Kodak has announced a revolutionary new digital press and innovative additions to its comprehensive portfolio of digital and offset solutions.
The new Kodak Ascend Digital Press is the perfect solution for commercial printers and digital service providers in the growing retail/POP and packaging markets. It is the first electrophotographic press designed to print heavy weight substrates at long lengths with eye-catching, high-margin CMYK and flat foil embellishments in one pass. It offers production speeds up to 572sq m/hour and its large sheet length of up to 122cm allows the press to offer 23% more print area than a B2 sheet. The new press uses environmentally friendly Kodachrome Dry Inks, which are Indirect Food Contact rated.
Kodak is also introducing a cost-effective expansion of its cloud-based Prinergy On Demand Platform. Prinergy On Demand Access makes the printing industry’s most secure and highest performing software platform affordable for more printers of any size, with or without digital presses.
The new SaaS solution provides full connectivity to digital presses, Microsoft Azure-backed security and the scalability Prinergy is known for. On Demand Access includes preflight, colour management, file management, backup and routing as well as built-in Kodak Insite Prepress Portal functionality for file submission, remote customer collaboration and online approvals.
Meanwhile, Kodak Prosper Digital Varnish is a water-based varnish that can be jetted as an area or spot coat to printed packages using Kodak Prosper S-Series or Kodak Prosper Plus Imprinting Systems. The eco-friendly Prosper can be applied in perfect register with design elements and creates a matte protective layer providing rub and water resistance to paper-based packaging applications.
The Kodak Mobile CTP Control App is an app that allows remote control and monitoring of up to 10 Kodak CTP Platesetters, reducing a dependency on onsite labour for managing jobs in queue, status updates and more. The enhanced version of this one-of-a-kind app provides access to real-time and historical data with customisable reporting to save time on data analysis, help prioritise actions, and improve plate-making efficiency. The new version of CTP Control App is now available worldwide for Android and iOS.
“The innovations announced today reflect Kodak’s continued commitment to developing breakthrough solutions that enable our customers to improve their productivity and profitability and successfully expand their customer base,” said Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.