Fujifilm has Developed Next-generation Ink-jet Printing Technology

VALHALLA, NY—May 22, 2008—Fujifilm Corp. has developed ground-breaking, next generation inkjet digital printing technology that enables the world’s first high quality, high-speed printing on large sheet sizes (maximum print size: 720mm x 520mm) at high resolutions of 1200 dpi at 4-level gray scale*2 by using a single-pass*1 inkjet printing method. In addition, it achieves quality levels comparable to offset printing for a variety of different types of coated papers. This digital printing technology achieving high-speed, high-quality, and large sheet size is set to revolutionize the printing industry by significantly enhancing the efficiency of the print production process.

Furthermore, with its excellent system design and development capability, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd (President Tadahito Yamamoto, hereafter “Fuji Xerox”) has developed the Jet Press 720 (developmental name), an inkjet digital printing system, which is a superior printing device that achieves high productivity by incorporating this technology. Fujifilm will globally market the revolutionary digital printing system realizing high-speed, large size printing at high resolution, to be supplied by Fuji Xerox.

The new device is a combination of Fujifilm Group’s technologies and will be exhibited at drupa 2008, the global print media exhibition, in Düsseldorf, Germany from May 29 to June 11.

Currently, the amount of short-run print is increasing in the commercial print market. In general, digital printing has been the preferred technology for such short-run print, thanks to its short make-ready time. Up until now, there has been no digital printing technology that achieves production speeds and quality comparable to offset printing on larger format sheet sizes. So many printing companies undertake short-run print using offset printing, a process that is more suitable for longer print runs. Fujifilm’s newly developed technology will realize digital printing with high-speed, high-quality, and large format size to solve this problem.