Ramping Up for Package Printing

As they venture into the field, would-be packaging printers will quickly learn what established packaging printers already know: making it in the packaging market requires the support of strong partners on the supply side. Packaging-minded customers of xpedx can count on the support of two of the strongest now that xpedx has expanded its long-standing relationship with Kodak to include flexographic technologies for package printing.

As an authorized reseller of Kodak packaging solutions in the U.S., xpedx now distributes flexo systems, workflow, and plates to commercial printers and in-plants as well as to companies specializing in label and package printing. The lineup includes the Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic System, an award-winning solution that produces Kodak Flexcel digital plates with exceptionally high resolution and stability.

Although these are the first Kodak packaging products that xpedx has added to its portfolio, the two companies can look back on an ongoing 10-year relationship in the distribution of commercial print products including plates, CTP devices, proofing systems, consumables, and workflow.

Printers Use MIS for Real-Time Access to Paper Inventory, Pricing

xpedx carries the largest inventory of printing papers in North America. Within its database is everything printers need to know—when they need to know it—about the availability and the pricing of stocks for nearly every kind of printing job. xpedx wants no barriers between this information and printers who can use it to streamline their job planning and improve their responsiveness to customers.

The most efficient way for a printer to tap into the xpedx paper inventory is to access it through the software that handles all of the plant’s business transactions: its management information system (MIS). Now, users of the EPMS Enterprise 32 print MIS solution can have direct access in real time. Soon, plants running EFI's popular PrintSmith™ MIS package will have this process-optimizing capability as well.

xpedx Launches Online Community for In-Plants

xpedx has built a much-needed online community for in-plant professionals eager to connect with and learn from colleagues outside their daily operations.

The portal, located at inhouseservices.xpedx.com, addresses the special needs of in-plants serving businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and print-producing entities of many other kinds. In-plants are highly diversified, but they are alike in their focus on meeting the printing and reprographic requirements of their parent organizations. As a result, they tend to operate in isolation—which can leave them open to being blind-sided by unfavorable management decisions and by competitive pressures from external print providers.