Norprint prepares to enter U.S. market backed by its new MGI Meteor DP8700 XL+ Digital Press

Norprint Corporation, a trade-only printer based in Oakville, Ontario, has become the first in Central Canada to install an MGI Meteor DP8700 XL+ Digital Press from Konica Minolta Canada. Equipped with inline digital hot foiling capabilities, the new press will allow the company to offer custom foil finishing for a number of applications – including paper, plastics, envelopes and more. Originally founded in 1997, Norprint is a Canadian leader in magnetic and plastic specialty product printing and manufacturing. In April of 2009, the company was acquired by current CEO and President Cesar Cabrera, who quickly set about expanding and modernizing Norprint’s IT infrastructure, e-commerce presence and product offerings. Today, the company offers all of its products and services online, which has dramatically reduced turnaround times while simultaneously improving customer service. Norprint has five major divisions: custom magnet printing, custom plastic printing, roll-label printing, cardstock and coupon printing, and affixing services. Norprint’s clients include large multinational corporations as well as small and medium-sized businesses. Now, equipped with the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL+’s foiling technology, the company plans to expand into the U.S. market starting this September.

“Norprint is committed to technological innovation, so working with a company that understands and shares this commitment to continual product innovation is an absolute must for us,” said Cabrera. “Konica Minolta has been a tremendous partner for us over the ten-plus years that we’ve been using its digital print technology. And now, with the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL+, we’ll be able to offer our customers an even greater breadth of services. With this press, we can scale up from a few hundred impressions to thousands of impressions per day – and the value-add and retention of a printed piece increases dramatically through the addition of a custom finish. To achieve stable and consistent growth in this industry, you need to remain competitive, and we’re doing just that by offering our clients exceptional niche print and finishing options.”
The MGI Meteor DP8700 XL+ is a unique digital press that allows can print on substrates of up to 330 x 1,200 mm in size and with weights of up to 400 gsm. It’s equipped with an intelligent substrate management system that automatically adjusts print settings to optimize for each kind of printable substrate, including paper (e.g., coated matte or glossy, card stock, standard offset and more), plastics/synthetics (e.g., polycarbonate, polyester, vinyl and more), and envelopes. Most notably for Norprint’s purposes, the new press offers inline digital hot foiling with a virtually unlimited number of colour options. The press achieves this effect through the blending of an initial foil layer – which can have coloured metallic, glitter or holographic qualities – with a second layer of CMYK toner. The result is an eye-catching and luxurious metallic effect which requires only digital files, rather than expensive plates, to achieve.

“The unique combination of a printing press and post-press foiling system is really what makes the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL+ such an innovative and industry-leading product,” said Norm Bussolaro, Senior Director of Marketing at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Canada. “Foil stamping once required the use of expensive dies and metal plates, but today, thanks to advancements in digital print and finishing technology, you can achieve remarkable foil effects at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. As a partner of Konica Minolta’s for more than a decade, we’re thrilled that Norprint has decided to acquire the MGI Meteor DP8700 XL+, which we’re confident will lead to even more stellar growth for the company in the years to come.”