Inkjet & Digital Printing
K C Tompkin enters a new era with a KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Digital Production Color Press
Wednesday 12. November 2008 - Nottinghams first KODAK NEXPRESS Press installed as family business adopts digital
The decision whether to take on the family mantle can be tough, but for Richard Tompkin, second in command at K C Tompkin Printing Services, this move made perfect sense.
His father, Ken, who plans to retire later on this year, started the business 20 years ago, and had previously worked in litho printing for 29 years before setting up his own printing house in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire. Over the last two decades, he has built up a strong portfolio of clients including many local advertising agencies in Nottinghamshire and the surrounding counties, who use K C Tompkin to produce a wide range of printed collateral including posters, leaflets and brochures for well-known brands and companies.
As the business has expanded, so has the workforce. When Richard Tompkin took over, payments for the companys litho presses were coming to an end, enabling it to continue comfortably without further capital investments. However, as Richard wanted to compete in a wider market, the purchase of a new digital production color press made sense – he could free up the litho presses to do longer runs and reduce overheads.
“For the past eight years we have been producing a variety of digital work on small machines, more as a service to our litho customers rather than a mainstream profit centre. This was successful but I felt that it was time to take the next step and bring our digital capabilities on a par with our litho production,” Richard explains.
He eventually made a decision to purchase a KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Digital Production Color Press after seeing it in action.
“Compared with other new digital presses on the market, I was most impressed by the KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 Press. It produces output that is far better than our current small digital engines can achieve. The finished result is more comparable to the quality of litho than anything else Ive ever seen. In addition, the operator replaceable components mean that I can keep it going without calling an engineer out if a part needs to be changed.”
He also purchased the GATF InterTech Award winning fifth imaging unit so that the company can print spot colors, watermarking and protective coating. In conjunction with the KODAK NEXPRESS Glossing Unit, Richard and his team added the ability to produce high impact glossing effects.
Before training up his staff on how to use the KODAK NEXPRESS Press, Richard attended a one-week course at Kodak in Kiel. This has given him a good background in order to teach two members of his team. Although they need further guidance on maintenance, they have quickly learnt how to operate the press due to its user-friendly nature. Richard has also been very impressed with the level of after-sales service from Kodak – the very few teething problems at the beginning were resolved swiftly.
The printing house had no problems with integrating its new KODAK NEXPRESS Press with existing pre-press workflow and finishing equipment. Not only has the transition to digital been smooth – it has also generated a ripple of excitement amongst K C Tompkins customers. Many of the designers Richard works with anticipate a closer relationship that will generate more creative and unique collateral for end clients. In addition, Richard has been able to challenge old-fashioned perceptions about digital printing. Some customers, who had previously shown reluctance towards digitally printed materials, are now very impressed with the high level of quality that the KODAK NEXPRESS Press can achieve. This confidence amongst customers in digital technology has encouraged K C Tompkin to use its new press even for jobs where color has been critical.
“We printed labels for a company with very exacting guidelines on the corporate color, so they were really delighted when they saw the precision and consistency of color reproduction,” Richard recalls. “This job has stuck in my mind because the NEXPRESS Press produced these labels better than we would have been able to do on a litho press.”
The companys fully fledged entry into digital has also created possible new revenue streams from variable data print (VDP). For example, it plans to work with a client to do ultra short runs of scratchcards with the new press, which it would not have been able to deliver previously. With the opportunity to upgrade the KODAK NEXPRESS Press as the business grows, with options to select desired paper capacity and increase processing capability, does Richard see a future without litho?
“The industry has seen lots of impressive advances in offset class digital production presses in recent months. Much of our work is runs of five to ten thousand sheets of SRA2 and with the developments Kodak has been announcing, I would be surprised if I buy another litho machine. By the time I am ready to make another investment, maybe in about eight years, technology will be even more sophisticated, so who knows?” he concludes.
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.