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Kodak's Consumer Inkjet Printing Systems Achieve Best-in-Class Print Permanence Ratings from Wilhelm Imaging Research

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 8 PRNewswire — The KODAK EASYSHARE All-in-One (AiO) Inkjet Printer line has been extensively tested by a leading independent permanence testing laboratory, Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR). According to the results of the industry's first five-factor print permanence testing, spearheaded by WIR, the KODAK EASYSHARE AiO Printers and ink achieved the highest level of overall print permanence of any current consumer desktop printer system.

The KODAK EASYSHARE AiO printers, ink and media achieved WIR Display Permanence Ratings and Album/Dark Storage Ratings of greater than 125 years. WIR Unprotected Ozone Resistance Ratings (for example, prints placed on refrigerators) of more than 100 years were also reported. WIR tests also showed that the KODAK prints are very resistant to damage in high-humidity conditions and, even when printed on plain paper, the prints can survive exposure to accidental water spills.

"These test results with the KODAK Inkjet Printers and pigmented inks on the full range of seven KODAK Photo Papers and inkjet plain paper establish an important, new long-term print permanence benchmark for consumers," said Henry Wilhelm, president of Wilhelm Imaging Research. "For consumers, this means that documents and photos printed with KODAK EASYSHARE AiO Inkjet Printers should be preserved in very good condition for more than 100 years in all common consumer display and storage environments."

WIR, whose test methods have become the de facto industry standard for both consumer and professional inkjet prints, conducted extensive print permanence tests on KODAK EASYSHARE AIO 5100, 5300 and 5500 Printers, pigmented inks and inkjet photo papers to determine image fade resistance for the five major longevity factors: light, temperature, unprotected exposure to ambient ozone, high-humidity and contact with water. Using WIR's established test method standards, the organization determined that in all cases, prints from the KODAK Consumer Inkjet Printing System will resist fading for more than 100 years.

Kodak continues to deliver on its industry-leading initiative to provide objective, third-party data so that consumers can make informed purchase decisions when buying a new home inkjet printer. For example, Kodak also works with industry expert QualityLogic, Inc. for tests of ink yield to determine KODAK Printers' cost-of-ink per page. QualityLogic recently validated that with KODAK EASYSHARE AiO Printers, consumers can save up to 50 percent on everything they print compared with similar consumer inkjet printers*.

"We are pleased to deliver on the promise Kodak made to consumers a year ago — the highest quality documents and photos that last a lifetime and savings of up to 50 percent on everything they print," said Susan Tousi, general manager of Kodak's Inkjet Systems Division. "The combined results from independent testing facilities Wilhelm Imaging Resources and QualityLogic validate Kodak's EASYSHARE AiO Printer as offering the longest print permanence and the best value for consumer inkjet printers."

More information about the results of Wilhelm Imaging Research and QualityLogic findings regarding KODAK EASYSHARE AiO Printers, advanced pigmented inks and papers can be found at http://www.wilhelm-research.com/kodak/5300.html and at http://www.kodak.com/go/inkdata.

About Wilhelm Imaging Research

Wilhelm Imaging Research, Inc. has for over 35 years conducted research on the stability and preservation of traditional and digitally printed color and black-and-white photographs and motion pictures. A major activity of WIR is the development of improved accelerated print permanence tests and advanced, full tonal scale, colorimetric analysis methods for the fading and staining that occurs with color and black-and-white photographic images over time. As an independent testing laboratory, WIR publishes brand name-specific, comparative permanence data for desktop and large-format inkjet printers and other digital printing devices. WIR has provided standardized test data to many of the world's leading imaging and photographic companies, including Canon, Epson, Fuji, Hewlett-Packard, Kodak, Lexmark, Ilford, Arches Paper Company, Premier Imaging Products, and others.

Wilhelm Imaging Research also provides consulting services to museums, archives, motion picture libraries and commercial collections on sub-zero cold storage for the long-term preservation of still photographs and motion pictures.

More information about Wilhelm Imaging Research is available at http://www.wilhelm-research.com.

About Kodak

As the world's foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives.

To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com, and our blogs: http://1000words.kodak.com, and http://1000nerds.kodak.com.

Editor's Note: Kodak corporate news releases are now offered via RSS feeds. To subscribe, visit http://www.kodak.com/go/RSS and look for the RSS symbol. In addition, Kodak podcasts are viewable at http://www.kodak.com/go/podcasts. Podcasts may be downloaded for viewing on iTunes, Quicktime, or other PC-based media players. Users may also subscribe to Kodak podcasts via the iTunes store by typing "Kodak Close Up" in the search field at the top of the iTunes Store window.

* Savings based on ink costs only for home printing of documents and photos compared to the average ink costs of comparable consumer inkjet printers. Actual results may vary. For more information, visit http://www.kodak.com/go/inkdata.

Contacts: Ed Schauweker, Ketchum, 646-935-4099

Nancy Carr, Kodak, 585-781-9121

SOURCE Kodak