Business News
Kodak Completes Acquisition of Intermate A/S
Friday 11. April 2008 - Acquisition Will Strengthen Kodaks Workflow Solutions for Transactional Printing
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) today announced that it has completed an acquisition of Intermate A/S, a global supplier of remote monitoring and print connectivity solutions used extensively in transactional printing. Kodak expects Intermates expertise in Intelligent Printer Data Stream (IPDS) systems, a hardware and software technology that links mid- to high-volume print systems, will extend Kodaks capabilities in the growing transactional print marketplace. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Birkerod, Denmark, Intermates solutions provide reliable, high quality printer connectivity and network communication products and solutions, particularly for mission critical transactional printing. The company develops hardware and software IPDS productsaimed at distribution channels and integrating IPDS print technology software into products from printer manufacturers through OEM partnerships. Intermate has helped their strategic partners and customers to understand and become solution providers for the transactional printing markets.
“Kodak continues to see significant growth opportunities in the transactional print marketplace,” said Philip J. Faraci, President and Chief Operating Officer, Eastman Kodak Company. “The combination of Intermates IPDS expertise and its strong relationships with strategic partners and OEM providers will strengthen Kodaks existing Unified Workflow solutions and open new opportunities in data center markets for us and our customers.”
Intermates line of hardware and software products for printer connectivity includes:
Intermate IPDS Ultra SDK – a set of code and tools that allow a developer such as printer manufacturer to easily and quickly integrate the Intermate IPDS technology into a native hardware or software print platform. No large investments in R&D resources or special engineering skill sets are needed. The IPDS Ultra takes into consideration the typical challenges when porting foreign code onto a proprietary platform. The Intermate IPDS Ultra SDK is supplemented with a comprehensive suite of pre-sales and post-sales tools, which have proven to further eliminate the need for very specialized knowledge and dedicated resources.
Intermate WinIPDS – a cost-effective, software-only AFP/IPDS LAN Print Server, which can be easily installed on a Microsoft Windows PC. The server converts IPDS into a format supported by any type of Windows print driver.
Intermate Advanced Print Server IPDS (IAPS IPDS) – enables any PostScript or PCL5 compatible multi-function printing device to print AFP/IPDS from an IBM host.
Intermate IAPS ThinPrint – an external print server with an embedded ThinPrint .print Client Gateway allowing users to deploy ThinPrint technology in an already established network printer installation without having to adjust the printers or the network.
Intermate Advanced Print Server SCS (IAPS SCS) – enables a zSeries (Mainframe) or iSeries (AS/400) to print SCS data to any PCL/PostScript compatible printer or multifunction device.
Intermate Forms – generates PCL electronic forms and barcodes from existing print data streams without changing the print application.
Intermate will become a part of Kodaks Print On Demand Solutions Group (PODS), an independent unit of Kodaks Graphic Communications Group. Based in Israel, PODS provides CREO color servers to Kodak and other industry suppliers, including H-P, Ikon, Konica Minolta, and Xerox.
“Intermate A/S is proud to become a member of the Kodak family. Intermates IPDS technology is well established and highly regarded in the IPDS market. Our engineering capabilities and IPDS technologies will only help to solidify Kodaks leadership position in the printing world. This is synergism at its best,” said Kenneth Christensen, President, Intermate A/S.
KODAK Products are backed by KODAK Service and Support. KODAK Service and Support is made up of more than 3,000 professionals reaching more than 120 countries. It is a leading multi-vendor integrated services provider, delivering consulting, installation, maintenance and support services for the commercial printing, graphic communications, document imaging and data storage industries. KODAK Service and Support professionals are uniquely qualified to provide services that control costs, maximize productivity, and minimize business risk.