Redacción Alabrent
The simplest hybrid imprinting solution adds one inkjet head to print a fixed-width area, typically 4 inches or less. Additional heads expand width or add colour. Print bars combine multiple heads into a wider imaging unit with unified controls, calibration, automated stitching and colour-to-colour registration.The Integration Process
Integration is usually handled by the printhead manufacturer or an experienced partner. Complexity ranges from adding monochrome heads to a folder/gluer to installing multiple print bars across a web press with workflow automation, colour calibration and camera-based quality control.
Successful planning considers substrate compatibility, food safety, sustainability, drying speed, post-press compatibility, automation level and budget. Kodak offers two approaches for different production needs, investment profiles and application segments.
Two Approaches. Many Use-Cases
Kodak’s PROSPER S-Series Imprinting System, introduced in 2009, is one of the earliest and most widely installed hybrid production platforms. The portfolio now includes PROSPER Plus Imprinting System and the PROSPER Print Bar, introduced in 2024. Both use Kodak’s Stream Inkjet Technology and water-based EKTACOLOR Inks, but target different levels of coverage, frequency and production intent.
PROSPER Plus Imprinting Systems: Modular and Targeted
PROSPER Plus is modular and targeted. Individual 105 mm (4.16 inch) printheads add variable elements such as barcodes, QR codes, serialization, simple graphics or text to existing press or post-press lines. Printers can start with one monochrome head and expand in width or colour as applications demand.
Its incremental design suits a variety of presses, finishing lines and constrained environments, including offset, flexo, gravure, folder/gluer and custom transport systems. PROSPER Plus reduces make-ready, cuts plate use and enables last-minute data changes without stopping production.
PROSPER Print Bar: A Platform for Wide-Area Variable Imaging
The PROSPER Print Bar operates at a different scale. It combines multiple PROSPER inkjet engines into one integrated platform with automated stitching and colour-to-colour registration, enabling wide variable print areas at speeds of up to 300 mpm (1,000 fpm).
The PROSPER Print Bar behaves more like a digital print unit embedded in an analogue line. Installation is more complex and initial capital cost may be higher, but it delivers image consistency, registration accuracy and graphics-heavy variable content that would be impractical with cascaded standalone heads. It can be configured for black-only, spot colour or full CMYK.
Application Segments and Economies of Scale
In direct mail, PROSPER Plus fits high data density with low image coverage, eliminating plates and reducing changeovers. In publishing, inserts, packaging, security and gaming, it suits selective codes, offers, serialization and controlled variable content, while the PROSPER Plus and PROSPER Print Bar becomes compelling for larger graphics, regional variation or complex variable imagery at scale.
Scale is the key economic divider. At lower to mid-volumes, or where variable content is intermittent, PROSPER Plus offers faster payback through lower entry cost and incremental scalability. As variable coverage and volume increase, the Print Bar becomes more attractive because automation, registration accuracy and image consistency outweigh the higher investment.
Compatibility with Analogue Presses and Post-Press Equipment
Both PROSPER Plus and PROSPER Print Bar extend existing equipment. PROSPER Plus suits offset, flexo and post-press lines needing variable text, codes or limited-coverage graphics. PROSPER Print Bar is stronger for wider stitched imaging, tighter registration and more substantial variable graphics.
A Strategic Decision
Adding inkjet imprinting to analogue equipment gives printers a practical path to new opportunities while extending asset life. Kodak supports this transition with flexible imprinting options, design, custom integration and training services.
The choice between PROSPER Plus and PROSPER Print Bar is not mainly about print quality; both are industrial-grade inkjet solutions. It is about how deeply digital capability needs to be embedded into the production workflow.
PROSPER Plus is targeted, flexible and ideal for extending analogue assets. PROSPER Print Bar is a platform for printers making hybrid production a core strategy. Together, they show that the future is not analogue versus digital, but how intelligently the two are combined.