Strong Global DI Press Sales Sees Presstek Record

Global growth in the sales of direct imaging digital offset presses is being capitalised on by Presstek, with further strong sales performance in various international territories.

The company said that the market for DI digital offset presses is strong in Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland and Russia.

With more than 3,000 DI systems currently installed worldwide, the company added that it continues to offer a competitive advantage in the fast- growing, short-run printing market for work ranging from 250 to 10,000 impressions.

T hose sales follow Presstek's record-breaking 2006 results, which showed a 25 per cent year-over-year increase in DI press shipments and a 72 per cent increase in DI equipment revenue over 2005.

In addition, Presstek 52DI sales almost doubled in the first quarter of 2007 compared to the previous quarter, added the company.

Presstek said that its DI presses have received numerous honours worldwide, including product of the year from the British Association of Print and Communication (BAPC), 'golden product' at Printing + Packing 2006 in Slovakia and the award for best printing quality at the Digital Marzan 2006 trade show in Russia.

The European Digital Press Association has also honoured Presstek's 52DI performance and quality with an EDP Award.

Jeff Jacobson, Presstek's president and chief executive officer, said: "To date, Presstek's record sales growth has been primarily based on strong performance in North America and parts of Europe.

To meet our growth initiatives, we will continue to expand our efforts throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America, which are regions that provide an excellent opportunity for digital offset printing systems.

At the same time, we will continue to expand our presence in North America." And Todd Chambers, Presstek's chief marketing officer, added: "The DI presses' ease of use, superior quality, low cost per page and fast turn-around times have contributed to their rapid adoption by commercial and in-plant printers around the globe.

We are excited to bring our customers in these new markets the same increased capability, profitability and competitiveness that all DI users are accustomed to." Dave Brown, owner of Contact Printing in Vancouver (Canada) who installed a Presstek 52DI in mid-March, commented: "The productivity of the DI is so much greater than what we had before.

We can fit more work in the same amount of time, with the same operator, so we don't incur additional labour costs and are more efficient.

With the DI's excellent quality, we expect to build new business and gain more work from our existing customers." Tipolito Teco, a print shop in Brescia (Italy) has already benefited from its 52DI, which was installed in January.

For owner Guido Lovato, the press's technology and compact size were selling points.

He said: "We are receiving very positive feedback from our customers.

They have definitely noticed the increase in quality." Harry Korber, co-manager of Altstadt-Druck in Rostock (Germany) cited similar reasons for purchasing a DI and added: "The Presstek 34DI offers a powerful combination of faster turn-around times, higher quality colour and increased efficiency and its compact size was the perfect match for our limited space requirements in our prime downtown location." Meanwhile, Petr Hendrych at MHA Outsourcing in the Czech Republic, which owns a Presstek 34DI press, explained: "The purchase of the 34DI press enabled us to truly establish our own offset printing facility.

We are no longer totally dependent on outsourcing and it has also increased our finishing business." In Alberta (Canada), the owner of Prime Printing, Hugh Schlenker, said his print shop used to job-out a significant amount of work.

With the 34DI's printing, consistency and fast make-ready times, he said his company can now keep those jobs in-house.

He added: "The DI is going to keep us competitive for a very long time.

It's quick, it's fast and the quality is there and that's the future of printing.

We should have bought this a long time ago.".

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