DUSSELDORF, GERMANY, – Kodak today announced a new agreement with Caxton, CTP Publishers and Printers Limited, one of the largest printers in Africa. The group publishes and prints more than 140 local weekly newspapers in 10 facilities in South Africa, including the Citizen Daily newspapers and prints various titles for major publishers. The order includes the installation of a KODAK PROSPER S30 Imprinting System on Caxton & CTP's existing offset litho printing presses and represents the first variable print technology on African newspapers.

The company will install an initial KODAK PROSPER S-series imprinting system to test, with the intention to expand to its other sites throughout the country in the coming months. Kodak engineers, along with partner Thunderbolt Solutions, will install the imprinting system directly onto the presses so that printing can remain seamless without adding an extra manufacturing process.

"With the power of Kodak technology, we can for the first time create interactive ads and localize content by ethnicity, postcode and geographic area. And, because of the flexibility of variable print technology, we can update all that information in-real time," said Jaco Koekemoer, chief executive officer, Coldset Printing (a division of CTP Publishers). "This will help our customers create highly-targeted micro-zones, allowing retailers the opportunity to create direct, one-to-one connections between ads and consumers both online and in-store."

"The KODAK PROSPER S30 Imprinting System is ideal for newspaper printers looking for strategies to help boost ad revenues," said Wayne Steven, Managing Director, Thunderbolt Solutions. "It will integrate easily into existing production processes, and will drive new advertising opportunities with highly targeted products."

"We are very pleased to be working with one of South Africa's largest newspaper publishers," said Phil Cullimore, president, Enterprise Inkjet Systems Divisions, KODAK. "Our inkjet technology can be seamlessly integrated with existing presses, without adding time or complexity to the manufacturing process, we are able to help publishers become more agile and diverse providing them with the tools necessary to help support the dynamic demands of their customers."  

The KODAK PROSPER S30 Imprinting System features pigment-based inks that deliver excellent permanence; rich, dark blacks and outstanding scratch-, fade- and water-resistance on a wide variety of commercial substrates. It runs at speeds of up to 3,000 fpm (900 meters/min) at a resolution of 600 x 200 dpi. Data can be split electronically between up to four print heads using the same controller.