ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Historically, gold leaf or gold foil was a prohibitively expensive way of achieving gold effects in printing. But soon gold will be available to everyone, thanks to KODAK NEXPRESS Gold Dry Ink, a unique option for the NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions that adds a gold metallic, sparkle effect for applications such as direct mail, magazine and catalog covers, certificates, photos, tickets, and other special projects. To promote Gold Dry Ink, Kodak collaborated with five different magazines around the world to create special covers that feature the attention-getting gold effects.

First introduced at drupa 2012 and winner of a Must See ’Ems award at Graph Expo 2012, NEXPRESS Gold Dry Ink enables users to truly differentiate content. Beta sites are enjoying outstanding results with this new option, uncovering a variety of opportunities to add value to print applications. By combining the effect of gold tones with the high-quality output of NEXPRESS Presses, Kodak is giving digital print professionals more options for growing revenues and increasing profits.

The five magazines that feature NEXPRESS Gold Dry Ink on their covers as part of this global project are:

• Effekte—a worldwide publication distributed by Merck to its clients in the pigments industry
• Print21—an Australian publication for commercial printers
• Digital Printer—a UK magazine for commercial printers
• PrintWeek MEA—a UAE magazine for commercial printers
• ME Printer—a UAE magazine for commercial printers

“Our cover image was specially selected to highlight the creative possibilities of the gold ink,” noted Patrick Howard of Print21. “The pigments in the Gold Dry Ink produce a sparkle effect that is similar to that achieved with offset metallic inks. The Gold solution follows the pattern already set by Kodak with its dimensional printing effect, utilizing the Fifth Imaging Unit of the press to add decorative or tactile layers to the CMYK inks.”

Ideal for a wide variety of print applications, the new Gold Dry Ink joins other award-winning print capabilities of the NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions—such as Dimensional printing, Red Fluorescing ink, inline watermarking, spot glossing, and others—that help printers stand out.

Other new features on the KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Press include a Long Sheet option that enables printers to offer larger applications, including point of sale, book covers, dust jackets, packaging inserts, and labels; and new Intelligent Calibration System version 3 software that offers continuous improvement in quality and performance with up to 20 percent faster processing time.

“Digital printing is a highly competitive market with intense price pressures and shrinking margins,” said Greg Gresock, Kodak’s Director of EPS Marketing. “With the NEXPRESS Platform, we have worked very hard to give customers opportunities to add value for their clients through unique printing and finishing applications. Gold Dry Ink is another way to make a printed piece stand out in the mailbox, at events, or on the shelf. And the best part is that it’s just one of several unique capabilities customers can leverage with our Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions. By demonstrating the gold effects on these well-known magazines, we are able to showcase the visual impact.”