Kodak gives Moroccan Printing Industry a Boost

DUBAI, U.A.E: Kodak is expanding its footprint in North Africa, following the successful installation of a KODAK FLEXCEL NX System. The installation – the first in North Africa – consists of a project between Kodak’s distributor, Amigraph and DirectPrint, a reputable printing establishment in Casablanca, Morocco, that invested in the product to serve regional markets in labels and flexible packaging. The successful installation at DirectPrint is a result of Kodak’s strategy and focus to increase its presence within the packaging/ flexographic segment in North Africa.

“We opted for Kodak solutions in order to facilitate our expanding business in the flexo printing industry,” said Younes Benchekroun, managing director at DirectPrint. “When developing our investment plans into the flexo printing industry we realised, very quickly, that Kodak flexo solutions help deliver high-impact flexible packaging with accurate brand colours – across all substrates, through any printing process – that would complement our previous production set-up. We were attracted to working with Kodak due to their strong emphasis on quality and efficiency, all the way from prepress to press.”

According to DirectPrint the Moroccan market is poised for growth. The company has consistently sought out new niches to secure its margins and diversify its customers’ services, in an effort to keep up with the demand. The Casablanca based company is a pioneer in adopting new technologies to help their business diversify and grow, a contributing factor that led DirectPrint to install flexo technology. The company’s reputation in offset is based on providing high quality print service to its customers.

“DirectPrint, Amigraph and Kodak have been on an interesting journey to determine which set-up to choose,” said Majid Ziatt, presales and post-sales support manager at Amigraph. “The excellent partnership of all three stakeholders has yielded very positive results and a successful first KODAK FLEXCEL NX System installation. Through this deal we not only achieved our first FLEXCEL NX System installation, in the French speaking African market, but have also gained valuable experience in the flexography industry that will only open more doors for us into a market that will grow.”

“DirectPrint wanted uncompromised quality when extending their activities into the flexo world and we, together with Amigraph, have achieved this goal through state-of-the-art technology,” said category business manager, Katja Pötzsch at Kodak. “With Amigraph we have a long-term partnership and this installation speaks volumes about the trust and cooperation we have developed together over the years.”

According to Pötzsch, “Morocco has a strongly developing, yet highly competitive packaging industry”, that is ripe for new technologies”.

Recognised as a game changer for the flexography industry, FLEXCEL NX System has enabled advancements in production efficiency, stability and predictability in prepress and the pressroom while delivering image quality that rivals gravure. FLEXCEL NX is currently being used in more than 50 countries around the globe and continues to drive transformation in the printing industry. FLEXCEL NX allows packaging convertors and trade shops to print with tonal range and the productivity and print stability of Kodak-pioneered flat top dot technology.

To develop the KODAK FLEXCEL technology, Kodak leveraged the core imaging technology and material science of its revolutionary KODAK FLEXCEL NX Digital Flexographic System. Like the FLEXCEL NX System, the FLEXCEL SRX System features flat top dots and KODAK SQUARESPOT Imaging Technology to deliver plates that provide excellent tonal reproduction and print stability.

About Kodak:

Kodak is a technology company focused on imaging for business. We provide innovative hardware, software, consumables and services to customers in graphic communications, packaging and functional printing. We also serve entertainment and commercial films markets. With our world-class R&D organization and extensive product portfolio, Kodak is helping customers around the globe to grow their own businesses in a sustainable way.