The Kodak Prosper 6000 is available in two models: the 6000C for high ink coverage commercial print applications, including direct mail and catalogues; and the 6000P for low to medium-level ink coverage publishing applications, including books and newspapers.

Kodak president, digital printing & enterprise, Doug Edwards said: "From book publishing to commercial and newspaper printing, the future of the industry will revolve around digital solutions. The Prosper 6000 presses deliver the highest industry performance coupled with quality approaching 200lpi, allowing customers to increase agility so they can adapt to the changing demands of the business and better respond to their customers."

Both models have a standard 4/4 configuration, with a maximum print width of up to 621mm and a variable cut-off of up to 1,372mm, designed with 8, 12 and 16pp signatures in mind.

The maximum print speed for both devices is 300mpm at 133lpi or 200mpm at "approaching 200lpi" on uncoated free sheet groundwood and matt coated paper stocks. For glossy and silk coated stocks the maximum print speed drops to 200mpm for the 6000C and 100mpm for the 6000P. The duty cycle for both presses is 90m A4 impressions per month.

The Prosper 6000C can handle stocks from 42-270gsm and 12pt cardstock, while the 6000P can handle stocks from 42-125gsm. Both presses feature an ink saver mode that reduces ink consumption by up to a third at 133lpi.

Kodak's new drying system features two separate paper paths, including: a shorter, straight paper path for jobs on uncoated papers with less than 20% ink coverage, such as mass-market books, letter solicitation mail and textbooks; and an extended paper path that can be used to extend drying time and web cooling time.

The extended paper path is said to be ideal for jobs on coated stocks with greater than 20% ink coverage, such as direct mail, catalogues and other high-end applications.

In addition to the standard in-line configuration, both Prosper 6000 series presses can be configured in an L-shape or U-shape to save space.

Kodak has quoted a cost per page "approaching $0.005/A4 in colour consumable costs" and claimed that the 6000 series can produce "high-gloss targeted direct mail pieces for an average of 30% less than using toner-based systems".

The Kodak Prosper 6000 presses are powered by the Kodak 700 Print Manager DFE/Controller, which features an Intelligent Print System (IPS) that continuously monitors and adjusts the output to instantly correct colour registration.

Other new features include newly-formulated Prosper inks that offer a greater colour gamut than previous models, anti-wrinkling technology, recallable job settings and an air-based turnbar to reduce friction.