'Speed Without Compromise' Starts at 300 sf/hr at 600 dpi, Plus DYNAMIC CONTONE

ROCHESTER, N.Y., August 28 - Kodak Professional is setting a whole new standard for combined print speed and image quality with its introduction of a new wide-format inkjet printer for high-production and professional service provider environments. The Kodak Professional 5260 Inkjet Printer debuts today at a company-sponsored event in Singapore - kicking off a worldwide introductory tour that leads to product availability in the fourth quarter of the year.

The 5260 printer is the first in a new line of high-speed, wide-format inkjet printers from Kodak Professional that employs piezo inkjet print head technology, six colors and DYNAMIC CONTONE printing - the ability to deliver five distinct drop sizes over an extended range (8pl to 67pl) on an individual pixel-by-pixel basis. The result is a unique combination of image quality and productivity unmatched by any wide-format inkjet printer available today - quality output at up to 500 square feet per hour at 300 dpi with an "apparent resolution" three to four times higher.

The 5260 printer is just the latest addition to Kodak Professional's extensive family of wide-format inkjet printers, inks, media and related components that deliver world-class, wide-format output solutions. The new printer and future members of the new line specifically address the demand for blazing speed and exceptional image quality in the high-production and professional service provider segments.

"Speed Without Compromise"

"Before we started designing these breakthrough printers, we did extensive research into how our customers were using wide-format technology, particularly in high-production environments, to determine what they wanted from a system," said Yves Millette, General Manager and Vice-President, Inkjet Printing Systems, Kodak Professional. "We found that a large portion of the marketplace faced that all-too-common tradeoff between production speed and output quality."

"With ever-decreasing lead times and increased demands for productivity, the 5260 printer is designed specifically to solve those dual challenges and allow customers to successfully compete for jobs where there is a need for both high production speed and high image quality," Millette said. "With the 5260, Kodak is delivering speed without compromise - enabling customers to take jobs they might have turned away previously, thereby driving growth and delivering access to new market opportunities."

Kodak Professional has leveraged its core imaging research and technology resources to develop its new printer in conjunction with Kodak Professional inks and media. Each printing system component has been "co-optimized" to deliver best-in-class performance and establish a new industry benchmark for productivity and saleable image quality. The 5260 printer has been designed to handle a wide range of wide-format inkjet applications and customer requests.

The 5260 printer supports both dye and pigment based inks for added flexibility, and accommodates a wide range of media - including paper, film, vinyl and canvas - for indoor and outdoor applications. The printer accepts up to 62-inch-wide media, and standard roll lengths are managed easily by a precise automated feed and take-up system.

DYNAMIC CONTONE Printing

The 5260 printer employs DYNAMIC CONTONE printing-a process that regulates and varies ink drop sizes - to help achieve its speed and image quality. In the DYNAMIC CONTONE mode, the 5260 printer uses five drop sizes to output up to 500 square feet per hour with amazing image quality. It also can produce high-quality 600x600 and 1200x600 dpi images using up to three drop sizes.

"The benefit of DYNAMIC CONTONE is very clear - the user can create high-quality images in a fraction of the time," said Kenneth Stack, PhD., Director, Inkjet Printing Systems, Kodak Professional. "Using higher print resolutions, or dpi, is only one approach to achieving image quality improvements, and it has significant drawbacks. Aside from the inherent speed penalty, it also requires longer image processing, or RIP, times."

"For example, it takes about 10 times longer to process a 1440x720 dpi file than a 300x300 dpi file, which increases your overall cycle time," Stack said. "But by automatically optimizing the size of every drop, our 5260 printer achieves its brilliant image quality levels in a much more efficient manner than printers that are capable of only a single drop size."

Side-by-side comparisons of DYNAMIC CONTONE images and those printed at much higher traditional dpi resolutions are virtually impossible to discern from one another. Applications in which DYNAMIC CONTONE technology is employed will see productivity speeds approaching 500 square feet per hour.

A Kodak Total Solution

Advanced Kodak image science optimizes the performance of both the RIP and printer, and enables the DYNAMIC CONTONE printing capability. The printer will be supported by a select group of today's leading production caliber RIP software packages, including Onyx PosterShop, and comes with Kodak Easy Print 5000 Software for printing right out-of-the-box. In addition, data transfer is designed for high-speed, high-resolution applications via IEEE 1394 or SCSI 3 connections.

In order to address the challenge of high print speeds with photographic quality, Kodak has developed new Kodak Professional Instant-Dry photographic media - optimized for use with the 5260 printer. This new product combines the high image quality afforded by photo-grade media with the ink absorbency of other media types.

Kodak Professional Instant-Dry photographic media is available in both satin and gloss finishes. When used with the 5260 printer and its dye-based inks, print life - in terms of light stability and ambient fade - is superior to leading piezo competitors. This Kodak ink/media combination delivers outstanding color gamut that remains consistent even when laminated.

Along with Kodak image science, Kodak Professional's new printers, inks and media represent a co-optimized solution that delivers high image quality, significant productivity gains and a competitive advantage for high-production fabricators - all at a competitive price.

Infoimaging and Large-Format Display

Kodak's most recent contributions to the fast-growth, wide-format display segment are yet another example of the company's involvement in and influence on infoimaging - the $225 billion industry created by the convergence of images and information technology to create new products and services that were never before possible. Infoimaging describes the marketplace for images, enabled by technology, to improve communication and commerce and help to create significant new revenue and market opportunities for large and small businesses.

Availability and Pricing

The Kodak Professional 5260 Inkjet Printer has a suggested U.S. list price of $29,995. It will be available in the Far East in October, Europe in November, the United States and Canada in December, and the rest of the world early in 2002. The printer will be sold directly by Kodak Professional or through authorized dealers of Kodak Professional wide-format inkjet products. It will be on display at several upcoming Kodak Professional-sponsored events worldwide, and at the Seybold Conference in San Francisco on Sept 25-27.

For more information about the Kodak Professional 5260 Inkjet Printer and Kodak Professional wide-format inkjet solutions, customers may call: 1-800-235-6325, or visit Kodak Professional online at: www.kodak.com/go/5260 or www.kodak.com/go/lfinkjet.

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Editor's Note: For information about Kodak Professional, customers may call: 1-800-235-6325, or visit Kodak Professional online at: www.kodak.com/go/professonal.

(Kodak, Kodak Professional, Onyx and PosterShop are trademarks.)