Mercury Future-Proofs Print with Kodak's Newest Inkjet

By Jessie Farrigan

The following article was originally published by Printing Impressions. To read more of their content, subscribe to their newsletter, Today on PIWorld.

Last week, Mercury Print Productions, a commercial print provider that specializes in the educational book market located in Rochester, New York, opened its doors for a sneak peak of the KODAK PROSPER 7000 turbo press in action. The first in the world to install the new inkjet web press, Mercury prides itself on being an early adopter of both sheetfed and web. This ability to bridge the gap and remain relevant in a rapidly evolving landscape has bolstered the company into its “and era” with Kodak.

The KODAK PROSPER 7000 Turbo Press web-fed inkjet press.

But what led the company to be the first KODAK PROSPER 7000 installer?

According to John Place, CEO of Mercury Print Productions, “We like the newest and the greatest. We always embrace it, and we love it.” And for Place, whose mother started the company in the family’s garage in 1968, innovation is the only answer. Today, in its partnership with Kodak, the company’s production focuses on approximately 90% educational material and is seeing additional growth in package production.

And while Mercury implements a lean business model, the KODAK PROSPER 7000 turbo press was a future-proof investment. “We needed a technology that we viewed was going to take us into the future,” Christian Schamberger, president of Mercury Print Productions, said. “And we were really attracted to the stream technology that Kodak offered mainly because of the substrate flexibility that we would have with that.”

John Place, CEO of Mercury Print Productions, shows framed pictures of Mercury's first buildings. The company, which now operates out of a large facility in Rochester, New York, was originally started in his mother's garage in 1968.

Mercury houses other Kodak products, including KODAK SONORA process free plates; KODAK MAGNUS and TRENDSETTER platesetters; the cloud-based version of the KODAK PROSPER PRINERGY platform; two KODAK PROSPER 5000 presses; and the KODAK PROSPER 7000 turbo press.

One major turning point Schamberger highlighted was customers' shifting focus to sustainability. He noted, “We’re watching within the educational industry, a lot of our customers pushing toward 100% recycled, 100% recycled paper stocks.”

The flexibility of the KODAK PROSPER 7000 coupled with Mercury’s efforts to achieve ESG certification, have allowed production to manage the full lifespan of a book, and to the standards of its customers. Schamberger reflected, “None of us thought we would be adding a web press like we did, back in 2020. … We can handle it on the front end, on its creation, when it’s a short run. We can handle it in midlife when we’re printing thousands, tens of thousands of books.”

Kodak’s Comeback

A glimpse of Kodak's film production.

For Kodak, the inkjet web press is just one of many products it uses to support customers. “These technologies are to make our printing partners better,” said Kodak CEO Jim Continenza. “We want these guys to be on PRINERGY. We want them to use our MAGNUS. We want to be their partner, integrator. We want to make a machine that helps them with things that we make.”

But that’s not all Kodak has in store for the future. The company is making moves to re-energize itself by inventing and formulating unique materials for print electronics, batteries, films, and pharmaceuticals. One recent project Continenza highlighted was the creation of a clean lab for medical applications. Additionally, the company has also seen significant success in educational initiatives bettering both students and employees.

When asked about a path forward for Kodak, Continenza concluded, “We’re betting we can do this. … But it will definitely keep growing right now, and it’s hitting the right path.”