The venerable Eastman Kodak Company has been around since 1880. In the time since it was founded, they have been revered and reviled, something that technology companies that last this long all have in common. While some may identify Kodak as a photography company (“a Kodak Moment”), or a prepress workflow company (PRINERGY), or a digital printer company (PROSPER and NEXFINITY), in addition to a range of consumables from film to plates, they are at heart an innovating company that has its roots in chemistry and physics. If you have ever been to Kodak Park in Rochester, N.Y., it is blatantly evident. After their bankruptcy in 2012 and their significant downsizing, there was a lot of talk about whether they would survive. Under the leadership and vision of the Executive Chairman and CEO Jim Continenza, that discussion has been put to rest. They have successfully been operating a transformation strategy that has shored up the company while investing in innovation in their core strengths of print (with an emphasis on digital), advanced materials, and chemicals.

Kodak continues to focus and innovate in each of their areas of strength, albeit with an increasing focus on digital print. If you look at some of their more current introductions, like the UTECO Sapphire EVO W and EVO M in addition to the Prosper 6000S hybrid, like many others in the printing industry, you can see they are putting a strong focus on packaging. The bulk of their recent announcements bear that out.

The ASCEND is an electrophotographic (EP) digital press with some obvious roots in the NEXPRESS/NEXFINITY family tree, which is not a bad thing. The new press is targeted at short-run folding carton and retail POP applications, with a five-color print engine. It uses 13 eco-friendly inks including CMYK. The new KODACHROME (yes, they did) ink set includes gamut expansion colors (choice of Violet and Orange), Foil Ink, Pearlescent, Light Black, Red Fluorescing, Gold, Antimicrobial Clear, Opaque White, Custom PMS Colors, and a Dimensional Coating solution. They also offer an in-line UV coating solution and a near-line foiling laminator. The ink sequence can be changed and rearranged in under eight minutes—faster than their competitors. Based on their experience with the NEXFINITY, they can ensure great fit with the foil ink in the fifth station allowing for print and embellishment in a single pass, but they also have good registration on many stocks with multiple passes.