The 6000XL, a 1,000ft/min four-colour press that delivers monthly print volumes of up to 160m A4 pages, marks the continued evolution of the Prosper press, which Kodak is pitching at commercial print, direct mail and publishing customers.
The press offers a maximum resolution of 175lpi at 650ft/min or 133lpi at 1,000ft/min and is up to 31% more cost effective than the 5000XL and 45% more cost effective than high-volume thermal DOD presses, Kodak said.
One of the most interesting additions to the press is a pre-coat unit, enabling the use of regular coated, uncoated and glossy papers and gives a saving of 10-60% vs mill-treated inkjet papers.
Kodak Digital Printing Solutions worldwide sales vice president Eric Owen described the pre-coating unit as "a true commercial roll-coat unit". "It fully flood coats the sheet, providing a uniform surface coating," he added.
The technology has been ported across from Kodak’s Nexpress platform, which now features the ability to print a metallic gold, as well as pearlescent and neon pink via its fifth imaging unit.
The gold effect is produced by applying a coating containing metallic flakes, which is then overprinted, and is based on Kodak’s dimensional print technology.
Owen said that most customers to date use the Nexpress’s fifth unit for coating but that it has also been available to add red, green or blue to expand the colour gamut to include all of Pantone Goe library.
Nexpress users will now have the option of using an external, inline third-party coater, which will run at speed with the press, after Kodak announced a partnership with finishing equipment manufacturer TEC Lighting for its Trucoat UV coater.
This will allow printers to use the Nexpress's fifth station for gamut expansion and special print effects, without having to sacrifice the benefits of inline coating, with either simplex or automatic duplex coating, and a gloss or satin finish, available via the Trucoat UV.
Meanwhile, the company has also finally gone public on its partnership with UK book press manufacturer Timsons on the T-Press, which uses Kodak’s Stream technology.
The T-Press is targeted for digital production of between 5m and 14m books annually and has a maximum web width 1,350mm and max print speed 650ft/min (200m/min). It is a fully digital duplex, monochrome book printing system that can run multiple book formats on a single press through a variety of Timsons-manufactured finishing solutions (T-Book/T-Fold).
Timsons managing director Jeff Ward said the opportunity to partner with Kodak was "unbelievable" and that Timsons had had conversations with all the main inkjet manufacturers and that Kodak was the only one willing to work as a "true, level partner".
St Ives subsidiary Clays will be the first customer to adopt the T-Press. "The new capabilities of the Timson T-Press will enable Clays to continue to be a leader in book production efficiency and to expand the solutions we provide to our publishers," said Kate McFarlan, managing director of Clays.
"We are confident that with these investments we will provide the broadest, state-of-the-art set of services that will support our business objectives and our customers' current and evolving needs."
The T-Press will be unveiled on the Kolbus stand at Drupa (Hall 16, D22) with a T-Fold finishing system running in-line with a Kolbus Binding System, although Ward said that this was not an exclusive partnership.
KODAK DRUPA SHOWCASE
Prosper 6000XL Press 1,000ft/min four-color press with a monthly duty cycle of up to 160m A4 pages
Prosper S30 Imprinting System 3,000ft/min, 600x200dpi, imprinting system
Timsons T-Press 1,350mm-wide, 650ft/min digital duplex monochrome book press powered by Kodak Stream
Image Optimizer Station pre-coat unit, optional on Prosper presses
NexPress gold, pearlescent and neon pink printing effects and optional third party inline coater
Flexcel Direct System energy-efficient, high-power direct laser engraving for flexographic sleeve production
Achieve low-cost CTP system aimed at emerging markets
Sonora XP process-free thermal plate
Intelligent Prepress Manager 2.0 next generation pre-press MIS
