IFRA

Rinus Hoebeke is Segment Marketing Manager - Newspaper (EAME Region) of Kodak Nederland BV

WAN-IFRA: In your opinion, what will be the main topics of this year’s IFRA Expo?

RINUS HOEBEKE: One of the main topics of this year’s IFRA Expo will be digital printing. Due to changing market demands and to better serve the mobile and geographically dispersed consumer market that has more options than ever for receiving information, newspapers increasingly print short runs in local markets for timely distribution. Digital newspaper production is particularly appealing in the printing of remote newspapers and Kodak solutions are especially well suited to this environment due to the economics of inkjet printing, and the ability to efficiently print short run length, high speed, and variable content.

WAN-IFRA: What will be the priorities of your company this year? Will you present new products/developments (if yes, what will you present)?

RINUS HOEBEKE: Kodak is showcasing Colorflow Software with Ink Optimizing Solution at IFRA Expo as it is ideal for Newspaper printers, reducing ink consumption and ink costs for web and sheetfed printers, while improving print quality through greater press stability. The Kodak GCR method used in Colorflow Software utilizes the intelligent color fidelity engine to ensure smooth color transitions and preservation of saturation in dark colors. The effects of introducing black ink in process printing is to reduce ink costs, stabilize color, especially grey tones, and aid in printability. The Colorflow Software can be introduced virtually into any operation, providing printers with a complete color management solution.

Another highlight on the Kodak stand is the new Trendsetter NEWS family, a refreshed & optimized CTP product for today’s newspaper needs. The refreshed Trendsetter News has a smaller footprint and a number of enhanced features compared to popular current Trendsetter News. The refreshed Trendsetter News family offers new levels of automation and speed e.g. S, S-AU, S-AL, F-AL and V-AL

The Kodak Newsmanager Workflow System centralizes the management of an entire print site, including both newspaper jobs, as well as any commercial work. The remote web browser enables automatic monitoring and control of equipment, freeing up resources and maximizing the return on investment of existing equipment and press time. Newsmanager Workflow System helps users meet deadlines by managing a complex environment and several editions with the edition planner.

New updates to Kodak Newsmanager Workflow System include improved distribution, which allows for management and transmission of multiple files and plans across multiple print sites. Another new improvement allows for greater visibility into internal queuing as Kodak Newsmanager is able to process files based according to priority.

WAN-IFRA: Kodak adheres strictly to the thermal technology. Do you think this technology will outperform violet on the long run?

RINUS HOEBEKE: Kodak’s commitment to thermal technology remains unbroken despite its expansion into violet plates.
With the introduction in 2008 of the Kodak Generation News system a new level of productivity (up to 300 p/hr at 1270 dpi) in thermal CTP is introduced.

Kodak’s entry into violet plate market now raises the question of how Kodak intends to position its two digital plate technologies – thermal and violet. The resolution of violet photopolymer plates is lower than thermal plates, and they are much more susceptible to variables in the production process such as humidity, storage/age, exposure and processing. Thermal plates, with their almost binary imaging characteristic guarantee extraordinarily sharp and consistent dots on the plate, reducing variation and the overhead required to maintain stable production. Thermal imaging is therefore the ideal solution whenever stringent quality standards are demanded including stochastic screening, or any newspaper printer who is branching out into semi-commercial production or bringing ancillary printing in-house. With thermal technology we have the highest productivity without sacrificing on quality and stability, lowering the overhead required to achieve quality results.

The market share of thermal is steadily increasing, year-to-date the adoption of thermal is outperforming visible light systems.

WAN-IFRA: What is meant by “processless” plates/solutions, what are the advantages and what is the state of the art here?

RINUS HOEBEKE: We have the ability to produce a thermal ”chemistry-free” plate; what Kodak would rather call ‘simple process’. The advantage thermal would have in this market is that it eliminates the need for pre-heat which is still required for the violet chemistry-free plates. This is possible because the thermal laser delivers such high amounts of energy to form a press-ready image. Therefore there is no need to pre-heat and so we can go straight from exposure into a simple one bath processor where a mild wash-out fluid with an almost neutral pH removes the unexposed polymers. The plate is then gummed and dried, and is ready for printing. With such a technology, we are down to two processing steps, clean-out, and gum. However, having such technology doesn’t mean it’s the right solution for the market. We made a conscious decision to skip this intermediate development stage and go straight for a “non-process” newspaper plate because it has a much better cost-of-use position for the printer. In other words, a plate which does not require a separate processor and is “developed” within a few revolutions of the press”, saving the capital and maintenance costs of a processor (however simple) as well as the required floor space. Kodak’s PF-N plate is already in use at many newspaper printers in the United States, and is growing quickly around the world.