Kodak Launches ‘World’s Fastest’ Inkjet Press

Eastman Kodak today introduced what it’s calling the world’s fastest inkjet press, the Kodak  Prosper 7000 Turbo Press. Kodak’s new color inkjet web press uses Kodak’s Stream Inkjet Technology offering printing speeds of up to 410 mpm (1,345 fpm) or up to 5,523 A4 ppm, which is almost 35-percent faster than its nearest competitor.

Kodak says it will enables commercial, publishing and newspaper printers to compete more effectively with offset printers, and shift more long-run jobs from conventional printing processes to inkjet.  

Variety of Applications

Kodak says the 7000 Turbo features “vast application and substrate versatility.” It supports a maximum web width of 648 mm (25.5 inches) with a variable cutoff length up to 1,372 mm (54″) while printing on a wide range of coated and uncoated stocks, newsprint, specialty papers, and recycled papers.

The 7000 Turbo Press provides three modes that are said to enable printers to optimize their production process to always print at the best combination of speed and resolution. Quality mode, which is roughly comparable to offset printing using a 200 lpi (80 L/cm) screen, is best for printing direct mailings, catalogs, and magazines. Performance mode (offset equivalent 133 lpi / 52 L/cm) is said to be ideal for printing textbooks, fiction books, and other medium-ink coverage applications, while Turbo mode (85-100 lpi / <40 L/cm) is ideal for newspaper printing with low ink coverage.

The 7000 Turbo Press uses eco-friendly, water-based Kodak nanoparticulate pigment cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks. The inks are said to provide a wide color gamut and, due to their proprietary ink formulations, support drying even at peak press speeds. The system also features inter-station drying using near infrared (NIR) technology, which is said to enable the press to keep up with any of the print modes to ensure the highest quality output at the given speed.

To safeguard consistently high quality, even with the longest print runs, the new press also features the Kodak Intelligent Print System. This patented solution automatically takes care of monitoring and optimization of stitching, color-to-color and front-to-back registration.

Eastman Kodak CEO and Executive Chairman Jim Continenza commented: “The game-changing speed of the Prosper 7000 Turbo will help commercial, publishing, and newspaper printers increase efficiency by shifting more long-run jobs from conventional printing processes to inkjet. We believe digital technology will grow in importance as a complement to offset as ongoing supply chain issues continue to increase the cost of prepress. This new press reflects our continued commitment to investing in innovation that helps our customers succeed as the industry evolves.”

For more information, visit Kodak here.