Inkjet & Digital Printing
Kodaks Graphic Communications Group (GCG) Breaks into Higher Education Market with First Installation of KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Digital Production Color Press
Thursday 21. February 2008 - Personalization Comes Top of Requirement List as University of Surrey Takes Printing Inhouse
The University of Surrey has become the first higher education establishment in the UK to benefit from the expertise of Kodaks GCG group as it expands into the education market.
The university has recently installed a KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Digital Production Color Press for use in its Marketing and Communications department, as it brings in-house the production of its personalized prospectuses and direct mailings, which has been one of the major reasons for its success with student enquiries and enrollment numbers.
Heather Styche-Patel, Director of Marketing and Communications at the University of Surrey says, “Up until the end of the last academic year, we outsourced much of our marketing material and prospectus production. Although this approach worked very well, we decided that we could actually save money by bringing the production in-house.
“Through Infotec we were introduced to the KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Press and together with XMPie technology software, we can now handle personalized projects from design through to print. It was very important to us to be able to continue with printing personalized materials as we have seen this positively and directly affects our enquiry numbers. For example, if an international student orders a prospectus, we would ensure that their prospectus has lots of images from our neighborhood areas. A mature student would however automatically get information of most relevance to them. It is essential for us to carry on with personalization because we know it works.”
The KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Digital Production Color Press delivers 2100 A3/tabloid 4/0 sheets per hour (70 A4 pages per minute). It is also an attractive entry point to digital printing, with excellent image quality, a unique business model, and the support of award-winning KODAK Service and Support. It’s a good fit for small to mid-size printers, in-plant operations, educational facilities, digital service bureaus and small commercial printers wishing to enter the digital color print market affordably.
The 2100 Press is available in a 4- or 5-color configuration. The 5-color configuration enables the KODAK NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions: in-line coating, glossing, or a fifth color to expand the printing gamut and reproduce spot colors.
Heather Styche-Patel continues, “With XMPie we produce personalization of the highest quality, in text and images, to match the print quality of the KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Press. Couple this with the close working relationship of everyone involved in the sales chain and we are very happy. Its been a great success.”
“As a company we are trying sell in to different markets,” says Pat Holloway, UK Marketing Manager for Kodak GCG. “We are very focused on targeting the education and implant areas, and we are pleased that through our partner Infotec, we have a solid route to new customers to provide KODAK Products. The KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Press was perfect for the University of Surreys application and we are delighted that the installation has gone smoothly.”
The first personalized materials are due to roll off the press in the next few months when 2008 enquiries begin. The KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Press will also be used for short run tailored corporate brochures to decrease the surplus out-of-date material often left over from previously out-sourced longer runs. By bringing production in-house, construction of short run jobs is much more cost effective and useful.
Also soon to be installed in a student area of the university is a KODAK Picture Kiosk. The KODAK Picture Kiosk can make quality digital prints and enlargements in mere seconds. Students will be able to make simple edits like zoom and crop, and remove red eye, all conveniently from their university campus.
KODAK products are backed by KODAK Service and Support. KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals reaching more than 120 countries. It is a leading multi-vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and support services for the commercial printing, graphic communications, document imaging and data storage industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.