The launch includes four Prosper Plus imprinting products, and food-safe packaging inks and pre-coating fluids for applications such as food wraps, folding cartons, napkins and paper cups.

The Prosper Plus systems employ Kodak’s continuous inkjet (CIJ) Stream ‘jetting modules’ (printheads), which allow for high-quality single-pass printing at high speeds using aqueous inks on a wide range of substrates in either mono or four-colour.

There are two narrow-format machines, for applications up to 105mm wide, and two wider machines, which can print up to 210mm in width.

They are targeted at offset, flexo and gravure printers who want to incorporate digital technology for versioning or personalisation. 

The Plus versions boost the throughput and quality of the Prosper imprinting systems to a top speed of 600m/min at 600x300dpi and will operate at 200m/min at 600x900dpi, up from 150m/min at 600x600dpi on the Prosper S5 system. It also has a smaller drop size of 9.8pl.

The narrower single-head models are suited to adding barcodes, QR codes, promotional content or small-format designs. The wider machines are suited to corrugated, folding carton and label packaging applications that require full page printing or dynamic layouts. 

The systems can be mounted inline on conventional presses or as part of a finishing line for ‘perfecting at the folder’, providing the flexibility for digital to be incorporated throughout various existing printing operations. According to Kodak, the Plus models feature new print modes with smaller drop size and higher resolution for faster drying and better quality. 

The new Prosper QD packaging inks are designed to dry and cure rapidly on flexible films and other water-impermeable substrates. As with all Prosper inks they are water-based, which the manufacturer said ensures the lowest running costs and reduced environmental impact.

Kodak has also updated its Packaging Optimizer Agents (POA) for the Prosper line, with the addition of Film Optimizer Agent (FOA). POAs act as primers, enabling wet-on-wet printing with aqueous inks at high speeds to “immobilise” the colours. FOA been developed “for the most demanding flexible film and label applications, including pre-printed flexo and gravure substrates,” according to Kodak.

Kodak Enterprise Inkjet Systems Division president Randy Vandagriff said: “The packaging market demands innovative, sustainable, productive solutions. Kodak’s water-based inks provide the lowest cost, the highest versatility and the most environmentally friendly option for production inkjet printing. Brands and creative agencies are now able to make printed packaging a physical touchpoint to digitally connect with consumers, unleashing creative flexibility with colour palettes and substrates along with operational efficiency to get to the market faster.”

Kodak has also reformulated its agents for coated and uncoated paper boards and liners. The new Standard Packaging Optimizer Agent (SPOA) and Enhanced Packaging Optimizer Agent (EPOA) making them easier to use in indirect food contact applications.

The new launches support the company’s ‘creative freedom’ drive, intended to secure more market share in the packaging sector by giving pack printers the ability to add variable data or create versioned packs, more creative content, and enable brands to get new packs to market faster.