HEIDELBERG, Germany; ROCHESTER, N.Y., August 31 -- Colour Connection, a full service digital printing house based in Frankfurt, today announced that they have reached a milestone of 10 million quality impressions on their KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 digital production color press. This exceptional figure was achieved in only two years. The company has profited from a successful strategy of combining the right business model with the best technical solution. Colour Connection was an early adopter of digital printing, and recognized from the beginning that they needed to differentiate their service offering. The firm chose to adopt a successful business model from the retail industry – provide a specific range of easily available offerings, at an attractively low price. Colour Connection identified a lucrative niche for smaller print runs, typically one to 500 copies, resulting in a phenomenal flow of new business. Typical products include business cards, flyers, and post cards. High quality digital print in near-offset volumes Limiting the variety of their product offerings enabled Colour Connection to provide economical pricing for their digital print services. Ralph Hadem, Colour Connection managing director, said: "We positioned ourselves as a digital print specialist for runs from one to 500 copies. By focusing on specific printing needs that appeal to a broad audience, Colour Connection generated high volumes in digital print in a relatively short period of time." The NEXPRESS 2100 press was the right choice to support this new flow of business. "A large number of our customers need very basic printed products, but they always want it very quickly," Hadem said. "Our ongoing investment in digital printing has given us the know-how and a leading edge that directly benefits our customers. The NEXPRESS 2100 press enabled us to grow our business and has proven to be a reliable and productive workhorse in our company. It consistently produces high-quality print in near-offset volumes." KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 press plays vital role in success story The flexibility and reliability of the NEXPRESS system allows Colour Connection to quickly and effectively handle short delivery times. Thanks to an automated workflow, Colour Connection can accurately print a high volume of jobs within very limited time constraints. Hadem proudly points out that 95 percent of all jobs are finished within 48 hours. Recognized as the leader in the short run digital market, Colour Connection has become the preferred digital print supplier for the agency market in the Frankfurt area. Another innovation at Colour Connection is their online ordering system, www.printweb.de, which allows print jobs to be ordered online. This automatic online ordering process, as well as standardization of delivered file formats, has improved production speed and delivery times dramatically. "By embracing the Web, we have reduced operational costs and expanded our customer reach," said Hadem. Value-added services key to the future Colour Connection has achieved an enviable level of success, transitioning from a desktop publishing pioneer to a full-service digital printing house. They rapidly became a leader in short-run digital printing. The flexibility of the NEXPRESS 2100 press delivered a strong technical advantage. "The NEXPRESS 2100 press accepts a broad variety of substrates and weights," explains Hadem. "With this press, we have quality offset printing combined with the flexibility of digital printing – allowing us to generate a large volume of new business in the small job market. Ten million high quality impressions in two years is clear proof of the extraordinary reliability of the KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 press," he said. The ability to develop value-added solutions fuels development plans at Colour Connection. "We like the fact that NexPress offers a growth path for their customers. Innovations like the KODAK NEXPRESS power solution, for instance, can provide collaborative workflow capabilities, such as online ordering and Web-to-print applications," Hadem notes. During drupa 2004, the world’s largest printing trade fair held in Düsseldorf, Colour Connection was impressed particularly by NexPress’ new 5th imaging solution, the KODAK NEXGLOSSER glossing unit, which adds a high-gloss coating to printed pieces for higher market impact. "These developments are timed ideally and provide us with the leading edge to further develop the digital print market," he concludes. Colour Connection has harnessed the speed and flexibility of digital printing to successfully capture a profitable niche market. With the help of their NEXPRESS 2100 digital press, they’ll continue to implement value-added services to achieve the next level in digital printing.