ROCHESTER, N.Y., June 24, 2005 — Butterfly Dreams has launched its new entrepreneurial venture in the U.K. with the installation of a KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 digital production color press. The Leeds-based firm will supply the Midlands region with short run, personalized digital print, under the joint direction of Steve Shakleton, Mervyn Jones and Kevin Topham. “This is definitely a developing market – we are dipping our toe into an exciting pond,” says Steve Shakleton. “Kevin has thirty years experience in trade repro, Mervyn is the software guru, and I have the financial background of working in accountancy within the printing industry. We are bringing our different skills together, as we can see the enormous potential of this machine. It is ‘hands on’ for all of us, since the press is so easy to use..” Shakleton notes that they first saw the NEXPRESS 2100 press at Drupa 2004 and were immediately impressed with the quality of print, the variable data capabilities, and the advanced color management software tools. The easy maintenance was a strong added plus. Butterfly Dreams sees great potential in the 2100's capability to offer high quality, personalized digital print. Personalization is one of the hottest growth areas in today's print market and the company is experiencing significant interest from potential customers. “Our enthusiasm has sparked a lot of interest in personalization and we can see our order books filling nicely,” states Shakleton. “We are using a mixture of routes to put out the message – our contacts in the industry, agents in the field, as well as mail drops. The response has exceeded our expectations – we believe it is the NEXPRESS 2100 press and its capabilities that are helping to stimulate inquiries.” Butterfly Dreams is geographically situated for optimum business growth. “We selected this site outside of Leeds strategically situated between the A1, the M1 and the M62,” says Shakleton. “The idea is to start locally and eventually extend our offerings to the wider marketplace.” Kevin Topham, who contributes strong trade repro experience, explains why the NEXPRESS 2100 press was the right choice for Butterfly Dreams. “I have worked with most of the printing processes through the years and I could see where the industry was going. From the first showing of the digital print process, the writing was on the wall. Of course, there is a sound argument for using the litho process for many jobs, but for us, digital printing is the future and it is exciting. Once I became interested in the possibilities of digital printing, there was no turning back.” Butterfly Dreams extensively researched the performance capabilities of various digital offerings. “Without exception, there is no other press on the market that gives us the added value capabilities and the future promise of the NEXPRESS 2100 press," notes Topham. “With the Pantone accreditation, the color tones and the quality are exceptional. The last copy is as good as the first. There is no drying time, so the output is immediately ready to finish when it comes off the press.” Butterfly Dreams has a policy of offering every customer a finished document as a hard copy proof, along with a strict quality check where each party signs off on the proof. This attention to detail really pleases their customers. “We think that the customer should see exactly what he is going to get right from the start. Once we have proven to the customer that the end result is at the same level of quality as the proof, right to the end of the run, they are very satisfied and come back for more,” explains Topham. “In addition, the NEXPRESS 2100 press’ ability to handle a vast variety of stocks enables us to offer customers a greater choice of results for brochures, mailers, leaflets, posters and business cards,” he points out. Based on their years of experience in the print industry, the directors at Butterfly Dreams know the importance of strong customer service. “It is our aim to utilize the capabilities and efficiencies of the NEXPRESS 2100 press to our customers’ advantage,” says Shakleton. “The speed of the press as well as its easy maintenance features, enable maximum productivity. There is very little down time due to the ORC system (Operator Replaceable Components), the on-line KODAK NEXPERT operator support system and the excellent Kodak help desk.” Shakleton reports that the Kodak service team is continuing to provide excellent support for their present needs, as well as future planning. “By the time IPEX 2006 comes along, we hope to be in a position where we will have assessed our customer base and can plan further investments to suit our customers’ requirements,” says Shakleton. “We will be watching Kodak closely to see what other amazing technologies they have in store.” After working with traditional print processes for many years, this digital venture is the exciting new challenge that the founders of Butterfly Dreams have been waiting for. With the right technology in place, the firm is off to a confident start. “We have a clean environment, quality print at high speeds and added value opportunities for personalization and specialist printing. The NEXPRESS 2100 press is the future for us,” concludes Shakleton.