Mercury Print Productions, already the largest user of Kodak’s Prosper inkjet presses, has completed the commissioning of the first Prosper 7000 Turbo, the fastest iteration of the continuous inkjet technology to date.
The press was due for delivery over the summer and the installation “went really well” says Mercury CEO John Place. The new press replaces an older Prosper 5000 but still represents a significant increase in capacity because of the overall speed combined with increased up time on the new press. “We needed the additional capacity,” says Place. “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.”
This includes printing on coated papers which Mercury has not been doing before. “That gives us more to sell,” he says. There is an absolute match across the fleet of Prospers as well as close match to sheetfed offset and a Lithoman heatset web press installed just three years ago.
The company will use the new machine across educational, trade and children’s books, marketing collateral including catalogues, direct mail, transactional documents and a limited volume of personalised packaging. The company had invested to increase capacity in its finishing operation ahead of delivery of the new press.
The decision to stay with Kodak reinforces the relationship that the company has had with its neighbour in Rochester since installation of the first inkjet press. It has since installed the Prosper 1000 and the Prosper 5000 and Prosper 6000 before taking delivery of the Prosper 7000. It also uses Kodak Sonora plates imaged in a Magnum platesetter.
The press will run at up to 420m/min in Turbo mode. There is also Quality and Performance mode and a monthly capacity of up to 239 million A4s a month.
The press provides the necessary capacity to be more flexible on turnaround times. It is too soon to say precisely how and likewise too soon to understand the precise impact on the cost base, though cost per page will certainly be reduced.
