Calendriers Alexandre installs Fujifilm s first Jet press 70 in France

Calendriers Alexandre installs Fujifilm's first Jet Press 720 in France French printer & publisher of calendars and wall planners chooses the Jet Press 720 for its ability to open up new business opportunities

20.05.2013

Fujifilm JetPress 720

Calendriers Alexandre St phane Mariot & Christophe Bourn

Fujifilm today announces that Calendriers Alexandre, a printer and publisher of high quality calendars and wall planners for both the French national and global markets, has invested in a Jet Press 720. Led by a management team with roots in publishing and marketing, the investment has been based on the company's strategy of looking for tools which can help to increase or diversify its business offering.

Calendriers Alexandre was founded 27 years ago by Mr Christophe Bourn and St phane Mariot, and today produces the largest range of wall planners and multi-page calendars on the French market. Based in Le Mans in France, the company employs 11 people and has a turnover of 3.6M. Through its astute choice of staff, it is able to handle a high volume and incredible variety of jobs, printing the smaller calendars digitally and larger ones, to date, with offset.

"We are always on the lookout for that special technique which will allow us to remain a leading supplier for calendars in France," comments Mr. Bourn . "When we learnt about Fujifilm's Jet Press 720 we wanted to explore what it could offer our business."

"As a company, marketing is high on our agenda, and every year we produce sample packs of calendars and wall planners for our entire dealer network, which is a significant and costly undertaking. But for us this is a key differentiator and shows the diversity of our offering." He continues, "This year, part of our portfolio was printed on the Jet Press 720 at Fujifilm's showroom, which confirmed for us the quality and the productivity of the machine. After that we had no hesitation in making our decision."

"Over time, we want to transfer 70 to 75% of the work currently produced on offset presses onto the Jet Press 720. We aim to produce all of the larger format runs that are under 2000 sheets on the press, with the remainder being printed offset."

The investment in the Jet Press 720, which was installed in February 2013, is one built around a long term vision for the company. Co-manager St phane Mariot explains: "If we had chosen to invest in an offset machine we would make more money in the short term. But, the Jet Press 720 can be used to print many more applications, with the potential to take us into new markets which we believe will make a massive difference in the longer term. Two years ago we invested in a stationary company and this press will be perfect for developing this particular market. We are also looking at other B2 digital applications, including posters, diaries and hard-back comic books, as well as exploring a B2C business model to supplement our focus on B2B."

"The Jet Press 720 allows us to sell the print that comes off the machine from the very first sheet. Its B2 format size is a perfect fit for our business, which in our market is essential. We are confident that job turnaround will improve, as well as the level of service we can offer (compared to offset), and it gives us the ability to simplify production & workflow, produce more complex jobs digitally, as well as produce our sample packs more easily."

"We can now implement our long term plan, as we concentrate on developing new product offerings and breaking into new markets. For us, the Jet Press 720 is most definitely the future and a very positive step for the business."

With a specific new area set aside on site at Calendriers Alexandre, the Jet Press 720 will be driven by Fujifilm's XMF Workflow system with variable data management for personalised documents.

Christophe Bourn and St phane Mariot are proud that over the years the company has developed a process that allows it complete control of its calendar ranges. Close working relationships with photographers, designers and painters yield interesting creative results, and an in-house desktop publishing service brings these to life for both standard and customised calendar designs.

Christophe Bourn adds: "We've been so impressed with the quality of the finished product that we are eager to explore new markets and potential new partnerships using digital print as soon as possible, and will be increasing our communications effort to achieve this," he concludes.

Philippe Vautier, inkjet product manager for Fujifilm France comments, "This installation at Calendriers Alexandre highlights the real quality the Jet Press 720 can achieve. We are delighted to have a partnership with a company as forward thinking as this, which can see the potential for value added print in the future, and we look forward to a long-standing relationship."

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LINK:	http://www.fujifilm.eu/uk/news/article/news/calendriers-alexandre-inst...
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