At a recent DM News event in New York City, the Global Creative Jam, I showed a roomful of designers the only digital, tactile printing available on the market. Their response was overwhelming, with comments such as "This is just what my client/job/campaign, needs!" Everyone at the event was talking about feeling the fuzz of a peach, the wood grain of a hardwood floor, the softness of a flower petal. They were talking about Kodak NexPress Dimensional Printing.

When industry expert Frank Romano saw the solution, he started talking about it too. Frank immediately saw the merit and value this solution brings to print service providers. He said, "It adds a new capability to what they're doing. It gives them a new revenue stream. It gives them a new opportunity for new business. And that's what it's all about. In this economy, we need to find new business and value added printing, and Kodak Dimensional Printing does that." Hear what else Frank had to say in this video.



Kodak NexPress Dimensional Printing is a unique Kodak solution and it's one way to make print even more powerful. It's just one of the applications made possible by the Kodak Fifth Imaging Unit Solutions, including clear coating, watermarking, glossing, protection coating, and MICR. All add value to the printed piece.

Differentiation... it's a beautiful thing, especially when it provides additional value for your clients and more business for you. It's Kodak innovation at work for your business.

Yes, the rumor is true. By now you know that Kodak has gone where no print solution provider has gone before. We came to the largest print show in North America this year with our smartest people and great concepts, plus a bit of technical wizardry. We did not, however, bring the big iron that normally accompanies a show. No Magnus. No Generation News. No Versamark or PROSPER S10. No NexPress SE3600 and no Digimaster EX130. We brought lights, cameras, and lots of action.

The action was not just in the form of the Pipeline of Innovation... the amazing attention-getter that formed the center of our stand, but in the form of sales and marketing team members having real conversations, solving problems, and brainstorming. Major mailers, commercial printers, publishers and packaging producers each found Kodak subject matter experts in the booth to answer questions and find new ways to grow their business. One competitor came over as we were winding down on Wednesday as said, "Tell me, honestly. Did this work?" The answer is, yes it did.

Over the course of these six days people who came to our booth were drawn into a conversation. Instead of seeking out their regular sales team member (or their surrogate), opening the hood on one of the devices, poking around inside and asking about new features, shaking hands and heading to the next vendor, this booth laid the groundwork for problem-solving and thinking outside of the existing relationship. It meant that sales team members had to proactively address the needs of their current customers, and seek out the challenges of prospects who came to see the booth. And, they did!

In addition to the Pipeline of Innovation and the segment pods where we positioned solution conversations, we had Microsoft Surfaces where we could show ideas for solutions. And then there was the KZONE. Have you been out there? www.kodak.com/go/print09 is the home on the web of the hours of video that was the series of live talk shows hosted in the booth. We had industry luminaries and Kodak subject matter experts all engaging in conversations that now form an amazing basis for on-going education.   Frank Romano, and Rynn Johnson, Rance Craine and our own Antonio Perez all came to talk. Jeff Hayzlett featured prominently in many of the shows, as did many Kodak executives. Curious about what TransPromo is? My three KZONE segments explore all of the facets for transaction printers, and also talk through the analogous Direct Mail concept, Smart Data Driven Mail. Interested in packaging? Emma Schlotthauer explained it all. Undecided about digital print? Spend a half hour with Len Christopher and he can set you straight!

The cool thing? The KZONE theatre was standing room only! To get a good sense of all that went on, go out to the Kodak channel on You Tube to see the great video that Jonathan Ghent and the KBTV team put together. And then spend some time in the KZONE. You'll come to understand why the Kodak stand was the place to be, no matter what part of the industry you participate in!

We brought a totally new trade show experience to PRINT 09. These are highlights from the "Pipeline of Innovation" and Kodak's talk show style panel discussions in the "K-Zone":



Here is a playlist of the top moments from the show floor: