With the gradual adoption of the all-new high-speed four-colour inkjet web presses—like HP’s T-300 Color Inkjet Web Press, Kodak’s Prosper 5000XL Press, Oce’s Jetstream models and Screen’s Truepress Jet520—it was only a matter of time before more dedicated paper stocks began arriving on the market.
In response, Appleton Coated has introduced its new Utopia Inkjet and Utopia Book Inkjet products to satisfy demands for marketing, direct mail and publishing markets in North America.
The coating technology on the Utopia Inkjet was developed jointly with HP, and according to Appleton, the optimized coating will allow printers to run high-quality, full-colour jobs at over 400 feet per minute—an industry first for high-volume web-fed inkjet production platforms.
"Appleton Coated is very excited to be at the forefront of this innovation by providing Utopia Inkjet coated paper optimized for this technology," says Ann Whalen, Appleton Coated’s senior vice president of marketing and services in a release. “The new products are designed to help move this growing segment forward by providing the first viable coated paper solution for high-quality, colour printing."
"This new high-speed inkjet web technology gives marketers a unique opportunity to drive value in direct mail and commercial printing applications by bringing together high-quality, four-colour print and personalization, at much higher speeds and lower costs than traditional digital presses," she continues. "The direct mail and book publishing segments are poised to take advantage of the new technology – hence the two product offerings."
For direct mail applications, Utopia Inkjet is offered in 60-, 70-, 80- and 100-pound text in dull and matte finishes, and 65- and 80-pound cover in dull finish, and 7-point and 9-point cover in matte finish. A gloss finish product is in development with expected availability by the end of the year.
For the publishing market, Utopia Book Inkjet is offered in a 45-pound matte text. "High-speed, inkjet web press technology is a game-changer for the book publishing business," says Paul Bradshaw, Appleton Coated’s senior vice president of publishing papers. "This technology can have a dramatic impact on improving the publisher’s supply chain by lowering finished goods inventories and reducing the cost of obsolescence."
Utopia Inkjet products contain a minimum of 10 percent post-consumer recovered fiber and are available with Forest Stewardship Council certification and green power.
