ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Longtime Kodak customer and Lighthouse Award recipient Continental Web Press is celebrating its latest milestone—40 years in the printing business—by moving into a new market. The family-owned company has operated as a web printer since 1973 and recently expanded into digital print with the help of a KODAK NEXPRESS SX3300 Digital Production Color Press. Continental Web Press is now achieving greater profitability through its differentiated services and enters its next chapter with an eye toward continued growth.

“We are always looking for ways to provide more value-added services to our customers, and the NEXPRESS Press takes our capabilities a step further,” said Ken Field Sr., Continental Web Press Co-owner, Executive Vice President and Director of Marketing.

Continental Web Press is a one-stop shop that specializes in a range of integrated solutions from production to fulfillment. The company, a G7 Master Qualified Printer, primarily produces high-quality applications such as catalogues, newspaper inserts, magazines, direct mail and marketing collateral. The KODAK NEXPRESS SX3300 Press with the long-sheet option was installed in late 2012 as a response to growing customer requests for digital capabilities.

The KODAK NEXPRESS SX Press supports a range of substrate types, sizes, weights and thicknesses, including more than 800 standard offset substrates. The platform features KODAK NEXPRESS HD Dry Ink, which provides smooth continuous tones for exceptional imaging, and Print Genius, a suite of productivity and quality control tools which automate tasks for consistency throughout production runs.

Continental Web Press is experiencing increased productivity thanks to the 26-inch long sheet. With 27 percent more printable area, the long sheet helps Continental Web Press optimize application layout for reduced waste.

The high efficiency of the KODAK NEXPRESS SX Digital Production Color Platform has encouraged many of Continental Web Press’s existing web press customers to add additional digital jobs to their orders. The company also markets the capabilities of theKODAK NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solution to help attract new customers with features such as dimensional printing, gloss and spot color, in-line watermarking and coating in a single pass.

“We’re delivering quality digital work, including highly-personalized 1:1 direct mail jobs, and gaining greater flexibility when it comes to accommodating customer requests. We’re now exceeding expectations in terms of our capabilities and often turning around jobs in less than 48 hours,” said Field.

Kodak also offered another benefit which Field saw as a main selling point for the NEXPRESS Platform: upgradability. Any new NEXPRESS Press feature Kodak introduces to the market can be added as an upgrade to most previous machines, which helps to protect the printer’s investment and enhances the machine based on the needs of the company.

The decision to invest in KODAK Technology was an easy one according to Field. Kodak had been a supplier to Continental Web Press since the company first started. Today, with two locations, the company maintains an extensive portfolio of KODAK Products ranging from plates to platesetters and even workflow.

“We’ve always used KODAK Products and loyalty means a lot. When you’ve been in a good relationship with someone for 40 years, the word ‘partner’ is quite important,” said Field. “The Kodak team has been there along the way to solve our problems and help us achieve our goals through top-notch products.”

Continental Web Press utilizes the KODAK MAGNUS VLF Platesetter, KODAK MAGNUS 800 Platesetter and KODAK TRENDSETTER Platesetter for its web press printing. These CTP devices deliver high-quality thermal imaging, advanced automation and high productivity. Continental Web Press also relies on KODAK THERMAL PLATINUM Plates to ensure imaging accuracy and KODAK PRINERGY EVO Workflow to streamline prepress production through increased automation.

“Continental Web Press has enjoyed great success over the years by listening to its customers and addressing their needs head-on. Expanding into digital printing was not only a great opportunity for the company in a business sense, but also enables it to better serve its customers,” said Jerry Miller, Kodak’s Vice President and General Manager of US&C Digital Printing Solutions. “Whether customers request variable-data printing or high-volume, full-color applications within expedited turnarounds, the NEXPRESS Press will deliver the reliable results they want.”