SOS Print + Media Group is the first company in Australasia to purchase the new KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press, KODAK’s high performance inkjet web press solution.
Below please find the Kodak press release:
SOS Print + Media Group Purchases First Kodak PROSPER 1000 in Australasia
AUSTRALIA, 2 September, 2010: SOS Print + Media Group is the first company in Australasia to purchase the new KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press, KODAK’s high performance inkjet web press solution. The installation of the press is part of the company’s continued expansion into digital print as Bob Gardner, Joint Managing Director, SOS Print + Media Group explained. “There is no doubt the digital side of our business is where growth is coming from.
Globally across all market segments there is a move toward shorter run lengths, which brings with it quicker time frames, and tight market prices. The Kodak PROSPER 1000 Press delivers an extremely competitive technological advantage which will assist us in capturing existing markets more competitively and serving our markets faster”.
SOS Print + Media Group produce a large volume of books for a number of leading trade and education publishing houses in Australia. Gardner said the Kodak PROSPER 1000 Press would enable SOS Print + Media Group to drastically reduce production timeframes for these jobs in particular. “The Kodak PROSPER 1000 Press prints incredibly fast at 3600 pages per minute (A4). As an example, we printed a trade book on one of our existing digital monochrome devices that prints at a maximum speed of 250 pages per minute. This print run took 32 hours. By comparison running the same job on the Kodak PROSPER 1000 Press will take less than two hours. Its speed alone will drive significant productivity savings without sacrificing quality”.
He continued. “At present we have 20 million digitally printed pages a month ready to go and with new clients coming on board by the end of this financial year we anticipate producing 40-50 million digitally printed pages a month, so I am confident of where we are going and how digital fits in”.
The Kodak PROSPER 1000 press will be initially configured for monochrome printing. SOS Print + Media Group will review the option to upgrade to the Kodak PROSPER 5000XL colour press when it is available in early 2011. “This will allow us to move into personalised catalogues, magazines, transactional documents for smaller entities like credit unions, and then direct marketing areas, which we will pursue through our partnership with U&I Direct, an established, highly sophisticated direct marketing operation,” concluded Gardner.
Steve Ford, Business Development Manager, Digital Printing Solutions, Kodak Australasia said it was fantastic to see SOS Print + Media Group become the first company in the region to purchase the press. “SOS Print + Media Group have a history of early adoption and of making new technology work to its advantage. The directors undertook a thorough investigation into the different presses available on the market including extensive testing. Their decision is a significant mark of confidence in the technology behind the Kodak PROSPER 1000 Press”.
“Until now there has always been some degree of compromise with digital print whether that’s forsaking quality for speed or cost per page. The Kodak PROSPER 1000 Press is true digital without compromise, a convergence of quality, speed and price point per page. It is the fastest, most competitive, high quality press in its class,” Ford concluded.
About SOS Print + Media Group
Established in 1976, SOS Print + Media Group is a communications company employing upwards of 175 staff across its two sites; head office is in Sydney’s Alexandria where the company’s major commercial print activities are housed. In Brisbane SOS Print + Media Group has part ownership of CPX Print and Logistics making SOS Print + Media Group one of the country’s largest digital print on demand providers. The privately owned company reports an estimated annual turnover of $38 million (FY09).
A full service print communications provider, SOS Print + Media Group delivers a comprehensive range of services from print management through to warehousing and fulfillment. Its core digital business lies in publishing with the vast majority of digital print work comprising books and magazines for leading publishing houses in the consumer, trade and educational markets. Its commercial print management services also extend to FMCG and other markets such as health, finance and cosmetics.
About KODAK PROSPER Solutions
Utilising innovative KODAK Stream Inkjet Technology, KODAK PROSPER Solutions deliver digital without compromise, enabling print service providers to produce offset class output in terms of speed, quality, and cost for their clients.
The family of KODAK PROSPER Products includes the KODAK PROSPER S5/10 Imprinting System, for direct mail, catalogs, magazines, newspapers, inserts, and transactional documents; KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press for books and direct mail; and KODAK PROSPER 5000XL Press for books, direct mail, catalogs/inserts and magazines. For more information, visit www.prosper.kodak.com.
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 or follow us on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com.au/KodakAustralia and Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Kodak_AU
In the graphic communications market, Kodak offers the broadest portfolio of integrated solutions to help customers grow their business. For more information, visitwww.graphics.kodak.com.
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(Kodak and Prosper are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.)
