Inkjet & Digital Printing
Kodaks Stream Printheads to Bring Enhanced Digital Personalization Capabilities to Wilen Direct
Wednesday 29. April 2009 - Continuous inkjet solution can deliver faster ROI and more effective, targeted communications
Wilen Direct is slated to become the second site in the United States to install the Stream Printhead from Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK). Wilen Direct is a Florida-based leader and innovator in digital and variable data imaging, personalized direct marketing, advanced mail strategies and technologies, logistics, and fulfillment. A continuous inkjet solution for inline printing on an offset press, the Stream Printhead provides a bridge between offset and digital printing, extending the business and revenue opportunities of companies of all sizes and adding value to printed pages.
Already a user of multiple KODAK VERSAMARK Printheads, Wilen Direct will implement four monochrome Stream Printheads to enhance its ability to deliver highly targeted, cost-effective marketing materials that can deliver greater return on marketing investment (ROMI) for its customers. Adding the higher resolutions and wider range of substrate support that come with the Stream Printhead enables Wilen Direct and its affiliated companies to leverage their expertise in variable data printing for a variety of customers, including Time Warner, Charter Communications, Comcast, the New York Islanders, Tribune, ESPN, HBO, Sony, and Papa Johns.
“To be and stay a leader in our industry, its essential to provide a mix of personalized print and online solutions, supported by the best data and fulfillment capabilities, and to deliver all of it effectively and efficiently. Technology makes this possible,” said Kevin Wilen, Executive Vice President, Wilen Direct. “Our investment in advanced technologies such as Kodaks new Stream Printheads enables us to stay highly competitive in the constantly changing world of personalized digital marketing.”
As a reflection of its shift in focus from simply printing to delivering personalized direct communications, Wilen Press recently changed its name to Wilen Direct. The company takes great pride in its ability to provide clients with the most targeted and relevant communications by integrating increasingly sophisticated data metrics with production. The result is improved return on investment (ROI), more accurate tracking and planning tools, and faster speed-to-marketall essential prerequisites for success.
“Kodaks Stream Printhead opens up new business opportunities for print service providers by enabling high-speed variable data printing with offset class output,” said Kevin Joyce, Worldwide Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Digital Printing Solutions, Kodak. “Combining the power of personalization with the reliability, productivity, cost and quality of offset helps print service providers become even more valuable to their customers as marketing service providers. This boosts return on investment for the provider, as well as return on marketing investment for the customer. As one of the leaders in this field, Wilen Direct is an ideal fit for this innovative Kodak solution.”
Kodaks Stream Printhead, which features flexible mounting options, integrates seamlessly with web offset presses and a variety of third-party printing towers to add variable data to offset printed materials at 1,000 fpm (305 mpm) with a resolution of 600 dpi. With a print width of 4.16 inches and rich pigment based inks that offer fade, scratch and water resistance, the Stream Printhead increases throughput and eliminates the need for additional standalone equipment.