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What is Kentmere K.Opaljet?

• Prepared by
• Mark Meadowcroft
• Woodstock Imaging
• Photokina 2006

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What is Kentmere K.Opaljet?

• Kentmere K.Opaljet is the market-leading indoor
  media for roller banners and pop-up stands in
  the UK, the USA and Germany.
• Branded sales in the UK alone were worth GBP 1.7
  million in 2005.
• Across all surfaces and private label supply,
  Opaljet has 70 UK market share for portable
  display media.
• We have established Opaljet export business in
  North America and Western Europe and are now
  looking for resellers in other markets

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What is Kentmere K.Opaljet?

• Opaljet has a DuPont Teijin Melinex polyester
  base, giving consistent high quality, dimension
  stability and flatness.
• Opaljet has a full light block co-extruded within
  the film.
• Cheaper imitations glue two films together or
  use a cheap charcoal-grey back-coating.
• Opaljet has two technical back coats
• An anti-curl back coat ensures flat results every
  time. For the best results, we recommend
  lamination using the sled technique
• An anti-static back coat ensures consistent
  printing and no risk of shadowing
• The coatings are all photo-quality, as you would
  expect from a manufacturer with a very strong
  history in the photographic industry.

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What is Kentmere K.Opaljet?

• Lamination is normally recommended, but is
  optional with short-term roller banner displays.
• Display life is excellent, typically 60 of the
  museum standard obsolete Ilfochrome process
  even with dye based inks. (HP standard dye-based
  inks tested).
• The product comes in the following variants
• 125 micron suitable for roller banners
• 200 micron new white backed-tri extrusion for
  roller banners and encaps
• 300 micron suitable for pop-up stands
• 350 micron new thicker white backed-tri
  extrusion for Pop-Up stands
• 200 micron (marketed under the Opalite name)
  a price brand also suitable for penguin stands
• Opaljet is also available with coatings
  appropriate for thermal head, piezo and solvent
  printers in all thicknesses.

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Kentmere K.Opaljet 125

• Opaljet 125 standard (suitable for thermal head
  printers) enjoys a 70-80 market share in its
  segment in the UK.
• The gelatine-based, standard swellable coating
  gives outstanding results on HP and Encad
  printers in particular.
• The piezo coating is a multi-layer macroporous
  coating that gives excellent results and
  outstanding ink stability with piezo and pigment
  ink systems. The display life is far longer than
  many microporous coatings.
• An SV coating is specifically engineered for
  solvent ink systems.
• Light cannot penetrate the media due to the
  special blocking extrusion layer - displays in
  mixed lighting conditions are brighter and have
  more impact.
• The 125 micron thickness means that Opaljet 125
  fits properly in all cassettes.

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Kentmere K.Opaljet 300

• Opaljet 300 is the first front-printable,
  two-part, pop-up media. You can see what you are
  printing as you do the job. It also accepts more
  ink than back-printed two-part systems. This
  results in class-leading colour.
• Opaljet 300 allows for a one-pass finishing
  process, instead of the usual two-pass (printing
  and lamination) process.
• It also offers a very robust finished display,
  very rarely suffers from delamination issues if
  using a paper or photobase substrate, and is
  particularly suitable for long-term and
  frequently dismantled displays.
• The polyester Du Pont Melinex base gives a far
  superior result to the vinyl used by its
  competitors. Vinyl can stretch and sag under hot
  lights, or permanently shrink if subjected to
  extreme cold. This could happen if a banner is
  left in a car overnight in winter.
• The 300 micron thickness is chosen because it is
  the heaviest weight media most older, standard
  wide-format printers can handle.

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Kentmere K.Opalite 200

• Opalite is the Opaljet price brand.
• Its 200 micron thickness also makes its
  especially suited to penguin stands.
• It has the same features and benefits as Opaljet
  with one exception - The light block is a
  coating rather than an extrusion.
• This is a cheaper method of construction, but the
  coating is spoiled if it gets wet.

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Kentmere K.Opaljet wbw

• Opaljet wbw is a new white/black/white variant
  to be launched at Photokina 2006.
• Unlike all other Opaljet surfaces, the back
  coating is white and not grey.
• Opaljet wbw 200 is appropriate for roller
  banners. 350 is suitable for pop-ups.
• It is designed as a super-premium product and has
  been developed with key end-users in the UK.
• Because Opaljet 350 is so thick, it is only
  suitable for more modern printers manufactured in
  the last three or four years.

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The business case for Opaljet

• Technically, Kentmere K.Opaljet is a great
  product, but does it make its customers money?
• We dont ask you to believe us we ask you to
  believe our customers.
• We have prepared a case study of an existing UK
  reseller and two testimonials from resellers in
  Germany and the USA.
• These show both how the product has become such a
  success in the more mature UK market and also
  looks at the opportunity for resellers in new
  markets.

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Case study from the UK

• DCP Systems Kentmere K.Opaljet reseller in
  Northern England
• DCP Systems Ltd was set up in 2001 as a reseller
  of wide format systems that was totally
  independent of any manufacturer. DCP also carries
  a range of consumables (including Opaljet).
  Consumables offered by DCP must be high quality,
  correctly priced and deliver consistently, with
  stability and without complications. DCP is based
  in Sheffield, England, and its main markets are
  in Central and Northern England and Scotland.
• Sales Director Darren Walker has worked in the
  industry for fifteen years, including a period at
  Robert Horne before starting DCP with his
  business partner. He has been a Kentmere customer
  for many years.

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Case study from the UK

• Everybody who tries to enter the market
  references Opaljet. says Darren Walker of DCP
  Systems Ltd. It is the market leader.
• Opaljet has become the industry standard for
  pop-up and roller banner systems. It has brand
  loyalty and we have stuck with the product and
  not gone elsewhere.
• However, Mr. Walker is clear that Kentmere
  K.Opaljet justifies its place in his companys
  portfolio commercially as well as technically
• Were a company that if the product fails to
  produce a certain margin, we will walk away from
  the business.
• Competitors are driving the price down as people
  bring third party products into the marketplace,
  but we offer a total solution, in which we can
  make a much better margin.

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Testimonial from the USA

• Lockfast Master distributor of Kentmere
  K.Opaljet in the USA
• Lockfast is one of the largest companies involved
  in the supply of specialist woven materials to
  the retail, display and exhibition markets in
  the USA . We took on the Kentmere range over
  three years ago and Kentmere is now a key
  supplier, providing excellent and flexible
  service. Our trading partnership with Kentmere
  has proved a winning formula to help us gain and
  grow share in this tough digital marketplace.
• We entered the ink jet market with Kentmere media
  and have since added stands, mag tape and velcro
  to provide a complete package to our customers
  throughout the States.  We import in full 40
  foot containers and sell through a network of
  Lockfast local dealers, as well as having our own
  offices and warehouses in key strategic
  locations.

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Testimonial from the USA

• Taking on the Kentmere range has allowed us to
  market unique products that can be
  differentiated.  It has taken some work to enter
  a new market area for us such as digital printing
  but has proved a great business opportunity for
  us that is now forming a very significant part of
  our future plans.
• We entered the ink jet market with Kentmere media
  and have since added stands, mag tape and velcro
  to provide a complete package to our customers
  throughout the States.  .
• Taking on the Kentmere range has allowed us to
  market unique products that can be
  differentiated.  It has taken some work to enter
  a new market area for us such as digital printing
  but has proved a great business opportunity for
  us that is now forming a very significant part of
  our future plans.

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Testimonial from Germany

• ColormyKentmere K.Opaljet reseller in Germany
• Based in Cologne, centrally placed to reach the
  main industrial German market, Colormy is the
  strongest large-format digital dealer in the
  region. 
• We supply complete printing solutions, backed
  with our distinctive and unique methods of
  marketing digital consumables. We show our
  customers a finished sample, the best and most
  cost-effective solution to produce (for example)
  a Pop-Up display. 
• We will then show the client a section of the
  finished panel, recommend the full range of
  materials we supply to complete the job, show
  their total production cost plus the likely
  selling price for the completed job and then
  show the level of profit the customer can
  actually make.

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Testimonial from Germany

• We saw the Kentmere range over two years ago and
  identified it as having unique products that
  could be differentiated to fit within our
  distinctive style of product promotion.  We need
  products that are market-leading, innovative and
  are the very best available at doing specific
  jobs  Opaljet met all these requirements.
• Kentmere has been excellent trading partner to
  date with consistent products at the right
  price.  If you are involved in the "print for
  pay" market as a consumable supplier or end-user,
  we recommend their products as the best in the
  field for indoor portable displays.

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About us

• Kentmere Ltd celebrates 100 years in business in
  2006. It has its factory and office in the
  beautiful Lake District of Northern England.
  Kentmere still manufactures black and white
  photographic paper for the traditional market,
  but has invested heavily in research and
  development in cutting-edge inkjet media.
• Kentmere is a privately-owned, profitable and
  financially stable business.
• Woodstock Imaging is the sales house appointed to
  handle export business for Kentmere. We handle
  all Opaljet business outside the UK, USA and
  selected markets in Western Europe.
• Customers of Woodstock Imaging buy at exactly the
  same price as other Kentmere customers, and
  benefit from the same levels of technical support
  and after-sales service as other Kentmere
  customers.

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Links

• www.woodstock-imaging.com
• www.kentmere.co.uk
• www.dcpsystems.co.uk
• www.lockfast.com
• www.colormy.de

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• The Coach House,
• Nuffield Place,
• Huntercombe,
• Oxfordshire RG9 5RY,
• United Kingdom
• T 44 1491 640793 F 44 1491 640787
• E enquiries_at_woodstock-imaging.com
• www.woodstock-imaging.com