Kodak has announced the first customer for the Prosper 7000 Turbo, its high speed-web inkjet press, in the form of Mercury Print Productions of Rochester, New York, USA, which has chosen the press ‘to significantly expand its high-volume digital printing capacity’.

Mercury has been a user of Kodak’s Prosper inkjet printing technology since 2011, producing up to 10 million pages per day. The firm will use the new 7000 Turbo Press for wide range of print jobs, including educational, trade and children’s books, personalised direct mail, marketing collateral and transactional documents, as well as short- to medium-run packaging requiring variable print.

John Place, CEO of Mercury Print Productions, commented, ‘Our primary goal with this investment is to enhance our production capabilities, improve efficiency and offer our customers a broader range of printing options. We aim to provide faster turnaround times, greater substrate flexibility and capabilities, and consistent print quality across various substrates. We needed another press as we have experienced a significant increase in demand for digitally-printed products as our customers continue to look for solutions that offer offset quality while allowing for the flexibility that inkjet provides. It enables our customers to order what they need, when they need it.’

Christian Schamberger, president, explained Mercury’s renewed decision in favour of Kodak: ‘The Prosper 7000 Turbo Press stood out for its exceptional speed, high-resolution capabilities and versatile substrate compatibility. It aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing our customers with the best possible print quality and options. What’s more, Kodak’s commitment to continuous improvement and investment in inkjet technology aligns with our long-term growth strategy.’

Capable of 410m/min in ‘Turbo mode (600 x 450dpi), equivalent to 5523 US Letter pages per minute, the Prosper 7000 Turbo will increase Mercury’s inkjet capacity by approximately 40-50%.

‘We thank our long-standing customer Mercury Print Productions for their continued confidence in Kodak’s technology and our commitment to innovation. With this latest investment, Mercury takes a major leap forward in digital capacity, production versatility and business opportunities,’ said Jim Continenza, executive chairman and CEO, Kodak. ‘The Prosper 7000 Turbo Press, with its unmatched speed and incredible application range, enables users in wide areas of the commercial and publishing printing markets to print a wide variety of jobs more productively and profitably than ever before.’