Technology Watch Editor Henry Freedman has dedicated a special issue of his newsletter to the accomplishments of the KODAK PROSPER Inkjet Printing System. Comparing Kodak to other inkjet systems, Mr. Freedman states, "We must say that Kodak's printing performance and quality are class leading." The special issue was produced using a KODAK PROSPER 5000XL Press that's operated on a daily basis by a commercial printing business.

According to Freedman, the KODAK PROSPER 1000 inkjet monochrome book press is a game changer for book printing. "No other inkjet press in the world delivers more book pages in a single year from a single press than the KODAK PROSPER 1000 Press," explained Freedman. "We learned that one PROSPER 1000 Press produced over 500 million pages in its first year and averaged close to two million pages every day."

The newsletter explores the clear benefits of the PROSPER Inkjet Press in terms of print volume economics; describes the press's unique environmental benefits associated with its specially designed water-based inks; and demonstrates that the PROSPER Press's print quality matches that of offset.
 
Also included in the newsletter is an in-depth look at the architecture of Kodak's Stream inkjet writing system technology, including the printhead's continuous flow method and the micro-milled pigment inks. Freedman states, "The pigments in KODAK PROSPER Inks range from 10 to 60 nm mean particle size, meaning that the pigments are much smaller than the wavelength of visible light, greatly reducing scatter, resulting in brighter, cleaner colors." According to Freedman, the PROSPER Press exceeds the offset SWOP-3 color gamut. "We test printed using the same ink, paper and press used for this issue, plotted the PROSPER Press versus offset SWOP-3, and found Kodak's color gamut is superior to offset."

A comparison between the KODAK PROSPER 5000XL Press and the HP T400 Press dot structures and their effect on image quality showed that the KODAK Press produced superior, higher-quality printed images, thanks in large part to its exceptional dot output. Freedman says, "The PROSPER 5000XL dot pattern has a minimal amount of noise around the printed image. The press runs at higher speeds while maintaining image quality, thus producing higher quality and printing more productively."

There is also a section on the issues around papers for inkjet presses and Kodak's solution in its three-level inkjet paper program. "Kodak has devised three solutions for resolving inkjet paper issues and related printing problems," says Freedman. The newsletter provides details on engineered papers for KODAK inks and presses, Kodak's on-press precoating station, and its paper rating approach. Freedman concludes, "Our studies to date suggest that no company has implemented as extensive and well thought out a paper rating program as has Kodak."

Technology Watch has published more than 400 scientific and technical articles about printing, publishing and the information industry over more than 35 years. It has become one of the leading technical sources on the future of technologies in printing and publishing. Many technologies used today were first described years ago in Technology Watch, whose international base of subscribers read as a Who's Who of the imaging industry.

To obtain a copy of the Technology Watch newsletter, "Accomplishments of KODAK PROSPER Imprinting System," contact Technology Watch at mytechnologywatch.com or call your local KODAK Digital Solutions sales representative. Address correspondence to the editor, [email protected]. Download a free copy of the Table of Contents here.