, notes sales team member Rick Berg. Associate Dave Pawelski expects GCI to stay busy with holographic foil work, hexachrome/stochastic printing, and usage of hybrid UV inks. All the activity should extend well beyond these production categories. GCI has positioned its mid-size operation to handle any printing and converting work with flexibility and expediency.