Inkjet & Digital Printing
Kodak Introduces Virtually Invisible Ink for the NEXPRESS Production Presses, Opening Up New Security and Inventory Management Applications
Friday 14. May 2010 - Adding to the diverse capabilities of the KODAK NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions with Print Genius, Kodak is introducing a new virtually invisible clear ink.
KODAK NEXPRESS Red Fluorescing Dry Ink is clear to the naked eye, but becomes red fluorescing when illuminated with an appropriate ultraviolet (UV) light source. The ink can be used to print unobtrusive images and non-reproducible bar codes on various printed materials, which then can be read with specialized bar code readers. The NEXPRESS Red Fluorescing Dry Ink enables a wide range of security and inventory management applications, including certified documents, such as medical prescription pads, drivers licenses and event tickets.
“This innovative expansion of the NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions allows digital print service providers to enter the lucrative and growing secure documents and track and trace markets,” said Steve Fletcher, General Manager, Electrophotographic Printing Solutions, Vice President, Kodak. “The amazing versatility of the family of KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Presses is designed to help print service providers stay on the forefront of a demanding, quickly changing marketplace.”
This new ink allows clear bar codes to be printed inline and can encompass variable data printing, allowing each printed piece to be marked with unique information. The NEXPRESS Red Fluorescing Dry Ink can be easily exchanged with other Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions, allowing print service providers to efficiently move between various types of printing projects. The new ink creates opportunities for current NEXPRESS Press customers to offer new services to their existing customer bases and enter new markets. It will allow commercial printers to expand their digital print operations into secure documents and other businesses, and will provide book printers with new ways to take advantage of inventory management and automation improvements. Commercial printers can also use the clear bar code for their internal workflow for downstream finishing and binding operations.
The NEXPRESS Red Fluorescing Dry Ink is the latest addition to the NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions, which also allows dimensional printing that creates a raised-print, 3D effect; coating applications, which can be used to increase durability or add watermarks; clear protection and gloss coating using the nearline KODAK NEXPRESS Glossing Unit; color gamut expansion with red, green, and blue dry inks; and MICR applications for secure, machine-readable documents.
Kodak worked with bar code reader pioneer InData Systems to develop a red fluorescing dry ink application that would be widely adaptable in the field, allowing it to be printed on a variety of backgrounds. InData Systems of Skaneateles, N.Y. is a world leader in bar code reading products designed for the bar code security industry, which uses covert or hidden bar codes for product authentication, tracking, and information retrieval.
“This new ink from Kodak opens up a number of new markets for digital printing,” said John Hattersley, President of InData Systems. “Its a huge breakthrough, because now one printing application can include both a pass/fail authentication system and include a significant amount of unique, identifying information.”
The red fluorescing bar code itself is the pass/fail authentication. It is difficult to counterfeit and if the bar code does not light up for the UV reader, the document is not genuine. The NEXPRESS Press with Print Genius has an advantage over conventional inks for this application. Offset inks, liquid toner, and inkjet inks tend to spread when printed. The NEXPRESS Press can create very sharp lines in the 2D bar codes enabling higher read accuracy with smaller bar code sizes. This makes the bar codes less intrusive. This feature can be used in a wide range of secure document applications, including identification documents, event tickets and coupons. The bar code itself can encode additional information that might verify the information on a secure document, such as a lottery ticket, pharmaceutical prescription pad or school transcript. Clear security images can be used instead of barcodes for lower-level security applications or verification of documents with UV illumination only without the need for a bar code reader. For applications such as passports, credit cards or drivers licenses, the bar code can encode the identity information about the bearer (such as birth date) making it more difficult to counterfeit or alter sensitive documents. Additionally, the bar codes can aid in inventory management, indicating specific handling for versioned textbooks, catalogs or other products.
The fact that the ink is clear with normal lighting has both security and aesthetic benefits. On many backgrounds the ink will appear nearly invisible without the UV light, enhancing its effectiveness as a security tool and allowing the bar code to be placed in locations where a standard black-ink bar code would not be acceptable.
Like all NEXPRESS Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions, the red fluorescing dry ink creates prints that are recyclable. The dry ink also contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Kodak will show off sample applications using the red fluorescing dry ink at Ipex 2010, stand 9-E320. Attendees will be able to see a golf admission ticket and a membership id card with an authentication images and a science textbook cover with the bar code information optimized for work flow automation and inventory management. The new NEXPRESS Red Fluorescing Dry Ink will be available commercially in June of this year.
Also at Ipex, Kodak is unveiling the new Print Genius website showcasing the innovation of the KODAK NEXPRESS SE Digital Production Color Presses and the technology under the covers that enable photographic quality, high productivity, and lowered cost of ownership. In addition to the suite of customer solutions delivered through quality control tools and options for managing and maintaining peak quality throughout a production run, Print Genius also supports the value-added applications and solutions of the Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions, including the use of the new red fluorescing dry ink. After May 18, visit the new Print Genius website at: www.kodak.com/go/PrintGenius.