News UK installs 22 KODAK PROSPER S30 Imprinting Systems to power a new promotion in The Sun that kicks off the UK football season and offers access to exclusive online content
ROCHESTER, N.Y. --
News UK (formerly News International) has taken delivery of the UK’s largest order of KODAK PROSPER S30 Imprinting Systems to transform its printed newspaper business. A total of 22 PROSPER S30 Imprinting Systems have been installed by the British newspaper publisher, a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp.
The current publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times, and The Sun has mounted the high-speed digital printing heads inline on its offset presses, located at three UK print sites in Broxbourne, Knowsley and Eurocentral, while others have been placed on presses at contract sites in Kells (Ireland) and Belfast.
“Newspapers all around the world are facing changing business models as readers increasingly look online for the latest news and content,” noted Kodak’s Will Mansfield, Director of Marketing, Inkjet Printing Solutions. “With high-speed inline digital printing solutions, Kodak is helping newspaper publishers shift from a paper-dependent retail model to one of blended print and digital content via subscriptions.” To offset decreasing subscription and print advertising revenues, publishers are moving expanded content online and selling subscriptions to that content. Variable-data printing allows publishers to promote the online content and provide a variety of incentives for readers to engage with both platforms.
In this latest application, beginning in early August, readers of The Sun will be able to collect special codes that will be printed on papers daily using the PROSPER S30 Imprinting Systems. These unique printed codes will unlock one month’s worth of access to The Sun’s digital content. This program begins just as the very popular football season kicks off, and online content will include enhanced football coverage, such as near-live videos of every Barclays Premier League goal on the go—hours before televised football round-up programs have even started. Moving forward, readers can collect five codes each week for continuous access to The Sun’s unrivalled digital content and perks.
Sun editor David Dinsmore said, “The strong bond between The Sun and its millions of customers is behind its enduring success over many decades. However, we are never complacent and continue striving to deliver greater choice and value, which is why we’ve invested millions in this solution to ensure every one of our loyal readers can get their hands on the huge benefits of Sun+ membership.”
The KODAK PROSPER S-Series Imprinting System enables printers to capitalize on the investments made in offset presses and bridge the gap with digital techniques by adopting a one-step inline process. This solution can be easily integrated into existing production processes, allowing hybrid printing applications such as direct mail, inserts, gaming, advertising and package labeling. With a speed of 3,000 fpm (915 mpm) and a guaranteed 600 x 200 dpi resolution, the PROSPER S30 Imprinting System is the higher-performance choice of the PROSPER S-Series Imprinting System family, which has already shown itself to be an industry-leading technology with hundreds of successful installations worldwide.
Now the PROSPER S30 Imprinting System is also enhancing the newspaper market with its combination of unrivalled speed, quality and low running cost, enabling publishers to explore new opportunities in interactive print and drive promotions across multiple media platforms.
Philip Cullimore, Regional Managing Director, EAMER, Kodak, commented: “Few events in the UK’s sporting calendar are more keenly anticipated than the start of the new football season. We are delighted that News UK has chosen Kodak’s unique Stream Inkjet Technology to present to its readers the extensive benefits of our printheads. Every single day, a unique code will be printed in every paper, and this represents the perfect example of variable-data printing in a hybrid environment, combining the advantages of both the digital and offset worlds.”
Digital printing capability enables a number of other exciting applications, such as late-breaking news and photos, late sports scores, geographically targeted content, interactive advertisements, gaming or lottery applications, personalized social media links, and much more. Kodak experts can help newspaper publishers around the world design a solution that meets the needs and reading habits of their specific audiences.
About Kodak’s Commercial Imaging Business
Kodak’s Commercial Imaging business is driving innovation and change for customers in commercial, packaging and functional printing, and enterprise services markets. Kodak’s innovative technologies and solutions provide customers greater competitive advantage and return on investment. For more information, visit graphics.kodak.com.
(Kodak and Prosper are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.)