Kodak and Timsons Printing Machinery today announced the TIMSON T-Press, the fastest, widest digital inkjet press available for the production of black-and-white trade and textbooks.

A fully digital duplex, monochrome book printing system manufactured by Timsons and powered by KODAK Stream Inkjet Technology, the TIMSON T-Press delivers the greatest productivity, functionality and cost-effectiveness of any digital press. The T-Press is a combination of KODAK Stream Inkjet Technology and Timsons’ material handling capabilities offering real production speed and throughput.

Clays, the book division of St. Ives Group from the UK and one of the largest sites in the world with book solutions from Timsons and Kodak, will be the first company to adopt the TIMSON 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, 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.”

Designed at the outset as a monochrome solution, the TIMSON T-Press is targeted for digital production of between 5 and 14 million books annually. The TIMSON T-Press accommodates paper up to 53"/135 cm wide and runs at a maximum production speed of 650 ft/min (200 m/min). To maximize flexibility, the TIMSON T-Press can run multiple book formats on a single press through a variety of TIMSON-manufactured finishing solutions (T-Book/T-Fold).

The TIMSON T-Press, with KODAK Stream Inkjet Technology, will be unveiled at drupa 2012. The TIMSON equipment will include their T-Fold finishing system producing printed and folded signatures running in line with a KOLBUS Binding System demonstrating the short- run capabilities of both systems. This solution will be on display in Hall 16, stands D22-1/D22-2 (Kolbus).

Inkjet Technology Partnerships (ITP) Program
The alliance with Timsons marks the first agreement from Kodak’s recently formed Inkjet Technology Partnerships (ITP) program. ITP enables partners to leverage Kodak’s Stream Inkjet Technology imaging subsystem and Kodak expertise in inkjet technologies and materials science to respond quickly to market opportunities with proven technology. The technology packages offered by Kodak include the writing head, inks, data controller, implementation expertise, integration and workflow.

“We are excited about the opportunities that the cooperation with Timsons will bring to the market. The expertise of Timsons is complementary to Kodak and the products we offer the book market,” said Ronen Cohen, Kodak’s General Manager of Inkjet Technology Partnerships. “With Timsons, we are enabling printers to enjoy a one-stop shop for a complete, high-volume production solution that enables our customers to improve and expand the level of services they provide their publishers. We will continue to engage market leaders and help them leverage KODAK Stream technology in a variety of applications.”

“While digital book manufacturing continues to grow, the majority of books are printed using traditional processes,” said Jeff Ward, Managing Director, Timsons. “This collaboration allows Timsons to offer customers their preferred choice of technology—digital or offset—from a single supplier, knowing that they are working with a specialist in book production. It’s the first agreement of its kind between an offset press manufacturer and inkjet technology supplier, and we look forward to working with Kodak and bringing the benefits of inkjet printing to offset book printers through solutions such as the T-Press.”

Based in Kettering, England, Timsons produced its first printing press for the book market in 1929 and has continued its tradition of quality and innovation. The company is the market leader in black-and-white book manufacturing equipment around the world with book presses and finishing equipment for the book market.

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.