A multi-million pound agreement will ensure a consistent supply of ink for digital inkjet presses, from Kodak, for the St Ives group.
The package also includes on-site support from Kodak’s service teams and plates for CTP devices.
The group has positioned itself with a spread of printing and marketing capabilities and it has significantly grown its portfolio over recent years, with the most recent acquisition of digital marketing agency and SEO specialist, Branded3, as well as Pragma; retail and consumer market consultancy and Amaze; the international marketing and technology strategist.
Ivor Watters, group commercial director, said, ‘We have a strong existing relationship with Kodak and are very happy with the service the company provides. We are pleased to continue working with them under this extended agreement.’
Book production is a key element of the group’s portfolio and the main production plant at Clays has recently updated its production workflow. This was a complex project, where a bespoke solution was built around the core Prinergy Workflow and Insite Prepress Portal systems, enabling it to gradually migrate without any risks or downtime. The company now has the latest software in place offering a production suite with full automation, and outputting to traditional computer to plate for litho production, digital print on demand system and now the new era of high speed digital inkjet presses with the recently installed Timsons T-Press with Prosper S-Series Imprinting Systems and Prosper 1000 press.
A similar exercise was implemented on another site, SP Group in Redditch, the POS division of St Ives. SP is focused on maximising its clients revenue through campaigns, and as a result has a very complex set of workflow requirements. The group ultimately planned the same end game, to automate and streamline production processes by using Prinergy Workflow and Insite Prepress Portal System along with Prinergy Rules-Based Automation Software.
