Kodak has released new Kodachrome inks for inkjet production in presses using the company’s Ultrastream continuous inkjet technology to achieve ‘high levels of colour rendition, image stability and detail’. For the commercial market, this means the Prosper Ultra 520 press.
The company says the Kodachrome inks provide vibrancy and colour consistency on a wide range of substrates, thanks to a proprietary pigment micro-milling process which creates pigment particles that are typically less than 50nm in diameter, with very consistent sizing. The small particles ground by this process yield faster ink drying times and very thin dried ink layers. This leads to less scattering of light and thus richer and purer saturated colours with increased vibrancy, and a wide colour gamut without sacrificing image permanence.
Kodak claims that the Kodachrome inks produce a ‘95% larger gamut colour than specified in Swop (web offset) standard and a 39% larger gamut than Gracol for sheetfed offset, adding that because the inks require less laydown to achieve the desired colours, they help reduce running costs of the press.
The water-based, low-humectant Kodachrome inks do not contain PVC or phthalates. Together with Kodak’s range of printable water-based optimiser primers, Kodachrome inks can be used for printing on a very wide range of substrates. The optimiser agents improve ink receptivity, ink adhesion, rub resistance and image quality on most types of paper, plastic, and film.
‘Kodak has been pioneering inkjet production printing for 56 years, and our new Kodachrome inks are designed to deliver outstanding print results and maximise productivity and value for our customers,’ commented Jim Continenza, executive chairman and CEO at Kodak. ‘Kodachrome inks, together with our high-speed Ultrastream inkjet technology and optimiser agents, create efficient digital solutions for cost-effective printing of a broad range of applications. This enables customers to shift more work from traditional printing processes such as offset to digital, opening up new opportunities for increased revenue and profits.’
