The Swindon-based commercial printer, which has a turnover of £11.7m, installed a full suite of Kodak Workflow software 18 months ago as part of a bid to automate its manufacturing process.

The installation was part of an overhaul of the business which began four years ago when ESP Colour decided to concentrate on printing three formats - A4, A5 and DL - and to implement JDF throughout its factory to allow it to retrieve accurate, real-time data from the print process to ensure that the three formats are being printed as efficiently as possible.

The company hired a sub-contractor to develop a system that built on Tharstern’s MIS software and Kodak’s Prinergy/InSite to create a full-blown rules based automation (RBA) system. It became fully JDF integrated nearly two years ago.

The Kodak Unified Workflow Solutions package includes Prinergy Workflow, Insite Prepress Portal System for online job submission and remote soft proofing and Preps 6.2 Imposition Software. The investment also included a Kodak Magnus 800 Platesetter, which images up to 10,000 Electra XD thermal plates per month.

ESP managing director Anthony Thirlby said: "Kodak is the only company that could take what we were trying to do in terms of rules-based automation and implement it. Everything is now automated in terms of workflow from the MIS and we are now trying to take it to the next stage, which is to roll out rules-based automation across the business, to allow pre-setting of all six machines. Over the next six months we will be installing a digital storefront and we are also developing a bespoke web to print model."