Phoenix Publishing and Media Group (PPMG) is one of the leading publishing conglomerates in China. Over the past few years, Kodak has helped Phoenix transform into a digital operation that is better equipped to manage its vast book inventory, while also creating the capability for print-on-demand services. The integration of Kodak’s Prosper 1000 system was the first step the company took to grow its short-run book printing operations through a print-on-demand (POD) capability.
With the POD line in full operation since November 2011, PPMG has signed up more than 40 major publishers, with the capability to produce over 20,000 books a day. The company is able to commit to an average delivery time between two to three days. With this track record of success, Phoenix announced at All in Print in Shanghai, China that it is expanding its digital capabilities with the purchase of Kodak’s Prosper 6000P System, making it the first installation in China. Li Xue, vice president of Phoenix Publishing & Media Group commented – printing digitalization and digital printing are the cornerstones of the growth strategy of Phoenix.
Expands on-demand capabilities
During the past three years, Phoenix Group has excelled at POD and they continue to drive the market’s growth. The investment in the Prosper 6000 is designed to meet the increasing demand from customers and is part of the group’s strategic growth plans as they look to expand on-demand print capabilities. By embracing digital, the group has experienced rapid growth in the POD business and the Prosper 6000 is a cutting-edge solution that is helping the company thrive in China’s fast-changing printing market. As Phoenix continues to focus on the growth of its on-demand printing business, the Kodak Prosper 6000 presses make it feasible and economical to print up to 200 lpi quality books at production run lengths of up to 3,000 copies. It prints at speeds of up to 1,000 feet, or 300 metres a minute on matted and uncoated papers with a duty cycle of 90 million A4 top quality pages a month.
Bing Wang, managing director, Kodak China, commented, “In today’s printing environment, businesses are investing in technologies that lay the foundation for future success. In book printing, printers are looking for ways to enhance revenue potential by shifting to profitable short-run jobs. These print-on-demand jobs reduce inventory costs and allow the printing of shorter runs on a just-intime basis to meet specific orders. Phoenix is a pioneer in this space and as a long time Kodak customer, we are honoured to work closely with them as they continue to innovate for their customers and for China’s printing industry.”
The Prosper 6000 presses are powered by an advanced Intelligent Print System (IPS), which continuously monitors, evaluates and adjusts operations to ensure exceptional quality output. With the improved IPS, the Prosper 6000 presses can monitor and instantly correct color registration, delivering enhanced registration performance. The writing system runs on Kodak’s newly formulated nanotechnology inks, offering a greater color gamut and delivering print quality that rivals offset output on a wide range of uncoated, coated, and glossy papers. The Prosper 6000 press was first launched worldwide on 10 June 2014.
