Kodak announces the first product based on its breakthrough Stream Inkjet Technology – the Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting System, a monochrome continuous inkjet printhead designed for inline digital printing on high-speed web devices. The Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting System, as with all future Stream-based products, will deliver offset class, variable data printing with significant savings on production costs for direct mail, catalogs, magazines, newspapers, inserts and transactional documents. In keeping with this revolutionary technology, the company will brand Stream-based products as Kodak Prosper, conveying the new business opportunities that this technology will provide to commercial printers.
The commercial introduction of the Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting System follows successful worldwide customer beta installations that demonstrated the technological and commercial benefits of Stream Inkjet Technology. Kodak remains ahead of schedule in developing a Stream-based full-color continuous inkjet press, and expects the Prosper Press to be ready in early 2010.
“The Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting System opens a new world of opportunity for the commercial print market,” said Kevin Joyce, Worldwide Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Digital Printing Solutions, Kodak. “The Prosper name captures the business opportunities Stream Inkjet Technology provides for our customers — new markets, more revenue and better margins.”
The Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting System, which features flexible mounting options, integrates seamlessly with web offset presses and web finishing equipment to add variable data to offset printed materials. Operating at 1,000 fpm (305 mpm) with a resolution of 600 dpi, it allows users to print variable data inline, saving time and money over a traditional, two-step process that combines offset pre-printed forms and offline laser imprinting.
Kodak also will offer a unique new spot color matching service for the S10 Imprinting System that provides custom dye inks developed to match specific logo colors or corporate brand colors. The service will be available later this year and leverages Kodak’s long history of imaging science expertise. The service allows commercial printers to expand their capabilities and add even more value for their clients.
“For the many thousands of commercial print businesses around the world with web presses, installing Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting Systems inline is like putting a digital gas pedal on existing equipment,” Joyce said. “With little change to their operations, the S10 Imprinting System opens new markets for variable data print in direct mail, catalogs, magazines, newspapers, inserts and transactional documents. As print’s important role in multimedia evolves, Stream Inkjet Technology is exactly the right solution at the right time.”
Early S10 Imprinting System Users Improve Efficiency and Gain Revenue
The Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting System is already operating at print businesses in the United States, Germany and England, and soon, China.
“The S10 Imprinting System enables us to offer our customers personalization with the quality of laser at the lower cost of inkjet. Our clients appreciate the quality advantages of this novel inkjet technology, such as higher resolution and significantly better rendering of details and gray levels,” said Achim Groth, Production Manager, Finishing, at meiller direct in Schwandorf, Germany, one of Europe’s leading providers of direct marketing services. “What’s more, the new technology integrates seamlessly into our existing systems and we benefit from its high reliability in continuous operation.”
With a print width of 4.16 inches (10.56 centimeters) and pigment-based inks that offer fade, scratch and water resistance, the S10 Imprinting System increases throughput and eliminates the need for additional standalone print devices. In addition, output from the S10 Imprinting System achieves outstanding permanence with no additional coating needed.
Wilen Direct, which has installed four S10 Imprinting Systems, is outputting 80,000 pieces per hour, or 1.6 million pieces per day, on just one of its presses. “The shift occurring in the communications industry makes it tough to be a print-only provider. You have to be solutions-oriented,” said Kevin Wilen, Executive Vice President, Wilen Direct. “We manage complex direct marketing programs from concept to execution. With the S10 Imprinting System we are able to produce Inline Letterpak pieces in a single process without the need for time-consuming laser and inserting steps. This technology lets us create full variable data print through our offset presses, and it does it three to four times faster than a traditional high-speed roll-to-roll system. As a result, we can move faster than ever while increasing quality.”
As the Stream Inkjet Technology advances, Kodak is engaged with more than 50 customers worldwide to help them transition from their current printing processes to the Prosper Press Platform. A full color continuous inkjet press using Stream Inkjet Technology will be available for customer installation in early 2010. At the PRINT 09 tradeshow in September, Kodak will update the market on plans for its Prosper Press Platform.
To learn more about Kodak Prosper, visit http://www.prosper.kodak.com. For more information about Kodak at PRINT 09, visit http://www.kodak.com/go/print09.