NEWS  

Kodak announces 5th Annual European Graphic Users Association Conference in Budapest
(29-06-2009)

The Graphic Users Association (GUA) European Conference 2009 is set to provide the perfect tonic to the economic climate by helping print service providers improve efficiency and boost profitability. This year’s event, which is sponsored by Kodak and managed by the GUA Board, will focus on helping businesses streamline their operations to improve their profit margins. The conference is being held in Budapest, Hungary, between September 30 and October 3, 2009. All attendees will have ample opportunity to meet senior Kodak management and technical experts, offering a chance to exchange ideas and influence the KODAK Product road map.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the GUA Conference and to celebrate the event, Kodak is offering a number of special incentives to its customers. The event is open only to GUA members – to register or become a GUA member, customers can go to www.mygua.org. All conference sessions will be held in English, with handouts and presentations available in other languages. This year’s GUA Conference is based around four targeted tracks: Current technology – information and updates on Kodak’s recently released digital printing, workflow and CTP solutions. Future technology – exciting new KODAK Technology developments set to hit the market within the coming year

Also, R&D roundtable – invaluable one-to-one sessions with Kodak’s R&D management to share knowledge and help improve KODAK Solutions. Business impact – helping businesses benchmark their operational performance; advice on entering new markets; and insightful cases presented by Kodak customers and external speakers.

Key session highlights at this year’s event include: relevant cross-media marketing campaigns; hybrid workflow solutions (digital and litho); ROI workshops; customer case studies (Web to print, workflow automation); dynamic color relationship management; ink optimizing solutions; packaging and newspaper-dedicated workflow sessions; demo lab; digital printing applications (toner and inkjet); prepress stability and sustainability; industry key notes delivered by Kodak customer thought leaders.

Kodak always welcomes comments from customers and delegates of the graphics industry and appreciates any suggestions and input on its products. Therefore the GUA is a great opportunity to interact with customers and exchange ideas. Such feedback directly influences Kodak’s research and development team – inspiring software updates, feature enhancements and new products.

Last year’s event, held in Lisbon, Portugal, proved a massive success: “What I found most exciting about the GUA Conference is that it gave us the opportunity to truly interact with managers working at the coalface in the development of new technologies,” said Simon Dipple of UK print management company, Etrinsic. “It was professionally managed and allowed people to speak very openly and honestly about a range of issues, providing an excellent forum for exchanging knowledge and ideas."

Paul Bartsch, GUA Chairman, comments: “The GUA Conference is hugely popular – attendance has increased by 30% year on year, and we’re anticipating another full house this year. Businesses see the conference as an investment rather than a cost. The invaluable insight on issues such as workflow, profit optimization, capital investment and new revenue streams translates into significant commercial benefits and helps companies bolster their bottom line.”

Print service providers are facing arguably the most challenging recession of recent times. This makes attending the GUA Conference more important and worthwhile than ever. Businesses need to make sure they are up to date with all the latest industry developments so that they can squeeze every bit of efficiency and productivity from their existing set-ups, and make the most informed decisions possible when investing in new technology.