Hudson Printing Showcases Landa S10P During Open House, Announces Second S10P Installation

With the backdrop of snow-capped mountains in the distance, customers of Hudson Printing in Salt Lake City entered the commercial printer's 120,000-sq.-ft. facility on May 5 for its first-ever open house. The event was intended to give attendees a tour of the facility, as well as a peek at the company's new Landa S10P nanographic printing press with perfector, which has been up and running since November 2021. Although seeing the Landa S10P running in person was a major draw during the event, Hudson Printing also announced that the 113-year-old company would in fact be installing a second Landa S10P later this year.

Paul Hudson, CEO of Hudson Printing, stands in front of the Landa S10P and talks to attendees during the company's first-ever open house.

Paul Hudson, CEO of Hudson Printing, explained that the company does a large amount of personalization printing, an area in which the Landa press has proven to be a success.

"We do a tremendous amount of variable data," Hudson said during a video interview with David Zwang, principal at Zwang & Co., at the event. "So, being a fully digital, highly productive press has been outstanding for our long-run, high-volume variable data work."

For Hudson, much of that work means it is serving its direct mail customers with the Landa press. Hudson explained that the company has been careful about the types of work it has transitioned to the press, so that the work that is transitioned is a success. Another great fit for the S10P press? Short-run, high page-count work, which can become costly on offset equipment. And although Hudson Printing is decommissioning one of its older offset presses, Hudson is careful to emphasize that the decision did not come about due to the Landa press installations. However, he said that he doesn't see the company investing in more offset equipment in the future.

Double Duty on Digital

During the Open House tour, it was explained that the company is currently at about 50% digital and growing. During the pandemic, Hudson Printing's digital output took off on its HP Indigo series of presses, which launched the company's investigation into new investments. Hudson explained that his company used to operate under the "build it and they will come" attitude, but he admitted they won't do that anymore. Instead, Hudson Printing completed extensive ROI evaluations before committing to the first Landa S10P.

Benny Ohayon, sales manager and global demonstrator at Landa Digital Printing, showcases some prints hot off the Landa S10P device.

Since adding the first device, it became clear that there would be enough capacity to fill a second Landa S10P, which is what sparked the decision to add a second device.

Hudson explained that the company has the volume to justify the second installation, but more interestingly, he expected to do more product development on the first press. However, the first Landa S10P has been running so consistently with other work — and has even been able to attract new work in its six months running — that the company hasn't had the capacity to do the product development work initially intended.

"I originally anticipated being able to do a lot of product development on the first one because we have some unique characteristics with this press," he explained. "It's the B1 size, it's the ability to print incredible images on uncoated paper or any substrate; we're printing almost everything in seven-color. There are unique properties to this press that allow, and beg for, the opportunity to build new and exciting products."

The second device is intended to help meet the company's product development needs, while also fulfilling excess capacity.

The decision to stick with Landa and install a duplicative device goes beyond the device's capabilities, too. In a press release announcing the second installation, Hudson spoke positively about the relationship the company has with Landa.

“Importantly, we’ve also had an extremely positive experience with Landa as a company,” Hudson said in the release. “They’ve done everything they promised, and more. It gives me confidence in the direction that Landa is taking the industry, and it lines up with our strategic direction.”

Landa S10P nanographic printing press with perfector.

Setting Landa Apart

To help showcase the new press, members of the Landa staff were onsite to give demonstrations and answer any questions attendees might have.

Benny Ohayon, of Landa Digital Printing, demonstrated the Landa S10P ease of use with a push of a button.

Benny Ohayon, sales manager and global demonstrator at Landa Digital Printing, walked attendees through nanographic technology while highlighting the various areas of the press. The Landa S10P nanographic printing press with perfector is a double-sided ,B1-format press that prints on any paper — coated or uncoated, with or without pretreatment — at speeds up to 6,500 sph (single-sided) and 3,250 sph (double-sided). Its ability to print on any paper has become a selling point during the current paper supply chain issues, of which there isn't an immediate end in sight.

Another big advantage, Ohayon explained, is the opportunity to attract the younger generation and engage the workforce, which is an ongoing issue in the printing industry as companies struggle with the labor shortage. To emphasize the press's ease of use, Ohayon called on an attendee to approach the control panel and start the press with the push of a button.

The open house ended on a high note, as Hudson explained that the event had been a success.

"We did have a sign outside, but I still didn't know who was really going to show up on the day," he said. "I wasn't certain anybody really cared ... this isn't always the sexiest industry. So, I was absolutely delighted to see how many people came and how many people were excited."