Rochester, New York – Kodak has been selected as a winner of the European Digital Press Association’s 2021 EDP Award. Kodak earned the prestigious industry accolade in the “Industrial Print & Finishing Solutions – Best Folding Carton Solution” category for its revolutionary new KODAK ASCEND Digital Press. This is the fifth year in a row that Kodak has won one of the coveted European industry awards.

KODAK ASCEND Digital Press is the first electrophotographic (EP) press designed to print heavy weight substrates at long lengths with CMYK and flat foil embellishments in one pass. The press uses eco-friendly KODACHROME Dry Inks which provide a non-hazardous working environment and sustainably recyclable print. The ASCEND Digital Press enables any company to enter the retail/point-of purchase (POP) and folding carton markets with a more productive and cost-effective solution than current EP presses or flatbed inkjet. It provides a complete press and embellishment system for about the price of a single-purpose digital enhancement press.

In the retail/POP area, the ASCEND Digital Press is a perfect solution for producing retail signage with sizes of up to 120 cm (48 inches) in length at speeds up to 572 sqm/hour (5280 sqft/hour). Short run packaging jobs for which the machine is ideally suited are, among others, small folding carton boxes, blister cards, food boxes and belly bands. The press can also show its strengths of combining high-quality printing and in-line print embellishment in the production of commercial jobs, such as book covers, greeting cards, trading cards, etc.

Explaining their decision to grant this award to Kodak, the EDP Awards judging panel commented: “The fact that the jury nominated a universal solution like the KODAK ASCEND Digital Press for this category is due to the uniqueness of the machine. More than just an ordinary toner press, it combines CMYK printing with foil finishing in a single pass, as well as printing on board and large format sheets. The press opens up new markets for users without having to forego classic digital printing applications.”

“We are thrilled to have won the prestigious EDP Award for our latest digital press. The ASCEND Press is proof of Kodak’s commitment to the printing industry and investing in leading-edge solutions for digital print,” said Jim Continenza, Kodak’s Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The new ASCEND Press will help our customers capitalize on opportunities in the growing short-run packaging and retail POP segments without the long run requirements of litho, or the cost and complexity of large format inkjet.”