And to celebrate the occasion, the companies have announced a three month window where you can receive a significant savings on the Kodak Matchprint inkjet proofing system, over and above the already highly competitive offer.
The deal is important for the industry here because it marks the combination of Kodak’s enormous worldwide research and development resources with Aarque’s local expertise, service and backup. Aarque is already a leading presence in the proofing market in New Zealand.
“We believe Aarque is a perfect fit with Kodak’s technology,” said Kodak’s Ross Gilberthorpe. “They have an in-depth knowledge of the market, and their service and backup across the country is second to none.”
In addition to Kodak’s leading colour technology in the world of hard proofing, Aarque will also be dealing with Kodak’s soft proofing solution Virtual Proof, a rapidly growing part of the industry. Aarque already sell the high-end Eizo monitors, which are one of two recommended screens for Virtual Proof.
The fact that Aarque will also be distributors for the Nexpress is a major coup. The Nexpress is a large scale, solid, digital printing press that delivers offset-like image quality at high speed and is Pantone licensed.
The arrangement for Aarque to sell Kodak’s proofing products and Nexpress is effective immediately and is expected to have a big influence on the New Zealand graphic arts scene.
“This is not a decision we rushed into,” said Aarque’s Jason Bult. “We have had ongoing discussions with Kodak over a long period to ensure that we are doing the right thing for our customers and potential customers. We believe that this is going to add considerable value to our product offering and further enhance Aarque’s position as ‘partner of choice’.”
