French print house becomes the first printer in France to print metallic gold effects digitally with the KODAK NEXPRESS SX3900 Digital Production Color Press, equipped with the new XXL Long Sheet option
— Etoile Imprim can now ensure its products stand out from its competitors after investing in KODAK NEXPRESS Gold Dry Ink. The company is the first print service provider in France to adopt the new inks, which it will use to add an attention-grabbing effect to personalised print products.
Based in Bezons to the north of Paris, Etoile Imprim employs 19 staff and generates sales of 3.2 million euros. The company offers a wide range of services to businesses of all sizes. Committed to sustainability, Etoile Imprim boasts the Imprim’Vert label, is ISO 14001, PEFC and FSC certified, and a signatory to the UN Global Compact. It carried out its carbon balance in 2010, which was unusual for a small business at the time.
Originally a sheet-fed offset operation, Etoile Imprim shifted to digital printing in 2010 with the purchase of a KODAK NEXPRESS 2500 Digital Production Color Press, which enabled it to produce high-value customised products and short-run work.
The NEXPRESS Press made a big impression, prompting Etoile Imprim to invest in the latest model in the range, the KODAK NEXPRESS SX3900 Digital Production Color Press with the new XXL Long Sheet option. The investment means the company is the first printer in Europe to own this latest feature in the NEXPRESS Press range and the first in France to boast metallic digital printing.
Nassib Kazma, Chief Executive of Etoile Imprim, says, “We partnered with Kodak three years ago because the NEXPRESS Press is easy to set up and better suited to our SME infrastructure. The metallic digital printing really sets us apart from the competition, as there’s nothing else like it on the market.”
Exemplary production
Etoile Imprim was already very satisfied with its original NEXPRESS 2500 Press and its capability to produce profitable personalised documents in small quantities. However, the company knew that investing in the latest model would enable it increase productivity and drive the business forward: “Printing at 131 ppm on the KODAK NEXPRESS SX3900 Press means we can produce more runs per shift, increase our profit-per-page margins, and deliver photo-quality images,” continues Kazma.
“Also, colour blocks and half-tones are more balanced, thanks to the ink that has a much greater fluidity. This enables us to produce exactly what our customers demand.”
Using Kodak's newest XXL Long Sheet option
The new XXL Long Sheet (914 mm x 356mm) option means Etoile Imprim can print new products digitally, such as French-style four A4 leaf or Italian-style three-leaf brochures, document folders and book jackets.
The platform will take nearly 800 substrates without prior treatment, to which operators can add a virtually unlimited number of personalised substrates. Offering such vast choice, and being able to print on longer sheets, has enabled Etoile Imprim to significantly broaden its product portfolio.
Added-value applications
When equipped with the KODAK NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions, the KODAK NEXPRESS SX3900 Press gives users access to a wide range of value-adding applications: Gold Dry Ink, Dimensional Printing, matt or gloss varnish, red fluorescing dry ink, light black HD dry ink, and red, green and blue dry ink. It also improves reproduction in a five-colour process and spot colours (Pantone).
“Dimensional Printing is very impressive,” says Kazma. “It creates a ‘raised’ embossed look that you can’t resist touching, and is ideal for producing documents that need a striking effect – like children’s books for example.”
“And now with the Gold Dry Ink and the metallic colours, we can get even more creative. The print rendering is stunning. In the past, to get metallic gold we had to print a fifth colour in offset. Now, we have the fifth colour on the digital press to add a glittering gold.
“Also, with the NEXPRESS Press, you do not have to slow down production to optimise output. It keeps on producing great results. And digital gold costs less than offset, which means we can pass the savings on to our customers.”
Claude Desbrugères, Kodak’s Cluster Business Director, France & Benelux: “In addition to producing more jobs for its customers, Etoile Imprim has been able to enter new markets thanks to the metallic digital printing and the Long Sheet option. The company is producing previously unseen colours, eye-catching effects, larger formats, and personalised print products – and all in record lead times and in short runs.”
Comments
Post a Comment