Kodak Hybrid Imprinting Solutions Adoption Accelerates in the Sheetfed Market

With the PROSPER Imprinting Systems, Komatsu achieves high throughput for direct mail production with the first two PROSPER Imprinting Systems covering an A4 sheet and the third printhead printing the address. Komastsu also prints A4 glued and folded sheets for direct mail using the RYOBI Press/PROSPER Imprinting Systems configuration.

Cut-Sheet Hybrid Printing Grows in Europe

Kern GmbH, a print service provider in Bexbach, Saarland, Germany, recently overhauled its direct mail production with the installation of three KODAK PROSPER S10 Imprinting Systems. Kern GmbH prints direct mail and self-mailers for major cosmetic retail chains, consumer goods manufacturers, tour operators and insurance companies, typically in runs from 10,000 up to one million units. As its personalized direct mail business grew, Kern GmbH wanted to lower its production costs without compromising the quality customers demand, which led André Kern, joint Managing Director of Kern GmbH, to seek an affordable inkjet system.

“We wanted to completely re-launch the mailer side of our operation with an end-to-end solution that would give us maximum flexibility regarding formats and paper types,” said André Kern. “The PROSPER S10 Imprinting Systems fit perfectly with this concept, combining laser quality with low costs per print, regardless of the substrate.”

In a joint engineering venture involving mail table provider Popp Maschinebau, Heidelberg and Kodak, a unique imprinting and finishing system was installed at Kern GmbH, enabling variable data to be imprinted on both sides of color offset shells. Volume on this system is approaching 15 million A4 equivalent pages per month, backed by strong reliability and productivity. The PROSPER Imprinting Systems at Kern GmbH have been running for more than 1,000 hours at 180 m per minute.

André Kern talks about the advantages his company has seen since implementing this hybrid printing solution: http://bit.ly/KernGmbH.

Other European print service providers that have recently integrated PROSPER Imprinting Systems into their cut-sheet presses include the Anton Group in England, Melter GmbH and Trebbau in Germany.

The PROSPER S-Series Imprinting Systems include the S5, S5 with CMYK, S10, S10 CMYK, S20, and S30. Each solution produces laser-like quality for imprinting at a range of speeds and resolutions, bringing high-quality personalization to offset print jobs. With the PROSPER S-Series Imprinting Systems, print providers are able to leverage their capital investments in offset presses and bridge the gap to digital in a one-step, inline process.

For more information about Kodak at drupa, visit www.kodak.com/go/drupa.