Father of modern CTP technology scoops international Ipex 2010 ‘Champions in Print’ award
The organisers of Ipex 2010 have announced the Father of Modern CTP Technology, Dan Gelbart, as the latest winner of its international ‘Champions in Print’ Awards. Mr Gelbart, the eighth industry pioneer to be honoured with this accolade, has been awarded for being instrumental in the move from analogue to digital pre-press printing.
A leader of new solutions in communications and electro-optics, father of three Gelbart started inventing in his laboratory in his parents’ home in Israel when he was just eight years old. At 12 he was the recipient of an award for child inventors from the prestigious Weitzman Institute, and since then he has never looked back. After obtaining his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in electrical engineering from the Technion in Haifa, Israel, and completing the mandatory army service, Gelbart emigrated to Vancouver, Canada, and co-founded Creo in 1984, where he developed award-winning technology – including the light valve thermal imaging system and the thermal imaging head. Gelbart retired from printing in 2007, after Creo was sold to Kodak in 2005, and is currently working on medical devices. In total Gelbart holds over 100 patents to his name, most of them related to printing, covering thermal imaging, multi-channel heads, direct-to-press, flexography and plate handling. Gelbart enjoys the luxury of a private R&D facility, including a full CNC machine shop, located in his house in Vancouver
Gelbart’s passion and skill for cutting edge-technology (he also invented an optical tape recorder, novel colour digital film recorder and a wireless telecom modem) knows no boundaries and he is currently Technology Advisor for Kardium Inc., a developer of medical devices to address cardiovascular disease. Gelbart is an often honoured inventor – awards include the Reed Technology Medal (2009), British Columbia Science Council Gold Medal (twice), Institute of Printing Gold Medal, Honorary Doctorates (from Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia), and 1999 Entrepreneur of the Year, along with Amos Michelson, by Ernst & Young.
Ipex 2010 Event Director, Trevor Crawford says, “We are delighted to honour Dan Gelbart for his exceptional contributions to the printing industry. We have been overwhelmed by the interest in the Champions in Print initiative and look forward to welcoming them to Ipex 2010.”
Dan Gelbart comments: ‘I am honoured, surprised and delighted by this award. Honoured by seeing the names of prior recipients, but mainly surprised as I’m retired from printing for over three years. I guess in an industry with over 500 years of tradition, being away for a few years is not an issue. Printing is an amazing combination of art and science and I still catch myself checking print quality on every magazine or book I’m reading. As in many other mature industries, there is a surprising amount of innovation happening, as this Ipex 2010 demonstrates.’
All Ipex Champions will be invited to and officially honoured during the show’s opening ceremony which will take place on Tuesday, 18th May at 11.30am in The Atrium at The NEC. All are welcome to attend the event which will also see a number of other key industry figures celebrating the beginning of this eight-day industry highlight.
The Ipex 2010 ‘Champions in Print’ Awards were launched in April 2008 to honour individuals who have influenced and shaped the printing industry across the world. Ten winners are announced in the run-up to Ipex 2010, which will take place from 18th - 25th May at the NEC, Birmingham, UK. Previous winners included: John Crosfield, Lord Bob Gavron, Dr. John Warnock, Dr. Charles Geschke, Professor Frank Romano, JK Rowling and Benny Landa.
No comments:
Post a Comment