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News Release from: Kodak Graphic Communications Group | Subject: VT3000 digital printing system
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 10 July 2007
First Digital Print System For Books In
Italy
The first Kodak Versamark digital printing system for book production in Italy has been installed at Arti Grafiche Editoriali (AGE) in the form of a VT3000 machine.
During the last 12 months, AGE experienced strong price competition and found that offset printing was not a profitable choice for certain jobs The company operates five two-colour presses and one process colour press that are used to manage high volume print runs
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 1 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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AGE also runs a Kodak Digimaster 9110 mono digital printing system for short print runs.
The Versamark VT3000 was installed at AGE in March 2006 and immediately delivered excellent results, said Kodak.
And Silvia Argalaia, Arti Grafiche Editoriali's co-owner and chief executive, said: "Right from the start, the machine has enabled us to produce 100 different titles of university books in print runs from 200 to 800 copies.
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We've quickly gained a profitable and competitive edge." And she added: "We received a large order from a book publisher but our margins would have suffered with offset production.
We searched for an alternative system and were very impressed when Federico Martella from Kodak proposed the VT3000, a printing system that is capable of achieving the exceptional speed of 107 metres per minute for mono printing with one spot colour." Arti Grafiche Editoriali's digital print capabilities enable jobs to go from the computer directly to the VT3000 system, configured with four nine-inch printheads and roll-to-roll processing, which is a set-up suitable for book production.
Two printheads handle printing on one side and two printheads print on the reverse side, producing 16-page signatures in two colours.
Rolls are then unrolled, cut, folded and trimmed by a finishing system that delivers books ready for shipping, said Kodak.
Silvia Argalia said that the Versamark VT3000 has satisfied her customers' demands for fast production and at an exceptional quality and price ratio.
She commented: "The quality is comparable to offset printing, with sharp definition of characters and that is exactly what book publishers want." She explained that the Versamark VT3000 system's capability to manage variable data printing has provided increased profitability to AGE's book production and also encouraged the company to explore promising new applications, such as coupons and lottery tickets.
Argalia said: "We are very satisfied with our investment in this versatile machine - it is an invaluable asset that will help us to grow our business." Federico Martella, Kodak's sales manager for northern Italy, commented: "Over the years, Kodak has worked closely with Arti Grafiche Editoriali to support its investment in digital printing.
We're proud of the company's success as Italy's first installation of a Versamark printing system for publishing applications.
Our printing system is helping this valued customer to effectively achieve an increasing number of applications." Founded in 1973, Arti Grafiche Editoriali specialises in printing books and art publications, offering a complete service from file to finished book.
Its primary clients are book publishers and universities.
With 40 employees the company has yearly revenues of approximately EUR5 million.
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