Years ago we introduced a wonderful "little" technology to the CTP market called SQUAREspot - a 10,000 dpi thermal laser imaging system.

This uniquely high resolution enables clear differentiation between "exposed" and "unexposed" edges, producing dots on plate with greater consistency and measurably tighter production tolerances than coarser Gaussian laser imaging technologies.

SQUAREspot provides unparalleled quality, resolution, stability, latitude, and process control for making digital offset plates. This technology helped pave the way for thermal plates to become the dominant technology for CTP, especially in high-volume and high-quality printing markets worldwide.

The benefits of SQUAREspot for our customers were well recognized - both in terms of quality and cost efficiency.

Now that Kodak's Graphic Communications Group is made up from some of the best companies in the industry, with some of the most innovative technologies, even the SQUAREspot message no longer captures the total value that we can deliver to our customers!

What our customers need to ensure their long-term survival and profitability is pretty simple: stability and process control, right from the beginning of the software workflow, through to the last printed dot on press. With the drive towards automation throughout the printing process, Stability isn't just a nice thing to have - it's mission-critical.

The biggest challenges our customers face - saving costs,being more efficient, and cutting waste - are exactly the ones we help solve,with products that deliver higher quality more consistently, with less investment and less impact on our environment.

Rather than focusing on just one small part of the process like plate developer (like some of our competitors are doing), bigger opportunities can be found across four key areas of the Production Cycle: Imaging, Prepress, On-Press, and the Environment. For a more in-depth view, visit our micro-site for Kodak's Offset Stability Program at http://www.kodak.com/go/stability . We'll help you find ways to improve Stability throughout your production environment - whether you choose Kodak products in the end or not.

Sometimes we have the luxury of playing with technology just for the fun of it, but when it can have such a huge impact on your business' profitability - and even survival - it must be taken a lot more seriously. Look at the full opportunity for Stability improvement in your print shop, and Kodak will gladly help you find some great ways to achieve it.

If you're like many people, you've sneaked a peek at YouTube (www.youtube.com). Maybe someone emailed you a link to a video, or you clicked on an embedded video on another website. If you've never been to the site, it's worth a look. You can find a video on just about anything.

A very large percentage of this "just about anything" content is for fun—all the way from professional music videos...

Some of you have probably seen the "Prince Caspian, Chronicles of Narnia" Disney posters being passed out by Kodak at drupa 2008 in Dusseldorf. Or you may have heard that they were printed live, in front of over 100 customers, at an open house during the FTA forum in Dallas, Texas. And I'm sure you've heard that they were printed at an outrageous 300+ lpi.

So you ask, why is this so outrageous? Because they were printed using flexo plates on an offset press! But not just any flexo plates - they were printed using Kodak Flexcel NX Digital Flexographic Plates.

For those attending this event, the big draw was the application of the technology. They wanted to see something never before done in the history of flexographic printing. More specifically, they came to see Kodak Flexcel NX System technology applied to a Heidelberg hybrid offset/flexo sheet perfecting press. While the press technology stands alone in its own right, the addition of Kodak imaging and flexographic plates provided the capability to print this poster-sized image using direct flexography in 4/C process reproduction at an unheard of 307 lpi with solid ink densities all above 2.0.

The combination of all aspects provided for something that had never been technically achieved in flexographic printing industry. Attendee comments ranged from "I have never seen anything like this ever before" to "the detail is amazing!." Simply stated, it had never been done before and we can't wait to do it again, all over the world.