Latest Ipex champion in print named
The latest Ipex ‘Champion in Print’ has been named as Dan Gelbart. Widely regarded as the ‘Father of CTP’, Gelbert was instrumental force in the move from analogue to digital pre-press printing techniques.
On receiving his accolade Gelbert said: “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.”
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.
All Ipex Champions will be invited to and officially honoured during the show’s opening ceremony that 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 was launched in April 2008 to honour individuals who have influenced and shaped the printing industry across the world.
