FULL STORY
Good practice in all aspects of its work has turned Formara into a highly successful print house. With an annual turnover of £3 million, its 57 employees work on site in Southend-on-Sea, Essex UK, to serve a diverse client base. Formara boasts an impressive portfolio of plant including one B2 and two B3 litho presses supplied by a Kodak Magnus 400 II platesetter using Kodak Electra Excel Thermal Plates plus four digital presses, three of which are black-and-white and the fourth a Kodak NexPress M700 digital colour press. Formara's investment in version 4.2 of the Kodak Prinergy workflow system is an additional force.
Managing director Freddie Kienzler (pictured top) explained, ‘By choosing Kodak for platesetting, workflow and digital print investments we know we are supporting our customers and helping them save money. In a recent customer survey respondents cited quality, value for money and reliability as the top three reasons for doing business with Formara. We no longer compete on price alone. We work with our customers to help develop print solutions and produce quality print specifically tailored to their needs. These are the customers we want to retain and attract.’
NexPress press offers litho quality
Before the installation of the Kodak NexPress press, Formara was not convinced about the quality of digital print compared to litho output. ‘Our digital print output has increased by 35 per cent,’ enthused Kienzler. ‘With our new digital press, we are able to transfer litho work onto the NexPress press. This enables us to bring jobs that were previously contracted out, back in-house. Additional benefits come from the Operator Replaceable Components (ORC) programme that Kodak offers with its NexPress presses. We believe this significantly reduces the cost of print. The components last a long time thereby helping to minimise variable costs. Additionally, we can print on whichever size substrate we prefer, to maximise production efficiency and incur the least wastage.’
Going green
Formara was already implementing sustainable practices long before the issue entered the limelight. The company had achieved an ISO 14001 environmental standard back in 2002. Kienzler explained, ‘For us, being “green” has always been about meeting legal obligations and making ourselves attractive to existing and potential customers. We feel that as a responsible business, it is only sensible to help protect the environment whenever possible and economically viable.’ Formara's commitment to sustainability won it the Environmental Print Business of the Year award in 2007 from The British Association of Print and Communication. The company recycles 90 per cent of its waste, including used Kodak consumables which are handled by J&G Environmental / Cleansing Service Group. Formara offsets its carbon footprint by replacing kerosene lamps with solar-powered ones in Africa, and runs its fleet of vans on dual LPG and petrol fuel. The company has halved the level of waste sent to landfill and increased its use of FSC papers from 5.6 tonnes to in excess of 16 tons in the last year. It has also lowered the production of hazardous waste chemicals and solvents by 66 per cent over the past two years, partly thanks to its investment in the Kodak Magnus 400 platesetter.
With so many achievements so far, what's next for Formara?
‘Using Kodak Technology we are expanding our services to include on-line ordering and proofing via our web sites. This will undoubtedly bring us in new business.’ In 2009, Formara initiated a major marketing campaign, both postal and e-mail using the NexPress press to produce personalised mailings to users and prospects. ‘Because VDP forms a major part of our business, we want to provide an even higher standard of service,’ concluded Kienzler. We are working towards an ISO 27001 standard for secure data management and will continue to use Kodak technology. We see Formara and Kodak as a working partnership for the future. The synergies between the technologies and the convenience of speaking with just one manufacturer makes perfect sense.’
For more information about Kodak's Graphic Communications Group, visit www.graphics.kodak.com, or just click on the Kodak button to the left of this page, or the Kodak banner or sponsor logo links on our Home Page. In Southern Africa, consult Antalis South Africa’s Graphic division.
Pictured above: Formara's managing director Freddie Kienzler with the Kodak Magnus 400 II platesetter which uses Kodak Electra Excel Thermal Plates. In the lower picture: Formara’s Kodak NexPress M700 digital colour press.
© Graphic Repro On-line, 27 November 2009.
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