Business 8 January / February 2023 KP Services to continue newspaper printing Based in Saint Saviour, Jersey, KP Services, which is a joint venture between Kodak and Guiton Group, will continue printing UK national newspapers until May 2024 due to a renewed deal. The agreement will see the company print the newspapers belonging to News UK, The Daily Mail Group, Reach Plc, and the Jersey Evening Post titles. The latter will be distributed in Jersey and Guernsey with the portfolio amassing over 20 separate titles. KP Services was founded in 2015 and began printing newspaper titles in the Channel Islands from May 2016. This meant that copies of national titles no longer needed to be flown into the islands and reduced the risk of delays or cancellation due to bad weather and other unforeseen issues. The onshoring of the print work also meant that the printing of the local Jersey Evening Post title which was previously published by Guiton Group could be moved from a 40-year-old press to state-of-the-art digital printing technology; and from black and white and partial colour printing to full colour. The technology used by KP Services includes two KODAK PROSPER 6000P presses which use KODAK Stream Continuous Inkjet Technology. Designed specifically for publishing applications such as newspapers and books, the PROSPER 6000P inkjet web press prints CMYK at speeds of up to 300 metres per minute on standard newspaper print. Offering short setup times, fast job changeovers, and minimum start-up waste, Kodak says the press is ideal for companies needing to print a large number of low-volume titles. The two presses have reliably printed the UK national newspaper titles and the Jersey Evening Post since they started six years ago. Bill Paterson, managing director of KP Services (Jersey), says: “Day after day, our operation is proving that Kodak’s high-speed continuous inkjet technology is a perfect solution for flexible, short-run printing of newspapers and other publishing products.” Two KODAK PROSPER presses are used to print the newspapers in KP Services' Jersey portfolio Stephens & George acquires competitor Magazine and production print group Stephens & George (S&G) has announced that it has acquired neighbour and long-term competitor the Pensord Group. S&G is a leading company in the industry and has been for over 110 years. Despite a challenging few years due to the pandemic, the print group has continued to invest heavily in new technology to improve automation and enhance its quality. Part of this continued investment has been searching for an opportunity to expand its foothold in the market. The acquisition of Pensord Print Group which comprises of Pensord Press and Cambrian Printers will enable it to do just this. Despite holding its own strong reputation within the industry, the impact of the pandemic paired with the global energy crisis has meant Pensord would have struggled to continue a fourth consecutive year of impact. Darren Coxon, outgoing Chairman of Pensord Group, says: “Stephens & George is probably the best equipped sheetfed printing plant in the UK; and backed by a robust balance sheet and healthy financial structure and so much more, it's able to deal with the energy hikes and a market downturn.” Coxon explains that the close proximity of the two companies and the fact that they are operating within the same sphere, meant the acquisition made sense. A priority for the former Chairman was that the acquisition meant the respected brands of Pensord and Cambrian Printers could continue, and their clients are now provided with certainty and continuity regardless of what is in store for the future. Andrew LG Jones, managing director of S&G, adds: “As a bigger business with continuity of ownership for over 110 years we have been able to build up a robust, rich, state-of-the-art infrastructure enabling us to survive whatever is thrown at us and to thrive long into the future.” Stephens & George Print Group was formed in 1912 and incorporated in 1946 and is based in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales By Carys Evans Editor @printmonthlyed titles in Jersey portfolio 20+ By Carys Evans
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