Kodak’s ‘Inspired by the Possibilities’ roadshow, which toured New Zealand early this month, drew big crowds across the country, culminating in a major event at Auckland’s Langham Hotel.
The event offered an overview of the new Kodak, with its massive graphic arts portfolio, and doubled as a window for interested companies into the digital future of the graphic arts industry. Clearly, the theme touched a chord with much of the printing public in the country, with interested punters turning out in their droves.
“We personally invited in excess of 160 companies with 2-3 personnel from each attending, and the response rate was fantastic to say the least,” says Kodak’s Ross Gilberthorpe. “This indicates the interest from the general community in what Kodak GCG can and will offer companies now and in the future.”
Gilberthorpe says that The theme “Inspired by the possibilities” truly represented the focus of the evenings, with Kodak CGC now the largest prepress equipment workflow, consumable, digital print and service supplier in New Zealand with offerings of new innovative technologies that far exceed any supplier in the printing and kindred industries.
The Graphic Communications Group (GCG) used the events to introduce the new Kodak, new technology and new vision to New Zealand.
An industry leader with over 28,000 patents for colour and imaging, Kodak is leading the way for the graphic arts community after acquiring Creo, KPG, Versamark, Encad and Nexpress.
Guest MC Gary McCormick introduced speakers who were talking about digital print technology, unified workflow and one-to-one marketing.
Derek Fretwell, along with the GCG team and partners, celebrated 10 years of CTP from Creo and Kodak. Guests, speakers and technology were from all market segments including creative, packaging, newspaper and commercial print and transactional.
Fretwell’s presentation touched on the sheer size of Kodak as a company and its pervasiveness throughout our everyday lives, and the fact that the company has now brought its enormous resources to bear on graphic arts, in a significant fashion.
Fretwell laid out Kodak’s division of its Graphic Communication Group into its three areas: workflow and prepress; digital printing; and consumables. “Kodak’s span of participation in the graphic arts is broader than any other vendor,” he said.
In addition, Fretwell pointed out that Kodak’s strong position and expertise in the digital world positioned it perfectly for the future.
“Digital technology is changing print. It is very different now from even five years ago,” he said.
Blending conventional offset with digital would be critical for printers to ensure they stayed ahead, and Kodak offered the tools to ensure that could be a reality.
Fretwell also paid homage to Kodak’s history in the graphic arts, celebrating the company’s 10th anniversary of its co-creation with Creo (which it subsequently purchased) of thermal CTP. Acknowledging the role of thermal in changing the face of heatset printing, Fretwell said that he knew of no heatset plant in ANZ not using a thermal solution.
Steve Pratt, Kodak’s general manager of Enterprise Solutions gave a presentation on the role of digital colour in print’s future.
Pratt started his presentation by quoting research from InfoTrends / CAP Ventures which stated that the market for digital colour is growing by about 20 per cent each year. And with regulations against telemarketing starting to rumble, that figure could grow as marketers look to alternatives to get their message across
Pratt outlined the Kodak range of digital colour and mono print engines, from the Versamark printers to the Nexpress, which has just had its first sale in New Zealand, to Hamilton-based ZOOM! Digital.
Kodak had promised that the evening would be both informative and memorable and not just another sales event, and the company lived up to its promise. With Gary McCormick providing the entertainment, and plenty of hospitality on offer, there were discussions deep into the night.
