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Handling Content and Getting the Work Done: Yesterday and Today

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:32:39 EST

Remember when you came to the office to immerse yourself in newest of technology and productivity tools? That was some time ago……today, we bring our electronic toys to the office and hope that our IT departments will allow us to use them. Interestingly enough, these devices along with the advent of Web 2.0 and social media have enabled us to change the way we work and how we manage "the work."

Many of us who operate out of an office or virtual team environment are considered "knowledge workers." We work on projects, generate content and research and share information with our colleagues. When we collaborate with each other and socialize information, we end up sharing and using knowledge that helps us "get the work done," faster and more effectively.

In days gone by, we would work with our "system of record" and more often than not, we had to conform to the system and it ended up managing us. The content was in there somewhere, but it took a lot of time and money to generate it, search it, and use it effectively. A lot of investment was spent in rolling out and learning new software and systems, gaining access to the right ones and generating reports which we mistakenly took for knowledge.

Today, the available technology and tools have adapted to a more natural way in which we communicate and work. Once again, consumer technologies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and DropBox have crossed over to business world in the form of collaborative tools like LinkedIn, Yammer, WebEx, Alfresco, Clearvale, and many more. Business collaboration systems are using what are now common consumer communication constructs to help us better collaborate, engage, communicate, and produce and share knowledge.

So, let's get back to getting the work done!

Have questions on how to better manage your work? Feel free to contact me directly (tim.vaughan@kodak.com) or leave a comment below to start a discussion.

Tim

Free one-hour webinar focuses on how the largest and most heavily regulated companies accelerate speed-to-market, reduce errors, and lower costs

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:25:06 EST

I think that reducing packaging and marketing costs doesn't require major change, just smarter thinking and the right tools. To show how success is possible, our Kodak Design2Launch Solutions team is presenting a free one-hour webinar featuring industry leaders with invaluable insight on how the world's largest and most heavily regulated companies are using Kodak Design2Launch Brand Manager and its integrated workflow and asset management capabilities to:

Lower costs and reduce errors
Improve brand consistency
Ensure regulatory compliance
Maximize reuse of brand assets
Accelerate speed-to-market

Speakers will include Jim Haas, former Manager of Global Packaging and Graphic Design at Bausch & Lomb. Jim will explain how they:

Improved project approval times and overall speed-to-market by nearly 50%
Eliminated packaging-related product recalls
Realized an ROI of more than $1,000,000 a year by automating the packaging processes

We will also demonstrate the use of content certification, which enables companies to create a library of approved, up-to-date copy and imagery, and import these assets directly into artwork. This vastly accelerates the creative process and reduces errors, especially when creating localized and multilingual content.

Date: Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
Time: 11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT
Register: www.kodak.com/go/d2lwebinar!

Have any questions? Post them below.

Chris V.

The end of a great show - drupa 2012

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:45:04 EST

It's the end of drupa 2012 and it's been a great one for Kodak. The team took a moment to have some fun in the booth and make a "music video" set to the famous drupa song which even has it's own Facebook page.

K - O - D - A - K spells success!

Although drupa is over you can still follow Kodak for news and ways to grow your business...

Kodak Grow Your Biz blog

Kodak for Business Facebook Page

@Kodakidigprint tweets

Kodak b2b YouTube Channel

Impressions of drupa 2012 & how it can grow business

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:03:15 EST

In addition to asking Kodak partners and customers what they thought of the Kodak booth and products, we asked them what they thought of drupa 2012 and what it does for their business to attend the show.

Impressions of the Kodak booth and products at drupa 2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:26:09 EST

Throughout the week at drupa, we asked Kodak customers and partners some questions as they came to the booth. Here is a collection of their feedback on the Kodak booth and the products we had at the show.

Kodak Unified Workflow at drupa 2012

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:42:07 EST

There is something in the Kodak booth at drupa that isn't made of steel or can be heard across the booth when it starts running at 1000 fpm. But it can change the way you do business.

The Kodak Unified Workflow Solution brings together Kodak Prinergy, Kodak Insite, Design2Launch, Colorflow and more, to make up one comprehensive solution that combines many areas of business and production, color and data.

Debuting at drupa is Kodak Prinergy 6. With this new solution there is a refreshed user interface and new functionality. There is improved planning that is driven by customer intent. A global VOC, voice of the customer, process was used to deliver a solution that customers required.

Prinergy 6 was being demoed live in the Kodak booth… even on stage in the K-Zone.

Here is a quick walkthrough of some more of the Kodak Unified Workflow Solutions being shown at drupa.

3 Ways to Check in on in Your Prepress Department

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:24:00 EST

Van Genechten Packaging group wanted to use Kodak Intelligent Prepress Manager 2.0 to answer the question, "Could we optimize our plate production?" The plant in Turnhout was selected to test iPM 2.0 and to do just that.

The IPM's reports provided the visibility needed and showed all the plate production could be done in one shift instead of three.

"After two months of monitoring, we decided to move to one shift." With the help of iPM 2.0 monitoring system this customer was able to evaluate the risk to decrease the number of shifts in order to be more efficient.

"The monthly Usage and Utilization reports were used to understand workload in the prepress department. The monthly reports are a big advantage for management, since they replace manual data collection and reporting."

Here are 3 ways iPM 2.0 made that happen:

You can view the media consumption report, which accurately reflects the number of plates that were used per shift, and the jobs/separations that were prepared.
You can also review data on the performance of each device, such as platesetters and plate processors, and the device efficiency.
You can associate each parameter to a specific operator, which can help identify which operator may need additional training.

Vsit the Kodak booth, hall 5 at drupa to see a live demo of iPM2.0

What are some ways you would like us to help in the prepress department?

Kodak Versamark Printing Systems at drupa 2012

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:55:58 EST

Sitting in the corner of the Kodak booth at drupa, sits the Kodak Versamark – churning away all day, every day of the show.

Versamark is the answer to transactional , direct mail and short –run newspaper needs with full-page variability at a great value.

Kodak Versamark Printing Systems offer solutions that are customizable and scaleable. A monochrome system can be expanded to spot color or full color for optimium visual impact. Printers where square footage is at a premium will especially appreciate the compact design.

Here is a brief overview of Versamark from the show floor at drupa.

Kodak Flexographic Solutions & Disappointed Hungry Booth Visitors at drupa 2012

Sun, 13 May 2012 11:32:09 EST

Packaging Samples in the Kodak booth

Some of the most eye catching samples in the Kodak booth at drupa are coming from the Flexographic Solutions. This isn't surprising considering this packaging has to catch a consumers eye from a store shelf.

Fun sample snack bags - Hot Chili Gecko, Wild Boar Buttercup & Octopus Sorbet

The snack bags look so good they are starting to disapear from the show display even though all they contain is packing peanuts. How disapointing that must be to a booth visitor!

The packaging must really be appealing, because the snack names are not. The design team had some fun with them, yet "Cheesy Crickets" and "Octopus Sorbet" does not seem to be deterring anyone as we keep finding bags hungrily torn open and left on our tables.

Kodak Flexcel NX System

Booth visitors may already be familiar with the award winning Kodak Flexcel NX System sitting in the Flexo area. It's high def, reliable and cost effective delivery revolutionized the flexo plate industry and became the flagship solution.

Flexcel Direct System

Along the edge of the Kodak booth sits the new Flexcel Direct System. Beta customers are currently producing superior quality press ready sleeves with the Flexcel Direct System. They are experiencing energy efficiency and increased production.

Hubert Sampre talking in the Kodak K-Zone

Miller Graphics appeared in the K-Zone during drupa to share their experience. Miller Graphics is one of these beta testers who is seeing success. "The FLEXCEL Direct System has exceeded our initial expectations, both in our own production operation and on press with our clients, and we are already supplying sleeves for production jobs, and even winning new business as a result of the improved quality."

Here is a quick overview of the Kodak Flexographic Solutions right from the show floor.

Kodak's Flexo offerings, as not only an engraver, but as a complete solution that includes hardware, workflow, and media, can be seen in action right at drupa.

Kodak Offset Solutions at drupa 2012

Sat, 12 May 2012 10:35:37 EST

Kodak Magnus800 Platesetter

Right in the center of the Kodak booth is the display area for Kodak Offset Solutions.

Kodak Sonora XP Process-free Plates

On one side is the Kodak Magnus CTP system which is imaging Kodak Sonora XP Process Free Press Plates. The Sonora Plates are a second-generation process-free technology which eliminates all chemistry, water, energy and waste from plate processing – greatly reducing total costs, as well as the impact of plate-making on the environment.

Visitors to the booth can hardly believe it and keep asking if it is actually working and available now (answer: yes, it is!). The theme at the Kodak booth at drupa is "Yellow Changes Everything" but the Sonora Plates are doing a pretty good job at being green.

With the Sonora Plates you aren't only making your business more earth friendly and sustainable – you are saving money, streamlining your process and reducing your equipment footprint. We're also showcasing a process-free plate for newspaper printing (Sonora News) and our other low-chemistry solutions for the most challenging print conditions.

Kodak Achieve All-In-One CTP System

On the other side of the wall from the Magnus at drupa is the new Achieve All-In-One CTP System. This small format offset system is optimized for business in emerging markets, starting with Asia-Pacific and expanding into Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Vistors from around the world have come to the Kodak booth to learn how the Achieve CTP System can give them state of the art imaging and exceptional performance at a great value.

Kodak is still making huge strides in improving the efficiency, productivity and environmental performance of offset printing to keep it competitive long into the future. Kodak's Kevin Cazabon took a moment from his busy drupa day to give a brief overview of the Kodak Offset Solutions offerings right on the show floor.

Plate tabletops in the refreshment area of the Kodak booth at drupa

Kodak High Resolution Satellite Map Frenzy at drupa

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:16:33 EST

There is something going on in a corner of the Kodak booth at drupa that I find fascinating. A couple of days ago, a large stack of huge maps appeared in a box. 3000 maps to be exact.

The maps were made in partnerships with Columbus Globes and Maps, and a few other companies. They are very high resolution satellite maps printed with Kodak offset. The interesting part began when the show doors opened. There was a contant swarm around the box with visitors crouched over frantically rolling up the maps and trotting off gleefully. We put out another 6000 today and they are almost all gone.

They are really nice maps… but when rolled they are almost as tall as me! I am hoping these are visitors that drove or took the train because I cannot imagine wrestling one of those rolled up maps onto an airplane.

If you stand there long enough, like I did – hypnotized by the activity, you start to realize there is a skill to rolling up these giant maps. First you carefully peel up an edge, then you lift and give the sheet a little shake to pull it away from the stack. Move your hands as far to the ends as possible so as to not cause the sheet sag on the ends and crinkle. Then roll, roll, roll like your life depends on it. If you want 3 or 4 or 5 maps as I saw some acquire, be sure to peel those up all as one.

Once you get really good at this you can have several people rolling up their maps at once.

Visitors to the booth were not the only ones loving the maps. One particular special map fan couldn't help but roll one up for himself… watch for him at the end of this video.

Live from DAM NY 2012

Fri, 11 May 2012 16:18:53 EST

Following my blog about DAM NY 2012 conference, the show has begun.

Today, Kodak's Ron Malloy, Director Product Management for KODAK Design2Launch, shared his best practices with attendees at DAM NY. He provided examples of the benefits of workflow tied to DAM in pharma and retail.

For instance, one large private label retailer leverages our solution to be able to respond instantly to potential recalls in grocery. So if they learn of a problem with a particular ingredient, they can access their system and pull every private label SKU that's affected and take the appropriate action. That's of real value to any retailer's private label or brand.

Josh Fedeli, Solutions Sales Manager for KODAK Design2Launch Brand Manager, also presented today about the effectiveness that brands need takes a lot more than DAM. His explanation is that, in the creative space, a DAM without workflow can mean inefficiencies, product recalls, or worse.

During the presentation, Josh said, "DAM without workflow is like going to the store without a shopping list. Which is often why I come home with beers and pretzels and missing most of the stuff my wife needed for that special dinner she was planning."

Josh's presentation included examples of how three leading companies have used DAM and workflow to effectively manage their brand assets. They all created a "single source of truth" so that their branding was correct.

Contact Josh directly for a free copy of his presentation: joshua.fedeli@kodak.com.

Chris V.

Kodak Sustainability at drupa 2012

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:06:30 EST

Sustainability is making a big splash at drupa this year. Visitors to our stand can see for themselves the huge impact that businesses have already made by taking a close look at our entire back wall dedicated to just this topic .

A number of our customers are telling their stories on what changes they have made and how these have saved them time, money and generated new business.

Always a top priority for us, sustainability is for the first time at drupa, topping many of our visitors' agendas. They are able to see from our customers' experiences just how making small changes or key buying decisions can add up to reduce impact. This could be from buying our Flexcel NX Flexographic System or using our new Sonora XP Process Free Plates.

We would love to help you realise how you can have sustainability, no matter what your business or who your customers are, come and visit our booth #drupa in Hall 5, F09-1!

And maybe next drupa your quotes will be up on our wall.

New Kodak NexPress enhancements including gold, pearlescent & neon pink!

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:08:55 EST

Kodak NexPress running on the show floor at drupa

There were several announcements at drupa around the Kodak NexPress. There is a new inline UV coating solution, TEC Lighting Trucoat UV Coater, that provides high gloss and a satin finish. There is also a new long sheet option that will print up to 36 in/91cm . That is 27% more printable area that opens the door for 6 page brochures, posters, larger book dust jackets and packaging.

As a former graphic designer, what really caught my eye was the new Fifth Imaging Unit Solution for Kodak NexPress. With the Fifth Imaging Unit Solution you can print in gold, pearlescent and neon pink. NEON PINK!

New Kodak NexPress Dry Inks

There are so many possiblities with these new dry inks. The gold sparkles and looks very nice over other colors like red. Used creatively it makes for fantastic accents in designs. Dare I say it looks glamorous?

New Gold Print

The pearlescent shimmers… so nice for cards or art photography. It will also save money because you can use it where you need it intead of printing on expensive pearlescent paper. There were several pearlescent greeting card samples over by the NexPress and I nabbed a few to hide away in my bag and take home!

Pearlescent Examples

And there is the neon pink. To say it is eye catching is an understatement. It looks great on cards (dare I say CUTE?!) and can be used also as a highlighter. I am plotting to get my next batch of business cards printed with neon pink!

Neon Pink

These options thrill me as a designer and I am sure they will catch the attention of customers also.

Have Some Sparkle with the Spargel

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:24:07 EST

There's something about springtime in Dusseldorf. I always look forward the four year journey to attend drupa, see the latest and greatest in printing, meet old friends, make new contacts, enjoy the local brew and of course the fresh Spargel.

For those of you not familiar with white asparagus, it's a local delicacy available for a short time only. To a paper guy, asparagus looks like miniature trees, readied for the pulper, but I digress. Spargel is usually dressed up with a cream sauce, and man its good. But my german speaking is nicht sehr gut and ordering Spargel sounds a lot like sparkle, as in diamonds. This brings me to my point about diamonds and how Kodak is using them to help our customers choose papers for production inkjet printing.

Looking at the menu of papers available to digital printers, its not obvious which ones perform best on different machines. It used to be simple and digital paper really meant designed for electrophotographic or toner based digital printing. Today, with inkjet, there are about seven or eight different commercial inkjet systems in use depending on ink type and printhead technology. Some papers just work better on some technologies, others can be disappointing. Choosing the right digital paper can be a challenge.

Kodak Prosper 6000XL Press running on the show floor at drupa

So Kodak has developed a Paper Rating System for Prosper Press. We test papers in our R&D department and rate them on a 5 Diamond scale for image quality. We can provide our customers with data that helps them compare papers based on expected performance and cost for their applications. Similar papers can be compared to each other and the diamond rating gives everyone a higher confidence in quality and reliability. We've been testing papers for over a decade and have a database of over 4000 paper tests. Still we've been pleasantly surprised that Prosper Press can print on some standard offset papers for some applications, without treatment or bonding agents.

Dennis Betz of Glatfelter accepts a Kodak Prosper Press Paper Rating Recognition

This week we will be recognizing some of our paper partners in the Kodak booth. The support that the industry has provided, and some of the new paper chemistries invented, has been outstanding. Stop by our booth during the show and learn why diamonds are a Prosper printer's best friend. And afterwards, order up some Spargel at dinner this week and enjoy the spring, the show and fresh ideas.

Kodak connects with more than 40 partners at drupa 2012

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:23:53 EST

A show the size of drupa is used to setting all kinds of records!

Partner Cube in the Kodak booth

This year we'll be setting a record of our own – more than 40 companies will be either showcasing Kodak technology or providing their solutions for demonstrations at our stand. One of the reasons behind this record-breaking collaboration is the boom in hybrid printing. We're working extensively with companies that have expertise in very specific areas of the print market, and together we're developing some pretty powerful solutions.

Partner Cube listing over 40 of Kodak's partners and their drupa hall location

This partnership approach sees us take up a variety of roles. Sometimes we provide the core technology to a vendor, like with Timsons Printing Machinery. Its new Timsons T-Press incorporates Kodak's Stream Technology, creating the fastest and widest digital inkjet press around for producing black-and-white trade and textbooks. The system was actually created following a request from a customer for a book printing system that would help them sustain their rapid growth in the book printing market.

You can catch the Timsons T-Press at the Kolbus booth in Hall 16, on stands D22-1/D22-2. The set-up includes the T-Fold finishing system, producing printed and folded signatures running in line with a Kolbus Binding System.

We also work with dozens of companies that market products as part of a total solutions package. Take press manufacturer, KBA, for example. The company will feature a fully-integrated prepress solution at its stand. Kodak's Prinergy Connect Workflow will be running with a Kodak Magnus 800 Platesetter with Multi-Cassette Unit, exposing the Trillian SP Thermal Plates.

Meanwhile Komori will print demanding jobs on its H-UV printing presses using Kodak's Sword Ultra Thermal Plates. You will be able to see color proofs from Kodak's Matchprint Proofing System.

And in another application, Illies Graphik will print on site the German trade magazine, Deutscher Drücker, on a Ryobi Press using Trillian SP Plates.

Heading to drupa? Make sure you drop by our partners' stands.

When Playing to Win – Communicate With Diamonds

Tue, 08 May 2012 19:00:00 EST

One of the world's most popular card games is Bridge. Teams of two compete at a table and each round of the game starts with an auction. The goal is to bid for the most wins in a round and then achieve that number for the win. This bidding process is very strategic as it helps to communicate the strength of your cards to your partner.

One such opening bid, Two Diamonds, has special meaning. It usually means that you have a strong balanced hand of a defined range, or strength in three suits. Your partner will understand this bid's intention, that you can support their hand but can't necessarily win on the strength of your cards alone. As a team you can win the round.

At Kodak, we want to help our customers win and we have many ways to support your business. One such tool for Prosper Press owners is our Paper Rating System. We've conducted over 4000 paper tests and really understand the differences between similar papers, whether these differences are large or small. Often times, two papers look the same but can have very different results based on their chemistry and physical properties, as well as the inkjet technologies being used.

Stora Enso receiving the Diamond Award

Our Paper Rating System uses a Diamond scale to rank papers for their expected image quality. We use five key metrics that have been identified by Kodak researchers to best characterize quality. At drupa we are recognizing some of our paper partners and the new papers they have developed for production inkjet printing. Of particular note is Stora Enso and Norpac for their treated groundwood papers which are rated at Two Diamonds.

Like the opening bid, these Two Diamond papers are a strong balance of a defined range. In this case the three suits are optical density, showthrough, and line raggedness. Prosper customers who choose Two Diamond papers are able to provide excellent text sharpness, great mid-tones for monochrome images and perhaps even save on ink costs. For book printers these papers will provide consistently better performance than untreated grades. Higher quality and better reliability often means winning new business.

We're using our knowledge of imaging science and surface science to support our customers business. For production inkjet printers with Prosper Presses it's a competitive market. They have a great hand with our printing hardware. Telling them about Two Diamond papers communicates that we can support their winning hand.

"Made in Germany" software complements Kodak's newspaper solution

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:00:00 EST

It is not a surprise to most of us that a lot of print innovation has and continues to come from Germany – from Gutenberg to the latest in prepress and press automation. Why else is Drupa held in Germany every 4 years?

The Kiel, Germany based wobe-team software, service and consulting company is no exception to this with its innovative wNewsNet newspaper workflow software which brings a scalable production management system to editorial departments and newspaper press sites.

Kodak's agreement with wobe-team complements Kodak's innovative newspaper solutions including KODAK SQUAREspot imaging technology providing a stable differentiated quality newspaper print product but also the recently announced Kodak Sonora process free plates which completely eliminate the need for a processor or chemistry further simplify the plate making process.

I am excited to see how the most innovative software combined with the most innovative thermal imaging technology and most innovative process free plate technology will revolutionize newspaper printers worldwide by providing the most consistent, predictable, cost effective quality newspaper print product every day…

In the end, that is what matters most to a newspaper printer and ultimately a newspaper reader – getting the newspaper out every day, but now without any compromises! No more need to read a badly color registered newspaper which makes you look for your 3-D glasses…

Kodak Prosper 6000XL Press and Kodak Prosper Series Imprinting Systems at drupa 2012

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:53:21 EST

Kodak Prosper 6000XL Press

Kodak announced several new products for the Prosper Platform at drupa 2012. First the Kodak Prosper 6000XL Press joins the Prosper 1000 Press and Prosper 5000XL Press. The 6000XL can print at a maximum of 175 lpi at 650 fpm, or 133 lpi at 1000 fpm.

Kodak Prosper 6000XL Press

There is a Prosper 6000XL running in the Kodak booth at drupa and Bill Schwinfurth gave me a quick overview.

It's pretty exciting when they speed up the Press. (At one point all I could think was it would give you one horrific paper cut.)

Another new product announced at drupa is the Kodak Prosper S30 Imprinting System. Using the Prosper S-Series Imprinting Systems printers can combine their offset presses with digital benefits. The Prosper S30 offers the highest speed in the industry at 3000 fpm and 600 x200 dpi.

There isn't a Prosper S30 here at drupa but next to the Prosper 6000XL Press on the show floor sits a Prosper S20 which can print at 2000 fpm. Still quite impressive.

Kodak Prosper S20 Imprinting System

Bill demonstrated the Prosper S20 also. I was glad my video camera could capture the high speed!

Also new is the Prosper Press Image Optimization Station. The IOS can pretreat of any of the paper stock running live on show floor at drupa, enabling the use of commercially available regular coated, uncoated and glossy papers between 45 gsm–300 gsm. This provides users with a high degree of paper flexibility and paper cost savings.

For more information on Kodak at drupa visit kodak.com/go/drupa

To learn more about the Kodak Prosper Platform go to kodak.com/go/prosper

Extra! Extra! Kodak kills processor...

Mon, 07 May 2012 08:00:00 EST

ROCHESTER, NY

The plate processor is dead.

Kodak made this announcement at the Drupa trade show in Dusseldorf Germany, ending the long, elusive international research for a solution to the main contributor to variability and pollution in the prepress plate making room since the introduction of the offset in the 1950's.

The plate processor, perhaps the most reviled piece of equipment in the prepress area, and by most of the prepress operators worldwide, was sought as the main producer of chemical waste and contamination since computer-to-plate eliminated the need for film in 1995.

A small Kodak team of UK chemists eliminated the need for a processor in early 2012 in Leeds, UK about 200 miles north of London. The introduction of the process free Kodak Sonora News printing plate, in the newspaper offset printing process is the biggest game changer for any printing plate in the history of offset newspaper printing.

The plate processor was eliminated along with preheat ovens believed to be one of the main consumers of power in the prepress room.

Water consumption was also eliminated as was the space required for preheating and process-ing equipment, which some competitors still hang unto with so-called "chem free" clean-out-units.

Celebratory crowds flocked at the Kodak booth at Drupa in Dusseldorf, Germany to check out the new process free plates. Newspaper customers users of both violet and thermal technologies praised Kodak's innovation as Germany woke up to the news of the processor's obsolesce.

Frank Romano presented with the 2012 Lifetime Print Ambassador Award

Sun, 06 May 2012 17:04:52 EST

Kodak President & COO Phil Faraci and Frank Romano

At a press event this morning, Kodak presented Frank Romano with a Lifetime Print Ambassador Award. Frank is the third recipient of the award. Frank is well known in the industry for his 40 years as an educator, author (over 44 books!), speaker and consultant. It's easy to see how he can be seen as someone who is considered one of the foremost experts on print.

After receiving the award he was chatting with another print expert, Andy Tribute who he referred to in his speech. Andy is another highly regarded authority in the print industry. Andy was presented with a Lighthouse Award a few days earlier.

Frank Romano and Andy Tribute

Kodak CEO Antonio Perez presenting Andy Tribute with a Lighthouse Award

The Lighthouse Awards are for achieving success as partners, customers and innovators in the print industry. drupa 2012 has been the perfect venue for recognizing these honorees.

Terry Hannam CEO of Synergie Group receiving a Lighthouse Award

Highly caffeinated at drupa – chocolate and cola in the Kodak booth

Sat, 05 May 2012 10:34:41 EST

The Kodak K-Zone sessions in the Kodak booth at drupa are bringing Kodak customers and in turn their customers to the forefront of innovative printing.

Terry Hannam CEO of Synergie Group and his customer Louis Barnett Founder of Chokolit kicked off the first K-Zone. Louis shared his amazing story of how he overcame dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and short term memory loss to launch his own company Chokolit, which then made Louis the UK's youngest entrepreneur at the age of 12. Now twenty, the chocolatier is a well known producer of high quality, earth friendly chocolates.

Terry and Louis talked about how Synergie Group drove success for Chokolit through their packaging printed on Kodak printers. They discussed how Kodak equipment allowed them to do small quantities of custom packaging – like small sample bars for businesses to give as promotional items. They can also do exclusive designs for a large department store that wants personalization for a special event with celebrities.

Later, Kodak CEO Antonio Perez sat down with Louis to talk more about business in the K-Zone. Perez was clearly impressed with the young businessman and they chatted off stage for some time.

Another Kodak customer, Holger Kern President of Kern GmbH was featured in the K-Zone with his customer, Florian Glesius General Director of Piranjasoul.

Piranjasoul produces Piranja Cola which offers high caffeine content with less sugar. In fact the caffeine from the cola keeps the Kern employees highly motivated and working evenings.

Piranja Cola needed a low volume of posters in different designs. Using Kodak NexPress, Kern was able to offer this individualisation AND offer innovative finishes for a 3D effect on the soda crate labels. This helped the start-up cola company attract attention in the market.

After the K-Zone, the cola and chocolate entrepreneurs met and surely had a lot in common to talk about! All the K-Zone guests took a moment to share their impressions of drupa 2012 and Kodak.

Drupa 2012 and Kodak infographic

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:40:17 EST

Infographics have become wildly popular lately, visually communicating facts and figures covering topics from cats vrs dogs to recycling. Infographics are a designer's and researcher's dream, all rolled into one.

Everything at drupa is big and it's hard to communicate just how large the show is. Kodak also has so many great things going on in our booth at drupa we are in the same boat.

So here is an infographic, illustrating how big drupa is and how amazing Kodak products are.

Feel free to tweet it, pin it, share it!

Ingredients to Brand Health

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:28:43 EST

Building healthy brands is a shared goal for all brand managers, although much is written about how to build them.

Kodak is supporting the DAM NY show next week in New York City where we'll talk about some key ingredients that lead to brand health, which center around creative production workflow for packaging and labeling. While this NY event's legacy is tied to DAM (Digital Asset Management), many leading brands today are building marketing workflows and project management tied to their DAM for maximum efficiency and leverage.

Most brands are facing similar challenges around speed to market with SKU proliferation (think retail promotions), brand protection (think label accuracy in pharmaceutical or retail grocery), and multi-lingual content (think about how many languages we see on products today as brand owners strive for "one SKU" to serve multiple markets and meet the required supply chain service levels).

If you're in the Tri-State area, come into New York City next Thursday or Friday and hear different points of view on how to best automate your marketing workflows. On our side we'll share how the world's largest pharmaceutical company is doing it and how several of the largest CPG players in North America manage their packaging and labeling workflows in partnership with Kodak's Design2Launch Brand Manager Solution.

Alternatively, join us for an informal customer reception at the Beacon on West 56^th, on Thursday night, around 8pm. Hope to see you at either. Feel free to contact me ahead of time (chris.verlander@kodak.com).

Maximizing your productivity and minimizing your business risk: Announcing new Software Support License programs for Kodak Workflows

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:00:00 EST

The Graphic Users' Association was established to help customers maximize their investment in Kodak Solutions, to provide feedback to Kodak that influences and drives future product development, and ultimately, to help GUA members succeed in the graphic communications industry. For many GUA members, the power, flexibility and reliability of Kodak Workflow products is critical to continued business success.

We have important news to share with the GUA community regarding our software service and support plans. The feedback we received from customers clearly indicated that the most valued and tangible component of our service and support plans is the software upgrades. With this in mind, we are introducing new Software Support License plans that include major software upgrades and updates—giving you access to the latest in usability, performance, features and functionality as soon as they become available. These new Software Support License plans replace the current workflow service contracts (called Software Assurance Agreements or SAA).

In addition to software upgrades, our new Software Support License plans offer comprehensive options for technical support to help keep your systems running, maximizing your uptime and investment.

To meet the needs of different businesses, we will offer two levels of support: Software Support License Plus and Advanced. Full details are available here and in the downloadable brochure.

Promotional Specials: We're offering significant incentives to encourage you to purchase a Software Support License before the end of July. Purchase now and you'll receive:

1) An upgrade to Prinergy Workflow Version 5.2 at no additional cost¹—even if your software dates back to version 3.x. With a Software Support License, you'll be ready to take advantage of Prinergy Workflow Version 6.0 as soon as it becomes available.

We especially encourage those of you with Prinergy Workflow versions 3.x or 4.x to take advantage of this offer. This is a cost-saving re-entry into the support community for owners of version 3.x, which is no longer supported by Kodak. After July 31, additional charges will apply to all upgrades from version 3.x or version 4.x.

You should also be aware that later this year, software upgrades will only be available to customers who have purchased a Software Support License plan (or customers on an existing SAA plan that includes upgrades). This means that customers will no longer be able to purchase 'stand-alone' software upgrades. So act now to take advantage of this offer.

2) Three Prinergy Software options. For those of you already on the most recent version of Prinergy Workflow, you'll have your choice of any of the following options:

Archiver* (a $10k value) which creates and retrieves archives of completed jobs
Dashboard* (an unlimited user license, an $11k value) which monitors Workshop job status through a Web interface
PDF Trap Editor** (one license, a $5k value) interactive, vector-based trapping tools

This offer expires July 31, 2012. We trust that you'll see the significant value that these license plans represent. At Kodak, we understand that the technologies you use each day are much more than equipment. They are the fundamental infrastructure for your business success. To protect your profitability, a Software Support License is an invaluable investment.

Learn more at www.kodak.com/go/SoftwareSupportPromo

or phone 1-800-52KODAK and press 2 when prompted.

Have questions? Leave a comment here.

¹Limitations: The software upgrade promotion applies to the Prinergy Software upgrade only. Necessary required hardware upgrades, operating system upgrades and installation services will be charged separately.

*option available for Prinergy Connect Workflow and Prinergy Powerpack Workflow only **option available for Prinergy Connect Workflow, Prinergy Powerpack Workflow and Prinergy Evo Workflow (refine, trap, proof, and output configuration)

Sharing at drupa – mobile, iPads and more

Thu, 03 May 2012 03:10:10 EST

When I attended my first print show, two years ago, we covered the booth activities thoroughly on social media by blogging, tweeting, posting photos to Flickr, videos to YouTube and updates to Facebook.

This year at drupa 2012, you will find us posting and engaging on the same social media sites, but we will also be using some innovative new methods of communicating and sharing via mobile and tablets.

SMS Alerts
If you see a K-Zone session you don't want to miss, no worries, sign up to receive an SMS reminder an hour before the session starts.

QR codes
Throughout the booth there will be QR codes - on samples you can take with you, on the k-zone brochure and posters all around. The QR codes link to more useful information when you read them with your smart phone.

iPads
Our representatives will be using iPads to capture lead information, walk through presentations, access web content and much more.

Mobile Magazine
During drupa we will be launching our new digital edition of our ONE magazine. The magazine will aggregate content from our website, blogs and YouTube videos. The content will look beautiful on your tablet!

So get your smart phone and tablet ready for drupa!

Learn more about Kodak at drupa at kodak.com/go/drupa

And don't forget to follow us on our other channels too!

Kodak Grow Your Biz blog

Kodak for Business Facebook Page

@Kodakidigprint tweets

Kodak b2b YouTube Channel

drupa photo set on Flickr

Sneak peek at the Kodak booth at drupa 2012

Wed, 02 May 2012 18:54:18 EST

As Kodak's social media manager I get to cover a lot of tradeshows. It's always exciting to see a booth full of Kodak employees, products and customers. There is something thrilling about seeing a complete line of equipment running together and producing content right on the show floor. The way the booth comes together with lights, signage and teamwork is always impressive.

Looks pretty big right?

Oh no... it takes a panoramic photo to capture all of it!

The Kodak booth at drupa has managed to blow all other experiences away. First of all there is the size. The sheer size of the booth is at least four times larger than I have seen at other shows. It has to be when you have presses like Kodak Prosper that seems to be equal that of four cars lined end to end.

Did I say 4 cars? Prosper is probably more like 6 cars end to end.

It's also amazing to see all the solutions Kodak offers in the print world. A lot of people don't realize that B2B makes up almost 70% of Kodak's business. From packaging (like potato chip bags!), to publishing (books, magazines & newspapers) to commercial solutions (flyers, pamphlets and so much more) and even workflow… there are so many areas of the print industry Kodak touches. And it's all here on the show floor.

I can't wait to get back there and poke at those sample packages!

When I got to the booth today, there was still a lot of unpacking and final touches being made, but I quickly got a sense of what Kodak has to offer. Check out this quick video of the booth I shot - bobbing and weaving between all the Kodak reps reviewing the stations - for an idea of how big the booth is and how much we have in it!

Stay tuned the rest of the show ALL FOURTEEN DAYS of it, for updates from the show floor. We will be tweeting, blogging and posting videos and photos live from drupa!

Kodak Grow Your Biz blog

Kodak for Business Facebook Page

@Kodakidigprint tweets

Kodak b2b YouTube Channel

drupa photo set on Flickr

Learn more about Kodak at drupa at kodak.com/go/drupa

Sheet-fed hybrid printing pays off with Kodak Prosper S-Series Imprinting Systems

Tue, 01 May 2012 19:58:00 EST

We've been collaborating with our partners to help printers transform their sheet-fed press into a hybrid system. The Kodak Prosper S-Series Imprinting System delivers top-quality, variable data and versioning printing. It uses Kodak Stream Inkjet Technology, the only inkjet technology that has been integrated pre-press, in-press and post-press. Users have complete freedom to set up their production process in a way that offers the greatest value to their customers.

One of the great things about Prosper S-Series Imprinting Systems is that they produce top-quality text and graphics that look no different from offset print.

A number of companies have wasted no time in setting up hybrid systems. Take Anton, an integration partner in the UK. The company has integrated the Prosper S-Series Imprinting System into a Cut-Star feed device. This allows Anton to print variable data for direct mail, before running through the Heidelberg sheet-fed press.

See how Anton integrates Kodak's imprinting system:

Ryobi, meanwhile, has adopted a system design approach. The company has modified its traditional sheet-fed paper handling, so that the Kodak Prosper S5 Imprinting System can be integrated within the Ryobi 750 Series press system. The sheet is printed by the offset towers, then imprinted by the S5 Imprinting System, followed by an optional in-line varnish device. This combination affords Ryobi customers a streamlined process with a high-gloss varnish. The result? High-value direct mail and folding cartons, with variable data that appears to have been printed by a single technology.

See how Komatsu General Limited Inc, the first Ryobi customer, has taken advantage of this opportunity to bolster productivity:

Finally, POPP has a modular system that takes the output from a Heidelberg sheet-fed press before sending it through for Prosper S-Series imprinting. This system can be configured for simplex or duplex printing, and can be in-line or off-line from the press.

Andre Kern, Managing Partner of Kern GmbH, shares how higher quality and faster production is achieved using 6 Kodak Prosper S10 Imprinting Systems:

The Kodak Prosper S-Series Imprinting System really is the perfect partner – it slots right into the production process, and delivers big benefits to printers and their customers.

New Digimaster HD Series – time-tested productivity and reliability with major image quality enhancements

Tue, 01 May 2012 08:11:00 EST

The new Digimaster HD series is more of the same when it comes to the time-tested productivity and reliability found in all Digimaster systems. The new models inherit the benchmark productivity, full rated speed across substrates and awesome paper handling reliability of the Digimaster platform.

What's new is enhanced image quality across the board and better performance on pre-printed media. The new H1 toner/developer combined with improved imaging software extend the HD series' competitive edge to photo images and graphics. The new fuser design means less maintenance and slightly glossier output.

I could go on and on but, when it comes to image quality, seeing is believing. Judge the new image quality for yourself. Competitive print samples are available from your Kodak sales representative. Find more HD series information and a local sales contact.

Milan seminar reveals new Kodak solutions to be unveiled @drupa 2012

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST

With drupa just around the corner, we recently gave Italian print professionals a glimpse of what they can expect from us at the show. On April 19, around 50 professionals attended a pre-drupa seminar in Sesto San Giovanni, near Milan, where we revealed the new solutions we'll be showcasing at the event.

Giuliano Bianchet, Italy & Iberia Cluster Director, kicked things off by updating delegates on Chapter 11, and underlined how Kodak will be in a much stronger position once the process is completed. He also highlighted that Kodak is targeting growth opportunities in the B2B market. According to an InfoTrends study, the colour digital printing sector is expected to grow by 26% between 2010 and 2013, and Kodak has a raft of new digital printing solutions to unveil at drupa.

The latest innovations added to the Kodak Prosper line include the Prosper 6000XL Press, which delivers an impressive speed of 300 m/min, as well as the Prosper S30 Imprinting System, which offers the highest speed in hybrid applications.

A major benefit of the Prosper solutions is that they deliver exceptional quality and productivity at a low operational cost. Riccardo Passerini, Sales & Category Manager DPS Italy, highlighted that a Prosper 1000 Press can print 2,000 copies of a 10cm x 15cm book at € 0.108 per unit.

drupa will also be the backdrop for showcasing the new Kodak Versamark VL-SED Systems, while the Kodak NexPress Press also features some new enhancements, including inline UV coating and long-sheet delivery trays. Attendees were shown printed samples of the new Gold, Pearlescent and Neon Pink printing effects now available using the Kodak Fifth Imaging Unit.

The Kodak Digimaster Printing System has also been updated, with top-quality black digital printing guaranteed thanks to a new thinner toner.

Delegates also learned about our latest software developments. Marco Serafin, Category Manager PS & ES Italy, introduced the new Prinergy 6 Workflow System, which has been updated based on customers' requests.

Finally, I highlighted that in addition to Kodak's own impressive stand, the company will be represented at 40 of its partners' booths at drupa.

Here is our official drupa 2012 page.

See you at #drupa for a #kodakdrupa and K-zone! Come and visit our stand in Hall 5, F09-1

Grand finale: Consolidated Graphics "kicks it up a notch" at Emerge 2012! (Free "Top Trends in Communication Channels and Marketing Effectiveness" presentation)

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:18:24 EST

Last Friday was the final day of Consolidated Graphics' (CGX) Emerge 2012 conference and Kodak added some "BAM" to a great closing day agenda. Aaron Grohs, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CGX, said "A really big thank you goes out to our partner, Kodak. They really did a great job in using the Emerge venue to engage CGX and its customers in valuable conversations, educational opportunities, and in technology that will mean a better business results for each of us."

Here are highlights of the last day at Emerge 2012:

The morning opening keynote speaker, Brad Davis, CMO of Opus Bank, focused on how marketers can build a great brand by creating a customer experience that answers the question: "How can I ensure my brand is chosen first?" What were his suggestions to accomplish this? One recommendation was to read The Why of Buy to understand how purchase decisions are made subconsciously. Another was comprised of 6 key points to check and ensure that your brand is chosen first. At that point, he challenged the audience to see how CGX stacked up.

After the morning keynote, I presented on "Top Trends in Communication Channels and Marketing Effectiveness." The audience was very into discussions on data analytics and use cases for digital signage – essential for understanding your communication ROI.

(Send me an e-mail at rick.mazur@kodak.com for a free copy of my presentation. I'll send it to you personally and answer any questions that you have.)

CGX's HR manager said that he could see a future campaign that integrates social media with digital signage being effective to execute a health benefits program that he's planning to rollout. We all agreed that the level of personalization and engagement that would be delivered are critical ingredients to seeing a return on marketing investment (ROMI).

Next, I kicked off Emerge's "Premier Panel" on the impact of digital printing on the future of print and communications. About 1,000 attendees were in attendance for this Kodak-sponsored talk. I also took a moment to recognize Sarah Young of Dow Solar and Patrick Kerr of Brax Ltd, with Kodak Digital Frames for their winning submissions to marketing effectiveness definitions in my break out session.

The panel, moderated by Steve Brown, President of CGX - CDS Publications in moderated the panel, which honed in on the strengths of digital printing for distribute and print models as well as how to best leverage trends in personalized communications. Kodak's Prosper and Nexpress came up as leading technologies that deliver on the promise of higher quality pages and high-volume, personalized print communications.

After lunch, Matt Coltharp, President of Cyril Scott held back-to-back sessions on "Creating Impact with In-Line Direct Mail" – which featured the capabilities of Kodak's Prosper S10 Imprinting Solution. This was the third major breakout session that focused on Kodak technology. Katie Kriemelmeyer, President of AGS, presented on Prosper 5000XL and book printing. Here's a link to a video that Katie recorded with Kodak on this topic.

CGX capped off the emerge Conference with a rousing Mardi Gras parade to the French Quarter. CGX's CEO Joe Davis led the parade, which included 8 parade floats to bring all 1,000 attendees through the streets of Downtown "N'Awlins" to a very enthusiastic community. Bryan Fulkerson, Kodak Strategic Account Manager for CGX, received about 100 people on the Kodak sponsored float including some CGX management along with CGX customers.

Bryan stated "This was a fantastic event for CGX and Kodak. CGX and their customers are behind our relationship and clearly support Kodak's successful business transition. I have a good number of new opportunities that came from this show that will help CGX and Kodak grow their businesses in 2012."

Thanks for following my coverage of Emerge,

-Rick

P.S.: Here are some of the marketing effectiveness definitions that we received:

Marketing effectiveness = building relevant connections to engaged customers. Sarah Young – Dow Solar

Marketing effectiveness is to engage with more customers, make friends & build valued relationships. Patrick Kerr - BRAX Ltd

Marketing effectiveness = putting in the effort to understand and target customers to gain mutual engagement. - Leigh Polifko - Ingersoll Rand

Marketing Effectiveness is spending less marketing dollars in a smart to achieve a higher ROI. -Katie Phillips, Tensar International Corp.

Don't miss the heated debates – enter the K-Zone at drupa 2012

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:25:00 EST

Those of you who've made it to print shows in recent years will no doubt be familiar with the Kodak K-Zone. Our interactive 'show-within-a-show' brings together leading graphics professionals to exchange ideas and discuss the burning issues in the print industry.

The K-Zone has hosted some very lively discussions at previous events, and is definitely something you won't want to miss – especially at drupa, the spiritual home of print.

At drupa 2012, the day will start with incisive presentations by our customers where they will share their insight on how they're adopting innovative techniques to spur growth and on how Kodak is helping them to develop their daily businesses

The Market Spotlight sessions will brings customers, industry experts and analysts together to discuss the latest trends and innovations.

As ever, the K-Zone has something for everyone and the afternoon product sessions will bring you Kodak experts on these topics:

What Kodak has to offer in Commercial Printing:

Prosper Platform Innovations
Blending offset and digital to improve production efficiency and profit
Times are changing! Are your plates and CTP keeping up?
Cut-sheet Digital Solutions

Kodak's total package offerings:

Efficiency without compromise in flexible packaging
Protecting the brand around the globe
Make your flexo printing impactful and efficient
The folding carton market
Unlock the potential of your prepress system

Kodak's publishing portfolio

High-volume digital book printing
Evolving newspaper models

Later in the afternoon, some of our key partners will also be on stage to share their view on the market. So don't take our word for it, they'll tell you all about it.

Make sure you don't miss out – check the full K-Zone timetable now for presentations and debates regarding your sector.

See you at #drupa for a #kodakdrupa and K-Zone! Come and visit our stand in Hall 5, F09-1!

Live from Emerge 2012 Day 2 (April 17-20): Miami Dolphins' Bob Griese, presentation about top trends in multi-channel communications, and more

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:20:31 EST

We had an amazing day 2 here at Emerge 2012. (Click here to read my kickoff blog about this event.) To see the whole audience of about 1,000 people in one room for the opening keynote was great to see, CGX has done a great job getting their customers and partners here to New Orleans and the audience was anticipating a great day.

Key note speaker Bob Griese (former Miami Dolphins quarterback and TV commentator) got the audience started on the values of experience, communications, teamwork, and how they contributed to his career and success with the only team to go undefeated in an NFL season.

Here's a great story that Bob shared with us. As a rookie, he was staring into the face of Dick Butkus (former Chicago Bears linebacker) as he lined up under the center for his first NFL career snap. He heard a whisper from his fullback, Larry Csonka, "Hey rookie, what's the snap count?" Bob stepped back from center and whispered the count to Larry and then returned to center to take the snap, noticing Butkus was now lined up over the guard…But when Bob called for the snap, Larry Little jumped up in surprise to where Bob had his hands. Unfortunately, Bob mistakenly lined up over the right guard, not the center…offside and a 5 yard penalty…Bob attributed the mishap to nerves, but called it an experience builder. In the future, he would use "a,b,c or red, white, blue" calls as he approached the line of scrimmage to let everyone know that the snap count was "on 1, 2 or 3" so he would not have to remind the team of the snap count…it's all about good communications.

Today at Emerge, I presented to about 110 attendees on the topic of Top Trends in Multi-Channel Communications – with great audience interaction. Some comments were:

"It is great to see Consolidated Graphics working together with Kodak on digital signage, this is something we are considering for our business."

"Usually vendors talk more about the technology than actually how it's used or benchmark data such as you presented today."

Shoot me an e-mail to get a copy of my presentation (rick.mazur@kodak.com)! I'll personally send it to you.

During my talk, fellow Kodaker Joey Rosario was busy with brands like Midas and IHOP and accompanied their CGX sales teams in active discussions during the Business Expo on digital media services.

Within minutes, we started to receive Twitter posts about an activation campaign asking the audience to give their definition of marketing effectiveness, like Katie Phillips of Tensar Corp…. Marketing Effectiveness is spending less marketing dollars in a smart to achieve a higher ROI. We have dozens more that have come in and we still have 2 days to go. (Reminder: Use the Twitter hash tag "#emergeme12" to follow attendees' daily, real-time comments as they define marketing effectiveness in their own words and post your responses too.)

Some other cool happenings of the day:

Katie Kriemelmeyer, President of CGX/Automated Graphics presented the breakthrough capabilities of the Prosper 5000 XL digital web press to CGX customers in an after breakout session. Katie said this is an example of the commitment from CGX to deliver cutting edge technology to produce books, manuals and direct marketing applications in ways to innovate as never before.

Adobe's unveiling their Creative Suite version 6 drew great response, with high interest in their new Cloud membership model.

I also had a video session with CGX, discussing the strength of the Kodak partnership on technology and customer innovation and the positive feedback and engagements on Kodak business restructuring. This content will be shared in the next week.

Catch up again with you tomorrow.

-Rick

Paper is a Sustainable Resource…Print What You Need and Recycle

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:32:00 EST

For Earth Day on our homepage we're featuring an often overlooked side of paper - the side that shows off its renewable and sustainable features- perhaps its best side.

We're making this our Earth Day focus because the entire graphics industry will benefit when paper receives its proper recognition as a truly sustainable resource.

Our sustainability, as well as that of our customers and their customers, is tied directly to the use of print and paper media. As such, we want to partner with our customers and supply chain to ensure that print and paper achieves its full potential. Here are some of the things we're doing:

Participating in the broader conversation about print and paper, and communicating its value and sustainability.
Requiring our paper products contain a minimum level of recycled content or be sourced from forests certified for sustainable management practices.
Setting supplier expectations that exclude pulp from illegally harvested forests and increase transparency regarding the origin of pulp used in our products.

But most importantly are the features we're designing into our products to benefit customers. Print on demand technology that minimizes overproduction, color accuracy and registration controls to produce more sellable prints, compatibility with papers certified under sustainable forestry programs and containing recycled content, and prints that are fully recyclable are just a few of our product contributions.

Products and services with these environmental attributes and more will be shown at drupa 2012 in the Kodak stand (Hall 5, F09-1). If you have any questions about print and paper's environmental story or how KODAK Products can reduce your environmental footprint, stop by. I'll be there and am looking forward to continuing the conversation.

Paper is a renewable, sustainable resource. Feel free to print this if you need it.

Live from Emerge 2012 (April 17-20): Top trends in multi-channel communications & marketing effectiveness – kickoff blog

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:41:38 EST

Hello from Consolidated Graphics' (CGX) Emerge 2012 event in New Orleans! This four-day event is being held by CGX to bring together its more than 1,000 customers and industry experts so that they can share information that is shaping the future of print and marketing communications. My blogs during the next three days are your chance to follow the event and participate even if you didn't get an invite.

Simply use the Twitter hash tag "#emergeme12" to follow attendees' daily, real-time comments as they define marketing effectiveness in their own words and post your responses too. A few of my fellow Kodakers and I will be continuously monitoring the tweets as they happen and using our slick digital signage solution to display them throughout the event location.

If you or your customers are in printing or marketing communications, follow my coverage of the event that I'll post on this blog. Here's a preview of what I'll be sharing with you for the next three days.

Wednesday, April 18 (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CDT)
- CGX on-site interviews about print and marketing communications trends
- Twitter posts about an activation campaign on marketing effectiveness

Thursday, April 19 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CDT)
- Highlight the Encore Awards ceremonyAdditional on-site interviews
- My "top trends in multi-channel communications & marketing effectiveness" presentation

Friday, April 20 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CDT)
- Event wrap up with feedback from CGX's leaders
- Free copy of my marketing effectiveness presentation

Kodak is a gold sponsor for this event, which means that we're recognized as one of CGX's leading partners. You can find us at booth #330.

It will be an exciting 3 days here at Emerge and we will keep in touch on the exciting activities that kickoff tonight. Stay tuned.

-Rick

Dr John Writes: FFTA Forum, The "Flat" Forum!

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:24:22 EST

This blog is co-written with Nick Brunk, Sales Manager for Packaging, providing some balance and kicks in the shins with his Cowboy boots to the good Dr!

San Antonio provided a historic and wonderful location for the FFTA Forum this year, Mark Cisternino and his FFTA team did an outstanding job delivering a great event and supporting industry committees. The information was good; there were clear efforts to liven up the presentations and delivering informative and stronger content.

This was certainly the FFTA forum of the "Flat Top Dot", everywhere you looked there were presentations and comments on the solutions, performance and benefits of the flat top dot solution. There was also talk about new ways to address the limitations of the other flat top dot solutions by mixing and keeping round top dots for the highlights and flat top for the solids and density. This insight and comments shared at the Forum, if nothing else, confirms comments in my previous post, that it is not all about the flat top dots. The gain in density with alternative flat top methods is sacrificing the highlight capabilities, due to imaging constraints of the carbon mask system, that hold the imaging 1:1 from mask to plate, but that means bigger highlights, more imaging error, and variability. This is also seemingly accepting that the limitations in imaging fail to address the pixel for pixel capabilities of Flexcel NX to give highlights and solid density at the same time.

During the Forum, there were also several very interesting topics relating to white ink, and the importance of the right plate technology resulting in huge potential benefits to the printer. The benefits are not just in the white, but density and potentially in lamination too. The white forms the background to all of the tone and process work, any voids or pin holes in the white will cause a weaker and darker color than intended for ink printed on top of it. This effect is in part what results in the weaker and "muddy" colors for traditional flexo. A common solution is to lay down 2 whites to eliminate the pin holing, but this significantly increases ink usage increasing the amount of ink needs more drying that often results in slowing the press. An important consideration, with the impending price increases in white ink going up 6-18% for one of the largest manufacturers on April 1^st. The other area where two hits of white is a negative is when your reverse printing with a window, for fresh produce or the like, where lamination with such a thick white layer makes lamination problematic, resulting in higher waste and/or slower lamination speed, adding costs all around. So selecting the right plate technology to transfer the white ink is critical, and with DigiCap NX you reduce pin holing by wetting the ink out on the plate and breaking up the anilox pattern before transfer to the substrate helps tremendously.

Registration was a key message out of the FOG'D session, where Flexo can now produce daily production quality that was only seen 10 years ago as one off occurrence with the wind blowing in the right direction. Today Flexo can match or do better than gravure, offset, and digital print processes. Flexo has clear advantages for substrate range and adaptable to frequent marketing changes. Both Mark Mazur and Mark Samworth did an excellent job presenting, and highlighting registration as the biggest issue in the FOG'D project samples.

After the more relaxed commercialism of a solution is the one session, I cannot help but wonder, if it is time to allow this in all the sessions, so speakers can say more about what solutions they use and why. If that happens, the programming must allow enough time for the attendees to challenge ideas and comments through presentation follow-up questions- this will for sure keep content, exchange fair and balanced for presenters and attendees.

Although a great event, and pardon the pun, many commented that it had a "flatter" than normal energy, INFO*FLEX was busy but strangely the Forum session seemed better attended than usual and the Expo less. Maybe it is the upcoming Drupa impact, where people plan to visit the full exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany in a few weeks.

Dr. John Writes - Why Do Flat Top Dots Matter

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:07:00 EST

In my previous blog More than Flat Top Dots, I shared what is being said about flat top dots, both perceptions and realities. You may have said to yourself, so what? Why do flat top dots matter?

In the past flexo has been dominated by the use of spot colors and special inks to match colors, and resolutions were limited and effects of variation in imaging are minimized. However, the extra plates, inks, and clean up between runs continued to drive up costs and complexity for prepress, proofing and the printer.

So, when is an imaging error important to Flexo?

In process printing the final colors are built out of a combination of screens of 2 or more colors, instead of single special spot colors. Any variation to this combination build, like a ±1 or 2 % change on plate, is capable of causing a visible change in the final printed color. For example, if there is more red or blue than intended, some sensitive colors may shift unexpectedly. The acceleration of the trend to use more process colors instead of spot colors, whether 4-color, 6-color, or 7-color process, requires consistency and any variation in the spot size in imaging can result in color variation. To make matters worse, the trend for higher LPI continues, where the minimum spot size tends to decrease and sensitivity to variation increases. This is because the average imaging error on a dot made from 2 pixels is much greater than one with 6 or 12 pixels. So, as the flexo industry transitions to more process printing and higher line screens, the consistency in imaging becomes even more important, and is a significant limitation with traditional carbon layer based imaging LAMS flat top solutions.

The Flexcel NX solution provides the only flexo plates with square pixel for square pixel reproduction from digital file to plate, with the flat top dot structure for the greatest predictability and repeatability on press.

The Future of Capture --- Where your Content IS your Life

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:57:00 EST

The future of information capture will go far beyond the traditional Enterprise Content Management (ECM) perspective of scanning paper and importing documents that were born digital.

The future of Capture will span every data stream you touch and the every stream that touches you.

The Future of Capture will encapsulate the latest buzzword of Big Data and will span the Social, Local and Mobile (SoLoMo) worlds we all live in today.

This is the first in a series that will discuss the future of capture. In follow on post I will cover the SoLoMo aspects in more detail. I am also open to collaborating on posts. If you have something to say and want to work on it together. Let me know.

Smile … You're on Candid (Surveillance) Camera

Red Light Cameras
Video Camera in Government Buildings
Video Cameras in Private Buildings

These are just a few of the more obvious Points of Capture. There are numerous less obvious avenues to capture, process and manage the information about you. For the cameras above a few questions come to mind about the data they capture.

Questions like:

Who owns the data these cameras capture?
Who has a right to see this information?
Can this data be posted to social media sites?
Can this information be used against you?
Homework for you … What question do you have?

It's not all fear mongering and big brother. Surveillance cameras can serve community and social good efforts too. They can be used to monitor traffic, alert first responders to the specifics of a developing situation, and with the ever increasing improvements in imaging technology (there's that old line ECM stuff coming up for air) they can be used to identify stolen cars, criminals and other (mis)deeds that may be occurring on public or private cameras.

Adapt, Acquire or Acquiesce

This first post is focused on the traditional old line ECM vendors. These firms have been around for a number of years and have been for the most part able to ride on the long tail of the ECM industry. That's set to change. The firms supplying traditional ECM solutions today will need to either Adapt, Acquire or Acquiesce to the demands of the ever increasing data stream.

If you work for one of these old line firms I hope you are guiding them to be a part of the future trend. It's not all doom and gloom for the old line ECM firms. I have seen some of the companies jumping in and taking a stand. Which I will be writing about a few of them in the next few posts.

My suggestion to you is … If one or more of these these "traditional ECM firms" are suppliers / vendors to your company you should be asking them how they are going to handle the data stream that is coming your way.

Will they be ready to capture, process, manage and archive the Big Data that you will be gathering from disparate sources?

If not, now is a good time to encourage them to Adapt, Acquire or Acquiesce to the The Future of Capture.

Image and Term Credit: John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins

Dr. John Writes - More than Flat Top Dots

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST

Over the last year there has been a constant change in the Flexo industry and movement toward the acceptance of the digital flat top dot. Kodak lead that movement with the introduction of Flexcel NX almost 4 years ago at Drupa 2008, and since that time the industry has followed that lead with various versions of flat top dot solutions.

However, there is a great deal of misinformation in the market. As we look at the claims in the market, there seems to be a great deal of distortion of marketing and messaging. Part of the key differentiation in the Flexcel NX system is its' unique ability to hold the data in the digital file all the way to the plate, square pixel for square pixel. Other solutions claim 1:1 or almost 1:1 imaging, but this relates to the imaged carbon mask on the plate, and not the original digital pixels in the digital file.

Why is this important?

The image on the mask will be significantly different to the digital file, and so an imaging error is inevitable with other digital Flexo imaging systems. Regardless of the imaging resolution or addressability, the round beam of imagers is larger than the square digital pixel to ablate the carbon mask. Unfortunately, the particles used in the carbon mask are difficult to coat with exact precision, so the coating thickness naturally varies. This causes the most significant variation in the imaged spot size in the mask, even with consistent laser power. A thinner carbon mask results in bigger spot size, and thicker carbon mask results in smaller imaged spot size. In a traditional digital flexo exposure the oxygen causes shrinkage and smoothing of the dot. Dot sharpening, minimizes this error and its effect, but with 1:1 imaging mask to plate, this error and variation is retained and causes variation in the print result. The Flexcel NX solution provides square pixel to square pixel reproduction from digital file to plate, with the a flat top dot structure for the greatest predictability and repeatability on press, helping proofing as well as print production.

Social SharePoint --- An Oxymoron?

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:30:59 EST

Social SharePoint is coming to a desktop and a mobile device near you … and soon. Today SharePoint is ubiquitous in the enterprise. With over 125 million SharePoint users and a goal to reach 500 million with the next release of Office (aka Wave 15)

From Jared Spataro's keynote at SharePoint TechCon in San Francisco a few weeks ago

The goal is to get 500 million people to the point where they can "get work done, together"

Jared also said they want to leverage the 1 billion Microsoft Office users. Which makes perfect sense.

Is Social SharePoint an Oxymoron?

This week an article was posted on Forbes with the title of:

FINALLY, Microsoft Embraces Social -- And It's Going to be Big

The article was written by Mark Fidelman and pointed out a few things that I think a lot of people have known for a while. The obvious point is that Microsoft is late to Social. However, there were a few points made by Jared Spataro of Microsoft and by Jeff Willinger of RightPoint andMark Miller of FPweb.net that show the true power and scope of Microsoft. Hint: Partners are the Secret Sauce.

Microsoft is "… helping companies define what a social business is and where it belongs in the world of the information worker."

Jeff Willinger, Director of Social Computing and SharePoint at Rightpoint


"You can't address the social business challenges organizations face today without a bold vision … partners and 3rd party Independent Software Vendors (ISV's) will fulfill that vision."
Mark Miller Director at Fpweb.net SharePoint Community influencer

I was glad to see this. I wrote a post in 2009 asking --- Is Microsoft late to the game?The answer then was yes. However, over the last few years the market has matured and Microsoft has watched and learned. They have taken the long standing Microsoft mantra of Any Place, Any Device and Any Time and have applied some SharePoint salve to it.

As the Forbes article states ... Microsoft is in a prime position to make it happen. The next wave of the Office products ... combined with Windows 8 and the Metro interface could be just what the market needs to Super Size the Social space.

Getting Social is Hard

As the recent blog post from a former Google employee stated. Just because you have the money and the impetus does not guarantee success.

Google was the rich kid who, after having discovered he wasn't invited to the party, built his own party in retaliation.

Now he's at Microsoft … and perhaps working on Social Computing

So, Is Social SharePoint an Oxymoron?

I think the answer is no. However, there is work to do, there are products to ship and there will be (as always) a need for partners to fill in the gaps.

A key point for partners --- Gaps are Opportunities.

Customers have needs that the SharePoint (and Office Wave 15 platform) cannot deliver. Smart partners will identify these gaps and deliver … as always.

From the Forbes article. Jared is channeling Bill Gates from 20+ years ago with the Any Place, Any Device, Any Time mantra.

"Our vision is to extend beyond the desktop and have the environment you work in be intelligent enough to get your job done. We want to give people the right information, at the right time, in the right place and in the right context."

Jared Spataro, Senior Director, SharePoint Product Management Microsoft

Shipping Matters

I think Microsoft is on the right path here and that we will be wowed by both the next release of Microsoft Office and from what partners will come up with. The key points to remember are that Microsoft will deliver a platform that enables customers and partners to extend their businesses in the ways they want to work … Any Place, Any Device, Any Time.

If Microsoft delivers as expected it will put Microsoft right back into the drivers seat. Why? Because as the author of the Forbes article, Mark Fidelman, said … This is something no other company can replicate.

What do you think?

Is Social SharePoint an Oxymoron?
Can Microsoft deliver a Social Platform?
Will Partners want to fill in the gaps?
What Gaps do you see in the Microsoft plans?

Dr. John writes - Alive and Kicking

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 07:30:00 EST

Kodak is here. Yes, we are in Chapter11, but don't write us off! In Packaging and flexo we are here to stay …let me share with you additional insight and updates. Today, Chapter 11 is not uncommon in the United States, recent examples have been seen in major airlines including United, US Airways, and American Airlines. A few years ago, General Motors automotive manufacturer filed for Chapter 11 and now they are back to being the world's #1 car manufacturer again. Chapter 11 filing by Kodak will allow for necessary restructuring and the packaging products group will come out of the process even stronger.

Kodak restructured its' key businesses into two main business units(BU): 1) Commercial and 2) Consumer business, with 3 sub-segments within Commercial BU including packaging within a new group called "Digital and Functional Printing", digital representing high speed inkjet Kodak prosper solutions, along with electro photographic in NexPress, both digital growth businesses. Packaging is now a part of Functional Printing, and there are also significant digital print packaging opportunities> You may ask why functional printing – well packaging functionally protects, transports and communicates the contents it holds for consumers to purchase..

Functional Printing also represents other key growth activities and markets for Kodak, including the production of systems, materials, and components for printed electronics, touch screens, flat panel televisions, sensors, lighting, energy capture, etc., using Kodak's unique capabilities and knowledge in coating, patterning, printing, whether gravure or flexo, this fits perfectly with the core technologies and team in packaging. Visit www.kodak.com/go/coating to learn more about technologies and facilities available in material testing and development.

Flexography really offers interesting and exciting opportunities for packaging and functional printing, with the leading technologies and capabilities to grow in both of these markets, and driving the future capabilities of the process.. This is similar to what we faced with the introduction of Kodak Flexcel NX system for Flexible packaging 3 years ago, where Flexcel NX does things differently to all other solutions in Flexo. A simple example of Flexcel NX optimization is DigiCap NX, which wets out the ink in a unique way on the plate, allowing high densities without needing the higher impression applied when extra ink is applied as cells on the plate that needs to be squashed out by the plate to substrate contact to reduce pin-holing and increase density.

The economical and manufacturing need to print many of the components and circuits, the grid for the next generations of touch screens, food packaging sensors, is a challenge that pushes the demands and expectations for us even further. As these capabilities are developed they will benefit all forms of functional printing, including packaging.

Although a challenging time, Digital and Functional Printing represents strategic growth and investment businesses for Kodak, and packaging as a critical part of the functional printing applications offering unique capabilities and a bright future. For someone like me this is a truly exciting time, crossing over traditional packaging, with the current and future capabilities of functional printing. Stay tuned for future blog entitled "More than Flat Top Dot" and I welcome your ideas and dialog.

drupa 2012 - The elephant in the yellow room

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EST

This is a special guest post from Ed Boogaard author of Ed Boogaard blog

Last week, Kodak previewed its drupa-presence for the international worldwide graphic arts trade press, gathered in Lisbon. Although the new 'Yellow changes everything'-slogan did not go down well with everybody, the technology announcements for the show in May managed to impress the audience. But what about the elephant in the room?

It was Kodak's first major press conference since it filed for Chapter 11 on January 19. As could be expected, Kodak focused on what Chris Payne (Director and VP Marketing) referred to as 'building the future of Kodak' and its ongoing commitment to the print industry.

Indeed, the line-up of new and improved equipment for drupa showed that Kodak has not stopped developing its technology: there will be a Prosper 6000XL, a new Prosper S30 Imprinting System, and a 53" wide Stream inkjet powered Timson T-Press. The NexPress will now be able to print in gold, pearlescent and Neon Pink on its fifth station - the print samples passed around in Lisbon looked very promising. Adding improved plates, CTP, workflow and prepress solutions, Kodak "set the direction of the markets we serve", said Payne: "commercial print, publishing and packaging - for years to come."

The Q&A session at the end of the meeting featured many interesting questions, about growth markets, applications, technical specifications and even the environmental issues (that, by the way, really need further follow up). It was only the next morning - talking to Chris Payne - that I realized that nobody mentioned the Chapter 11 situation. "That surprised me too", said Payne: "I was ready to answer any question about the subject."

"So, tell me", I said.

Payne explained how Chapter 11 really is 'a tool' that helps Kodak to get where it wants to be. "We have to make sure our digital strategy is around for the long the term. Also, we need to protect or IP. And we need to rightsize the company. Meanwhile, the ongoing business is still strong - customers trust Kodak."

Drupa 2012 comes at a perfect moment in time for Kodak, says Payne: "It gives us, three months down the road since January 19, the opportunity to show that we are still consistently on track with the strategy we put in place in 2005. This strategy has not changed over the last seven years - it's more about how you put the strategy in place and adapt it to evolving trends. For instance, the emerging markets have grown much faster than we expected in 2005. On the other hand, tablets and smartphones have had less impact on the industry than we initially thought they would."

Payne does not agree with claims that this is, again, the 'inkjet-drupa': "This time, to me, it is about 'hybrid communication' - as in printing companies offering both offset and digital print, but also paper and multichannel - everything and everyone will be connected. And Kodak wants to be part of that."

And what about the 'Yellow'-slogan? Payne smiles: "50 percent of people like it, the other 50 don't. We knew it would be controversial. We're not afraid of that.

drupa 2012 - Announcing the Kodak Achieve All-in-One CTP Solution - Daring to be different

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:05:00 EST

For the past year I have spent an enormous amount of time evaluating our product position and approach to sales in the emerging markets. Although I have found this time to be very educational, I have also found it to be very disappointing. My disappointment stems from the way that these extremely important and expanding markets have been approached as second class customers by vendors in the plate and CTP space….including Kodak.

In most cases vendors treat these dynamic markets as if they have the same product needs and business drivers as their customers in emerged economies. They really never take the time to really understand their true needs and market pressures. It is my position that when vendors take this approach two things tend to happen.

The product you are trying to sell turns out to be a square peg in a round hole and no one will buy it

The vendor will offer outdated technologies or striped down versions of their premium products in order to meet the demanding cost pressures of these region.

Either way you split it, both of these approaches do an injustice to customers in these markets and only hurt their print quality and operational efficiencies, which ultimately drive their business costs up and force them to be uncompetitive with larger printers in the region which can afford higher end solutions.

The time for these practices, at least at Kodak, has come to an end. It is time for someone to stand up and dare to be different!

In an effort to improve our product portfolio in the emerging markets of the world We will look to use our state of the art technologies and manufacturing expertise to bring targeted, efficient and higher quality products with greater value, that enable customers in these markets have access to solutions with exceptional performance at an affordable price.

While some printers in these markets clearly still focus on the cheapest possible solution regardless of features, function or performance, there is a growing demand from many printers that are looking for solutions that provide higher levels of efficiency and performance while driving a more sustainable outlook. As printers in emerging markets face rising costs, such as labor, utilities, environmental compliance and more, they look to us to deliver a CTP solution that not only has an effective price, but improves their business as well.

Just this week, we have taken our first step toward this new emerging markets strategy with the announcement of the Kodak Achieve All-in-One CTP Solution.

This solution is tailored specifically for the needs of small to mid size printers in the emerging markets and provides an unique and focused solution that enables our customers to differentiate their business - making them more competitive, lowering their operating costs, and helping them meet their growth expectations, profitability targets and ultimately their business goals.

Let us hear what you think of the new Achieve solution and our new approach to the emerging markets of the world.

Kodak will paint drupa yellow - what we announced yesterday for drupa 2012

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:10:00 EST

The Kodak pre-drupa press conference had an excellent kick-off, unveiling no less than 10 new digital solutions and more than 30 industry partners at drupa.

Which ones, you say? Well, here's a review:

New 1000 fpm KODAK PROSPER 6000XL Press a four color press that delivers monthly print volumes of up to 160 million A4 pages. Commercial print, direct mail, and publishing customers benefit from the industry's fastest digital throughput on a proven inkjet printing platform.

New 3000 fpm KODAK PROSPER S30 Imprinting System boasts the highest speed in the industry for hybrid printing applications. The device enables web offset printers to increase profit by offering more digital printing applications.

KODAK Stream Inkjet Technology powers the new TIMSONS T-Press developed as part of Kodak's inkjet Technology Partnership program, the TIMSONS T-Press delivers outstanding productivity, functionality, and cost-effectiveness for fully digital book printing, improving business models for book printers and publishers.

New Paper Rating Program and Optional Image Optimizer Station giving printers freedom to print inkjet on any substrate. Customers can choose Kodak's pre-qualified papers or treat any off-the-shelf paper for more flexible application options

New KODAK Intelligent Prepress Manager 2.0 is the next generation of connected proactive services that enable printers to harness more productivity and achieve peak quality and efficiency from their prepress systems. The new mobile app gives customers the flexibility to manage their prepress systems anytime, anywhere from their smart phone or other mobile device.

New Gold , Pearlescent and Neon Pink Printing Effects will be shown using Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions on the KODAK NEXPRESS Press, and new enhancements to the NEXPRESS SX Platform include inline UV coating and long delivery unit.

KODAK FLEXCEL Direct System introduces innovative, energy efficient high power direct laser engraving for flexographic sleeve production. With imager and consumables uniquely designed to work as an optimized solution, the advancement enables more affordable production of high quality in-the-round sleeves for package printing and drives an increase in print quality, greater consistency, and faster press set up times.

New suite of workflow production tools, including KODAK PRINERGY 6 Software, KODAK InSite Prepress Portal Software and iPad application, and new versions of KODAK COLORFLOW Software and KODAK PREPS Imposition Software increase profitability by automating production processes in digital and hybrid print environments.

New KODAK ACHIEVE All-in-One CTP System makes it easy for printers in emerging markets to affordably transition to CTP with Kodak's state-of-the-art thermal imaging and plate technologies.

New KODAK SONORA XP Process Free Plates provide mainstream quality and print capability without a processor or chemistry, offering streamlined platemaking. Removal of operational costs and a reduced environmental footprint.

And there you have it – all the innovative solutions we'll be showing at the drupa booth (Hall 5, F09-1).

What are your thoughts? Are you going to drupa?

drupa 2012 - Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover - Announcing the Paper Rating Program for Prosper Press

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:03:00 EST

I don't know who first used this phrase, but it sure makes sense when printers try to judge papers for their customers. If paper were really a commodity product, it could be substituted by any manufacturer's product without a difference being noticed in the final print. For printers we know this is not true, but how often do we think of paper as a commodity and buy only on price?

Production inkjet printing includes thermal, piezo, and continuous printheads using dye or pigment inks, thus making paper selection a series of trial and error. Judging a paper's expected performance can be unreliable at best. What may give a good result for one client or application, may be unacceptable for another. Knowing how to compare papers and establish specifications with customers creates common understanding and language. Specifications go a long way to eliminate potential re-prints or costly mistakes.

This is why we have been comparing papers for inkjet printing for over 40 years. We pioneered many of the most successful production inkjet printing papers on the market today by partnering with mills worldwide. Our early customers had access to our paper scientists and used our data to help them make decisions on price and quality.

We continue with this support today and are raising the bar for paper comparison metrics. We know you can't make a quality decision based simply on a licensed logo campaign. What printers need is a resource that compares papers for specific image quality metrics. Knowing what parameters are important for you and each customer helps make better choices for price and quality based on facts. In our tradition of rating papers, we are announcing the Paper Rating Program for Prosper Press customers. This program is based on Intelligent Imaging and Surface Science. And in the hands of our Prosper Press owners, makes them smarter, more productive and provides competitive advantage.

Don't judge a book by its cover? Maybe it's don't judge the page without some data.

Have questions? Leave a comment here.

drupa 2012 - Announcing the Sonora XP Plate - Breaking Free of the 100,000 Impressions Mark

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:00:00 EST

Today in Lisbon Portugal, we are excited to announce our latest plate technology as part of the drupa 2012 preview. The new solution announced was Kodak's long awaited next generation Process Free Technology. Sonora XP Process Free Plates follow the success of Kodak Thermal Direct Plates that reached over 1,500 customers worldwide last month.

With any next generation technology you expect big moves in capabilities, larger cost savings and further reductions to a printer's environmental impact. Kodak Thermal Direct Non Process Plates already delivered one of the strongest solutions in reducing operational prepress costs by removing chemistry and processing all together. The additional costs that can be removed from platemaking is

energy
water
waste
man hours needed from maintaining, rebatching, and cleaning the processor.

In addition to the cost savings, the removal of these variables also offer a more sustainable solution for printers to increase the environmental credentials. But printers are asking for more…

Kodak Sonora XP Process Free Plates also offer mainstream quality, enhance productivity and differentiated print capability compared to other plates in the same class. With screening capabilities that rival any mainstream plate (1-99% @ 200 lpi) and FM capability (20-micron Stochastic) capability combined with fast imaging capabilities (150 mJ/cm2) on Kodak SQUARESpot devices, Kodak Sonora XP Plates can satisfy about 95% of the prepress requirements in offset printing today.

But what about print capability?

Versioning, customization and overall inventory risk are driving down run lengths which benefit the run length capability typically with the class of plates that Thermal Direct Plates have been grouped into. However, with Kodak Sonora XP Process Free Plates, the 100K barrier has just been broken with 200,000 impression capability on heatset and commercial cold set web presses. They are also rated for 50,000 impressions in offset packaging and even 10,000 impressions in UV applications. These capabilities combined with 0.40 mm gauge and in VLF sizes including Kodak Automatic Pallet Loader configurations show the robustness of Kodak's Process Free Plates over the competition.

If you have looked at "process free" technology in the past and felt it was not for you I would suggest you look again as the New Sonora XP Process Free plate.

I challenge you to try the our new Sonora XP Process Free plate as the only thing you have to lose is your chemistry and processor.

Oh and once you do, we would love to hear about your experience.

drupa 2012 - Digital Your Way

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:30:00 EST

As many of you know, Drupa is the largest printing exhibition in the world held every four years in Dusseldorf, Germany. We have been preparing for Drupa for the last year, specifically to deliver "digital your way" to help our customers deliver specifically what their clients need. We have been focusing on the problems our customers need to solve and how Kodak digital print solutions can help them. At drupa 2012, we will unveil new digital solutions to enable printers to offer new applications, improve efficiencies and grow their business.

If you are going to Drupa, visit our stand to experience how Kodak is focusing on our customers and the markets they serve – commercial print, publishing and packaging. Only at drupa can you hear the "roar" in the Messe from the sounds of running equipment to the excitement of the attendees.

Being there in person provides me the opportunity to have conversations with our customers from "what's new" to how Kodak solutions can help grow their businesses. Most importantly it is an opportunity for our customers to see how Kodak can make your business a success by giving you digital your way.

Learn more about Kodak at Drupa
Follow us on twitter at @KodakIDigPrint

Got new customers? Having trouble with opening new accounts?

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:52:51 EST

Perhaps it came in the form of a negative blog post, customer service complaint or a flaming email to the president of your company. You've received a clear message that some portion of your new customers aren't satisfied with the accuracy, speed or complexity associated with your new customer account enrollment process.

Let's face it, processes can be boring and technical. But when they come to the attention of your management or your customers are in revolt--- then it's well beyond the time to act.

From a customer perspective, opening up a new account can be a refreshingly pleasant experience or a painstakingly frustrating one. No one likes to fill out forms, particularly if you're required to answer redundant questions. The customer may even already do business with another part or your company---so they righty wonder, why do I have to fill out the same stuff you already know about me?

The diagram below is a simple representation of a typical new accounts process within a bank

If your new accounts process is manual or operates across multiple systems or internal silos, you may not have visibility as to new account status nor progress until the cycle is complete. Errors and the inability to respond to a new account status may result in a lost customer. If a recent marketing promotion has generated a peak load of inbound applications, can your organization handle the increased volumes?

It doesn't need to be this way. The Kodak Services for Business organization can help. We have a network of service professionals in 120+ countries, that provide technical, professional, consulting and managed services to enable customers to better focus on their business. We help both business and government organizations integrate information and optimize workflows to reduce cycle times, drive out costs and accelerate time to market.

Consider what an automated, streamlined new customer accounts process could look like.

Now, imagine a continuing stream of new, happy customers!

Office 365 and Kodak … Yes we can

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:31:32 EST

In case you have been wondering. Kodak scanners and software can work with Microsoft Office 365 today.

Kodak and our partners SkyLite Systems and Novacopy have developed solutions to allow Microsoft Office 365 to control a scanner and to capture (that's a fancy work for scanning) paper documents and to extract information (metadata) from the documents. The images and the metadata can be placed directly into an Office 365 environment.

You might be thinking …

What can Office 365 do with paper?

Well, contrary to popular option … Paper is not going away.

Companies that can efficiently manage their paper and electronic content will be able to streamline their operations and be able to focus on their customers. Kodak and our partners are helping companies to use Microsoft Office 365 which allows them to improve their cost efficiency and enables them to leverage a cloud based distributed environment.

Of course, Kodak will continue to innovate and add new capabilities to our scanners and software. Kodak will also continue to work with partners to create solutions that customers are asking for. A consistent request has been the ability to integrate with Microsoft Office 365. Today we are announcing what we have created with two partners – NovaCopy and SkyLite Systems.

Want to see it in action?
We will be showing the Office 365 integration at the SharePoint TechCon event next week in San Francisco. Come by the booth. Kodak is a Platinum Sponsor.

Partners Make it Happen

Kodak and partners have a long history of working together to help customers manage their paper based assets. Going forward Kodak and partners will continue to help companies not only manage their paper based assets but to include content that has been born digitally. The traditional worlds of analog content and digital content are merging in a big way. Kodak and our partners will be here to help pave the way.

Kodak has been scanning documents for over 90 years with Microfilm and Microfiche operations. For the past 25 years Kodak has built award winning production document scanners. Over the past few years Kodak has released desktop and workgroup scanners to provide the same high level image quality for lower volume needs.

Kodak has worked with partners over all these years to help insure the images and metadata are captured quickly and efficiently across almost every business segment around the globe. So, much so that over 700 Billion pages have been scanned on Kodak scanners since 1990.

Our partners SkyLite Systems and Novacopy have developed solutions that combine the analog world of paper with the digital world of Microsoft Office 365. The easiest way to describe what they have developed is that they have enabled Microsoft Office 365 to control a scanner. Which produces a scanned image that can be associated with metadata in either a manual or automated fashion and then transferred to the Microsoft Office 365 environment.

Some of the advantages of using Kodak scanners and Kodak software are that the documents can be combination of single sided or dual sided, color or black & white and may include bar codes and content for Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Kodak scanners also have the ability to do One Touch Scanning with Smart Touch.

What about Offline?
Another option is to continue using Microsoft Outlook and use the SharePoint Online capabilities within Office 365. Skylite Systems has developed their solution to allow data to be stored in the Microsoft Office 365 cloud based environment and to use Microsoft Outlook as an offline client. Contact the Skylite Systems team for a demo and details.

Easy to Setup, Easy to Use, Easy to Deploy

Very much like the Office 365 mantra … Kodak and our partners have made it very easy to get started. Let us show you how easy it is. Contact information is listed below for NovaCopy, Skylite and Kodak. Let's get started today.

NovaCopy - Carl Pottkotter, carl.pottkotter@novacopy.com
SkyLite Systems – Dave Chennault, davec@skylitesystems.com
Kodak – Jeff Shuey, jeffrey.shuey@kodak.com

Image Credits: Microsoft Corporation

Scanning is as easy as 1-2-3

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:12:45 EST

We've made it very easy to get started with scanning. Kodak has a complete line of scanners for every business need.

From Ad Hoc Scanning needs where you only need to scan a purchase order, invoice or even a photograph once in a while.

To Work Group Scanning where higher volumes and more predictable workloads are processed on a regular basis.

And to Production Scanning where high volumes of documents are processed - typically with advanced image processing and workflow needs that span locations.

Kodak has built a global business around helping companies capture paper based information and to cleaning up the images for classification and extraction. However, Scanning is only the first step. We work with partners to complete the Enterprise Content Management cycle. Below are three steps to getting started. Your mileage may vary, but please keep in mind Kodak is here to help you with your scanning and ECM needs.

Step 1 – Start Scanning

Kodak has made it easy to get started by offering a FREE Scanner. Details are here. If you have specific needs for scanning documents, perhaps in remote locations or with specialized paper handling needs, Kodak and our partners are here to help.

Step 2 - Kodak and Partners are The Secret Sauce

The Enterprise Content Management market is comprised of a lot of vendors and platforms. All are vying to capture, manage, process and store documents and information – whether it is born on paper or born digital.

Kodak has been scanning paper documents for over 90 years in the microfilm and microfiche space and for more than 25 years in the document imaging market. Kodak KNOWS how to capture a paper document. Kodak KNOWS how to clean up a document using our Perfect Page technology. Kodak and our partners KNOW how to Classify and Extract information from these documents and put it into your Document Management systems.

Note I said Systems … as a plural noun … Kodak has been scanning documents for over 25 years. The hot platform of the day is Microsoft SharePoint. Kodak absolutely supports Microsoft SharePoint and Kodak has created specific offerings for the SharePoint platform. However, there are a lot of other vendors and platforms out there. Kodak has the ability to output information to over 50 backend document management (ECM) systems. If you need to know if your system is supported contact your local Kodak reseller or your local Kodak rep.

Scanning to Office 365 – Coming to a Desktop Near You

Kodak has worked with several partners to create Microsoft Office 365 connectivity. Look for the next Grow Your Biz post to discuss this in detail. To see it live come to the Kodak booth at the SharePoint TechCon event in San Francisco. Kodak is a Platinum Sponsor and will be showing ad hoc, workgroup and production scanning into SharePoint and Office 365.

Step 3 – Share Your Story

We are always interested in hearing about your successes. Of course, we are available before you get started to make sure you have the right Kodak Scanners and Software to meet your needs. We also work with a global network of partners that have expertise across vertical and horizontal solution areas. We would be happy to work with you to understand your needs and to help you Share Your Story.

Questions?

If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly. I'd be happy to work with you and to put you in touch with your local Kodak team. My contact info is: Jeffrey.Shuey@Kodak.com
M: +1 425 922 8056 Skype: jshuey

We look forward to working with you and to seeing how Kodak can help you build incredible SharePoint solutions and to working with you to insure any other backend ECM / DM solutions can work with Kodak products.