US printing association Printing Industries of America (PIA) has presented Kodak with a 2012 InterTech Technology Award for the Nexpress Red Fluorescing Dry Ink. This is a security ink that’s intended for the fifth print unit of Nexpress digital presses.
This is the third time that Kodak has received PIA recognition for its Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions. In 2005 it received an award for the initial launch of the solutions, with another in 2009 for its introduction of the Dimensional raised print system.
‘Security solutions can often be cost prohibitive, but with Kodak’s Red Fluorescing Dry Ink, printers have a real solution against counterfeiting that is both cost effective and easy to implement,’ said Mark Bohen, vice president of technology and research at PIA. ‘This new technology can be used on a wide range of applications and opens the door for printers to pursue new market opportunities’
The Red Fluorescing ink (actually it’s a dry toner) can be used on a wide range of substrates and appears clear until it is illuminated with an ultraviolet light source. The intensity of the red ink can be controlled by the amount of ink applied during the printing process, but it appears virtually invisible to the naked eye. Similar to other Nexpress toners, it does not contain VOCs.
The security ink is said to be suited to printing admission tickets, 2Dand/or barcodes, and limited production print jobs where fraud and counterfeiting issues are a top priority. An example of its use was by Alcom, a US integrated marketing communications company, where it was used on tickets for major-league games. Alcom applied an invisible team logo on each ticket. These were later checked at the admission gate using UV lighting, and any without the logo were revealed as unauthentic. This helped the printer eliminate its client’s counterfeiting concerns on a high quality printed product.
At drupa in May Kodak added three new toner options for its fifth units: gold, pearlescent, and neon.
Contact: www.kodak.com/go/nexpress
