Page 26 - Print 21 Magazine Sep-Oct 2021

Technology Focus
Kodak pioneering print solutions
With digital workflows, digital printing systems, and a new process free printing plate, Kodak is pioneering new solutions
Kfor the global print market.
odak is launching a new version of its Sonora process free plate, the Sonora Xtra, with which it aims to enable more
printers to print process free. Kodak describes Sonora Xtra as a tougher, more robust plate, delivering stronger image contrast, which can be used with UV inks, and says it will be 20 per cent faster than the Sonora X plate.
The Next Evolution of Kodak Prinergy Workflow has arrived with the On Demand Workflow Platform. Prinergy On Demand is a new
global platform that hosts a suite
of offerings that Kodak says will modernise and maximise a printer’s Prinergy Workflow investment.
Kodak says it offers increased security, reliability, efficiency, and remote work flexibility, with Prinergy On Demand hosted and managed by Kodak in the cloud under a “cost- effective” monthly subscription.
This is backed by the secure network infrastructure of Microsoft Azure, so printers can be confident that their data and system are always protected. Prinergy On Demand is available now
Kodak will take over responsibility for hosting and managing customers’ Prinergy workflow software, including system administration, 24-hour security and monitoring, upgrades, and problem resolution.
Digital presses
Kodak has its Nexfinity Digital Press and the Kodak high-speed inkjet presses, including the Kodak Prosper Ultra 520 Digital Press, which the company says, “redefines inkjet production printing”. The company also has the Prosper Imprinting System, which works in combination with analogue presses.
Kodak says its “disruptive” Continuous Inkjet Technology combines high speeds and superior quality with cost-effective printing using water-based Kodak inks.
Above
will take coated and uncoated
media, including offset stocks,
up to 457gsm, as well as some synthetics. It can handle sheets up
to 356x520mm. There’s an optional feeder, available for the Nexpress ZX, that allows for sheets up to 1.2m in length and papers up to 610 microns.
The Nexfinity is built on the existing NexPress design, but benefits from a new multi-bit LED writing system giving 1,200dpi and 256 levels of exposure on the imaging cylinder.
There are integrated processors
in each of the LED writers to
process image data in real time
to correct images on the fly. This takes advantage of Kodak’s new Dynamic Imaging Technology, which is a halftone screening system that applies algorithmic adjustments to specific areas of an image to optimise image quality and consistency based on the image content in each area. This should allow for crisp text, hard lines, soft skin tones and bright skies to co-exist on the same page.
The optional sheet feeder also takes larger 660mm sheets, allowing for more A4 pages per sheet.
New inkjet press
Kodak is making a major move into inkjet presses, targeting the commercial print and publishing markets with new high-resolution, high-speed system Kodak Prosper Ultra 520, using its Ultrastream print heads.
There are two versions of the press: the Ultra P520 for publishing applications with lower ink coverage requirements, and the Ultra C520 for commercial print applications with higher ink coverage.
Kodak says the Ultra 520 delivers offset-like quality at a consistent production speed of 150 meters a minute on glossy papers with high ink coverage and variable print. The Ultra C520 will print at full speed on paper from 45-270gsm; the P520 on 45-160gsm, while at heavier weights this version may need to decrease speed. Kodak claims it is all at the industry’s lowest cost of operation.
Both versions of the Ultra are rated to print up to 60 million A4 pages a month. Both print with the 600x1800dpi resolution Ultrastream printhead, which Kodak says is the equivalent of 200lpi offset.
The new press is the first Kodak- manufactured press using Kodak’s Ultrastream writing system, which employs high-precision placement of smaller, perfectly round, satellite- free drops to produce what Kodak claims is the highest inkjet image quality available in the market.
The company says the Ultra 520 is engineered to maximise productivity by printing across a broad range
of substrates, using the industry’s “most versatile, highest quality and cost-effective” water-based inks. It will produce a range of applications, including direct mail, marketing collateral, catalogues, and books. 21
The Nexfinity digital press
26 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
Pioneering digital solutions: Kodak