King Printing Adding Kodak Prosper 1000 Press for Book Production

BIRMINGHAM, UK—May 18, 2010—King Printing has always been an early adopter of cutting-edge technology, and is continuing that tradition of leadership as it prepares for installation of a new Kodak Prosper 1000 Press in August with plans to upgrade to a Kodak Prosper 5000XL Press in early 2011. For 32 years, King Printing has served the needs of book publishers as a full-service provider offering everything from prepress to finishing.

The Prosper 1000 Press features Kodak Stream Inkjet Technology and, like the Prosper 5000XL Press, offers offset class image quality approaching 175 line screen on glossy substrates; offset class productivity of 3,600 A4 pages per minute, which is 38 percent more productive than any other digital press on the market; offset class cost that is 20 percent lower than any other digital press on the market; and offset class flexibility to print on uncoated, coated, and glossy substrates. Prosper Presses deliver “digital without compromise” to commercial printers and publishers for applications such as books, direct mail, and catalogs.

“We have built our business on uncompromising quality and customer focus,” said Adi Chinai, Managing Director, King Printing. “We have very high expectations for the equipment we choose to invest in, ensuring that it will meet our high standards as well as the demands of our clients. The Prosper 1000 Press is a perfect fit for our business and gives us the flexibility to easily upgrade to the color functionality of the Prosper 5000XL Press.”

King Printing has a reputation for its eagerness to embrace the latest technology, starting with production digital printing in 1989, fully automated CTP in 1995, zero makeready binding equipment in 2004, full-color inkjet in 2008 and the Prosper 1000 Press in 2010. In addition, King Printing has developed its own fully integrated digital front end that requires minimal to no manual intervention in production.

The company will be using the Prosper 1000 Press, and later the PROSPER 5000XL Press, to produce short-run, black-and-white and color books with unprecedented image quality and productivity. Plans also call for variable data and ultra short runs for the trade, educational, and professional book segments.

“We have seen an explosion in the demand for short-run book publishing, and the PROSPER Press Platform is uniquely suited to meet those demands,” noted Kevin Joyce, Worldwide Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Digital Printing Solutions, Kodak. “With offset class quality, productivity, and cost, the Prosper Press Platform gives book publishers and printers an exciting new digital business model that can help increase efficiency and profitability.”

King Printing, based in Lowell, Mass., also places a strong focus on its finishing capabilities, offering all necessary binding services in-house. The plant employs casing inlines, case makers, and perfect binders from Kolbus; and trimmers and saddle stitchers from Muller Martini. All binding, including mechanical binding, is accomplished under one roof.

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