Alito Turns to Digital
with Kodak Nexpress SE2500 at Ipex

Av Ratanaporn B. Jakobsen

From left to right: Phil Walsh, Digital Print Manager, Eastman Kodak Company; Terry Brady, Chairman, Alito; David Collins, Managing Director, Alito

Alito the leading offset print supplier has invested in a Kodak Nexpress SE2500 Digital Production Color Press with Fifth Imaging Unit and new Kodak Nexpress Dimensional Printing System to maximise opportunities in the direct mail and commercial printing markets. The company has completed the deal at Ipex 2010.  

The Nexpress Digital Color Press will become the first digital press installed at Alito. "This was a carefully thought out move for the future of our company," says David Collins, Managing Director at Alito. "There are huge commercial opportunities in the digital printing sector. Once we had made the decision, the Kodak Nexpress Press was the obvious choice for our purpose. We already have a very strong relationship with Kodak that goes back more than five years. When devising our digital strategy, we could see the advantages of having Kodak as our chosen supplier - not only from a market-leading technology perspective, but also we know their service and support will be excellent during the transition and beyond.." Alito's digital printing business model will see the company run its new digital department separately from its litho printing set-up.

Collins continues: "We anticipate that in the future, all print will be personalized. In the magazine market, for example, there is growing demand for short runs with different covers. Our direct mail business is witnessing demand for shorter runs of top-quality, highly targeted mailings. The array of personalization options offered by the NEXPRESS Press will help us to meet customers' variable data printing needs and create high-impact color documents, no matter how small or large the print-run."

Alito is one of the top sheet-fed printers in the UK and occupies 40,000sq ft of factory space in Leyton, north-east London. The company employs around 85 staff and has an annual turnover of £10m. Its customer base includes leading banks, high-street stores and facilities management companies. Alito runs three KBA105 B1 presses, printing in excess of five million sheets per week.

Pat Holloway, UK Marketing Manager at Kodak comments on the deal: "The power and versatility of the NEXPRESS Press makes it the ideal system for Alito to base its new digital department around. It will help the company enter new markets and capitalize on the trend for short-run, high-impact, variable data print jobs. We anticipate that it won't be long before Alito sees an increase in revenue and enjoys a fast return on its investment."