Calls diversity key to success - installs Ireland’s first 5-color digital press London, UK, January 17, 2002 – Masterphoto Ltd has installed the first Indigo Platinum digital press in Ireland with a fifth color option. The installation marks a move into providing printed products by Dublin’s leading repro house. Masterphoto has focused on repro since its establishment in 1960 when it was set up to supply black and white blocks for newspaper and magazine advertisements. The company moved into color and litho prepress work in 1980 and made the leap into the digital age in 1993. Since then, development has been very rapid, with investment continuing and new services added as the technology develops. The company’s primary customers are graphic designers, advertising agencies and packaging printers. The decision to move into digital print was at once bold and logical according to Production Director, Joe Coughlan. “Digital printing is a whole new offering,” says Joe Coughlan. “We’d been watching the demand for film and traditional proofs decline and knew we’d have to diversify. “We’d seen a lot of printers move into repro and build prepress facilities in-house, and we thought we’d do it the other way round and go into print,” Joe Coughlan continues. “Putting in litho wasn’t an option, but we did have extensive experience handling digital files and using the Internet and ISDN for data transfers. So digital printing looked as though it would fit well into our business.” Masterphoto studied the digital presses on the market and chose the Indigo Platinum digital press. “We felt that in terms of quality, the results from the Indigo press were the best,” states Joe Coughlan. “People now accept that digital printing quality is comparable to litho – on top of that, digital printing is capable of a lot of things that cannot be achieved with litho. Now it’s possible for people to have five or six copies of something and not have to sacrifice quality.” The Platinum press prints 2000 four color A4 pages per hour (two-up) at a resolution of 800 dpi on substrates up to 300 g/m2. “Most of our work fits in with the A3 size so that aspect of the press suits us well. Also, the Platinum press’ ability to take heavier substrates has been important to us in carrying out sample making and proofing for our packaging customers. “We chose the fifth color option for similar reasons,” he explains. “In packaging there are a lot of corporate or brand colors that can be easily handled by the fifth color option. It means that you don’t have to worry about being ‘close enough’ when representing a company’s or brand’s identity.” Masterphoto’s Platinum digital press also has the full color variable data option which the company plans to fully exploit. “We’ve trained a number of staff to operate the press and have also hired a digital printing specialist as part of our development of the new service,” says Joe Coughlan. Asked about the typical job assigned to the Platinum press, Joe Coughlan replies: “Typical job? There’s no such thing as a typical job! “Most of our digital work is in the short to medium run end and comprises marketing and promotional items. The range of substrates that the Platinum digital press can print on is impressive and we’re currently preparing a sample collection for our customers showing work on 10 to 15 substrates ranging from paper and card to self-adhesives and plastics. We’re giving them to designers and advertising agencies so they can see the potential of the press. “We have a strong advantage in entering the digital printing market,” Joe Coughlan concludes. “We have an established customer base and we’re well known in the market. We’re going to stay focused on our existing customers and markets and introduce them to the power of digital print.”