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6-3-97
Kodak and Heidelberg to jointly market powerful new digital solutions
to the global printing industry
DUSSELDORF, GERMANY--(BUSINESS WIRE) Kodak Professional, a division of Eastman Kodak Company, and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG today announced the formation of a strategic alliance in which they will jointly develop and market new integrated digital solutions for the printing industry.
The alliance will enable printers and prepress customers to purchase compatible capture-to-output equipment, software and media needs from Kodak and Heidelberg. The companies jointly outlined their plans to provide one-stop shopping for digital workflows at IMPRINTA '97, the largest international trade fair for pre-press, printing and publishing industries.
The result will be seamless integration of prepress solutions, higher productivity and more efficient production workflows. "A large set of customers require integrated computer-to-output solutions to maximize the potential of digital technologies and we are now positioned to satisfy those needs around the world," said Richard G. Pignataro, president, Kodak Professional Division.
To ensure compatibility with existing workflows, the alliance will offer world-class, open-architecture equipment components and media for every phase of the prepress and press environment. "The major obstacles limiting the adoption of digital technology in the graphics arts industries have been the challenge of integrating and the uncertainty of how standards will evolve," said Wolfgang Pfizenmaier, member of the Heidelberg Board. "We will continue to help our customers migrate from analog to digital solutions and augment their offset printing business with new digital printing solutions."
Kodak and Heidelberg also stated that they will continue their respective strategic relationships with their current allies. This new strategic alliance does not affect any existing relationships either company may have with other organizations.
Collaborative efforts between Kodak and Heidelberg/Linotype-Hell for each stage of the printing process will initially focus on computer-to-plate systems, digital proofing solutions, color management standards, common integrated solutions, and co-marketing of imagesetters and recording film.
The Heidelberg Group, based in Heidelberg, Germany, with approximately 13,000 employees and agencies in over 160 countries, is the leading supplier of printing systems. With its acquisition of the prepress specialist Linotype-Hell AG, Eschborn in 1996, Heidelberg took an important step toward rounding off its product portfolio.
Kodak Professional's Graphic Systems Markets organization
offers a wide array of film-based, hybrid and digital products to meet the
needs of the world's graphic arts professionals.
Heidelberg Press Release
Contact: Charles S. Smith, Eastman Kodak Company , 49-6221-92-50-60
Dirk Grosse-Leege, Heidelberg, (716) 724-4513