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MANY INKJET presses offer the versatility of printing on inkjet-optimized coated and uncoated media. printing applications. Competitor HP also offers Print Module Solutions that provide an economical, module-based system for web offset printers to add color images, graphics, and variable data to pre-printed pages. These can print up to 800 fpm and include complete workflow solutions for integration with existing equipment. A stitching feature extends the printing area for additional flexibility and scalability. Kyocera is the other leading manufacturer of inkjet imprinting heads, according to I.T. Strategies. Astounding Potential The so-called turnkey inkjet production systems market is some three times larger than imprinting's $200 million, and it is expected to nearly double to $1.2 billion within three more years. According to Maruggi, HP's T series of presses now "has an installed base of more than 80 units and more than 24 billion pages printed to date. Every month, this number is growing in excess of 1.3 billion pages," he says. Meanwhile, customers used Kodak's latest Stream inkjet technology to print some 10 billion pages in 2012, an uptick of nearly 50 percent over 2011, reports Mansfield, who is based in the firm's Dayton, OH, location—the former home of Scitex Digital, which Kodak sold in mid-1993 and reacquired in 2004. "Four years ago, uncoated media and 'pleasing color' were the norm" in the production inkjet space, Mansfield recalls. (See separate article, "Coated Paper Chase," on page 19.) Notably, a fourth color Kodak Prosper 5000XL press was installed last year at Toppan Forms, after a trio was added the year prior, as part of the firm's personalized solution for the educational publishing market in Japan. Kodak's 5000XL inkjet web press brings offset-class output approaching 175 lines per inch with roll-fed speeds of up to 650 fpm. It features a monthly duty cycle of up to 90 million A4 pages and is able to handle both uncoated and coated papers, including glossy, with basis weights ranging from 45 gsm to 300 gsm (30-pound to 200-pound). This combination of speed and quality makes the Prosper one of the most productive inkjet web presses on the market for eight-, 12- and 16-page signatures, Kodak says. Yet when comparing the Kodak press to that of HP, its primary competitor, the two OEM technologies could not be more different. (See box.) FUJIFILM Digital Inkjet J Press 720 The J Press 720 from Fujiflm establishes an entirely new product category: the high-quality, sheetfed inkjet press. It brings together Fujiflm's knowledge, expertise, and R&D; eforts to give printers the quality, versatility, productivity, and efciency they demand. The J Press 720 ofers a half-size solution for print runs of just one or thousands, where traditional ofset and digital printing are failing to perform, and provides a superior solution for the fastest growing segment of the market where the majority of print jobs reside and where the opportunities will be in the future. With a 29.5x 20.8-inch sheet and an output of 2,700 sheets per hour, the J Press 720 is the perfect solution for printers in need of a product that has the quality and robustness of an ofset press as well as the versatility to handle even the shortest of press runs. MyPRINTResource. com/10167053 14 AUGUST 2013 • INKJET'S AGE www.MyPRINTResource.com