Kodak expects to have “OEMs in most vertical markets, including wide-format” for its new Ultrastream inkjet technology by the end of Drupa according to Philip Cullimore, president, enterprise inkjet systems division and senior VP Eastman Kodak, speaking at the pre-show conference earlier this week.
Built on Kodak’s continuous inkjet Stream technology, the Ultrastream Writing System - which will be introduced at Drupa - includes a modular printhead that can be implemented in varying widths from 8in - 97in to suit specific applications. It is expected to “open opportunities for us in markets where we don’t already have a presence, like POS,” said Cullimore.
At Drupa 2016 visitors will be able to see Ultrastream in an 8in configuration on a narrow-web press for labelling and small format printing, to showcase its print quality capability. It can operate at 600 x 1800dpi at speeds of up to 150m/min on a variety of paper and plastic substrates. But, it will also be available in a scanning head configuration to enable wide-format printing with multiple heads on a moving carriage.
It has been developed with Kodak’s micro-milled nano-particulate aqueous inks in mind.
“With availability to start integration beginning in 2017, we look forward to discussions with OEM partners to plan new products built with this technology, and with printers to understand the first applications that they would like to see us address,” said Cullimore. While not ruling out the possibility of Kodak in time producing its own wide-format printer incorporating the printhead technology, he stressed that “we see it as an OEM product.”