The Port Melbourne-based printer first saw the production digital press at Drupa 2012 then researched it again at the Print show in Chicago last November.
Kosdown director David Downie told ProPrint that the company was attracted to the MGI because it is priced like an offset press, with no click charge. Kosdown has arranged a 12-month consumables and service contract with distributor Ferrostaal.
He was also impressed with the unusual format – the XL model that Kosdown ordered takes a sheet up to 330x1020mm, allowing the machine to print a full-colour sheet of eight A4 pages, duplex.
The MGI Meteor also prints on to plastic cards, which should open up a new market for the 28-staff company.
The press arrived at Kosdown on 19 April and was given its first run today. Downie said a job of 500 A4 pages was put through this morning, and that it handled "beautifully", with colour achieved on the second sheet.
[Feature: Kosdown stays ahead of the curve]
The investment marks Kosdown's first foray into small-format digital, but the company was an early adopter of wide-format; its display graphics division is five years old and runs an Agfa Anapurna and an EFI Vutek QS3220, which was the first in Australia when Kosdown installed it in 2011.
Downie said the new press matched Kosdown's "basic and old-fashioned" approach to business.
"It’s service, service and quality. That’s what the MGI is about. It’s rounding that out for our customers to say, ‘OK we can give you everything now, including direct mail and variable data.'"
Kosdown's MGI is also fitted with an envelope attachment, which allows the company to print full-colour envelopes.
Ferrostaal's general manager of MGI and consumables, Nigel Alexander, said the DP8700's key strength was its versatility.
He told ProPrint that it could print on a wide range of alternative substrates, and that its ability to produce 330x1020mm banners made it "perfect for point-of-sale and promotional material".
Alexander said the 'no-click-charge' model would appeal to traditional offset printers.
"The process of estimating print costs is similar to offset print. This process allows printers to be more competitive."
Ferrostaal will demonstrate the DP8700 XL at PacPrint.
[LinkedIn: What research do you do before buying new kit?]
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