Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. - Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG) is raising the curtain at PRINT 01 on a new line of hard dot film that improves the competitiveness of film-based printers by increasing quality reproduction. Kodak Premier Recording Film features improved consistency in speed and density, better dot quality and small character resolution, super-fast processing times, cleaner working chemistry and lower replenishment rates. "In developing Premier film, KPG interviewed 130 customers from around the world to hear what they wanted, and then we acted," said Jeff Jacobson, Chief Executive Officer. "Film is a central part of the workflow at the majority of printers, and Premier Recording Film provides the advancements customers told KPG they are seeking." KPG is officially launching Premier film in the United States and Canada at PRINT 01 (Booth 5723). Full commercialization in the region will occur on a geographical basis. Premier Recording Film delivers increased performance beyond the present assortment of hard dot products on the market through improvements in quality, consistency and chemistry. Premier film's greater consistency in speed and density means increased cost savings through less time remaking films due to inaccurate color and character size reproduction. Enhanced dot quality and small character resolution enables users to produce higher quality materials that many print buyers are demanding in today's competitive environment. Premier Recording Film employs a new Enhanced Booster Technology (EBT) that reduces the process cycle time by up to 33% and gives consistent dot performance over a wide range of processing conditions. It also helps provide the high contrast characteristic of this hard dot film. EBT triggers a chemical known as a nucleator during processing to inject electrons into the silver halide crystals in areas where exposure has occurred. This 'boosts' the processing, ensuring that all the silver halide crystals in the image areas develop, yielding high density and clear differentiation between image and non-image areas. "Current market trends are causing film users to constantly search for improved imagesetting films which take advantage of the latest developments in recording technology," said Kathy McHugh, Vice President, Marketing, United States and Canada. "With this new hard dot product, we are delivering a film and chemistry system with the precise hard dot of its predecessors with a variety of improvements to help users compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace." Another improvement is the coating technology for high matte film. It provides consistent high density and improved vacuum draw down for applications which require long contact exposures like flexography. Built-in anti-static protection and scratch resistance cut remakes even further. Printers who beta-tested Premier film have been impressed with the results and its seamless integration into existing workflow. "Premier film is really stable, and it holds the densities and dot percentages well. The final films are clean. We're spending less time spot-correcting films," said Nathan Hilgendorf, Operations Manager at ColorTech Graphics, a mid-sized commercial printer in Roseville, MI. ColorTech uses Premier film for the creation of brochures, catalogs, direct mail pieces and other printed materials for a variety of corporate and retail customers. "We've been using Kodak Premier Recording Film for a variety of commercial printing jobs, and we're particularly pleased with its consistency and speed," said Greg Murray, owner of Spectrum, Inc., a mid-sized prepress company in Maple Grove, MN. "Kodak Premier film processes quickly, and it gives us the color and fine line reproduction we need the first time - so we're remaking fewer films. We're saving money on remakes and on chemistry, because the film uses less developer than others do. So we're making better films faster, and spending less money doing it." Users are also enjoying instant cost reduction via lower chemical replenishment rates and longer production runs through chemistry that limits precipitate or silver sludge build-up using Premier 7000 Developer, our best-ever, clean working, low replenishment developer. Premier film processed in RA 2000 chemistry also boasts faster processing times (and shorter cycle times) needed to keep up with increasingly fast RIPs. Available in a broad array of sizes and imaging versions, Premier Recording Film is compatible with existing imagesetting devices, as well as being designed to take advantage of the advanced features in the newest recording devices which use red laser diodes or HeNe lasers in the 630 to 670 nm range. Available films include: * A 4 mil, clear base, red sensitive recording film * A 7 mil, clear base, red sensitive recording film * A 4 mil, high matte base, red sensitive recording film * A 7 mil, high matte base, red sensitive recording film "With this introduction, KPG continues to demonstrate our commitment to technological advancements in conventional prepress media even as we advance our world-leading thermal CtP technology," McHugh said. "We are committed to helping film users maximize quality and productivity."