ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 10, 2005 -- NexPrint, a 20-person print firm based in Moscow, has strategically grown their business from a copy center to an exclusive provider of digital print solutions for books and artwork. Since their acquisition of a KODAK NEXPRESS 2100 digital production color press, NexPrint has established itself as an expert in the production of high quality digital reproductions of rare art and history books. NexPrint's books have won awards and gained the attention of clients and collectors alike. Careful planning and the right technology allowed NexPrint to capture a lead position in this high-margin niche market. NexPrint began in 1994 as a copy center and four years later, was the first firm in Russia to install a two-color RIP station. Mikhail Vorobiev, director digital print solutions at NexPrint, describes the progression to digital printing. "After the financial crisis in 1999, the prices on print machine services dropped and we had to find a new market. That's when we decided to go digital," recalls Vorobiev. After extensively researching available digital solutions, NexPrint purchased the NEXPRESS 2100 press in 2002. NexPrint quickly gained new digital work, but Vorobiev acknowledges that the competition was tough. The ambitious firm was hungry for a technical challenge that would set them apart. The answer was digital book printing. "We possess a unique scanning technology for digitizing rare books and have no competition in this market segment," explains Vorobiev. "By the end of 2003, we were totally focused on scanning and digitally producing rare books and art images. Short run, digitally printed books have become a major trend in the Russian publishing business. It is fashionable to showcase expensive rare leather books at home or in the office. Our timing was perfect - with the right technology in place, we captured a leading position that has resulted in windfall of profits." This specialization has generated significant results for NexPrint in the award-winning production quality of the books. NexPrint's reproduction of the book "Biographies of Italian Artists" by G. Vazary received the prize for Best Design at the 2004 Design & Advertisement exhibition in Russia. The company was also honored with a Special Award for print quality excellence at the International Book Fair in Moscow. According to Mikhail Vorobiev, the award-winning "Biographies of Italian Artists" was a challenging book that could not have been produced without NexPress technology. The speed and print quality of the NEXPRESS 2100 press readily handled the demanding production criteria. "Biographies of Italian Artists" had very difficult colors and graphics," says Vorobiev. "But it was an order by one of our key customers and we printed 150 books, each more than 600 pages, in just one week." NexPrint may invest in a NEXPRESS 2100 press with the fifth imaging unit to create added value for their book-printing applications. Vorobiev is especially interested in the KODAK NEXPRESS intelligent coating solution to address their requirement for pure-black print quality. "We print black with some additional colors, and by adding a clear coat, it will become even more attractive. Competitive systems add color to the black making it look a bit dull and are not able to offer this in-line service," he notes. The latest book project at NexPrint is "Discover Russia", an exclusive, high-priced series based on very rare Russian history books. A professional book collector has opened his archive of manuscripts which are unknown outside of Russia. "We are addressing people who are interested in Russian arts and history and have started a special book club for clients," says Vorobiev. The NEXPRESS solution has enabled NexPrint to produce interesting, high-level projects that offer pride of workmanship, as well as profits. "We're focusing on book printing because it is a highly profitable market where we can collect high margins," concludes Mikhail Vorobiev. "Compared to straightforward digital printing jobs, we have a profit margin that is 10 times greater."