Pepper Communications now enabled for litho-quality digital printing by Konica Minolta

A family-run business based in Plymouth, Pepper Communications was formed more than 30 years ago and offers a complete end-to-end service from consultation to design, through to production and fulfilment. Tailor-made services can cover litho, digital, direct mail enclosing solutions, production of marketing literature, point of sale and media inserts. Pepper is committed to continuous staff development and has a proven track record of excellent customer service. Working from its in-house design studio, its creative designers ensure that print appeals to the intended audience maximising R.O.I for customers.

Digital is growing rapidly for Pepper, particularly as more work is transferred from litho to cope with short-run and variable data requirements. Increasingly it is being used for leaflets, brochures, information sheets and posters plus in marketing and direct mail campaigns where personalisation is crucial. As films and plates are not used in digital print, there is no need to print high volumes of collateral for it to be cost effective. Another benefit is digital printing offers great flexibility as designs can be printed within hours rather than taking days or weeks. Revised designs and re-runs can be easily and quickly managed without incurring set-up costs.

Konica Minolta’s Solution:

Pepper provides both mono and full colour digital printing services. When combined with its variable data management capabilities, it develops highly personalised and customised print and mail campaigns that are both eye-catching and dynamic. Konica Minolta first provided colour and mono digital systems in 2006. A top priority for Pepper has always been to stay up to date with the latest printing techniques and technologies, offering customers the highest quality and choice of finishes, so by 2013 it was seeking a new digital solution to continue their digital service and help grow their web to print offering via pepperdirect.co.uk.

Jake Whitford, Pepper’s Production Director, said: “We have always been happy with the service and approach from Konica Minolta, but at the start of 2013 we still wanted to test the market to go through the opportunities with other competitors as well. The main criteria for our search was to find a digital press that could produce a litho-like quality for digital print jobs and we wanted to find machinery with an outstanding reputation in the market place, provided by a company we could work with closely as a partner post sale. Ultimately, it came down to the new market we were trying to enter and relationships. After a long process of analysis and deliberation we chose to continue our relationship with Konica Minolta.”

Pepper invested in a flagship digital colour Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C8000 system for the high-speed production print market, printing at up to 80 pages per minute that can easily handle monthly volumes of 500,000 prints. These are supported by two Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS 1250 mono production print machines producing 125 A4 or 70 A3 pages per minute plus high RIP performance to ensure outstanding productivity.

Customer Experience:

“We’re delighted with our investment and the results we are achieving for our clients’ digital printing jobs,” said Jake Whitford. “Our new digital suite produces unbelievable high quality digital printing, produced on stock weights up to a premium heavyweight grade of 350gsm. The colour side is a big bonus and business is really expanding. The quality standard on the digital press is paramount and most of our customer base would find it hard to tell the difference between our new digital colour engine and the work produced on the litho press, so it also delivers big-time in that sense. We have had a really good return on investment already for machines that are solidly built, quiet and produce consistent high quality at all times. Using the dynamic Darwin software has also given us powerful personalisation, customization and integration capabilities for our clients, it enables us to directly connect to external databases and create mailing campaigns that deliver great results for our customers.”

“Another important part is that the Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS C8000 is equipped with some pretty fancy gizmos such as an inline spectrophotometer, suction feed, and updated registration system, using Fogra systems. This means that print jobs are guaranteed to look great every time, helping us maintaining our ISO 9001 standard.

“All this has been enabled by Konica Minolta, which has been an extremely good partner for us over the years, They have also introduced their Digital 1234 business development programme to us, which is helping to save us money and increase profits. We have a four-hour call-out system in place with Konica Minolta. This, coupled with the great relationship that we have with the engineers, is essential to ensure that all our customers print and mailing jobs are delivered on time every time.”

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Sydney firm acquires neighbouring business after Australia-first install

A Sydney printer has invested in its next round of growth by acquiring a stationery business and more than doubling its digital capacity.

Imagination Graphics bought Amazing Paper last month and installed a Konica Minolta Bizhub Press C8000 in August. It is also rolling out its new Agfa web-to-print software after becoming the first Australian firm to order Apogee Storefront.

Owner Emmanuel Buhagiar told ProPrint the six-staff firm had invested about $250,000 in the three deals.

He said Imagination had picked up 500 new customers in the Amazing Paper acquisition and that the two businesses offered strong cross-selling opportunities.

Amazing Paper’s former director, Kevin Jeffers-Palmer, will remain with the business, which will move in January from its Enmore site to Imagination’s nearby Marrickville premises.

Amazing Paper will be open seven days a week, which will mean more exposure for Imagination, said Buhagiar.

He added that Imagination would gain even more exposure after Jeffers-Palmer’s wife, Rosemarie, decided to relocate her independent bookbinding business, Sydney Bookbinding, to the same site.

Imagination’s new Konica Minolta press will run alongside a Bizhub Pro C6501, which was installed in 2009, and an Epson Stylus Pro 11880 wide-format printer.

The Bizhub Press C8000 prints, folds, stitches and collates, all inline, and will mainly be used for business cards, brochures and magazines, he said.

“It prints so well and so quickly and the registration is good. The colour is so close to offset it’s unbelievable. I’m not doom and gloom. I want to get out there and sell and win work.”

Buhagiar told ProPrint the new press would partly be used for trade work. He said about 60% of Imagination’s revenue comes from trade work – with about 90% of that being pre-press and 10% digital printing.

Buhagiar also said the firm believed in treating its suppliers fairly. “Imagination has had a reputation for 15 years that it pays all its bills in 30 days,” he said.

 

Originally published @: http://www.proprint.com.au/News/358808,sydney-firm-acquires-neighbouring-business-after-australia-first-install.aspx

 

Staples Canada Launches First-of-its-Kind Green Printer Program with Bullfrog Power(R)

TORONTO, ONTARIO— Bullfrog Power(R), Canada’s 100 per cent green energy provider, and Staples Canada, the leader in office supplies and Canada’s largest online retailer, today announced a revolutionary green power initiative: the bullfrogpowered(R) printers program. From now until October 25, any inkjet printer purchased at a Staples store location will be bullfrogpowered with 100 per cent clean, pollution-free electricity for one full year, courtesy of Staples Canada.

“The bullfrogpowered printers program is an excellent example of how we’re committed to helping Canadians reduce their environmental impact,” said Steve Matyas, President, Staples Canada. “The move marks an important milestone in our efforts to offer our customers more sustainable product and service options.”

Until October 25, all inkjet printers sold in any of the more than 330 Staples stores across Canada will come bundled with green power. Bullfrog Power’s generators will put 100 per cent renewable electricity onto the grid to match the amount of power estimated to be used in one year by all inkjet printers sold through the program. Across Canada, Bullfrog’s electricity comes exclusively from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low impact by Environment Canada under its EcoLogoM program.

“The bullfrogpowered printers program is a novel approach to educating Canadians about the importance of choosing clean, pollution-free energy,” said Anthony Santilli, Vice President, Commercial Sales and Marketing, Bullfrog Power. “Through this program, Staples Canada is helping to broaden awareness of climate change and the path forward to achieve a clean energy future in Canada.”

The bullfrogpowered printers program is part of a broader clean energy partnership between Bullfrog Power and Staples Canada. Through the agreement, Bullfrog Power’s generators put renewable electricity onto the grid to match the power used by the Staples Canada home office, Staples Advantage Canada home office and 11 Staples stores across Canada.

Energy is a key priority in Staples Canada’s corporate social responsibility strategy, complementing its sustainable product sourcing and internal operations, corporate social responsibility programs and its offering of recycling programs to its customers. Its environmental initiatives include:
 

–  Offering eco-responsible products;
–  Implementing a comprehensive energy conservation program and installing
    Energy Management Systems in 255 locations across Canada;
–  Running a national in-store recycling program that accepts writing
    instruments, batteries, ink and toner, and electronics;
–  The “Lights Out” program, where more than 130 store locations minimize
    non-essential lighting during the months of June and July, which has
    conserved enough electricity to power 90 Canadian homes for one year;
    and held in Collaboration with Earth Day Canada, the 2013 Recycle for
    Education Computer Lab contest awarded ten schools across Canada with a
    $25,000 computer lab each for their environmental initiatives.

About Staples Canada

Staples, Canada’s largest office products company is committed to providing Canadians with a wide choice of office services and products. Serving all types of business-from the small home office to large enterprise-Staples makes it easy for customers to operate their offices efficiently and affordably by offering an extensive selection of office supplies, technology, electronics and office furniture as well as business services, including computer repair and maintenance, and copy and print services. Operating as Bureau en Gros(MC) in the province of Quebec and Staples Canada in all other provinces, the company employs over 15,000 associates at 330+ stores and at their head office in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Ranked as one of Canada’s top ten Canadian companies in Marketing Magazine’s Marketing/Leger 2013 Corporate Reputation Survey, Staples/Bureau en Gros is dedicated to offering customers the highest level of service, whether they choose to shop in-store, by catalogue or online. Staples Canada/Bureau en Gros also is invested in a number of corporate giving programs that actively support environmental, educational and entrepreneurial initiatives in Canadian communities from coast to coast. Visit http://www.staples.ca for more information, or visit us on Facebook and Twitter http://www.twitter.com/@StaplesCanada.

41 Megapixels Smartphone Cameras Puts Pressure Canon’s Struggles

The global camera business, centered in Japan, is headed for a shakeout.

With industry revenue falling to the lowest level in a decade amid surging smartphone sales, Nikon Corp. (7731), the world’s No. 2 camera maker, has cut prices to lure consumers. Market leader Canon Inc. (7751) may follow suit to keep pace, according to UBS AG, putting pressure on smaller producers and possibly leading them to retreat from the business.

“There are too many players,” said Ryosuke Katsura, an analyst at UBS in Tokyo. “It’s going to be tough for smaller camera makers even to remain in the business as competition between Canon and Nikon will likely intensify,” said Katsura, who recommends selling shares of both industry leaders.

Since Apple Inc. introduced the iPhone in 2007, Canon and Nikon stocks have lost more than half their value as demand has withered in an industry they have dominated for over a decade. Nikon is the worst performer in the Nikkei 225 (NKY) index this year, falling 34 percent.

Sales of compact models have slumped as smartphones displace the point-and-shoots that were the biggest part of the market. Now higher margin single-lens reflex models — a market 80 percent controlled by Canon and Nikon — are slowing as well.

To keep sales moving, Nikon has been discounting many models. The Nikon 1 J2, introduced a year ago, now sells for as little as 23,485 yen ($240), 64 percent below its initial price, according to Japanese online comparison site Kakaku.com. The high-end D600, also introduced last September, has declined 26 percent to 145,975 yen.

Army Binoculars

Camera shipments are likely to fall 30 percent this year to 69 million units, according to Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co., even as manufacturers try to slow the decline by adding smartphone-like features such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Nikon in August cut its 2013 net income target by 23 percent while Canon lowered profit and sales forecasts in July.

Nikon says it cut prices to reduce inventory as demand falls, and that the company is scaling back production to boost profitability. Canon says it doesn’t plan to chase short-term market share gains by cutting prices.

Founded in 1917, Nikon supplied binoculars and optical gear to the Japanese military. After World War II the company focused on consumer products and in 1959 introduced its first SLR camera with an interchangeable lens, the Nikon F. Today it gets 84 percent of operating profit from imaging.

Buddhist Goddess

Canon started in an apartment in the Tokyo district of Roppongi in 1933. The next year, the company built its first 35 millimeter camera, called the Kwanon after the Buddhist goddess of Mercy. Its EOS Rebel, introduced in 1993, helped Canon cement its lead in the market by attracting a younger generation to high-end SLRs.

“Camera makers need to seek a new growth driver,” said Hirosuke Takayama, an analyst for SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in Tokyo. Medical equipment that uses their image-capturing sensors and processors is “the area the companies are all looking at.”

Olympus Corp. (7733), which started as a maker of microscopes and thermometers in 1919, produced its first camera in 1936. In 1950, it made an early endoscope — for taking pictures inside the body — and the company is now the world’s largest producer of such devices. Olympus plans to stop SLR development and this year closed a Beijing camera plant and suspended its cheapest compact camera line. In April Olympus started a venture with Sony Corp. (6758) to develop medical equipment.

$1 Brownie

Fujifilm Holdings Corp. (4901), a Tokyo-based photographic film maker, is shifting away from consumer cameras to medical systems and display components. Panasonic Corp. (6752), which produces the Lumix brand, will shrink its compact camera business, Chief Executive Officer Kazujiro Tsuga said in an interview.

Both industry leaders have ample resources to fund new ventures and takeovers. Canon had cash and equivalents of 755 billion yen in June while Nikon’s cash holdings were 121 billion yen, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Changes in the camera market may tell them it’s time for them to take risks to do something drastic to change their earnings structure,” said Hisashi Moriyama, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo.

The shift to smartphones could be similar to the transition from film to digital photography, which weeded out companies slow to adapt. Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. sold its SLR business to Sony in 2006 to focus on office equipment. Pentax Corp. was acquired in 2007 by Hoya Corp (7741), which sold the camera operation to Ricoh Co. (7752) four years later. Eastman Kodak Co., the photography pioneer that introduced the $1 Brownie Camera more than a century ago, is now bankrupt.

41 Megapixels

Smartphone cameras are getting more sophisticated. Samsung Electronics Co. (005930)’s Galaxy S4 is equipped with a 13-megapixel sensor. Sony’s latest Xperia Z1 has a 20.7 megapixel camera and an optional zoom-lens attachment. Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) in July unveiled its Lumia 1020 with a 41-megapixel camera. By contrast, Canon’s EOS-1D X, which sells for $6,799 on the company’s U.S. website, has an 18.1-megapixel sensor — though pixel count is only one of many factors that affect image quality.

As Nikon and and Canon consider diversification, earnings are going to remain under pressure as smartphones cannibalize compacts and margins on SLRs shrink, said Amir Anvarzadeh, a manager of Japanese equity sales at BGC Partners Inc. (BGCP) in Singapore.

“This is not,” he said, “going to reverse anytime soon.”

 

Reporters on this story: Mariko Yasu in Tokyo at myasu@bloomberg.net; Grace Huang in Tokyo at xhuang66@bloomberg.net