ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. – the worldwide market leader in web inkjet presses, introduces the next generation VERSAMARK Printing  System with the industry's smallest footprint and innovative single-engine design.

The new family of KODAK VERSAMARK Printing Systems is made up of compact, high-speed monochrome and process color web presses that feature a single-engine duplex design and the next generation of Drop on Demand (DOD) printheads from Kodak. With these new systems, customers have the option of starting with monochrome and easily moving up to spot and full color as their production needs change.

Designed to address customers' need for scalability, the new VERSAMARK Printing Systems offer a shorter web path than previous models, which means fewer web breaks and increased productivity, providing higher throughput in peak production periods. Thanks to the single-engine duplex design, the eight new models offer a 40 percent smaller footprint than competitive systems and represent exciting opportunities for transactional, newsletter, direct mail and newspaper printers, especially where space is at a premium.

"These devices take our proven technology and make it even better with higher image quality, enhanced features, smaller footprint, and a focus on ensuring an easy upgrade path," said Isidre Rosello, General Manager, Digital Printing Solutions, Kodak. "The market called for high-speed color inkjet that delivers higher performance in less space and we responded with smaller, more productive and reliable systems that fit any business and grow with the customer."

The monochrome VERSAMARK 100N/100W and 150N/150W Printing Systems represent the entry level, while the 300N/300W and 500N/500W Systems provide full-color output with more features for customers who need them. The family offers a choice of digital front ends to support the print stream that customers need for their workflow, all while delivering full-page variability. The new models join the already successful KODAK VERSAMARK VL-Series Printing Systems as well as a variety of KODAK VERSAMARK Imprinting Systems.

The next generation of printheads improves flat field density and reduces the variation in dot size within one module in the printhead, which reduces banding and results in higher print quality. In the area of jet reliability, technology improvements result in improved roll to roll performance, and improved temperature control results in increased jet reliability and extends printhead life over time.

Based on a flexible, powerful digital platform, VERSAMARK Printing Systems are equipped to handle complex variable data print applications, such as transactional documents and direct mail. They help to reduce costs and turnaround times by streamlining the production process through forms replacement-eliminating the two-step process of printing offset forms or master documents and then imprinting variable data offline. With VERSAMARK Printing Systems, users can produce a complete process color, personalized, two-sided document in one pass.

The advanced controller capabilities of the KODAK 700 Print Manager provide the ability to handle a wide variety of application formats, including native IPDS support, PDF, PostScript and PPML/GA, all on the same digital front end, further extending the application's reach.

With the VERSAMARK Printing Systems, the security ink feature enables printing of government documents that provide fraud protection with inclusion of high levels of VDP. And the MICR capability can be used for check printing to facilitate automation in check processing while providing a secure feature.

"Kodak has the largest installed base of color roll-fed inkjet systems worldwide, and these new models give customers powerful new tools to expand and grow their businesses," noted Vince Ferraro, Vice President, Worldwide Marketing, Digital Printing Solutions, Kodak. "With more than 40 years of ongoing inkjet innovation, we understand the market and work side-by-side with our customers to ensure they have what they need now, and can capitalize on changes in the market in the future."

The new VERSAMARK Printing Systems accommodate monochrome 1-up simplex up to 5/4, and 2 up duplex. The systems speeds vary from 246 up to 492 feet per minute at 600 x 600 dpi. In total, the VERSAMARK Printing Systems line now includes 14 different models to address the individual needs of each customer.

The new VERSAMARK Systems are targeted at transactional, direct mail, and short-run newspapers applications, complementing the higher capacity capabilities of the KODAK PROSPER Platform in the Kodak portfolio.

For more details on Kodak's participation in Graph Expo 2011, please visit www.kodak.com/go/graphexpo. Kodak is a global advisor and provider of integrated services to help companies transform and optimize their businesses. Through a network of service professionals in 120+ countries, Kodak provides technical, professional, consulting and managed services to enable customers to focus on growing their businesses, maximize productivity, and more effectively manage risks.  All Kodak products and software are backed by KODAK Service and Support. To learn more, visit www.graphics.kodak.com.