The range, which will begin shipping immediately, includes 15, 22, 30 and 40 plate-per-hour machines.

"It is fully scalable and easy to use," said Kodak GCG president James Langley.

According to the firm, models will only be available as a fully automatic versions at first, with either a 100-plate single cassette or multi-cassette system, which can hold 500 plates.

Plate loading on the 800 is carried out in parallel, meaning that while one plate is being imaged, another is loaded. It also features "Quick Plate Remake" to allow users to bypass the autoloader. Other features include inline registration, punching and automatic slip sheet removal.

Kodak plans to launch semi-automatic versions of the 800 in the summer.

For high-end users the firm will offer the Magnus 800 Quantum, which incorporates Squarespot imaging technology. The Quantum version supports 10 or 20 micron Staccato screening.