When Henk DeJong's father announced that he would soon retire from leadership of DeJong Printing, Ltd., in Edmonton, Alberta, DeJong knew that the time had come to make some significant choices for the family business.

"We were faced with the decision of whether we would continue in the printing business, dwindle down, or sell," DeJong explained. After decades of leading the local market in offset printing, DeJong Printing had not yet made a serious move to digital. "We had a small digital printer for a number of years-just a glorified laser printer," he said. "We tossed ideas back and forth, and eventually, we decided that in addition to our traditional services we needed to be able to produce the best digital printing in town."

DeJong and his 15-member staff did their homework, and all of their research led them to one conclusion: the KODAK NEXPRESS SX2700 Digital Production Color Press, with the award winning Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions, would provide them with the advantage they needed to differentiate DeJong Printing from its competition and realize their digital goals.

The KODAK NEXPRESS SX Platform can help printers drive more jobs per shift and more profit per page by consistently and reliably producing market-leading image quality from job to job and day to day. Its long-sheet option-up to 26 inches-allows printers to print six-page brochures or three-up letters, and the optional expanded feeder and in-line finishing modules help printers complete jobs in fewer steps, maximizing productivity while minimizing waste. In an independent study by SpencerLab, the KODAK NEXPRESS SX Digital Production Color Press achieved an overall highest rating in print quality, demonstrating the best all-around performance across the majority of attributes.

The NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit makes it possible for DeJong to provide unique in-line dimensional coating, gloss and spot color, in-line watermarking, or coating in a single pass-a range of applications and options that no other printing company in Edmonton can currently match.

"Our customer base is fairly heavily ad agency-oriented, and they are very excited about all the options the Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions give them," said DeJong. "They're particularly interested in the dimensional clear option, which prints a raised 3D image in clear ink instead of just a flat spot varnish-and it does it right in the first pass. We can also offer RGB color for the most accurate spot color matching, in addition to the standard CMYK. We're considering the red fluorescing ink feature for some security and transit clients."

The competitive advantages offered by the new NEXPRESS SX2700 Press would have been enough to make DeJong choose this press, but KODAK MARKETMOVER Business Development Services clinched the deal for DeJong. The MARKETMOVER Services provide printing companies with innovative tools, services and support, backed by expert teams of professionals with extensive online resources, including on-site training, educational seminars, and marketing tools to get the word out about the NEXPRESS Press.

"My sales reps say that MARKETMOVER Services is quite advantageous," DeJong said. "It means that they are learning a lot about this machine and what it can do. We're getting added value out of it, so the NEXPRESS PRESS is not just another press in the plant. It's a real advantage with customers."

DeJong Printing purchased the press from Coast Paper, a division of PaperlinX Canada Limited. Coast Paper specializes in the sales, marketing and distribution of fine paper, graphic systems, wide format and industrial solutions. The company delivers quality products, technology and services that customers can depend on to maximize business opportunities.

Promotional support from Kodak has helped DeJong introduce the company's new capabilities to existing customers. "We have not yet produced our own promotional booklet, so we're using the materials Kodak provides to show off some of the new features," DeJong said. "We anticipated a lot of excitement, and we're getting it. Our competition doesn't have anything like a Fifth Imaging Unit."

Detailed product information can be found at www.kodak.com/go/nexpress.

Kodak is a global advisor and provider of integrated services to help companies transform and optimize their businesses. Through a network of service professionals in 120+ countries, Kodak provides technical, professional, consulting and managed services to enable customers to focus on growing their businesses, maximize productivity, and more effectively manage risks. All KODAK Products and Software are backed by KODAK Service and Support. To learn more, visit www.graphics.kodak.com.