Kodak underpins Formara’s commitment to good practice
Tags: Kodak / Kodak Electra / Kodak Magnus / Kodak NexPress / Kodak Prinergy
* Kodak investments form vital part of Formara’s commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility
Good practice in all aspects of its work has turned Formara into a highly successful print house. With an annual turnover of £3 million, its 57 employees work on site in Southend-on-Sea, Essex UK, to serve a diverse client base. Formara boasts an impressive portfolio of plant including one B2 and two B3 litho presses supplied by a KODAK MAGNUS 400 Platesetter using KODAK ELECTRA EXCEL Thermal Plates plus four digital presses, three of which are B&W and the fourth a KODAK NEXPRESS M700 Digital Color Press. Formara’s investment in version 4.2 of the KODAK PRINERGY Workflow System is an additional force.
Managing Director Freddie Kienzler explains, “By choosing Kodak for platesetting, workflow and digital print investments we know we are supporting our customers and helping them save money. In a recent customer survey respondents cited quality, value for money and reliability as the top three reasons for doing business with Formara. We no longer compete on price alone. We work with our customers to help develop print solutions and produce quality print specifically tailored to their needs. These are the customers we want to retain and attract.”
Managing Director Freddie Kienzler explains, “By choosing Kodak for platesetting, workflow and digital print investments we know we are supporting our customers and helping them save money
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NEXPRESS Press offers litho quality
Before the installation of the KODAK NEXPRESS Press, Formara was not convinced about the quality of digital print compared to litho output. “Our digital print output has increased by 35%,” enthuses Freddie Kienzler. “With our new digital press, we are able to transfer litho work onto the NEXPRESS Press. This enables us to bring jobs that were previously contracted out, back in-house. Additional benefits come from the Operator Replaceable Components (ORC) programme that Kodak offers with its NEXPRESS Presses. We believe this significantly reduces the cost of print. The components last a long time thereby helping to minimize variable costs. Additionally, we can print on whichever size substrate we prefer, to maximize production efficiency and incur the least wastage.”
“Our digital print output has increased by 35%,” enthuses Freddie Kienzler
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Going green
Formara was already implementing sustainable practices long before the issue entered the limelight. The company had achieved an ISO 14001 environmental standard back in 2002. Freddie Kienzler explains, “For us, being ‘green’ has always been about meeting legal obligations and making ourselves attractive to existing and potential customers. We feel that as a responsible business, it is only sensible to help protect the environment whenever possible and economically viable.” Formara’s commitment to sustainability won it the Environmental Print Business of the Year award in 2007 from The British Association of Print and Communication. The company recycles 90% of its waste, including used KODAK consumables which are handled by J&G Environmental/ Cleansing Service Group. Formara offsets its carbon footprint by replacing kerosene lamps with solar-powered ones in Africa, and runs its fleet of vans on dual LPG and petrol fuel. The company has halved the level of waste sent to landfill and increased its use of FSC papers from 5.6 tonnes to in excess of 16 tons in the last year. It has also lowered the production of hazardous waste chemicals and solvents by 66% over the past two years, partly thanks to its investment in the KODAK MAGNUS 400 Platesetter.
Kodak investments form vital part of Formara’s commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility
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With so many achievements so far, what’s next for Formara?
“Using KODAK Technology we are expanding our services to include on-line ordering and proofing via our web sites. This will undoubtedly bring us in new business.” In 2009, Formara initiated a major marketing campaign, both postal and e-mail using the NEXPRESS Press to produce personalised mailings to users and prospects. “Because VDP forms a major part of our business, we want to provide an even higher standard of service,” concludes Freddie Kienzler. We are working towards an ISO 27001 standard for secure data management and will continue to use Kodak technology. We see Formara and Kodak as a working partnership for the future. The synergies between the technologies and the convenience of speaking with just one manufacturer makes perfect sense.”
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About Kodak
As the world’s foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives.
To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com and follow our blogs and more at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus.
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For more information about Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, visit www.graphics.kodak.com. For downloading photos and videos from Kodak’s image library, visit: http://graphics.kodak.com/gcimages.
(Kodak, Nexpress, Magnus, Electra Excel and Prinergy are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.)
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