For other uses of the "Kodacolor" brand, see Kodacolor

Kodacolor

Kodacolor is a brand-name owned and used by Kodak. In general, it has been used for three technologically-distinct purposes:* Kodacolor Technology is the collective branding used for several proprietary inkjet printer technologies....

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Kodacolor Technology is a Kodak-owned brand used to collectively market several of its inkjet printing

Inkjet printer

An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large professional machines that can cost up to thousands of...

 technologies. It was announced on 6 February 2007 at the launch of Kodak EasyShare All-in-One Printers. Kodak claims that these technologies enable consumers to print crisp text documents and Kodak lab-quality photos at home.

Kodacolor Technology is protected by United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

 7,655,083.

Key elements

Kodacolor Technology consists of four main groups of technologies:

• Patented, Pigment-based ink
  Ink
  Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
  
  s
  • Kodak utilizes a proprietary milling process for uniform pigment particle sizes. In the initial development of their pigment ink, they discovered that pigment particles were settling at the bottom of the storage containers, which negatively affected image quality. The solution to this problem was to mill the pigment particles much smaller with this proprietary process, so they would stay suspended in liquid.
  • The five-ink inkjet color cartridge is really four colors (black, magenta, cyan, and yellow), plus a clear protective ink/coating. This proprietary coating is for uniform gloss levels on the printed page.
  • wider color gamut coverage than previous pigmented inks, due to to finer particles
  • Polymeric Binders for Durability
  • Kodak claims that prints will last over 100 years unprotected (whereas dye-based inks prints typically last only 15 years before fading)
• Instant Dry, micro-porous photo papers
  • optimized so that the pigment particles sit on the surface of the porous paper while the liquid they are suspended in is absorbed.
  • ink drop absorption (drying time) takes 15 milliseconds
  • water and smudge resistance exceeds performance of dye-based systems
  • high gloss surface maximizes quality and color
  • dries instantly for immediate handling
• Kodak color and image science
  • scene balance algorithms for auto image improvement
  • image restoration
    Photo restoration
    Photo restoration is the practice of restoring a photograph which has been damaged or affected by age.- Digital photo restoration :Digital photo restoration uses digital image editing techniques to remove visible damage and aging effects from photographs...
    
     algorithms
  • advanced multi-level half toning and rendering processes combine to create continuous smooth tone images
• Proprietary High Speed Inkjet Printing System
  • Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)
    Microelectromechanical systems
    Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
    
    print head
  • Micro-Precision, Uniform Dot Placement
  • Dual Drop Sizes - 2.7 pL (colours) & 6.5 pL (black and clear coat)
  • 3,840 nozzle high density permanent printhead
  • 1/2 inch printhead swatch height (fewer passes)
  • Can make a photo print in 28 seconds

External links

• Kodacolor Technology Overview
• The Inkjet Story: Kodak's Startup From Within