Presses equipped with the feeder will be available worldwide from November direct from Kodak. According to BDT this is the first time the TPF–550 feeder has been integrated with a digital press.
The press, which is on show at Graph Expo 2015 in Chicago this week, will still be available without the TPF-550 Feeder, which adds $36,000 (£23,342) to the cost.
The TPF-550 Feeder incorporates BDT's Tornado technology for media separation, lift and transport. Tornado allows for feed parameters to be stored in the job bank and used to automatically configure the unit.
The TPF-550 Feeder extends the press capability to feed format lengths up to 1m and substrates from 60gsm uncoated to 352gsm coated.
According to BDT, Tornado makes the feeder better able to handle problematic media such as light, porous substrates or heavy, coated stocks.
“Speciality media like plastics, magnetic and thick substrates can also be fed. Job changeover time is significantly reduced due to automation during the setup process,” the company said.
BDT is also separately showing its Tornado technology at Graph Expo, where it has launched its newest Tornado-based products, the SIS-Series of feeders and stackers for formats from A5 to SRA3-plus, and at a price point "suitable for light production printing and finishing applications". The range accommodates a stack height of 300mm and a throughput of 11,000sph, BDT said.
Director of sales and marketing North America John J Kuta told PrintWeek: “BDT has a long and successful history of partnering with major OEMs in the print marketplace. It’s where we started back in the 1960s. The automated feeding systems found in many photocopier and desktop printer systems are actually BDT products developed and manufactured under contract.
“The Tornado technology was developed by BDT to address larger and heavier formats of print media for commercial production print, but we have not forgotten our roots in the office market. Our goal is to make feeding and media management of large-format print media as easy for an operator as changing the paper in their photocopier.
"Tornado technology is starting to become a factor in the industry, appearing on both the HP Indigo 10000/30000 presses and now on the Kodak NexPress press. It’s really a good fit for digital printing and finishing."
Leonard Christopher, Kodak's worldwide NexPress product manager said the company was expecting strong adoption and upgrades by both new and existing customers.
“Our customers are using the long sheets for highly unique and high-value applications such as pocket folders, book dust jackets and photo collages," he said.
"The robust feed technology provided by the BDT TPF-550 Feeder has broadened the scope of the types of applications our customers are able to develop for their clients, a flexibility that sets us apart from the competition.”
