If Kodak Goes Bankrupt, What Happens Next?

Last week’s Wall Street Journal article contends that Kodak is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Kodak would not comment on what it considers rumors, and that’s fair given that the Journal’s story was based on unnamed sources, but last fall under similar circumstances Kodak put out a press release denying any intention to declare bankruptcy. This time around the rumors are looking like a distinct possibility.

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Fenske Media: “Information is the Currency of the 21st Century”

I had a chance to visit Fenske Media again last week as part of an analyst briefing sponsored by Kodak. This was my second visit to Fenske Media this year (see my blog on my previous visit) but even so there were plenty of new things to see. They run a fantastic operation and it was fascinating to see it again to explore what had changed since my last visit.

Fenske Media is a major Kodak customer, with color products from three Kodak platforms: NexPress, Versamark VL, and Prosper. Their color Prosper 5000XL is the newest arrival of the three, though it has already been there a year so they have had plenty of experience using it.

The Fenske brothers next to their Kodak Prosper 5000XL

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Production Digital Print Samples: A Fall 2011 Update

In this video blog I talk about HP and Kodak print samples that I received this fall after Label Expo and Graph Expo. This is a follow-up to the video blogs I did after Graph Expo 2011.

I hope you enjoy this video. If you have comments or questions, please let me know. If you have innovative samples you’d like me to see, please send them to: Jim Hamilton, InfoTrends, 97 Libbey Industrial Parkway, Suite 300, Weymouth, MA, 02189

Collins Ink Terminates Agreement with Kodak Versamark

In an announcement that it posted on its web site on Tuesday, Collins Ink stated that it was ending its agreement to provide inkjet ink to Kodak Versamark printers. It said that its customers would be able to purchase Collins-branded inks directly from Collins at prices that it noted would be lower than Kodak’s.

In response to the Collins announcement Kodak released the following statement, which was published nearly in its entirety in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle:

“Collins Ink abruptly and without justification breached its contract to supply inks for Kodak Versamark digital printing systems. This shows a tremendous disregard for our customers’ needs. Ensuring a continuous supply of matched, high-quality inks with inkjet printheads for our Versamark customers is of utmost importance to Kodak, and we are committed to delivering an uninterrupted flow of ink.”

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Graph Expo 2011: Another Inkjet Show

Inkjet developments continue to dominate graphic arts trade shows. Graph Expo, starting this Sunday in Chicago, is no exception. Here’s a quick look at some of the inkjet developments I expect to see at the show. Read more »

Gilson Graphics to Get First Fujifilm J Press 720 in the United States

At a press event for a dozen trade journalists and industry analysts in Chicago this week, Fujifilm showed off the J Press 720 and announced that Gilson Graphics in Grand Rapids, Michigan would be receiving the first one in the United States this fall.

About the J Press 720

The J Press 720 is a B2 format production color inkjet printer that was first unveiled at drupa 2008. The J Press 720’s road to market included stops last year at IPEX and Graph Expo, with one arriving at Fujifilm’s U.S. demo center in mid-May. Gilson Graphics will receive its J Press 720 this fall, probably in October. By that point there will be three beta sites in Japan.

Fujifilm J Press 720

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Glossy Paper Makes All the Difference: The Kodak Prosper 5000XL at Fenske Media

Last week I traveled to Rapid City, South Dakota to visit Fenske Media, a data-driven solutions provider that installed a Kodak Prosper 5000XL last December. Fenske Media is using the Prosper 5000XL for a range of full color mail applications on glossy paper. Glossy paper is the key to expanding high-speed inkjet printing into new applications at offset quality levels. As Dave Fenske, Partner at Fenske Media, concisely puts it “Printing is entertainment, and entertainment equals shine.”

Fenske Media, Rapid City, South Dakota

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Inkjet and Books: Kodak Prosper Technology at OPM Arvato

Last week about fifteen industry analysts and members of the press went to Laflin, Pennsylvania at Kodak’s invitation to see Prosper technology in action at a Bertelsmann Arvato company called OPM (Offset Paperback Manufacturers). Since early this year OPM Arvato has had a Prosper 1000 that it has been using for monochrome book printing. In August it added the color version of Prosper, the 5000XL. This is the first installation of Kodak’s Prosper 5000XL. Also of note is the fact that the 5000XL is configured with a Muller Martini Sigma line finisher that can also take sheets from offline sources.

Kodak Prosper 5000XL at OPM Arvato

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Kodak to Announce NexPress SX Platform with Larger Format Size at Graph Expo

Not much more than a year after announcing its NexPress SE platform, Kodak revealed to a group of journalists and analysts today that it was bringing the next NexPress product generation to market. Most notable in the new SX platform is its optional ability to handle a sheet up to 26 inches long with a long-sheet feeder or the Lasermax Roll Systems roll-fed unit. Kodak will show the NexPress SX at Graph Expo (October 3-6 in Chicago). It will become available in the second quarter of 2011. Existing SE customers will be able to upgrade to SX at that time.

Key implications of the larger format size are that it allows applications like a six-page A4/letter format brochure, sizeable book dust jackets, and posters that fit within the 14 inch by 26 inch format. (Note: The maximum format size of the current SE platform is 14 inches by 20.5 inches.) Read more »

Kodak Will Show the 5000XL at Graph Expo (and Other Prosper News)

I found out this week that Kodak has decided to bring the Prosper 5000XL to Graph Expo (October 3-6, Chicago). This will mirror what Kodak did at IPEX and will represent the first showing of the device in North America. It’s good news and for those who haven’t committed to attending, it provides another reason to come to the show. There’s more about Prosper in the news as well. You should have a look at Eric Owen’s blog in Output Links for some insight on Prosper, but here’s a quick take on the recent developments:

• There are now two Prosper system installations — Kodak customers Offset Paperback Manufacturers (Laflin, Pennsylvania) and SAGIM (a French print service provider using the system for books) represent the first two installed beta sites of Prosper standalone systems (other companies have Prosper S10 Imprinting Systems running in conjunction with traditional printing presses). Both have the Prosper 1000 (the monochrome version of Prosper). Kodak reports that Offset Paperback Manufacturers (OPM) will be the first site to get the process color Prosper 5000XL and that the device is being installed now. Kodak said that in the past month OPM has been produced salable books at a volume of up to 1.7 million book pages (approximately 3,850 books) per day on its Prosper 1000.
• The first Prosper 1000 placement in Australasia — SOS Print and Media Group in Sydney, Australia will be installing a Prosper 1000 for book printing in November. This is the first Prosper 1000/5000XL announcement in Australasia (there have been S5/S10 Imprinting System announcements, for example, in China). SOS says that it will consider upgrading the device to the full-color 5000XL version. Read more »