Discovery Health Pushes KODAK DIGIMASTER 9110 Systems to the Max
Press release from the issuing company
ROCHESTER, N.Y., February 1, 2005 - Discovery Health, South Africa's leading private health care funding company, has been pushing their two KODAK DIGIMASTER 9110 digital production systems to the max. In the two years since their installation, Discovery has produced more than 89 million pages on the two systems. "On average, we produce over 3 million pages per month, peaking at 4.2 million during the tax certificate run," says Mark Steenekamp, Print Facilities Manager at Discovery Health. "The biggest print run ever produced would be our tax certificate run, which amounts to approximately 2.5 million images." Still running as smoothly as the day they were installed, both DIGIMASTER systems continue to work 24/7 to produce jobs like client-specific monthly statements, year-end communications, benefit schedules and tax certificates.
Discovery Health's purchasing criteria at the time was two-fold. According to Steenekamp, Discovery was in the market for a high-volume black and white imaging machine and in his words, "I needed a machine to do big runs with no hassles." After some market research, Steenekamp found a perfect match in the KODAK DIGIMASTER 9110 system. "What struck me about the DIGIMASTER 9110 print system was the vacuum feed drawers, as opposed to friction feed systems, which minimize mis-feeds and multi-feeds, and the short paper path that significantly reduces paper jams," he explains.
"The DIGIMASTER 9110 system produced documents at the speed we needed, and proved to be an extremely robust and well-engineered printing machine," says Steenekamp. He was also impressed by the built-in diagnostics systems that make it easy to perform maintenance and troubleshooting, as well as by the attentive customer service. "The service was outstanding and went beyond simple maintenance. We don't need a specialized print drive to print PCL (which is not an operating language). There were engineers on call 24 hours a day for any problem or question."
Steenekamp reports that Discovery continues to receive exceptional service from NexPress engineers: "Whenever there is a new technology, or new software, I am informed and my machines are upgraded immediately."
About 18 months after the first DIGIMASTER 9110 digital production system installation, Discovery's increasing print volume required another acquisition. According to Steenekamp, it was a simple decision as to which machine they would choose. The first DIGIMASTER 9110 system had proved itself so well, that Discovery purchased a second identical system. As of October 2004, these two machines have produced 89 million images. Discovery Health has 12 operational staff in their printing department working with two shifts of six people. This allows for 24/7 operation, which is vital for Discovery's demanding print requirements. There are four printing machines, including the two DIGIMASTER 9110 systems and two KERN collating machines. Three job controllers ensure that all output consistently meets Discovery's high standards.
Discovery Health's print volumes are continually growing as the job controllers explore new ways to tap the capabilities of the DIGIMASTER 9110 systems. The firm provides health coverage for approximately 1.6 million clients and the servicing requires timely delivery of paper-based information. High quality and faster turnaround times are crucial, but it is not a problem for the DIGIMASTER systems. As Steenekamp points out, the KODAK DIGIMASTER digital production system will certainly be at the top of their list again when his volumes require him to invest in new equipment.