Print Innovation Asia Issue 10 2021
54 New commercial digital press from Kodak. Kodak announced a revolutionary new digital press and innovative additions to its comprehensive portfolio of digital and offset solutions designed to help printers boost their profitability and capitalize on new opportunities for growth. The Kodak Ascend Digital Press is a solution for commercial printers and digital service providers targetting Retail/POP and Packaging markets. The Kodak Ascend digital press is the first electrophotographic (EP) press designed to print heavy weight substrates at long lengths with eyecatching, high-margin CMYK and flat foil embellishments in one pass. . It is more flexible than traditional presses and more productive than flatbed inkjet systems, offering production speeds up to 572 sqm/ hour (5280 sqft/hour). Its large sheet length of up to 122 cm (48 inches) allows the press to offer 23% more print area than a B2 sheet. The new press enables printers to deliver sustainably recyclable print by using environmentally friendly Kodachrome Dry Inks, which are Indirect Food
Contact rated. Kodak’s new press is a more cost-effective solution for producing Retail/POP and Packaging applications than traditional presses or flatbed inkjet devices. . The Prinergy On Demand Access, introduced is a cost-effective expansion of its cloud-based Prinergy On Demand Platform. This new option 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 the PrinergyOn Demand Platform is known for. Prinergy On Demand Access includes preflight, color management, file management, backup and routing as well as built-in KodakInsite Prepress Portal functionality for file submission, remote customer collaboration and online approvals. Available in Q1 2022. The new Kodak Prosper Digital Varnish is a unique, 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 Digital Varnish 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. As Prosper Digital Varnish is applied only where needed and doesn’t require plate making for spot coating, it helps printers eliminate the costs, effort, waste and environmental impact associated with traditional post-coating methods. The new varnish provides an environmentally friendly, waterbased alternative to solvents and UV coatings. The KodakProsper Digital Varnish will be available worldwide by the end of 2021. Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, “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. With innovations like the KODAK ASCEND Digital Press, we are opening up new profitable application opportunities for printers. We continue to deliver on our promise to provide a complete range of solutions that offer Print that Pays.” Miraclon Global Flexo Innovation Awards Miraclon today announced the 13 winners of the Global Flexo Innovation Awards, which recognize businesses that are driving the transformation of the flexo industry with the help of KODAK FLEXCEL NX Technology. Over 200 entries from 24 countries were judged by an independent panel of eight flexo industry experts during a hybrid session that saw the judges convene both in person and through digital collaboration applications. With high quality a pre-condition of entry, submissions were evaluated on four criteria: the efficiency of the company’s workflow, conversion from other print processes to flexo,
