Birmingham, UK – KCL Pilot Plant of Espoo, Finland has purchased a KODAK VERSAMARK VL2000 Printing System and a KODAK PROSPER S10 Imprinting System for use in its customers' inkjet paper research. KCL will use the KODAK Equipment in developing, testing and demonstrating inkjet papers for the direct mail, transactional, book manufacturing, newspaper, magazine and catalog printing markets.

"Affordable papers that bring out the best of digital print are a key factor in growing the market. We want to help our customers to develop their products to fit the process," said Raimo Pollari, Pilot Plant Director, KCL. "As a market-leading representative of drop-on-demand inkjet technology, the KODAK VERSAMARK VL2000 Printing System was a great choice for our paper optimization initiative, while the PROSPER S10 Imprinting System will allow us and our customers to simulate increasingly popular hybrid operations."

Both customizable and scalable, the VERSAMARK VL-Series Printing Systems are designed to provide printers with a system that meets their specific needs, supporting simplex or duplex printing at a range of speeds and resolutions with reliable printheads, full-page variability and a choice of controllers. The PROSPER S10 Imprinting System features Kodak's next-generation Stream Inkjet Technology and can be integrated with existing offset presses to create a hybrid solution allowing variable data to be added in-line at full production speeds for applications including direct mail and transpromo projects.

KCL, a research service company for the paper and packaging industry offering printing trials, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, an applied research organization, are cooperating to offer an inkjet testing platform with the goal of improving existing products and developing innovative, new products for the forest industry.

"KCL and VTT play a unique and important role in stimulating and supporting research and development throughout the value chain from wood pulp to printed products," said Ad Sies, Business Development Manager, DPS, Europe, Africa & Middle East Region, Kodak "Kodak is pleased to help KCL and VTT offer a European platform for discussion, market research, and the testing and development of new inkjet-optimized papers and related products."