Kodak Shows drupa Attendees Electrophotographic Solutions that Are Approved for Food and Toy Applications

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY, June -- With concerns about environmental safety and sustainability taking center stage in the worldwide graphic arts market, Kodak is demonstrating at drupa its NEXPRESS and DIGIMASTER Solutions that offer offset class printing and feature a range of certifications for food and toy applications as well as compliance for de-inking in the European market. drupa visitors are seeing firsthand the combination of environmental stewardship and market leading output offered by KODAK NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Presses and KODAK DIGIMASTER Digital Production Systems.

Every NEXPRESS Digital Color Press offers printed material that is approved in the E.U., with all eight dry inks approved for food packaging in accordance with the European Recommendation XXXVI “Papers and Boards for Food Contact” for dry, moist and fatty foods. The certification is issued by ISEGA (Forschungs und Untersuchungs-Gesellschaft mbH Aschaffenburg), an independent testing institute in German with accreditation under ISO 17025. This means that the NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Press is ideal for food packaging applications that benefit from the inherent advantages of digital printing—short runs, personalization, versioning, design comps, promotional packages, and market testing.

For the European toy market, KODAK NEXPRESS - Dry Inks have been examined for their release of heavy metals and certified as safe under DIN EN 71, part 3 “Safety of Toys, Migration of Certain Elements.” This allows use in children’s books, toy packaging, and instruction manuals, for example.

“We have designed our inks and presses to be suitable for the widest range of applications possible, and these certifications enforce our commitment to providing safe, productive, high quality solutions to the market,” said Mark F. Weber, Vice President, Marketing, Electophotographic Printing Solutions, Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. “With new digital print opportunities opening up every day, it is critical that Kodak solutions be capable of capitalizing on these opportunities and opening the door to new business and revenue streams for our customers. Food and toy packaging are good examples of unique, exciting applications for our NEXPRESS and DIGIMASTER Product families.”

Furthermore, any document printed on the NEXPRESS Digital Production Color Press or the DIGIMASTER Digital Production System is suitable for recycling in the European market, as it adheres to the necessary guidelines for de-inking. Pages produced on NEXPRESS Digital Color Production Presses and DIGIMASTER Digital Production Systems have been tested to de-inking standards set by INGEDE, the International Association of the De-Inking Industry. Both with and without a clear dry ink coating, the documents met or exceeded the same de-inking standards INGEDE applies to materials printed using conventional offset or gravure.

All components of NEXPRESS - Dry Inks have been tested in extreme conditions to verify that no harmful compounds are generated or released during manufacturing, usage or disposal. Additionally, anti-setoff powder and cleaning agents are not needed, which eliminates another potential source of emissions.

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.

(Kodak, Nexpress, and Digimaster are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company.)
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