New NexPress in Texas

Variable data printing is a popular topic in Texas.

“I get a lot of people who will call me and ask me questions about variable data printing,” remarks Steve Burdette, director of Campus Support Services at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The in-plant has been providing personalized monochrome printing on its Kodak Digimasters, while outsourcing color variable print jobs to the University of North Texas, which runs an HP Indigo 3000.

That has all changed now.

The 25-employee in-plant just installed a new Kodak NexPress 2100 plus digital production color press with a NexGlosser glossing unit. Burdette plans to increase the shop’s variable data printing work, while moving a lot of short-run, quick-turnaround jobs from the shop’s four-color Heidelberg Speedmaster onto the 2100. The Speedmaster, he says, has been booked solid, and about 20 percent of those jobs have run lengths below 2,500.

“I realized that I could open up about 20 percent of the work on my Speedmaster...which would give me more capacity on my Speedmaster for larger runs,” he says. “Our objective is to get more profitable work for the offset.”

Though still new, the NexPress 2100 is off to a good start. Already the in-plant has gotten compliments on the quality of its work. When the shop printed an invitation to an event featuring General Tommy Franks, the alumni department loved the way it looked.

“They thought it was gorgeous,” Burdette says.

The in-plant selected the NexPress 2100 because it fit well with its PDF workflow, Burdette says. He also liked its ability to handle 14x20.5˝ sheets and the fact that its clear ink was scuff resistant.

Also new at the in-plant is a Kodak Digimaster E125, an upgrade to its Digimaster 110. Burdette says local quick copy shops have stopped printing course packs, due to pending lawsuits from publishers, thus doubling the in-plant’s course pack volume.