Kodak announces printer breakthrough

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 17:39:38 -0500, Ron Baird wrote:

Greetings ASAAR,

You are correct the information on the Kodak site as noted on the page is
based on ink costs. Look to the bottom left of the page to see these
references.and how this is done. Not much different than others. We do not
include paper as we are not sure if someone will be using Kodak
paper.....although they should :-)

Also, the paper that has been out in the marketplace for some time now,
about a year or more, that has the work Photo in the name, will work
perfectly in these new printers. In fact, the backing of the paper is read
by the printers to set it for best results. Check one out at your local Best
Buy etc.

Talk to you soon,

Ron Baird
Eastman Kodak Company




Are there immediate plans to produce a not all-in-one? I tend to prefer a
separate scanner and printer, partially due to Linux support issues;
partially because I'd just rather have separate stand-alone units.

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 14:48:16 -0800, "Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even
number wrote:

When will they actually be available?
I see only "pre-order" on the Best Buy web site.
Should they be in stock already?

You don't stand a ghost of a chance of getting one real soon. I
think that I saw Kodak say somewhere that they'd be available
sometime in March. If it wasn't on their website it would have been
in dpreview's Kodak News section.

Ron Baird wrote:
the advantage of the printer being able to read the paper backing.
It will be able to determine what paper is being used and set itself
for that paper. Nice feature that will improve anyones results.

Good idea, especially after the past few years when it was hard to decide
whether Epson Photo Paper was Glossy Photo paper, Glossy Premium, or what.

The scanner is also pretty good and can scan at resolutions of 75, 150, 200,
300, 600 or 12000.

Presumably you mean 1200 dpi there at the end.

The prints are water resistant and will last longer than
I will (about 100 years or more). The results of the printer are excellent
and I will match them agains any of the other printers out there.

Looking forward to seeing these printers in Best Buy!

Ron,

Thank you for sharing this information about the new Kodak line.

I have some questions, though:

Will Kodak be offering the same technology and cost advantage in a
printer that can do 11x14 prints? That's one very important thing
that would influence my decision to go with your system.

Another question, will the scanner portion of your all-in-one unit
also do slides and film, with qood quality results? I would need
capability to scan 6x7 as well as 35mm negatives.

Hopefully these things are on the drawing board and will be appearing
soon. If you will be supporting larger print sizes, I could very
well be a Kodak customer in the near future.

Thanks,

Steve

(I'm also sending this to your Kodak email address so you can send a
private response.)


On Thu, 8 Feb 2007 18:08:51 -0500, "Ron Baird"
wrote:

Greetings All,

I have completed some classes on the new printers, and I think you are going
to find that what was noted is true. The prints are excellent and the
printers are as well. Kodak has been working on its inks for several years
and has a great technology at this point. I am sure you will like them and
the results. As to the paper, I believe the paper that was released about a
year ago will be excellent in these printers. So, most of the Kodak paper
you might find on shelves will do the job and do it well. These printers
also add an element of protection which leaves the printer water resistant.
Very nice, and the prints will last as long as noted.

Following is information that you may find interesting. I will be reviewing
more and will be around to share on posted issues. Talk to you all soon.

From an article about this new release. "Actually, Kodak has been around
inkjet for about 15 years. In order to get into this business, you've got
to have unique talent, intellectual property portfolio, funding, strategic
partners and the path to the channels. Kodak has the unique ability as a
corporation to bring all of these elements to the table. The company's IP
portfolio is impressive, including over 1,000 patents in inkjet printing
alone. And over 900 more patents in image science. So we didn't approach
this project with empty pockets. We came with a rich portfolio, a very
strong team from both inside the company and of those we recruited. We were
able to acquire 65 engineers from other companies about mid-way into the
program."

This isn't a one-time deal. This inkjet technology could lead us down
several paths with a wide portfolio of products in the next five years.
Stay tuned.

Ron Baird
Eastman Kodak Company


"ASAAR" wrote in message
.. .
NPR's Marketplace reported shortly after 6:00 PM that Kodak
announced a new line of printers that would potentially change the
printer market. There was no technological breakthrough announced.
Instead, Kodak plans to sell printers for higher prices, and cut the
ink cost at least in half. The report added that it would allow
Kodak's printers to make 4" x 6" prints for 10 cents vs. a typical
15 cent cost using online printing services. I didn't hear any
mention of where the announcement was made or where it was reported.
I'm guessing that it will have been reported in the Wall Street
Journal and the New York Times, but I haven't spotted anything on
the NYT home page, its Technology or Business sections, so it may
have been announced too late to make it into these papers.