Gloucester-based print and digital media house Severn has turned to Prepress UK to keep its Kodak Prinergy driven Epson large-format printers producing ISO12647-2 certified proofs. The single StudioRip Inkjet Edition software package is driving two Epson 7800 printers – and producing proofs at twice the speed of the original system.
Some two years ago, Kodak, suppliers of hundreds-of-thousands of pounds worth of pre-press equipment to Severn, including its Prinergy workflow system, had advised the customer that it would no longer be supporting the Epson printer connection that it had originally provided. All continued well for a time, but when difficulties arose with the system, Production Manager Lyndon Murray had to act quickly.
“I had known Nic Chapman [Prepress UK Sales Director] for many years, and approached him to ask if he would be able to help us in our “hour of need”,” said Lyndon. “I was amazed at how quickly Prepress UK were able to come to the rescue. From my initial contact with Nic, we had the solution installed and working within four days.
“The StudioRip Inkjet package not only solved our immediate problems, providing accurate, consistent colour proofs to ISO12647-2 standard, it actually speeded up the whole proofing process, with a 50% improvement in output speeds.”
Severn hit the headlines earlier this year when the environmentally friendly print business installed one of Komori’s first B2 format H-UV presses, providing fast and efficient UV drying.
Adding further thoughts on Prepress UK as a supplier, Lyndon Murray added: “The post installation support has also been extraordinary compared to some of the big suppliers. We had an issue with getting an InDesign file through the system. We called the Prepress UK support line: they linked directly into the system, tweaked the software set-up, and within 20 minutes we were running the file. That’s what I call support!”
Prepress UK’s Sales Director Nic Chapman, commenting on his company’s performance, added: “The big pre-press suppliers do sometimes have support issues with third party product that they have installed – maybe there is just not enough money in it for them to continue helping the customer with that equipment – but that’s where Prepress UK comes into its own. Our software engineers are more than happy to recommend a system that will suit the customers needs and solve their day-to-day problems. Often, like with Severn, our expertise can get a system performing even better than the original configuration.”
Andrew Aldridge, Technical Manager at Prepress UK, added: “Swift and effective support for pre-press products is as essential as a timely and efficient installation. If we can solve an issue by dialling into a system and tweaking the RIP settings then that is the obviously most beneficial solution for all concerned – for us, for the print business and, most importantly, for the printers customer – in terms of both cost and time.”