Digitally driven commercial printing is a core part of our long-term vision to drive growth, said Kodak president and chief operating officer Antonio Perez.
Industry commentators said Kodaks previous forays into this market had been unsuccessful, but this move has been welcomed as a step in the right direction.
Historically everything it has touched in digital has been a failure, said consultant Andrew Tribute. It made a pigs ear of digital on its own and then sold it to Heidelberg, which made a decent stab at it.
It seems Kodak realises commercial print is a big opportunity in the past it had disparate divisions and couldnt deliver, said CAP Ventures director of on demand printing and consultancy services, Ron Gilboa.
James Langley has been appointed president of the new division. He was formerly Hewlett-Packards president of commercial printing. He will report to Perez, also a former senior manager of HPs printing and imaging business. Kodak will reveal further details at its analysts conference at the end of next month.
Heidelberg and KPG said they didnt expect any difference in their relationships with Kodak. But it may lead to changes at NexPress, said Gilboa. A key thing is Kodak in the NexPress relationship, he said. Rarely has it been mentioned, finally it is being heard.
Heidelberg itself has signed a deal with Danka, under which Danka customers can buy the NexPress via Heidelberg and Heidelbergs customers can access Canon and Toshiba machines via Danka. Currently it only applies in the US, although the firms are discussing making it a global arrangement.
Hewlett-Packard has announced a deal with Konica that will close the gap between its workgroup products and the HP Indigo with HP-badged Konica kit.
Story by Barney Cox
