Police Press tackles digital printing with a new KODAK NEXPRESS Press and KODAK DIGIMASTER System
Tags: Kodak / Kodak Digimaster / Kodak NexPress
Police Press in Cairo, a commercial printer working for the Egyptian police and government, has invested in a KODAK NEXPRESS S3000 Digital Production Color Press equipped with a KODAK NEXPRESS Glossing Unit and two KODAK DIGIMASTER EX150 Digital Production Systems with finishing capability to boost its production speed and capacity, penetrate new markets and generate additional revenue. Founded in September 1999, Police Press has today more than 500 employees working over 2 shifts a day.
Operating in a variety of market segments, approximately 40 to 50% of the company’s work is focused on commercial applications. The increasing market trend towards shorter print runs in a very competitive market with tight deadlines led Police Press to invest in digital printing. The remaining 50 to 60% includes work for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Police Press tackles digital printing with a new KODAK NEXPRESS Press and KODAK DIGIMASTER System
Increased digital volume at reasonable prices
The systems were installed at the beginning of September 2009 when the company celebrated its 10th Annual anniversary. Since then, the company’s digital print volume has been steadily increasing every month. The KODAK NEXPRESS Press is now producing an impressive one million A3 pages per month while each of the KODAK DIGIMASTER Systems is doing no less than two million impressions per month.
“Police Press saw digital as a way to fill the gap in their market for short-run printing at a reasonable price. The right solution had to deliver both excellent print quality and cost efficiency, as well as allowing the company to quickly turn around client jobs,” explains Maged Nakhla, Operations Manager at Sidhom & Co, Kodak’s distributor in Egypt.
Before making its decision, Police Press went through a rigorous but swift tender process which involved a number of digital printing solution providers. The company was particularly impressed with the flexibility of the KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Press, being able to handle heavy-weight substrates up to 350 gsm as well as printing in polyester at 400 microns. It was also thrilled with the speed of the KODAK DIGIMASTER System and the fact that it can handle oversize A3 formats up to 364mm x 470mm.
Delivering new market applications
The decision to invest in the KODAK DIGIMASTER Systems was influenced by two key projects, the Egyptian National ID application and passport forms. With a monthly volume of one million A3 pages including barcodes as variable data, this is no small challenge. The systems are also used to produce B/W educational books where speed is of the essence. Another variable data application includes checks for the National Bank of Egypt which are being pre-printed in offset with variable elements added by the KODAK DIGIMASTER System.
Other applications on the KODAK NEXPRESS Press range from color tickets with security watermarks to personalized brochures and high quality books. Clearly, the digital printing investment has opened new market avenues for Police Press. It even uses it for their demanding Italian and French fashion publishing customers when in need of producing proofs for fashion magazines where high quality and color accuracy are paramount.
Installation of the three machines took no more than two weeks which meant that Police Press got up and running with digital in virtually no time following training sessions in Germany and on-site. “This is the 2nd installation of a KODAK NEXPRESS Press in Egypt and the 1st installation of a KODAK DIGIMASTER System in North-Africa and the customer is enchanted with the results. It clearly illustrates the success to come for digital printing in this region.”, adds Mr. Arif Khan, Area Business Manager – MENAFT – Consumer Digital & Commercial Product Group.
“The performance of both the KODAK NEXPRESS Press and the KODAK DIGIMASTER System is unbelievable. They are very stable machines that can handle many different applications, heavy-weight substrates and double-sided work, all perfectly suited to our current and future business. We are currently looking into providing new services to our customers, such as direct marketing actions, photo applications and many other digital solutions. We are convinced Kodak and Sidhom & Co will be the perfect partners to establish our business goals.”, concludes Mohamed Abu Zahara, General Manager at Police Press.
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.
More than 75 million people worldwide manage, share and create photo gifts online at KODAK Gallery—join today at www.kodakgallery.com
In the graphic communications market, Kodak offers the broadest portfolio of integrated solutions to help customers grow their business. For more information, visit www.graphics.kodak.com. For downloading photos and videos from Kodak’s image library, visit www.kodak.com/go/gcimages.
(Kodak, Nexpress and Digimaster are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company).
GHTime Code(s): 8705a 5a787
