LONDON, Digital Print World, October 26th, 2004 - Web2print, based in Redditch, Worcestershire (UK) has made a strong commitment to digital printing by investing in their first KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 digital production colour press. This newly formed digital print company is off to a dynamic start, and will have the distinction of being both a showroom and support site for Kodak in the UK. Web2print is a joint venture for Terry Hannam of Data Marketing Consultants and Jon Williamson, ex-Director of Cradely Print and the founding chairman of Genesis Europrint. “We are very excited about the future,” says Williamson. “I was looking at early retirement after a successful career in print but seeing the 2100 in action at Drupa has changed all of that. Both Terry and I can see enormous potential and multiple opportunities for different applications in digital print on the NEXPRESS 2100 press.” Enthusiastic and experienced entrepreneurs, Williamson and Hannam are on-target with plans for their present pilot operation. Over the next five years, they have plans to develop six similar, strategically placed sites in the UK, installing a KODAK NEXPRESS digital production colour press at each site. Working for the trade, agencies and print brokers, they see a wealth of potential customers who typically outsource their digital printing jobs. This type of customer would like to own a NEXPRESS 2100 press but does not yet have the volume to justify the initial investment costs. NexPress is working closely with Web2print to achieve their business development objectives. Customers can easily submit electronic files to Web2print thanks to an innovative software package from Pelagon called Webstore. The system was developed in partnership with NexPress and Pelagon. It provides a complete on-line interactive, digital administration system that offers important time-savings and productivity gains. With the Webstore system, Web2print can offer clients a virtual print management facility, free of charge. This digital print management tool is tailored to provide a value-added service offering a reduced time to market. Dave Parker of Pelagon describes how Webstore enables Web2print to better serve their customers: “What we have done for Web2print is build a business solution. The completely automated tool has an open architecture tailored for Web2print and NexPress. Customers can design and submit any file, regardless of platform or application. The user can create a PDF precisely matched to the profile of the NEXPRESS 2100 press, and then transmit the PDF file into our print queue,” explains Parker. “Because there is minimum manual intervention, productivity through the NEXPRESS 2100 press is at maximum levels. With a constant demand for shorter lead times, and the need to service numerous clients, this functionality is the perfect solution for Web2print.” The NEXPRESS 2100 press, the technical cornerstone for Web2print’s digital strategy, provides the flexibility needed to handle a wide range of customer applications. The digital press can use a wide variety of substrates, from 80gsm up to 360 microns which is 400gsm or 300 duplexgsm, and also collates electronically. KODAK NEXPRESS dry inks are utilised to provide a full spectrum of colour choices. Today there are practically no limitations to digital graphic design, and the versatility of the sheet-fed digital colour press offers designers and marketing specialists new horizons of creativity. Personalization and individualization has tremendous potential in the marketplace. With its flexibility the KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 digital production colour press is the optimal press for this lucrative and still largely untapped product sector. Web2print chose the NEXPRESS 2100 press because they believe it offers the technical capabilities to turn their business goals into a successful and profitable reality. Jon Williamson concludes, “In today’s world of direct marketing, variable data and personalization, the KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 press is the ideal digital print engine. The only limitation is your imagination.”