“Print is evolving and remains relevant, sustainable, differentiated and value-creating”

Kodak’s vast portfolio of print solutions is designed to equip printers with the technology they need to stay competitive in a continually evolving market. Here’s more on this printing giant.

P&P: Tell us about your landmark 1000th CtP installation in India?

Nikumb: In June 2019, Kodak crossed the mark of 1000 CTPs installed in the Indian Sub-continent, a milestone demonstrating that printers in this region are focused on achieving better quality with streamlined production and scalability to profitably grow their business.

Our growth in the India Sub-continent is supported by a network of trusted channel partners who have helped drive the sale of Kodak CTPs, including Insight Print Communications, Monotech Systems ltd, and Fuji to PTE. We are extremely proud and thankful to our customers and channel partners for this achievement.

P&P: What is the next target and how is Kodak India gearing up for it?

Nikumb: We expect that one out of every three plates Kodak sells will be a SONORA Process Free plate by mind 2020. That’s significant because it points to the widespread confidence in Kodak’s Process Free technology across the spectrum of printers, from small to large enterprises.

P&P: How is Kodak catering to the different market segments like commercial, packaging, book publishing, etc.?

Nikumb: Our portfolio of print solutions is designed to equip today’s printers with the technology they need to stay competitive in a continually evolving market.

For offset printers, we continue to roll out innovations, with our industry-leading SONORA X Process Free Plates and our CtP hardware. In fact, we are one of the few major CtP manufacturers still investing in CtP technology to help printers bring more speed, automation, and energy savings to help transform their prepress process.

Kodak’s NEXPRESS and the new NEXFINITY digital presses enable stable and higher print volume with offset like quality.

Kodak also has solutions today in the major packaging print categories of folding carton, corrugated printing, labels, and now entering the flexible packaging market with the launch of the SAPPHIRE EVO. We have examples with our PROSPER 6000S press, integrated with a traditional flexo press to create a hybrid printing process, producing variable folding cartons for the beverage market.

We also have customers using our PROSPER S-Series inkjet imprinting systems on their presses or downstream packaging equipment printing bar codes and promotional content on corrugated boxes, folding cartons, and even consumer food packages. Our customers are also using Kodak PROSPER inkjet equipment for customized napkins and personal care items, such as diapers.

As the needs for consumer personalization continue to grow, we are finding new applications where Kodak technology can help brands and converters solve problems and unlock new opportunities in innovative ways.

P&P: Which is the most focused segment for Kodak and why?

Nikumb: We’re all into print, whether it is supporting the needs of today’s offset printers or those making investments to bring onboard new digital printing technology. Our goal is to enable more printers to be profitable and sustainable than any other company in the world by investing in new products and technology innovations from plates, CtPS, digital printing, and workflow software.

P&P: Brief us about Sonora plates and their growing popularity and advantages to the printers?

Nikumb: Kodak’s SONORA Process Free Plates have been a remarkably successful product for Kodak and hugely popular with printers around the world. With the benefits of process free being so accessible to the market and straightforward to integrate, over 4,000 printers of all sizes rely on Kodak to capture all the benefits of process free. And, with the introduction of KODAK SONORA X Process Free Plates last year, up to 80% of the market can now switch to process free plates, which perform as well, in terms of handling, productivity, and resolution capabilities, as an unbaked processed plate.

P&P: Brief us about your Print for Good program and its success so far?

Nikumb: Today, one of the ways Kodak stays true to Eastman’s foundational values is through its Print for Good initiative, focused on literacy. In partnership with many of our printers and industry partners around the world, Kodak targets high-needs areas throughout America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with book drives, book donations, and the printing of school materials and supplies to support literacy efforts on a global basis. In India, Kodak employees in partnership with local NGOs distributed over 5,000 notebooks to 1,000 children to promote increased literacy in Mokhada (Maharashtra), India.

P&P: How is Kodak looking at environment-friendliness and sustainability?

Nikumb: It’s an integral part of how we do business, from how we design our products to the way we operate our business around the world. Kodak continues to bring innovations to market that reduce waste, save water, and cut down on energy use, from our SONORA Process Free Plates to our energy-saving CTPs. By building sustainability into our products, we’re helping printers not only reduce costs but also increase their productivity across their print operations. At the same time, Kodak continues to take steps to reduce its environmental footprint, to better serve the communities in which it operates, and to improve the company’s overall business performance.

P&P: What are the plans for India for the next 5 years?

Nikumb: We’re focused on helping printers profitably grow their business with Kodak CTPs, SONORA Process Free plates, PRINERGY Software, NEXPRESS, PROSPER AND ULTRASTREAM.

P&P: Any new products on the cards. Please specify.

Nikumb: Stay tuned, we’ll have some exciting developments as we head into drupa 2020.

P&P: Any message for the industry…

Nikumb: Kodak believes in the future of Print, that Print is evolving and remains relevant, sustainable, differentiated and value-creating in today’s hybrid world of digital communications and printed content. Long Live Print.