ROCHESTER, N.Y., – The new KODAK NEXPRESS SX Digital Production Color Platform with Print Genius is now available and shipping worldwide.  The platform offers exceptional quality and productivity, and has been designed to meet the needs of commercial printers, direct mail houses, in-plant printers, and data centers. New features include speeds up to 131 ppm, a longer sheet size (26″/660 mm), smaller ink particle size with the new KODAK NEXPRESS HD Dry Ink,  new Fifth Imaging Unit Solution Light Black, and a new matte printing effect option.

At 26″/660 mm, the long sheet option delivers 27 percent more printable area. The benefits of this longer sheet include reduced waste and increased productivity, and enable new applications such as six-page brochures, posters, larger dust jackets for books, and a variety of labels.

"The NEXPRESS SX Platform continues to build on the philosophy of doing more with one press; the technology innovations on the platform are backwards upgradeable to presses from 2006.  Our commitment is to protect our customers' initial investments and to ensure they are able to integrate future innovations with their existing equipment," said Stephen Fletcher, General Manager, Digital Printers & Presses, Kodak.  "The new platform features innovations that increase productivity and expand the gamut of applications that customers are able to produce, including a unique, in line matte finish option, never before available on a cut sheet digital press."

KODAK NEXPRESS HD Dry Ink with smaller ink particles reduces grain and provides smoother continuous tones for photo-quality output. In addition, KODAK Light Black HD Dry Ink Solution, which is now available for the Fifth Imaging Unit, uses proprietary algorithms to substitute the light black for specific colors, resulting in smoother skin tones while maintaining superb detail. The matte effect is completed inline, and produces a matte look for printed pages or photos.  Printers can switch to and from the matte finish option in less than 15 minutes giving them the ultimate flexibility in finishes.

"The versatility of the NEXPRESS SX Platform enables us to say 'yes' to a wider range of customer requests, which regularly include quick turnaround, even same-day printing," said Andy Rosillo, Owner/Partner, Indie Print. "Offering a variety of print finishes to our customers, specifically a matte finish option, further differentiates us from our competition.  We frequently serve the entertainment industry, and marketing materials with a matte finish look better in bright light environments. The NEXPRESS SX Platform helps us build better relationships with our customers by responding to their needs and creating output that is tailored to perform in the environments it is displayed."

Featuring a monthly duty cycle of up to 4 million pages and print speeds of 91, 109 or 131 ppm when printing on 26″/660 mm long sheets, the NEXPRESS SX Platform prints on more than 600 standard offset substrates, including coated, uncoated, FSC, plastics, magnets, linens, static clings, micro-perforated substrates, and more.

The Fifth Imaging Unit enables watermarking, protection coating, glossing, MICR printing, gamut expansion, dimensional  printing, and red fluorescing ink for security and workflow applications. In addition, high-quality glossing is possible using KODAK NEXPRESS Clear Dry Ink in conjunction with the near-line KODAK NEXPRESS Glossing Unit.

The next generation KODAK NEXPRESS Intelligent Calibration System (ICS) delivers consistent high quality while minimizing downtime and costs by reducing the need for replacement parts. The ICS is at the core of a closed-loop quality control system that maintains accurate color reproduction and increases image quality. In addition, the system uses industry-leading LED imaging heads, an inline densitometer, and software based on Kodak's proprietary image science to ensure automatic color management while the press is printing.

Like all NEXPRESS Presses, the NEXPRESS SX Platform features Print Genius, a suite of productivity and quality control tools and options that automate tasks and help users maintain peak quality throughout their production run. The Print Genius quality suite encompasses hardware, software, and material science innovations to optimize quality and consistency from the first sheet to the last, day after day.

KODAK Products are backed by KODAK Service and Support. KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals in 120 countries. It is a leading multi-vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and support services for commercial printing, graphic communications, document imaging, data storage and retail industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.