After several months of testing on the European market, Kodak announces the large-scale roll-out of its new Sonora Ultra uncoated offset plates.
Previewed at the Drupa trade show in June 2024, Sonora Ultra plates are the successor to the Sonora Xtra-3, already well established on the continent. According to Kodak, all European customers currently equipped with Sonora Xtra-3 will be upgraded to the new model. Production volumes have been stepped up at Kodak's Osterode plant in Germany, to ensure responsive local supply.
Enhanced performance in untreated environments
Sonora Ultra plates retain the principle of operating without chemical development, but incorporate significant technical improvements.
According to its manufacturer, the new generation boasts the highest image constraint on the market, with up to nine times the contrast of competing plates and 1.5 times that of Sonora Xtra.
Kodak also boasts a five-fold improvement in tolerance to ambient white light, as well as prolonged image stability of up to six weeks, provided it is stored away from light.
These features are designed to facilitate quality control operations and secure storage or transport in non-air-conditioned environments. In particular, the enhanced contrast enables easier visual inspection before printing, a point often emphasized by printers using sheet-fed or web presses in mixed configurations.
According to Kodak, Sonora solutions are used by over 6,000 print sites worldwide.
